The newest episode of The Big Bang Theory, The Prom Equivalency is the eighth of season eight, is another fun, entertaining episode that also has a surprising development.
As usual, there are spoilers ahead, so read at your own risk.
Howard is a bit upset to hear that his mother Debbie and Stuart were at Beninhana the night before even though he says he is all right. It doesn’t help that Raj says that once they got back to the house - Stuart is still living there - they probably put on matching pajamas.
Amy and Bernadette arrive for an evening at Penny’s. The living room is full of clothes because Penny had to make room for her new work clothes in her closet. They start talking about proms after Amy and Bernadette see Penny’s prom dress. Penny actually went six proms and enjoyed them. Amy was on the clean up crew for her prom, and only danced with a mop. Bernadette had a date, but he only went with her because he was trying to get to her friend. Bernadette says how she thinks it would be cool if they had their own prom now by getting the guys to dress up in tuxes and decorate the roof. Amy likes the idea too, though Penny is less interested. She comes around when Leonard says that he would like it.
Bernadette is happy that everyone is coming, including Stuart who is bringing a date. Howard flips out some about that, thinking that Stuart is bringing his mother. Howard decides to call him, and then is upset when Stuart says he is bringing someone else. Sheldon is less than pleased about the idea of going to a prom. In high school, he spent his time studying - though he was also younger than his classmates since he graduated so early. He decides to talk to Penny about it since he knows she isn’t as into the idea either. His idea for getting through the evening is to pretend that he’s an alien that is taking part in a human ritual to learn about humans. Penny doesn’t want to do that. She does ask Sheldon if he will be taking part in any post prom mating rituals.
On the night of their prom, Sheldon kind of freaks out after seeing Amy in her dress. He runs back into the apartment while Penny and Leonard head to the roof and start to enjoy their evening. Raj, Emily, Howard, and Bernadette are in a limo going to pick up Stuart and his date. Howard is shocked and upset to see that it is his second cousin Jeanie. Yes, that second cousin. Howard is also upset by the fact that Raj starts talking about the incident and it only gets worse when Emily says that she already knows because Raj told her ages ago. Howard is not dealing well and things devolve to the point where he and Stuart start fighting in the car. Emily is having a great time. Amy goes to check on Sheldon and he talks about all the pressure he is feeling tied to this prom and how it is more than he can deal with. Amy says she wasn’t putting pressure on him for anything and she just wanted to have a nice evening. Sheldon then says something incredibly shocking that I absolutely did not expect.
I really enjoyed this episode and thought it was very fun and entertaining. The prom do over is only main story in this episode, though a few subplots do come up. Overall, I think the idea of them doing their own prom on the roof is sweet and fun. There are a few really nice, even sweet moments with some of the characters that come about because of the prom. It is completely believable that Penny went to multiple proms and made out with the football captain at one of them. I think Amy and Bernadette’s prom experiences are completely believable too. It was fun to see Bernadette so excited about something since her mean side has been out more in recent episodes. Amy gets to show a slightly different side as well with dressing up. It may seem a little silly to some people, but I think it makes an entertaining episode.
It is interesting that there is a bit more about Howard’s cousin Jeanie who has only been mentioned a few times, usually when one of the other guys is teasing Howard. I still find it funny how Howard is dealing, or really not dealing with - Stuart living with Debbie and their strangely developing relationship. Things are not fully normal there, but Howard’s relationship with Debbie isn’t exactly normal either. I find it very interesting to see Howard more and more crazy about Stuart and Debbie. I just find it very funny. It is clear that Debbie sees Stuart as a surrogate son with what we have seen. She was probably a bit lonely after Howard moved out even though he was still going over there somewhat often for various reasons. At the very end of the episode, Stuart gets a call from Debbie and immediately has to leave, something that use to happen to Howard. Howard and Stuart getting into what is basically a brawl in the back of a limo is hilarious. There is another development in Amy and Sheldon’s relationship that is very surprising. It isn’t a bad thing and it is progress, but it is surprising.
The Prom Equivalency is a very fun, entertaining and somewhat surprising episode of The Big Bang Theory. Fans of the show should definitely enjoy it.
