Big Bang Theory recap: Season 10, Episode 11

The day is finally here! Baby Wolowitz is about to make his or her debut — and lucky for Bernadette, there are three dorks willing to help her breathe through each contraction. Raj is in the driver’s seat, Stuart rides shotgun, and Howard is filled with emotion and panic over what’s about to happen.

Do you know what else is about to happen? Amy’s birthday romp in the hay. Sheldon, in his best plaid pajama set, wakes Amy up at midnight to gift her with an MRI scan of his brain. As a neurobiologist, this really gets her motor running. Not to mention the fact Sheldon’s orbital frontal cortex was lit up because he was thinking of her. Hubba hubba. Let the annual coitus commence!

Just as things start to get horizontal, Penny and Leonard knock on the door interrupting Sheldon and Amy’s birthday festivities. Bernadette is in labor! Poor Amy can’t catch a break.

Back at the hospital, three men and a pregnant lady explain to the nurse this is not a Mamma Mia situation. Howard claims paternity before asking Raj how far apart the contractions are. When Raj reports 12 minutes, the nurse instructs the foursome to return home and come back when they are five minutes apart.

Penny receives the false-alarm call from Howard and suggests they all go out to do something fun for Amy’s birthday. Leonard reminds her once-a-year sex is probably the top of Amy’s to-do list. Penny wishes her friends a happy-birthday booty call as they rush back upstairs to check off a very big box.

Meanwhile, Team Wolowitz is clocking contractions. Bernadette breathes slowly. Stuart paces the floor. Howard makes tea. Raj documents everything on his phone because one day, she will want to see this video to confirm her dad wasn’t ever cool.

She. SHE will want to see this. Howard and Bernadette are totally bummed they came this far without knowing the sex of their baby and Raj ruined it. He’s banned from Team Wolowitz.

Raj isn’t the only one feeling like the odd man out. For some reason, Sheldon is uncomfortable because the pending sex now feels forced, just like a Pirates of the Caribbean sequel. Amy tells him she has a surprise that might help get things back on track. Sheldon wants to know if it’s a train.

Oh, it’s a train alright. It’s a ticket on the Hogwarts Express!

Amy slinks out of the bathroom wearing a wizard’s robe and carrying a wand. She thinks role-playing Harry Potter will make things hotter. Sheldon is totally on board when Amy hands him a robe of his own. Then it dawns on him she must have gone to Wizarding World without him to purchase these items. He promises a hearty argument once her birthday is over. Until then, let’s get scandalous with a Hufflepuff and a Gryffindor!

Cue Penny knocking again, announcing Bernadette’s water just broke. So close, Amy. So close.

NEXT: The gang reminisces

After kicking Stuart out of the room for eating all the ice chips, Bernadette and Howard have a sweet moment discussing baby names. Since Wally Wolowitz is no longer an option (I doubt it ever was for Bernadette), they consider naming their daughter Debbie, after Howard’s mom. Simon Helberg’s eyes shine with tears, claiming she would have been the best grandma. Melissa Rauch is equally emotional. I can’t help but assume both actors were thinking of Carol Ann Susi, the voice of Howard’s mother who passed away in 2014.

While Howard and Bernadette manage contractions and backaches, the rest of the gang settles into the waiting area. Leonard strikes up a conversation about how far they’ve all come in the last 10 years. Penny and Leonard are married. Sheldon and Amy are living together. Howard went to space. Bernadette got her doctorate. Now they’re having a baby.

Raj explodes, irritated he is the only one who hasn’t done anything worthwhile in the last decade. Stuart’s lack of direction doesn’t count, of course. Penny reminisces about the time he couldn’t talk to women. Now look at him! He’s throwing a girly fit in front of everyone. That’s progress, right?

Before Raj can respond, Howard bursts onto the scene announcing the baby’s arrival. Mother and baby are doing great. And her name is Halley. As in Halley’s Comet. He wants everyone to meet his new baby girl, including her new godfather, Raj. I would have cried at this heartfelt exchange had Raj not shouted “IN YOUR FACE” to his other friends with such enthusiasm.

The gang gathers in front of the maternity-ward window to get their first peek at Halley. Sheldon’s comment that some of these babies will be successful while others may become homeless doesn’t seem faze them. What does kill the mood is the little baby in a pink blanket whose crying wail sounds oddly like the familiar tones of Debbie Wolowitz. Well done, writers.

For those of you who are wondering, Amy took Sheldon to Wizarding World after they left the hospital. Riding the Hogwarts Express and reporting someone for cutting the line was just the foreplay Sheldon needed to get him in the mood foe a little hankeous pankeous. Amy’s birthday tradition lives!

Theoretical Laughter

Sheldon: “It’s a functional MRI of my brain. I did Sudoku before they took it so I’d be ripped.”

Sheldon: “I’m starting to rethink The Flash onesie I bought this kid.”

Howard: “She would have been the best grandma.”

Bernadette: “She did always have candy in her pocket.”

Howard: “I was 20 years old before I figured out that Tootsie Rolls weren’t naturally warm.”

Episode grade: A+

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