‘The Big Bang Theory’ season 8, episode 13 review: Jim Parsons’ Sheldon in a world of misery

Tonight’s new episode of “The Big Bang Theory” was the first since the start of the month, and we have to say one thing about the primary story this time: It was pretty darn funny.

Basically, for the first time Sheldon decided that he was going to try to make himself as miserable and depressed as possible so that he could be more productive at work. In other words, he forced all of his friends to be as mean and awful to him as possible. Also, it was funny to see him do some other pretty crazy things, which include him going on “date night” and wearing a smelly cap.

Eventually, Sheldon ended up getting himself in trouble by going completely overboard with it, and angering Amy by refusing to take the cap off. He was more productive in work than he’s ever been, but also completely unbearable. Eventually, Leonard and Penny have to trick him in order to go to bed and start taking care of himself again.

The reason this story worked was because it played up to Sheldon’s recent insecurities about his job since switching over to dark matter, and how desperate he is for advancement. He’s going to find it without being miserable, but he has to realize it.

As for the B-story, we had a really silly series of jokes about whether or not some of Raj’s quotes were about his girlfriend Emily, or his dog Cinnamon. The first couple of times, it was hilarious. For the rest of the episode, it was tiring to watch.

Overall still, we enjoyed the laughs in this one. Plus, a “Soft Kitty” reprise! When was the last time we had that? Grade: B+.

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