Recap / The Big Bang Theory S 3 E 17 The Precious Fragmentation

"The Precious Fragmentation" is an episode of The Big Bang Theory that first aired on November 23, 2009. Directed by Mark Cendrowski. Teleplay by Bill Prady, Steven Molaro and Richard Rosenstock, based on a story by Lee Aronsohn, Eric Kaplan and Maria Ferrari.

Howard, Leonard, Raj and Sheldon buy a box of assorted collectibles for $60. The most valuable find is a replica of a ring from the production of The Lord of the Rings on a necklace. Closer examination and a consultation with a black-market dealer, suggests the ring is a ring that was actually used in the production of the movie.

The four friends are at each others' throats over what to do with the ring. Leonard asks Penny to hold on to the ring for the time being. That night, Sheldon sneaks into the bedroom where Leonard and Penny are sleeping, and attempts to take the ring off Penny's neck. But Penny wakes up and punches Sheldon in the face.^note Sheldon admits this is not the first time he's gotten "beaten up by a girl," and claims that his fraternal twin sister Missy's "assaults began in utero." Of course the writers hadn't yet thought up the Young Sheldon episode 'Bible Camp and a Chariot of Love', in which child prodigy Paige Swanson punched Sheldon in the face at Bible camp.

Raj starts a videoconference with his cousin Venkatesh (Frank Maharajh), who is a lawyer, though not a very good one. Venkatesh argues the ring should be sold and Raj be given two jet skis. Leonard flatly refuses the deal, and Venkatesh quickly folds.

The only way out of this impasse might be a game in which each of the four guys try to hold on to the ring until the other three drop out. Somehow the four idiots make it from the Caltech cafeteria to the front door of Apartment 4A. Penny returns to her apartment, Apartment 4B, after shopping at Victoria's Secret. Leonard decides that seeing what lingerie Penny bought for herself is more important than winning the ring, and drops out of the competition.

Later, at Apartment 4A, Howard, Raj and Sheldon wake up and realize that they have lost track of the ring. Leonard comes in and claims that the ring is in a FedEx box on its way to Peter Jackson's office in New Zealand. But that night Sheldon discovers that the ring is around Leonard's neck as he sleeps.

Tropes

• Actually a Good Idea: Sheldon insists that they keep the prop ring and only take it out to go to the park and re-enact their favorite scenes from the movie. Howard declares that it is somewhat embarrassing how awesome it sounds.
• Apple of Discord: The prop ring brings out the worst in the four friends.
• Daydream Surprise: Sheldon wakes up to find that he's the only one holding the ring, and excitedly runs to the bathroom to wash it. Then he looks at the mirror and discovers that he's turned into Gollum (a character in the movie who refers to the ring as "my precious"). Sheldon screams and wakes up for real.
• Disappeared Dad: The ALF doll in the box of collectibles prompts Howard to mention he was 11 years old when his dad walked out on him and his mother.
• Foreshadowing: Penny's sarcastic comment to Leonard about how he might need a new girlfriend, and closing the episode saying "I gotta go back to dating dumb guys from the gym!" foreshadows her and Leonard's break-up soon.
• Four-Man Band: Discussed when Leonard complains about being the one who has to carry the box they bought. Sheldon gives a partially inaccurate explanation for how the four of them fit this trope.
  Leonard: Why do I always have to carry the heavy stuff?
  Sheldon: Well, it's simple. In our ragtag band of scientists with nothing to lose, I am the smart one, Wolowitz is the funny one, and Koothrappali is the loveable foreigner who struggles to understand our ways and fails. That leaves you, by default, as the muscle^note Actually the Only Sane Man.
  Leonard: One more floor, and I'll be the pulled muscle.
• Game of Chicken: In order to decide who gets the ring, the guys all grab hold of it, the last one to let go being the winner. Leonard is the first to go after Penny lures him away with something from Victoria's Secret. The other three keep at it, even driving from work to Apartment 4A while still holding the ring.
• Hypocrite: Howard mocks Sheldon for being beat up by Penny even though the same thing happened to him just the previous season.
• Hypocritical Humor: After giving the other three guys "The Reason You Suck" Speech on their obsessive behavior on the ring, Leonard is revealed to have hoarded the ring for himself. Sheldon suspects this is what happened, and confirms it at the end of the episode.
• Lack of Empathy: When the guys return to the apartment with a box of random junk they bought at a yard sale instead of Chinese food as planned, Penny is left bitter over left waiting for nothing and makes several sarcastic comments to Leonard, which he completely ignores. The next day at the Cheese Cake Factory, Penny checks on the guys if they are enjoying their food, and sneaks in another sarcastic comment over how she "actually brought them food like she promised instead of a box of random crap", with Leonard commenting "the sarcasm’s a little stale" in response.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Sheldon tries to steal the ring from Penny while she is sleeping, but accidentally wakes her. Penny freaks out and punches him in the face, which apparently breaks his nose and he runs off screaming while bleeding.
• Parental Sexuality Squick: While fighting over who can hold on to the ring longer, Howard and Rajesh try to psych Sheldon out by invoking this about his beloved maternal grandmother, Connie Tucker.^note However, in the Young Sheldon episode 'Summer Sausage, a Pocket Poncho, and Tony Danza', Sheldon took an excessive interest in Prof. Sturgis spending the night with Connie and even surveilled his grandmother's house through binoculars the next morning. The boy was glad to see that the professor's bicycle was still parked at Connie's house.
  Howard: Think about it. The only reason you exist is because your grandmother had sex.
  Raj: Yeah, Meemaw did the nasty!
• Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: Penny claims she doesn't know who Adam West is, aggravating Sheldon. A Running Gag on this show is that Penny is unfamiliar with works of art associated with superheroes, sci-fi and fantasy that the men cherish.
• Potty Emergency: When Sheldon starts mentioning things like 'waterfalls,' 'drippy faucets' and 'leaky gutter' in an attempt to get Raj and Howard to let go of the ring and go to the bathroom, it backfires and all three of them end up needing to relieve themselves, and make a mess of it no less.
  Leonard: And I don’t know what happened in that bathroom, but I am not cleaning it up!
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Leonard delivers one to the guys after he steals the ring while they fall asleep on the couch.
  Leonard: There wasn't going to be a winner! There was going to be a selfish and petty person with a ring and three people who used to be his friend! Is that really what you guys want? 'Cuz if it is, fine, I don't want anything to do with you!
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Leonard very quickly drops out first in the ring game when Penny comes back home with a Victoria's Secret bag.