The Sibling Realignment Season 11, Episode 23 -  Aired May 3, 2018

The Sibling Realignment

When Sheldon's mother threatens to boycott his wedding unless he invites his older brother, Georgie, he and Leonard head to Texas to patch things up.

Meanwhile, the Wolowitz kids come down with a case of pinkeye which quickly spreads to their parents. Penny tries to keep Amy away from the contagion with just a week to go until her wedding.

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Guest Stars: Jerry O'Connell as Georgie, Lynn Andrews as Margaret, Ellie Reed as Jenna

Writers: Steve Holland (Story), Eric Kaplan (Story), Anthony Del Broccolo (Story), Dave Goetsch (Teleplay), Maria Ferrari (Teleplay), Jeremy Howe (Teleplay)

Director: Mark Cendrowski

Available on iTunes

Episode Notes

  • The title refers to Sheldon making up with his older brother, George.

Episode Quotes

Georgie: After all my sacrifices, guess which kid my mom is the most proud of?
Leonard: If it makes you feel any better, my mom's most proud of Sheldon, too.

Georgie: Picking on him? Is that what he told you?
Leonard: Well, what about the time you threw away his Halloween costume?
Georgie: Well, yeah, 'cause he was gonna dress as some girl scientist.
Leonard: Madame Curie?
Georgie: Oh, I didn't know she was a madam.

Sheldon: I would like you at my wedding.
Georgie: Thank you, Sheldon. That is so nice to hear. But I would rather swallow a pregnant wildcat and crap out a litter of kittens.

Georgie: Leonard, you know how I got the money to open up my first store? I busted my ass for it, 'cause all the extra money that we had had to go to Sheldon so he could go to college and he could go study in Germany. And do you know what he's never said to me?
Leonard: Danke schon? It's, uh, "thank you" in German.
Georgie: Do you need me to sit on your head?
Leonard: Nope.

Georgie: You went away to college after Dad died. Who do you think took care of everything?
Sheldon: Mom did. Mom always took care of everything.
Georgie: Mom was a mess, Missy was a dumb teenager. I had to look after both of 'em.
Sheldon: I talked to Mom all the time. If she was upset, she would have told me.
Georgie: She was protecting you, you idiot, just like everyone always does.
Sheldon: If things were bad, then why didn't you tell me?
Georgie: Because I was protecting you, too. (sighs) You're my baby brother, Sheldon. I know life has been hard for you, but that don't mean it's been easy for the rest of us.

News Stories

Title Date Posted
1123 'The Sibling Realignment' Press Release April 20, 2018

CBS has issued the press release for the penultimate episode of The Big Bang Theory's eleventh season, "The Sibling Realignment", which airs Thursday, May 3.  Full story

Recap

When Amy arrives back at the apartment, Sheldon is on the phone arguing that somebody is being unreasonable. After he says goodbye and hangs up the phone, Sheldon explains that he was talking to his mother, who is insisting he invite his brother to their wedding. Amy is stunned that Sheldon hadn’t invited Georgie already. Sheldon argues that he shouldn’t reward Georgie for being mean to him throughout his childhood, but Amy says that they’re grown men now. Sheldon agrees and considers not inviting Georgie, but then says he has to as his mommy’s making him.

In Howard and Bernadette’s living room, Amy explains to her and Penny what goes in the welcome bags for her wedding. When Bernadette asks how many out-of-town guests are coming to the wedding, Amy admits she is not sure as Sheldon didn’t invite his brother and his mother is threatening not to attend. After Howard comes down to ask Bernadette how you can tell if someone has pink eye, he reveals the kids have both come down with it. When Amy tells Howard to stay away from her as she doesn’t want to catch a contagious eye disease a week before her wedding, Penny runs interference to keep Howard from coming close to the bride-to-be.

As Raj and Leonard play a video game in the apartment, Raj asks if he’s going to be the only single guy at the wedding. Leonard says there’ll be a few other single guests, but Raj worries he’ll be that sad single friend that everybody pities. When Sheldon comes into the apartment, he asks Leonard about his experience growing up with an older brother. Sheldon explains he’s trying to invite his brother to his wedding, but Georgie is ignoring his calls. Leonard argues that Sheldon has tried his best; short of getting on a plane and going there, what does his mother expect him to do? Later, Leonard and Sheldon are on a plane to Texas as Leonard wonders how he ended up there despite saying no.

When Raj visits Howard and Bernadette’s house, he tells her he’s got a date - just for coffee, but if things go well maybe also Sheldon & Amy’s wedding. Bernadette points out it might be a little intense to ask somebody you just met to go to a wedding. Howard comes down to tell Raj that borrowing his VR goggles the other day might not have been a good idea; he has caught pinkeye from his kids.

