The Big Bang Theory Review: The Allowance Evaporation (Season 10 Episode 16)

The Big Bang Theory Season 10 Episode 16, “The Allowance Evaporation” is finally the kind of Raj-centric episode I have been looking forward to for a long time.

Those who have been watching The Big Bang Theory for a while are probably aware of the fact that Raj is supported by his rich family. While his salary is probably about the same to those of Leonard, Howard, and Sheldon, his family’s money makes luxuries like having a dog walker and a housekeeper possible.

Also, Raj apparently does not know how much his rent is because his dad pays for it.

A Skype call to India makes Raj realize that his father seems to have given up hope on him — while his five siblings are in happy relationships and capable of supporting themselves, Raj is still living on his father’s money.

Could you say that Raj is spoiled? Hell yes, you could! But so are other characters on this show, namely Sheldon (I will get to that later.) While being spoiled could be seen as a character flaw, I don’t think being spoiled is really the number one problem Raj has.

Instead, I think his problem is caring too much about what people think of him.

The luxuries and the spoiled behavior (like spending his father’s money just to spite him) have formed a sort of facade, a shield Raj has used to give a certain image of himself.

Yes, a lot of the things that has done with his father’s money are probably things he will continue do with his own money, but I am hoping that as a result of his decision to take care of himself financially we get interesting storylines dealing with that process.

If he has no idea how much he pays in rent or for his car, for example, he is probably about to face some hard truths in the near future.

Amy: Sheldon, there’s a difference between greeting a friend and following a celebrity into a bathroom.

The topic of being spoiled can be extended also to Sheldon. It should come as no surprise to anyone that Sheldon is accustomed to certain kind of behavior by his friends — he expects them to drive him around, to make plans according to his specifications, and so on.

On “The Allowance Evaporation” he reveals to Amy that he has had a driver’s license for the past two years, but that he decided to not tell anyone because he likes to be driven around.

If that is not spoiled, I don’t know what is!

But on the other hand, this is exactly the kind of behavior I would expect from Sheldon — annoying as hell, but at the same time, I want to see it as his own way of expressing that he wants to spend time with his friends.

The future of The Big Bang Theory has been in headlines this week and apparently, CBS is close to finalizing a contract for two more seasons of the show. 

I know the ongoing 10th season was at one point speculated to be the last, but it seems like CBS is not willing to let the show go, with which I am totally fine with. While Season 10 has not been consistently good, it is difficult to imagine my weeks without it.

Stray thoughts:

• Penny riffing on the guys while they do something geeky is something I have always loved about the show, which is why I really liked this week’s opening scene — it is that kind of interactions that take the show back to its roots.
• Raj buys Halley a $300 dollar Gucci baby cape — I had no idea such a thing actually existed.
• Sheldon’s “Zones of Privacy” chart is super sweet and shows how he tries to come to terms with issues related to privacy in a way that is easiest for him to understand.
• Will Raj’s living situation change? He seems not to be moving in with Howard and Bernadette or Leonard and Penny? Could he get a place with Stuart or is it too extreme to speculate that he could perhaps start to look for a roommate of his own?

What did you think of this episode of The Big Bang Theory? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Big Bang Theory airs Thursdays at 8/7c on CBS.

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