I’m pinch-hitting for Kona this week due to technical difficulties at the Gallagher homestead. Not sure if I can be the quote machine she is, but you can always add your favorite quotes from the episode into the comments.

You know, I’ve never been one to take Sheldon’s side a lot of the time. As much as I love the character and how Jim Parsons plays him, the fact that a guy who’s such a pill can have four people in his life who like him and tolerate his weird, Aspberger-like selfishness should be enough for me to connect to as a viewer. Most of the time, when Sheldon is wreaking havoc over his friends’ lives, I’m usually feeling bad for whoever it is — usually Leonard — that’s getting the brunt of Sheldon’s utter Sheldonness.

But this week, I was on Team Sheldon. Why? Because Leonard knows Sheldon would appreciate a trip to the CERN super collider a whole lot more than Penny would, even if the lure of Penny in a snow bunny outfit is a strong one to resist.

Forget the ever-present Roommate Agreement for a second. Sheldon’s a physicist. To him, the CERN super collider is akin to a baseball fan visiting Wrigley Field; a near-religious experience that may just give a person new insight. For Leonard to deny him that just because it’s Valentine’s Day and he wants to get laid is kinda douchey on Leonard’s part, image of Snow Penny notwithstanding.

Still, it was fun to see some real emotions out of Sheldon for a change, as he rocketed from jealousy and feelings of betrayal — he actually compared Leonard to Darth Vader, and gave him 30 pieces of silver(ware) to indicate how much of a traitor he thought Leonard was — to craven obsequiousness — complete with Frodo-shaped pancakes — to genuine happiness when Penny said she’d talk to Leonard about the trip. When was the last time Leonard hugged anyone? The funniest moment of the night was when he said he was looking to Penny for guidance on when to stop hugging.

The only moment where Sheldon was being pure in his condescension was when he showed Penny the PowerPoint on why he should go to Switzerland instead of her. Though, when it comes right down to it, where is Penny going to have the better time? A super collider or Bath and Body Works?

Anyway, Sheldon really paid for his momentary lapse of personal space maintenance, didn’t he? And Raj ended up being the winner. One day ol’ Raj will be able to talk to a woman without having alcohol in his system. But until then, he’s going to be planning a lot of “me days” on February 14.

Watch ‘The Large Hadron Collision’ Episode Online

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