Episode Recap
When Georgie and Meemaw arrive at the laundromat in the morning, Georgie is telling Meemaw about his idea to install a hot dog machine there. They’ll make money selling hot dogs, and then make money from people needing to wash their clothes to get mustard out. When they enter the gambling room, Meemaw is surprised to see regular customer Wade already playing on a machine. After Meemaw points out they’re not open yet, Wade mentions the door was open. Meemaw wonders if Georgie forgot to lock up. He didn’t, but when he goes to check the door he realizes the lock’s been busted. Meemaw says the file cabinet was broken into and cashbox is gone. “We’ve been robbed.”, they all say.
In the gambling room, Dale and Officer Jake inspect the busted lock. After Dale says it looks like they jimmied the door with a crowbar, Jake agrees. Meemaw remarks it’s a good job she wasn’t there when they broke in, or they’d be looking for a place to bury the bodies right now. When Meemaw asks Jake what he’s going to do, he tells her he was thinking of getting lunch. Dale wonders if he’s going to file a report or dust for prints. Meemaw questions what they’re paying him for, after all. Officer Jake explains they’re paying him not to shut them down. Do they really want him to get his detective friends down to their illegal gambling room? After Meemaw wonders what to do now, Jake argues they need security for when they’re not there. Perhaps an off-duty police officer. Meemaw realizes he wants them to pay him more. “ I just want you to feel safe.”, Jake insists before Meemaw tells him to get out.
Back home, Sheldon goes into the den to talk with his parents. Sheldon brings German-inspired snacks and litters his conversation with Germanic words, before revealing that he’s been given the opportunity to attend a prestigious summer program at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. Sheldon wants his parents to consider letting him go, even though he imagines they’ll say he’s too young or it’s too far away. When Mary asks if there aren’t programs closer, Sheldon explains he missed his chance to apply for those. Dr. Sturgis pulled strings to get him into this program. George appreciates that but thinks John should have talked to them first. Sheldon admits John did want to talk to them, but he “nixed” the idea - from the German word “nichts”. Mary and George agree to talk to Dr. Sturgis, but they make clear they’re not promising Sheldon anything.
At the video store, Missy offers to help a young female customer find something. Tonya jokes about finding something fun to do in this town. Since Tonya doesn’t like roller rinks or bowling, and isn’t old enough to drive, Missy concedes there’s nothing for her here. Tonya explains she’s staying with her aunt and uncle for the summer. Missy offers to rent Tonya an R-rated movie and put it in a Disney box. She suggests Point Break, starring Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves. Tonya tells Missy to put it on her uncle’s account under the name Jeff Difford. “Pastor Jeff?”, Missy wonders. After Tonya confirms Jeff’s her uncle, Missy reveals he’s her neighbor, so Tonya is staying next door. Tonya suggests watching the movie together, but Missy figures they can’t watch it at her house as her mom might find out. Since Tonya doesn’t want Pastor Jeff finding out either, Missy suggests watching it in her family’s garage, where her brother has a TV.
At the university, George and Mary meet with Dr. Sturgis in his office. John understands their concern, but he points out they were nervous about Sheldon coming to the university in the first place, and that worked out well. Mary notes that Germany is so far away, but George thinks it might be good for Sheldon to get some independence and have nobody babying him. After all, he says, the Germans are a tough-love people. John explains the string theory research they're doing is at the forefront of the field, so this is a tremendous opportunity for Sheldon. When George asks John if he’ll be okay looking after Sheldon all summer, John reveals he won’t be in Germany as he’s presenting a paper in California. Mary is alarmed by the idea of Sheldon being all alone in Germany, so John proposes one of them go with him. “And the university would cover our expenses as well?”, George asks. John chuckles and admits the university isn’t covering any of the expenses. George and Mary have heard enough, so George declares the meeting adjourned. John is happy to have satisfied their concerns and tells them to let him know if there’s anything else he can help them with. “Actually there is.”, Mary explains, “Would you tell Sheldon that he's not going?”
