‘The Big Bang Theory’ season 7, episode 16 review: Did Sheldon and Amy break up?

“The Big Bang Theory” returned to CBS after an Olympic hiatus on Thursday night, and for the second straight week, conflict between Sheldon and Amy was a significant part of the story.

But what was the difference between this time and the one before it? Think along the lines of one simple thing: Sheldon was almost certain that he was going to dump her, and over a table that Leonard was putting in the apartment, no less. He had realized briefly that Amy was actually changing him, and he didn’t know how to accept that. The story made sense to the characters, but what really made the most sense to us in the end was watching something as fantastic as Amy manipulating Sheldon using his feelings about change to turn him against Leonard, and for her to keep her boyfriend at her side in the end.

There was nothing particular revolutionary in either this story or one about Howard briefly thinking about going back to space. What made these two effective was the sharpness of the writing, and of course the performances of the actors to deliver the jokes. We laughed out loud a few times throughout here, especially when Howard, in an attempt to figure out a way to get out of going to space, used a phone call with his mother to ensure that his blood pressure would cause him to fail the medical exam.

In the end, this was neither a wonderful nor terrible episode of the show. It was funny! We won’t remember it a few weeks from now, but it was a nice little 30-minute diversion for the night. Also, Leonard got his table … even if he didn’t really end up using it. Grade: B.

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Photo: CBS