Recap / The Big Bang Theory S 12 E 18 The Laureate Accumulation

Plot

Sheldon and Amy attempt to charm the Nobel Prize committee to keep up with competition Pemberton and Campbell, culminating in an epic meltdown from Amy. Meanwhile, Halley is afraid of the dark, which leads to conflict and opportunity.

Tropes:

• As Himself:
  • Nobel laureates George Smoot^note who also appeared on season two's "The Terminator Decoupling", Kip Thorne and Frances Arnold.
  • Ellen DeGeneres in a clip of Drs. Campbell and Pemberton appearing on her talk show.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Despite everyone expecting that Sheldon will be the one who starts a situation at the gathering, it's Amy who ends up making a scene.
• Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: When Sheldon knocks on Drs. Campbell and Pemberton's hotel room.
  Sheldon: [knock, knock, knock] Dr. Pemberton! [knock, knock, knock] Dr. Campbell! [knock, knock, knock] Drs. Pemberton and Campbell!
• Food as Bribe: Sheldon and Amy try to smooth things over with the Nobel laureates by sending them cookies. It didn't take: they either rejected them on sight or, in Frances Arnold's case, because they were oatmeal and raisin.
• Old Shame: Howard isn't too keen on "The Scared Little Astronaut" being published, as he doesn't want it made public that he was scared while in space, so he asks Stuart to redo the illustrations so that he's fighting aliens.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Amy gives an absolutely blistering one to Drs. Campbell and Pemberton for taking the credit for super-asymmetry.
  Dr. Pemberton: It's crazy. We've conclusively proven super-asymmetry, and yet, somehow, we still feel like imposters.
  Dr. Campbell: There should be a term for that.
  Amy: Oh, for crying out loud, there is a term for that! It's called Imposter Syndrome, and you don't have it, because you can't have it if you are imposters, and you are! We're the ones who discovered super-asymmetry, so if anyone should feel like they have Imposter Syndrome, it's us, because we're not imposters! They are! You're imposters, and you're frauds!
• Write Who You Know: In-Universe. Bernadette overhears Howard tell Halley a story about how he was scared of the dark while at the ISS and writes it down as "The Scared Little Astronaut".