The Big Bang Theory: Season 6, Episode 21: 'The Closure Alternative' Recap

“The Big Bang Theory”, season 6, episode 21, “The Closure Alternative”

Sheldon learns that one of the shows he watched was cancelled. Normally it wouldn’t bother him, but the season finale for “Alphas” ended on a major cliffhanger, and he needs to know how it will resolve. He vows to call the SyFy Network and convince them to un-cancel his show.

Meanwhile, in Raj’s apartment, Howard helps him set up a new security/nanny cam in his apartment so he can keep an eye on his dog while he’s at work. Raj reveals to Howard that he has stumbled upon Lucy’s (the girl he’s been kind of seeing) blog. Howard pushes Raj to read it, and when he does, he finds that Lucy found him a little feminine. Howard suggests he use her blog to figure out the easiest way into her pants. Raj decides to butch himself up.

Back at Sheldon’s apartment, Amy tries to convince Sheldon to forget about Alphas. When he refuses (after calling the studio and pretending to be an executive to no avail), Amy suggests that Sheldon might have some kind of closure complex. She proves her point by knocking out the majority of “shave and a haircut”, and Sheldon is compelled to complete it. She offers to help him get over it via a series uncompleted tasks, including erasing a game of tic-tac-toe before he can complete it, cutting off the star spangled banner before resolving the chords, and preventing him from blowing out all the candles on a birthday cake.

Howard goes to Penny’s apartment, inspired by all of Sheldon’s TV talk, and tells Penny that she needs to watch “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” with him. She agrees, and they watch. As it ends, Howard is eager to hear Penny’s thoughts, and she says it’s cute. This doesn’t seem to please Howard, thinking that “cute” tends to diminish things. She agrees to watch another DVD of it with him.

The next day, Penny has Bernadette watch Buffy with her, wondering if there was something she missed, and why Leonard was so into it. Bernadette says that everyone has something they’re passionate in; she was passionate about science. Penny just needs to take the time to figure out her passions.

Lucy meets Raj for their date, and he puts on a faux-macho air, including faking an interest in hockey, and purposely not reading the directions on how to cook their frozen burrito dinner. Lucy asks him what’s wrong with him, and he says it’s just all the steroids he’s taking. Thoroughly creeper out, Lucy gets up to leave, but Raj stops her and comes clean about finding her blog and him trying to be macho. She clarifies that she likes that he was slightly feminine. They finish their dinner.

At Penny’s, she tells Leonard over their dinner that she has finally figured out what she was passionate about. And she was passionate about Leonard and her friends and that, despite not being the glamorous movie star she dreamed of being, she likes her life right now.

At Sheldon’s apartment, Amy bids Sheldon farewell, happy that she was able to help cure him of his compulsive need to complete things. He sees her out and shuts the door behind her, and calls her a sucked. He quickly powers through all the tasks that she denied him a proper ending. He collapses to the floor in some kind of ecstasy of completion. Penny peeks her head into the apartment and tells Sheldon that she loves him in her life. He says he loves her, too, and she leaves, weirded out.

Later on, Sheldon finally contacts the writer of the Alpha season finale and asks him to explain how the series would have continued. He is very disappointed, and tells him that he’s glad their show was cancelled.