The Big Bang Theory 'The Thanksgiving Decoupling' Review

The Big Bang Theory returned Thursday night with its Thanksgiving episode and delivered one of the strongest episodes of Season 7 thanks to some strong emotional moments and a reining in of the characters' usual over-the-top eccentricities.

Everyone gathered at Wolowitz's mother's house for Thanksgiving, much to Sheldon's protests. Dr. Cooper wanted a bad Thanksgiving because that's what he had gotten used to, and so he whined in his typical Sheldon way. I could have done without all the slavery comparisons, but let's just move on...

Oddly enough, Sheldon wound up bonding with Bernadette's father over a football game, while Howard was on the outside looking in. Sheldon even drank beer! Several beers! The Big Bang Theory always works best when it gets out of its comfort zone and mixes up the usual pairings. Sheldon and Mr. Rostenkowski is not a team I ever thought I'd see on this show, which is why it was so refreshing and funny.

It was also nice to see some genuine emotion on this show for a change, as Sheldon talked about his late father and Mike empathized with him. It was, dare I say, kind of sweet.

An unfortunate flare up of Mrs. Wolowitz's gout forced Raj into the kitchen to cook the Thanksgiving meal. I was worried that this would turn into nothing more than a string of "Raj is gay/a woman" jokes, but the show actually handled it pretty well by focusing more on the fact that Raj is a great cook and giving him inept partners (Bernadette and Amy) to help him.

The third and final plot of the episode involved Leonard and Penny, the latter of whom discovered she was married to her ex-boyfriend Zack after what she thought was a "fake wedding" in Las Vegas. This plot was honestly nothing more than an excuse to create more drama between Leonard and Penny. For a moment, it looked like they were going somewhere far more interesting with the story when Sheldon astutely pointed out that she agreed to marry Zack but not Leonard, but that angle was quickly dropped. By the end of the episode, everyone was happily eating Thanksgiving dinner together.

Still, this episode had several emotional moments and some genuinely humorous moments, so it all added up to a win.

Notes and Quotes

-       Raj: "It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without an Indian providing the food." Wrong Indian, but good one, Raj. He also delivered this line about cows: "An animal can be both sacred and delicious."

-       Everyone wanted to hear the developments in Leonard and Penny's drama and ooh-ed and aah-ed like it was a Jerry Springer episode. Bernadette even abandoned poor Howard!

-       Bernadette to Howard: "I do crap for you all the time! Get out there!"

-       Sheldon slapped Amy on the behind! And, naturally, she liked it. We need more Drunk Sheldon.