The Consummation Deviation Season 12, Episode 8 -  Aired November 8, 2018

The Consummation Deviation

After Sheldon realizes he should have a better relationship with Amy's parents, he sets out to bond with Mr. Fowler. When Howard enchants Larry with his magic tricks, Sheldon turns to Mrs. Fowler instead.

Meanwhile, Raj and Anu decide to find out whether they're compatible in the bedroom before they marry.

 

Rate this episode

Guest Stars: Kevin Sussman as Stuart, Kathy Bates as Mrs. Fowler, Teller as Mr. Fowler, Rati Gupta as Anu

Writers: Chuck Lorre (Story), Steve Holland (Story), Maria Ferrari (Story), Eric Kaplan (Teleplay), Andy Gordon (Teleplay), Adam Faberman (Teleplay)

Director: Mark Cendrowski

Available on iTunes

Episode Notes

  • The title refers to Raj and Anu consummating their relationship.

Episode Quotes

Sheldon: So the doctor prescribed Nizoral and it blocked enzyme action, and the fungus cleared right up.
Mrs. Fowler: That's a very disturbing picture.
Sheldon: Yes, well, they say a picture's worth a thousand words, but I say nothing beats a picture and a thousand words.
Mrs. Fowler: Still, you might want to take it off Facebook.
Sheldon: Oh, no. It's in my nature to share.

Mrs. Fowler: I don't know about you, but I don't really like magic.
Sheldon: You just keep getting better and better.

Howard: Hey, have you checked the dates on these? They're all expired.
Stuart: You buy candy in a comic book store, you get what you get.

Amy: My mom thinks that Sheldon is the reason I don't spend a lot of time with her.
Penny: Well, why would she think that?
Amy: Because I told her. You need a cup of coffee? Wake up!

Sheldon: [on the phone] Hello, Amy.
Amy: Hey, how's it going?
Sheldon: Well, Howard lured your dad away with magic, so now I'm bonding with your mom. [Mrs. Fowler stares at Sheldon] I think she likes me.

News Stories

Title Date Posted
1208 'The Consummation Deviation' Press Release November 4, 2018

CBS has released the synopsis for the next episode of The Big Bang Theory, "The Consummation Deviation", which airs this Thursday, November 8.  Full story

Recap

As the guys set out dinner in the apartment, Raj asks how they would feel about going to India on Valentine’s Day for his wedding. They are surprised he could plan a wedding in just three months, but Raj says Anu’s parents are doing most of the work. When Raj mentions he talks to them all the time, Sheldon can’t see why as he never speaks to Amy’s parents. Raj points out they will be his family soon. Penny says her family love Leonard and he admits his mother loves Penny. Raj wants to talk about the seating situation before Anu arrives as he doesn’t want her sitting on the floor. Penny agrees to sit on the floor, but Leonard doesn’t want to give up his seat. By the time Anu gets there, all six of them are squeezed onto the couch.

As Raj drives Anu home, he says he’s feeling stuffed from all the food, so he’s surprised when Anu says they should have sex. Since they haven’t done it yet, she thinks it’s important to make sure they’re compatible before they get married, but it doesn’t have to be tonight. Raj insists he’s not worried about the prospect, if anything he’s over-confident.

When Amy gets up the next morning, Amy is surprised to see Sheldon up so early. He wanted to get a jump start on a day of fun for her -  just her, he’s got other plans. Last night got him thinking that he should have a better relationship with her family. Amy warns Sheldon that her mother can be hard to get along with, but Sheldon says that’s why he’s starting with her dad. After Larry arrives for their day of bonding, Sheldon wonders what to call him before deciding on a vegetable nickname.

As Leonard and Howard play a video game in the apartment, Raj asks if they could pause it for a second. Raj explains that he and Anu are going to have sex tonight and he’s feeling pretty anxious. Leonard tells him not to put too much pressure on this one event. Later, Raj goes to Howard and Bernadette’s house to ask for her and Penny’s advice. Bernadette assures him things will be fine, while Penny tells him to pull out some Kama Sutra positions. They point out that Anu is probably nervous, too.

At the comic book store, Stuart is seemingly unconcerned when Howard points out the snack bars at the counter have all expired. As Sheldon and Larry arrive at the store, Sheldon is ranting about the naming of the Lethal Weapon film series. When Howard asks what they’re up to, Sheldon answers father-in-law, son-in-law bonding. After Sheldon shows Howard the whistle Larry bought him at the train store, Howard performs a magic trick and makes it disappear, amazing Larry.