In the gaming room, Dale asks Meemaw if she has noticed anyone suspicious hanging around. "Just a crazy old man with a bat.", Meemaw jokes. Dale insists he's just trying to make sure she’s safe. He asks her if she’s considered that it might have been an inside job, suggesting some of the customers could have been part of the crew that ripped her off. Meemaw can’t imagine the culprits would then return to give her money back, but Dale points out not all criminals are masterminds. Dale offers to stick around and act as a deterrent with his “friend”. When Meemaw notices Dale's bat is inscribed "Lil' Slugger," Dale insists it only looks small because he's so big.
Still in the gaming room, a suspicious Dale approaches a male customer to ask about his flashy watch. When Dale questions whether Marty recently came into money, Marty explains his uncle recently passed away. "Well, ain't that a coincidence?”, Dale ponders, then asks what Marty’s uncle died from. After Marty replies “emphysema”, Dale questions whether the uncle smoked. Marty confirms he did, so Dale leaves it at that. Meemaw encourages Dale to stop harassing the customers and just look “big and scary” over by the door. As Dale stands by the door looking strong, Meemaw asks if he wants a chair. Dale agrees a chair would be good but says he needs to get his inflatable donut first, as he's got "a little fire in the valley.”
As Sheldon practices speaking German with the help of a tape, Mary and George come to his bedroom to talk to him. They explain they had a long chat with Dr. Sturgis about the summer program. Sheldon wonders if Sturgis told them how great the program is and what a boon it’ll be to his career. Mary says he did, but George explains John also told them how much it costs, and it’s more than they can handle. Sheldon argues he’ll make loads of money as a theoretical physicist so he’ll be able to pay them back. Although Mary doesn’t dispute this, she points out right now they just don’t have the money. Sheldon asks his parents if they’ve considered scrimping and saving, before questioning whether they really need three meals a day. After George reminds Sheldon he does their taxes, Sheldon mentions he’s about to start charging for that. “Shelly, I'm sorry, but it's no.”, Mary tells him. “Ach!”, Sheldon complains in German.
As Missy and Tonya watch Point Break out in the garage, Tonya remarks that Keanu Reeves is also pretty cute. Missy reminds her that she called Swayze. When Missy asks Tonya why she wants to spend the summer with Pastor Jeff, Tonya admits she didn’t. Her parents found out she had a boyfriend and freaked. Missy is excited to hear all the details.
At the gambling room, Meemaw offers to use a bicycle pump to inflate Dale’s donut cushion. He turns down her offer, admitting he’s experiencing a little too much “bounce” already. Georgie arrives with some news: he thought one of their neighbors might have a security camera, and Sensei Bruce at the karate studio came through. On the tape, Georgie spotted a pick-up truck driving away from the building at 2:15 the night of the robbery. Meemaw asks if he got a license plate. No. What about the color? Georgie says the tape’s in black and white, so all they know is it wasn’t black or white. “So the getaway car is… a color.”, Meemaw says, unimpressed. “Or gray.”, Georgie adds. Dale concedes it’s not quite a smoking gun, but at least they know their perp drove a truck. Meemaw asks the customers for a show of hands: who drives a pick-up truck? After every hand goes up, Georgie says it’s not his fault they live in Texas.
When Missy goes to Sheldon’s room to look for her boombox, she finds Sheldon laying on his bed. As Missy takes a tape out the boombox, she wonders why Sheldon is listening to “German for Beginners”. Sheldon explains he was hoping to spend the summer in Germany. “The country in Europe?”, Missy wonders. Yes. “For the whole summer?”, she asks. Yes. Missy tells Sheldon he can't take no for an answer. “You deserve this. I deserve this. We deserve this.”, Missy argues. Sheldon doesn’t know what to do, explaining the family doesn’t have enough money. Missy offers to chip in $34 she has saved, but Sheldon says the trip costs a lot more. Missy insists they’ll figure this out, suggesting they start by getting enough for a one-way ticket. After Sheldon questions how he’ll get home, Missy replies, “Who knows? You might love it there.”. Adult Sheldon remarks, “I know we've had our differences, but that's the moment I learned just how much my sister loved me.”
