

The Big Bang Theory is a CBS sitcom about a group of geeky adults that has run for 12 staggeringly long years. In that time period, it has attracted critical ire, many Emmys, and earned its stars million-dollar salaries. But now this show is dying and I, a pop culture critic with a heart made of onyx who has never even seen a single episode, have decided to watch the program weekly to pay my respects—and also roast it to death one last time.
Season 12, Episode 22: The Maternal Conclusion
Summary: Whoopsie, somebody forgot to recap The Big Bang Theory on Friday because she was too busy imagining what it would be like for her to not recap this show anymore—an assignment she assigned herself. Please accept this recap with my humblest apologies.
Leonard’s mother (Christine Baranski) is in town, and for some reason she not only wants to stay with Leonard, she wants to see his lab at work which is filled with lasers and… lasers. Surprised at how well they’re getting along, Leonard is crushed when he figures out his frigid mother was just using all their nice hang-time for new research. Yikes! Hate when that happens. Leonard should have rebelled in his teen years and become a Blind Melon cover band frontman or a clown—anything—so he could distance himself from his hypothesis-obsessed mother. However, Leonard forgives his mother quite cathartically for being so fucked up at the end of the episode, and they have a tender moment. I mean she is Christine Baranski, what else are you gonna do?