From the hotel room he and Anu have booked, Raj calls Penny in a panic, freaking out about the night ahead. Penny assures him it’ll be okay and reminds him that sex isn’t the most important thing in a relationship. Raj is temporarily reassured, until he gets a text from Anu to say she’s on her way up. When she enters the hotel room, Raj is suddenly lost for words as his selective mutism returns. Anu thinks Raj is acting weird as he creeps off to the bathroom with a bottle of champagne. After he pops the cork, Raj shouts that he’ll be right out and tells Anu she looks beautiful.

When Raj emerges from the bathroom with a bottle of champagne, he apologizes for needing to use the facilities. Anu thinks it strange he took alcohol to the bathroom. Raj has the gift of gab again, but his smooth talk doesn’t reassure Anu, who senses something is wrong. Raj says it’s a funny story, but Anu demands the truth.

At Howard and Bernadette’s house, Larry is trying out some of the magic tricks that Howard taught him. When Sheldon tells Larry they’ve got to get going, he asks to stay there instead. Sheldon says it’s not a problem, but he takes Howard aside to ask him to stop being so delightful and ruining things with his father-in-law. Later, Sheldon goes alone to the Fowlers’ home. After Mrs. Fowler wonders why Larry isn’t with him, Sheldon says he’s bonding with her now.

Back in the hotel room, Raj tells Anu about his history of selective mutism, how for most of his life he couldn’t speak to women without alcohol. Raj says it hasn’t happened in a long time, until he stressed himself out tonight. When Anu wonders why he didn’t tell her this before, Raj admits he was embarrassed. Anu says there are things about her that embarrassing, too. After Raj asks for one, Anu reveals that she doesn’t like music. Raj bombards her with questions, prompting Anu to say this is why she doesn’t tell people. Still, her point is they both have their little eccentricities.

At the Fowler house, Sheldon shows Mrs. Fowler a picture of his fungal infection. She is disturbed by the picture, and by the fact he shared it on Facebook. When Sheldon asks her if she’s ever had anything removed from her body, except Amy, she refuses to answer. After Sheldon commemorates their get together with a selfie, he remarks that they’re like two peas in a pod, though Mrs. Fowler looks far from thrilled to be spending time with him.

When Penny walks out from the bedroom into the living room, she finds Leonard looking deep in thought. He says he’s reflecting on their first time together. After Amy comes into the apartment worried that Sheldon is hanging out with her mom, Leonard is more interested in why Penny told him not to beat himself up about their first time. Amy wants them to focus on her problem: her mother thinks Sheldon is the reason she doesn’t spend a lot of time with her parents. Amy feels terrible about using him as an excuse to get out of seeing her mom, though having met Amy’s mother Penny understands.

As an uninterested Mrs. Fowler plays a game of 20 Questions with Sheldon, his phone starts ringing. Mrs. Fowler pressures Sheldon to answer the call. On the phone with Amy, Sheldon explains that Howard lured her dad away with magic, so he’s now bonding with her mom. After Sheldon says he thinks she likes him, Mrs. Fowler remarks that she’d like him a lot better if he wasn’t keeping her daughter away from him. After Sheldon questions what the problem is, Mrs. Fowler says Amy isn’t spending Thanksgiving there because he has to be with his family. Sheldon says he hasn’t been home to his mother for Thanksgiving in years. When Sheldon asks Amy why he told her mother that, she tries to divert his attention. Amy tells Sheldon not to listen to her mother because she’s crazy, just as Mrs. Fowler gets on the phone.

Back at the Fowlers’, Mrs. Fowler says she can’t believe she was angry at him when she should have been angry at Amy. Sheldon suggests both being angry at Amy is something they could bond over. When Mrs. Fowler wonders why Amy would feel the need to lie to her, Sheldon says she probably didn’t want to disappoint her. Mrs. Fowler wonders why Sheldon is defending Amy after she threw him under the bus. Sheldon says she’s his wife and he loves her, so if he can forgive her for putting ketchup on eggs then he can forgive her for this.

In their hotel room the next morning, Anu says last night was wonderful. Raj is surprised as all they did was talk, but Anu insists it was wonderful. When she asks if him talking to her now is a good sign for their marriage, Raj agrees. After Raj asks if they should wait for another night to be together, Anu says she’ll take a shower while he decides how he wants to play this. As Raj ponders, Anu calls for him to take a shower with her.

As her parents join Sheldon and Amy in their apartment, Mrs. Fowler thanks Amy for having them over. When Larry decides to show a magic trick that Howard taught him, he spins a perfectly ordinary table knife in the air and makes it disappear. Unfortunately, at the end of the performance, his hands are bleeding profusely. When Mrs. Fowler remarks that she doesn’t really like magic, Sheldon says she just keeps getting better and better in his eyes. Amy rolls her eyes at how close they are becoming.