"The Locomotive Manipulation" is an episode of The Big Bang Theory that first aired on February 6, 2014. Directed by Mark Cendrowski. Teleplay by Steven Molaro, Eric Kaplan and Maria Ferrari, based on a story by Jim Reynolds, Steve Holland and Tara Hernandez.
For Valentine's Day, Amy takes Sheldon to dinner on a train. She brings along Howard and Bernadette to avoid having to sit with strangers.
However, Sheldon is quite pleased to make the acquaintance of train connoisseur Eric (Eric Petersen), a man whose whole deal is that a box fell on his head at work and now he collects disability and rides trains.
Sheldon so neglects Amy that she gets very angry with him. Their confrontation leads to their first kiss, which Sheldon seems to regard as being no more and no less important than meeting Eric and listening to a train conductor play banjo.
Meanwhile, at Apartment 4A, Leonard and Penny dog sit Raj's dog Cinnamon, who eats chocolate while they're having sex in another room. Leonard and Penny take Cinnamon to the vet and call Raj. On the one hand, Raj is furious at Leonard and Penny, but pleased that the veterinarian, Yvette (Tania Raymonde), gives him her personal phone number.
Tropes
- Batman Gambit: Amy invokes this as part of her plan to romance Sheldon. She hopes to build his feelings for her by having Valentine's Day on an authentic reconstructed train from the 1910s. Sheldon even calls out her gambit when they have their fight at the end by challenging her with her claim this would be something both could enjoy but correctly points out this was just to get into his pants. Amy, frustratingly, doesn't deny this claim.
- Commonality Connection: Sheldon bonds very well with Eric over their deep love of trains. He excitedly talks trains with Eric to the others' annoyances.
- Didn't Think This Through:
- When Bernadette goes to Eric's table to shame Sheldon into returning to his date with Amy, Sheldon does recognize his rudeness and will return, but then turns and invites Eric to their table to continue the conversation. Bernadette's mutters to herself in frustration as she didn't expect Sheldon to be hospitable to his new friend.
- When Sheldon is angrily mocking Amy by "doing romantic things" such as looking into each other's eyes which he treats like a quick staring contest, drinks wine and calls it fermented grape juice, he ends it with mockingly saying they should kiss. It starts as a "Take That!" Kiss, but as they hold their lips together, they gently come closer together and when he breaks to Amy to invite her to the front of the locomotive, his voice is now calm and warm.
- Fingore: Discussed but not shown. The unseen conductor of the train is missing a finger, but it doesn't stop him from still playing the banjo well.
- "Harmful to Pets" Reminder: Cinnamon eats some of Leonard and Penny's Valentines chocolates and has to be taken to the vet. Thankfully, Cinnamon is okay, and Raj at least gets the vet's number out of it.
- Innocently Insensitive: Sheldon and Eric's talking about trains frustrates Amy to no end. When Amy calls Sheldon out on his behavior, he doesn't think he's been rude since they barely spoke to each other during the date and fails to understand being rude by inaction.
- "Take That!" Kiss: Sheldon kissing Amy was originally intended as this, but it became something more.
- Tap on the Head: Discussed by Eric. He explains he used to work for UPS but a box hit him hard enough to make him disabled and unable to work. Now he just collects disability checks and rides trains. The damage he suffered makes him repeat this fact several times without realizing he just said it. Sometimes he will repeat in the very next sentence after he just said it.
- Third Wheel: Eric, a fellow Rail Enthusiast that Sheldon meets while on what is supposed to be a Valentine's Day dinner with Amy. Sheldon invites him to his table, much to Amy's chagrin.
- Valentine's Day Episode: Amy and Sheldon go on what is meant to be a romantic train ride, while Leonard and Penny's Valentine's Day plans are scuttled when Raj asks them to take care of Cinnamon.
- Wham Episode: In a rant about being romantic, Sheldon kisses Amy as an attempt to mock her, only to linger for a moment, suggesting he liked it better than he expected.