As Sheldon and Leonard walk upto George’s tire shop in Dallas, Leonard is impressed as they passed three Dr. Tire stores on the way here. Sheldon still thinks George is a loser, but concedes he sells more tires than anybody else in Texas. In the store, Leonard says they’re there to see George Cooper. A staff member says she’ll check to see whether the doctor is in. When Georgie comes out, he wonders what the hell Sheldon is doing there. Georgie is upset that they haven’t talked in ten years, but now Sheldon wants something he thinks he can just turn up at the shop. Sheldon struggles to understand Georgie’s sarcasm.

Back in the apartment, Penny is shocked when she answers a video chat from Bernadette to see she has a serious case of pinkeye. After Bernadette tells Penny she wanted to check whether she or Amy caught it, Penny says she didn’t get it, but Amy is there and is furious for getting pink eye a week before her wedding. Amy fears her germophobic fiance won’t come back from Texas if he finds out she’s contagious.

In Georgie’s office, Sheldon condescendingly explains to Georgie that although he didn’t initially want him at his wedding, he does now as his mother is insisting on it. When Georgie all Sheldon has to do to get him to attend his wedding is ask nicely, Sheldon struggles to be sincere as he tells Georgie he would like him at his wedding. Georgie responds that he would rather swallow a pregnant wildcat and crap out a litter of kittens. Seeing that they’re not getting anywhere, Leonard decides they should leave.

Back in a hotel room, Sheldon is on the phone arguing with his mother again. After he gets off the phone, Sheldon tells Leonard his mother isn’t getting in the middle of it and wants her boys to work it out themselves. Sheldon starts to wonder if it’s fine if his mother doesn’t come to the wedding. Sheldon claims this is all Georgie’s fault and that his older brother bullied him all through his childhood. Sheldon tells Leonard about the time he wanted to dress as his favorite scientist on Halloween, but Georgie threw his costume away. Leonard decides to go visit Georgie himself and try convince him to attend the wedding.

As the rest of the gang gather in Howard and Bernadette’s living room, everybody except Penny has pink eye. When Howard and Bernadette apologize to Raj for ruining his date, Amy is unsympathetic as she’s about to be married looking like this. They’re all bitter that Penny didn’t catch it.

Back at Georgie’s office, he’s on the phone when Leonard arrives to talk to him. Leonard is impressed by Georgie’s sales pitch. After Georgie tells him if it’s about the wedding he might as well not bother, Leonard says he knows it can’t have been easy to have Sheldon as a brother, but it wasn’t easy for Sheldon either with him picking on him all the time. Georgie is surprised that’s what Sheldon told him. When Leonard mentions the Halloween costume incident, Georgie says he saved Sheldon from getting beaten up for dressing as a girl scientist.

Georgie tells Leonard about all the things he did for Sheldon when he was younger: looking out for him at school, driving him everywhere, apologizing to people when Sheldon was rude to them. Leonard says he has done all of those things for Sheldon, too, so Georgie says he knows what he’s talking about then. Georgie asks Leonard if Sheldon has ever thanked him? No. Georgie goes on to explain how he got the money to open his first store; he busted his ass for it, because all the extra money they had went to Sheldon so he could attend college and study in Germany, and Sheldon never thanked him for that. When Georgie mentions that despite all the sacrifices he’s made, his mother is most proud of Sheldon. Leonard sympathizes as his mother is also more proud of Sheldon than him. As they bond over their shared feeling of living in Sheldon’s shadow, George offers Leonard a beer.

In a doctor’s surgery waiting room, Penny is playing with the children’s toys, still free of pink eye unlike her friends. Howard gets a text from Bernadette saying they’re checking the kids out now. When Penny wonders why they all had to come, Amy points out that she has the same case of pink eye that they do and she needs to know whether it’s viral or bacterial. If it’s viral she’s screwed ahead of her wedding. Bernadette comes out of the doctor’s room with great news, it’s bacterial.

Back at the hotel, Sheldon calls room service to quibble about the menu. Leonard arrives with Georgie and tells Sheldon he’s got to apologize to his brother. Sheldon is stunned, arguing he has nothing to apologize for. When Sheldon says he doesn’t appreciate what Georgie is putting their mother through, he wonders what Sheldon would know what mom’s been through as he was never home. Georgie tells Sheldon he was the one who had to take care of the family after their dad died as their mother was a mess. Sheldon can’t believe it as his mom never told him about any problems. Georgie tells Sheldon she was protecting him, and he was too. Hearing that things were not as easy for his brother as he assumed, Sheldon says sorry and tells Georgie how much it mean to him for his big brother to attend his wedding.

In the hotel room, Sheldon gets a video call from Amy, who is keeping her head at a weird sideways angle so he can’t see her infected eye. When Sheldon wonders why she is sitting in such a weird position, Amy claims she’s working on her peripheral vision. When Amy suggests Sheldon and Leonard stay around in Texas for two or three more days - about the time it will take for her eye-drops to work, Sheldon tells Leonard they have time to visit the American Railroad museum.

At a drug store, Raj is wearing sunglasses as he waits joins the line behind a woman, who tells him he might not want to get too close as she has pink eye. As they bond over their shared condition, he invites her to attend wedding with him.