The Big Bang Theory season 10 episode 18 review: Raj moves in

In the early moments of The Big Bang Theory season 10 episode 18, we saw Raj make a pivotal decision that could shape at the very least his immediate future: He opted to move in with Leonard and Penny rather than accept his current accommodations … which could’ve ended up being a box based on how things were going down the hole.

As is typically the case with this show, though, not everyone was altogether eager or receptive to hear about this change. Specifically, we speak of Sheldon. Sure, he wasn’t actually using the room anymore, but it didn’t matter since it still had his memories attached to it. He alternated between being kind and being horrible, and eventually went so far as to not-so-subtly remind Raj that his life now was terrible thanks to his no money and no place of his own to call his home.

This is where things got a little bit entertaining, as Sheldon decided to get some professional help … from Beverly! While we didn’t get to see Christine Baranski in person during the episode, Leonard’s mother returned to offer Sheldon some advice via Skype. She made it clear that he was struggling with being trapped in his relationship with Amy. Beverly psychoanalyzed both of them, and said that in some ways, they were all looking for an escape. This includes Leonard and Penny, who did interestingly decide to bring someone else into their lives even though they are a young married couple.

Sheldon eventually did come over to apologize to Raj, saying that he “unfairly took out” his emotions on Raj. He eventually went back over to Howard’s thinking that Beverly had gotten to everyone, and that caused more problems — he woke Howard and Bernadette up in the middle of the night, and Stuart chased after him with a baseball bat in the funniest moment of the night, thinking that he was a home invader. (The second funniest was Sheldon telling Amy that he has a list of the friends he would east in the zombie apocalypse.)

In the end, the suggestion was made that Raj and Stuart eventually get their own place together … at least potentially. For Stuart, he doesn’t seem all that interested in leaving Howard and Bernadette’s place given just how easy he had it there. Leonard and Penny in the morning debated if they wanted to bring him back, and eventually, they decided to give him the offer once more. Maybe Raj with Leonard / Penny won’t be permanent, but it could be a fun arrangement for now.

Our overall take

Change is hard. Yet, The Big Bang Theory handled the move of Raj to the apartment rather effortlessly. While the show’s done similar stories before, we do think this episode was necessary in order to progress some character stories to the next level. Baranski is amazing, and having her trade some barbs with the characters is often a great source of comedy.

This episode was certainly funny enough, enough though we don’t know how memorable it will be after the fact. Grade: B.

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