Please let this have a Laurie Metcalfe appearance, please let this have a Laurie Metcalfe appearance...

Sheldon and Howard are still in Texas (YES), and the rest of the group gathers around the table with their takeout, Raj even having the audacity to sit in Sheldon's spot. Stuart is also invited. As they discuss what they're going to do that night, Stuart suddenly chokes and collapses on the floor. Leonard rushes to call an ambulance, but Raj informs him that it's too late. Stuart has...been murdered. By someone in the room. Yep, it's one of those dumb murder mysteries almost everyone participated in at least once in the 90's. My parents were particularly fond of them. Everyone groans, but the game has begun. Opening credits.

Everyone's reluctantly part of the game, though they're conflicted about the notion of playing characters. Bernadette is insanely competitive, as usual. Raj hands out some envelopes with clues. Penny wants to get this over with as quickly as possible, while Bernadette goes to look at Stuart's dead body. However, she quickly flees when he tells her he can see up her skirt.

Sheldon and Howard drives to his mom's house. Howard is getting increasingly exasperated, while Sheldon has a good time with his Buzz Aldrin bobblehead. Howard suggesting getting something for Sheldon's mom. Sheldon counters by trying to destroy all credibility in his mother's religion. Classic sitcom hijinks!

The friends are all bored by the mystery and want out, so Raj manipulates them by recounting his sorry friendless childhood in India. Unfortunately, Leonard knows this is false, so he blows the story apart. Still, they're all hooked when Bernadette finds a clue. It is quickly derailed when Leonard accuses Raj of ripping his story off from somewhere and they get into a nerd fight.

Sheldon and Howard arrive with pie and flowers. However, Sheldon tries to run away when he peeks through the window and catches his mother with a naked man. Oops.

They go to a Texas bar so Sheldon can drink away his sorrows. Howard advises him not to say anything, since his mother never knew they were there. Sheldon, however, cannot abide omitting such a huge issue. He calls her so she has a chance to get rid of the boyfriend, saying some really creepy Oedipal things in the process.

The murder mystery now includes a time machine (man, mine just had far-flung campgrounds and creepy ski resorts), though the participants couldn't care less. Raj hands around some envelopes detailing their future fates - everyone's successful, Lenny have broken up, and Raj is Madonna's boytoy - which prompts arguments between everyone. Raj is forced to invent new stories on the fly.

Howard drops Sheldon at his house, preferring to stay well away from the confrontation. Sheldon greets his mom with "I saw you having naked sex", always a good conversation opener. She's sorry that it happened, and explains that it's her new boyfriend, Ron, from her prayer group. Also, the phrase "demented sex pervert" comes up. Guess who says it. Sheldon calls his mom out for shagging all over the place while constantly pulling out Bible verses, she calls him out for being an insulting nosy bastard. It ends with Sheldon being sent to his room. He complies.

Penny and Leonard are still arguing about their fake futures, which Raj has retconned anyway. The argument devolves into "Science vs. Movies". (Hint: movies always win.) Amy tells them that they were dumb not to have this stuff planned out, as her Relationship Contract with Sheldon covers all scenarios. Stuart, for his part, contributes his opinion - he thinks Penny and Leonard will make it in the long run, because they make each other better in the end. "Now I feel bad for murdering you," Penny coos. She gasps as she realizes what she just said.

Still holed up in his room, Sheldon works on a model plane. Howard comes to check on him. In sympathy, he recounts the story of his own mother's dating, back when Howard was a teenager. He drove the boyfriend away, his mother has been alone since, and he feels guilty to this day. He advises Sheldon not to interfere in his mother's life anymore. Sheldon agrees, saying he loves his mother, "even if she fornicates like a demonic weasel". Seriously, some of our fundies need to start using these phrases.

He goes back to his mom to talk about it. The religious restrictions are again brought up, to which Sheldon's mom admits that she is "struggling". Sheldon tells her he won't stand in the way - he'll only condemn her internally. "That's very Christian of you," she says. He then tries to give her the safe sex talk, which doesn't go well.

Raj sulks (sorry, broods) about the game, which no one enjoyed and Penny ruined. Bernadette comments that no matter what the future brings, she wants them to stay friends. Leonard suggests that they meet in front of the building exactly twenty years from now and have takeout, whether they are friends or not. I sense a hilarious flash-forward coming. Everyone puts the date in their phones, but when the time comes, we see a gray-haired Stuart in front of the building, alone. He takes it in stride. End credits.

Well, this episode was kind of pointless. Sheldon's sex euphemisms got some real laughs, and Howard's continuing contributions worked well, but the storyline involving his mother was...kind of weird and disturbing. I get that this would be upsetting for him, especially considering how it was discovered, but it still ventured into very uncomfortable territory - and Sheldon's controlling ways had some bad vibes to them. (Also, we trod similar ground a few seasons back when Howard's mom got up to some hijinks.) The murder mystery was okay, though the boredom jokes got a bit tired out. Overall, there weren't any real laughs or much character development to be found in that plot. As a whole, the episode really didn't do much for me. Until next week, I guess.

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