The Big Bang Theory Review: The Tesla Recoil (Season 11 Episode 8)
On The Big Bang Theory Season 11 Episode 8, “The Tesla Recoil,” Leonard and Howard learn that Sheldon has been working with the military behind their backs while Bernadette thinks Ruchi is after her job.
Once Sheldon’s secret is revealed, Leonard and Howard get justifiably mad — after all, Sheldon has been using the work they did together purely for his own credit. While Leonard and Howard’s anger is justifiable, and really entertaining at times, witnessing how Sheldon comes to the realization that he has been wrong is really the best part of “The Tesla Recoil.”
While many of the other characters on the show, namely Penny, seem often quite stagnant I am happy to see that at least Sheldon is developing.
Sheldon: Edison filmed the first on-screen kiss, so he’s basically a pornographer. Although every time I put that in Wikipedia, someone takes it out.
The cold open of “The Tesla Recoil” is quite heavily tied to the storyline of the episode itself and the conversation the group has about Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison before the opening credits carries well to the narrative of the episode.
On the cold open, Tesla is introduced as a hero to the group, a man who was all about the work and less about the fame. Edison, on the other hand, is introduced as a sort of fame-hungry nemesis of Tesla. This dichotomy between the two scientists is extended by Leonard and Howard on the episode to form a division between them and Sheldon.
While, in their opinion, they were all about the work, Sheldon’s Edison-like hunger for fame made him abandon his friends in order to get the credit all for himself.
In my opinion, this argument by Howard and Leonard is complicated by the fact that it seems like Sheldon’s decision to work with the military was not made to upset his friends or to gain fame since it seems like he didn’t even think his decision would affect his friends in some way. He had a good idea, and he thought it would be smart to share that idea with someone who could deem is useful.
Once again, I want to remind that I definitely do think that what Sheldon did was super shitty, and I am happy that by the end of the episode he kind of realizes that himself, as he finds himself back on the side of the Teslas (Leonard and Howard) against a new, shared Edison as a nemesis — Barry Kripke.
While Sheldon, Leonard, and Howard deal with the aftermath of Sheldon’s actions, Bernadette asks Raj to figure out whether Ruchi is after her job. Bernadette, who has expressed several times on the show that she is not willing to let go of her career to stay at home with her kids, is worried that now that she is bedridden she will soon find herself jobless.
Though Howard thinks Ruchi is only being nice and Bernadette is just acting “crazy,” Raj’s little investigation into the matter proves that Bernadette was right.
I am not a mother myself, but I have been questioned by potential employers about my plans for the future and whether I think that future will include children.
Questions like that always drive me crazy, because I find it hard to imagine that guys my age are asked that same question. While providing an answer to questions about children has been fairly easy for me, I can’t even imagine how difficult it can be for working mothers to prove that they can “do it all,” and DO IT WELL. I hope this storyline and these very real worries Bernadette has will be discussed more on the show, because I believe there are a lot of viewers who could identify with what she is going through.
Bernadette really is one of my favorite characters on the show, and I feel like I don’t say that often enough.
Sadly, I have to report that, once again, Penny is portrayed as that silly sidekick without a story of her own. Now that we got to see more of Bernadette I am hoping Penny is next.
Imagine how awesome it could be to get a Penny-centric episode. The other characters could be there since they are a part of her life, but the episode itself would be all about Penny. What does the do when the guys are at the university? What is she passionate about? PLEASE JUST LET PENNY SHINE.
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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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.