The Big Bang Theory Review: The Explosion Implosion (Season 11 Episode 4)
On The Big Bang Theory Season 11 Episode 4 “The Explosion Implosion,” Howard and Bernadette try to get accustomed to the idea that their upcoming baby is a boy while Penny bonds with Leonard’s mother Beverly.
“The Explosion Implosion” includes A LOT of discussion about how to raise boys versus how to raise girls. So much so that I believe gender studies essays could be written about the content. I am not a parent nor a gender studies scholar, but despite that, I have some things to say.
“The Explosion Implosion” is heavily focused on the questions Bernadette and Howard have about their capability to raise a boy. Will Howard have to get into sports in order to teach his boy about masculinity? Will Bernadette have to throw away all of the baby clothes because they are “girl clothes?”
Once again, let me remind you that I am not a parent, which means I have no experience with raising a human child. Nevertheless, this whole discussion of “boy clothes” and “girl clothes” and the idea that you instantly need to acquire this macho kind of masculinity feels very outdated to me.
From the way this episode treats gender, I have a feeling I’m not the only one who gets that impression.
In order to find something to do with his future son, Howard digs up his old model rockets. Once the word “model rocket” is used in a conversation, Sheldon instantly gets excited, which results in him joining Howard on an expedition to build and launch a rocket Howard received from his father as a child.
Sheldon and Howard are not paired on the show very often, which is unfortunate because I think Jim Parsons and Simon Helberg have a certain kind of interesting rapport going on in the scenes they share. After bickering and slight disagreements, their shared time ends as Howard actually teaches something to Sheldon, which in turn results in him feeling like maybe he actually can raise a boy.
While Howard and Sheldon are out playing with the rocket, Raj and Bernadette go through Halley’s baby clothes to see which ones are “suitable” for a boy. Once again, I am not a parent, but the idea that a baby boy could not wear a light pink body for a moment feels ridiculous to me. Yes, the examples Bernadette uses to highlight the fact that she only has “girl clothes” are quite extreme — a red bodysuit with a tutu on it and a yellow one saying “Daddy’s little girl” — but the discussion she has with Raj while going through the clothes reveals a lot.
I am aware of the fact that the very black and white gender stereotypes are used to add humoristic content to the show, but doing it that way seems kind of lazy because other comedies have proven that you can discuss gender without using the age-old stereotypes to generate laughs.
I am very aware of the fact that the gender reveal of a baby can bring up a lot of questions in parents and it is, in itself, an interesting topic to build an episode around, but unfortunately, the way The Big Bang Theory executes that discussion did not work for me.
As mentioned, the other storyline featured on “The Explosion Implosion” focuses on the surprising friendship Penny forms with Beverly. Christine Baranski is always brilliant and a pleasure to watch, so I am all in for more episodes featuring her. It ‘s also great to see more of Penny and I really hope that the future episodes also give her the screentime she deserves.
The relationship between Leonard and Beverly is notoriously difficult and discussed on the show fairly often. Though Leonard does play a role on the episode as well, it’s nice to see that he isn’t really the one focused on this time around. Instead, Penny gets to mostly be the center of attention while she forms a relationship with Beverly.
Penny and Beverly have had some great scenes in the past and I would really love to see more of them in the upcoming episodes.
All in all, my opinions about “The Explosion Implosion” are very divided and my enjoyment of the scenes with Penny and Beverly is dampened by the whole gender-discussion featured in the other scenes. Because of the fact that about half of the episode made me cringe, “The Explosion Implosion” is, to me, the weakest episode of the season so far.
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 Mondays at 8/7c on CBS.
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Milka Väinämö
Milka is a Master of Arts with degrees in Film, Theatre, and Media Studies. She is obsessed with American sitcoms, ice hockey, pizza, coffee, and all things true crime. Her favorite shows include Parks and Recreation, The Office, Community, Arrested Development, Seinfeld, and The Gilmore Girls.