Mandy is watching TV on the couch at Meemaw’s house as Georgie, Meemaw and Dale arrive home. After Georgie asks where baby CeeCee is, Mandy jokes that she’s out with friends. Mandy wonders if they had any luck tracking down the robbers. Meemaw says no, so the cash box is staying there for a while. “Great. So now the money is here, where we sleep.”, Mandy sarcastically notes. Meemaw sees her point and encourages Dale to go get his bat.
Late that night, Tonya knocks on Missy’s bedroom window, waking Missy up. Missy opens her window and asks Tonya what she’s doing. Tonya reveals she’s sneaking out. After Missy wonders why Tonya isn’t afraid she might get caught, Tonya wonders what they would do: send her to an even crappier town? Missy concedes Tonya has a point, so she asks her what she’s planning. “Got half a pack of cigarettes and a bottle of cooking sherry.”, Tonya explains. Missy decides to go get dressed.
At Meemaw’s house, Dale is peering out the window while clutching his bat. Georgie comes inside to say the backyard is clear. While looking out the window, Dale sees two people sneaking around. He and Georgie panic and don’t know what to do. They turn the lights off, but then worry the house will look empty. They quickly turn the lights back on, only to worry they’ll be seen. Outside, Missy tells Tonya to duck behind Meemaw’s car as she worries someone inside might have spotted them. As Missy coughs, Tonya reminds Missy she said she knew how to smoke. Missy insists she does, it’s just these cigarettes aren’t her brand. After Tonya says they should get out of there, the pair run off. Back inside, Dale and Georgie congratulate themselves, believing they scared the would-be intruders off.
After Mary is awoken by a clatter, she finds Sheldon in the hallway holding a laundry basket full of stuff. Mary asks what he’s doing up at 6:00, so Sheldon explains he’s having a yard sale to try raise money for Germany. Mary is annoyed that Sheldon’s trying to sell her good china. Sheldon reasons it’s one place setting that she won’t miss if he’s away. Mary takes the china back, but Sheldon is determined to sell his trains, his comic books and the first chapter of his autobiography. “It’s inutero. You do not come off well.”, Sheldon tells his mother. Mary argues this won’t be enough to get him to Germany, but Sheldon insists he has to at least try. Mary takes the basket and offers to help put it away.
As Sheldon turns around, he comes face-to-face with Missy in the doorway. Sheldon questions why Missy’s up so early, prompting her to claim she’s going to the bathroom. After Sheldon asks why she’s dressed, Missy throws the same question back at him. Sheldon explains he’s throwing a yard sale to raise money for his trip to Germany. Missy offers to help with the yard sale, but Sheldon returns to his earlier question: why are you dressed? “To help you.”, Missy answers. Sheldon is confused as he only just told her about the yard sale. Missy quickly adds that she’s ready to start. “Okay.”, Sheldon says… “Wait, what?”
That morning, in Meemaw’s kitchen, Dale tells Meemaw he saw two people sneaking around outside. They were definitely casing the joint, he says, so he grabbed Lil’ Slugger. Dale claims he went out on the porch and let ‘em know who they were messing with. After Meemaw wonders if they’ll be back, Dale says “nah”, and chuckles as he describes the pair running away like two little girls.
Out in the front yard, Sheldon haggles with the potential buyer of a model train. The guy tries to negotiate the $10 price tag down to $5, but Sheldon holds his ground. As soon as the buyer agrees to the original price, Sheldon stammers and abruptly raises it to $20. When the customer questions this, Sheldon declares the new price is a thousand dollars. Meanwhile, Mary tells Missy that Sheldon is having trouble letting go of things. Pastor Jeff arrives with Tonya to talk to Mary. Mary is surprised to learn Missy and Tonya already know each other, but Pastor Jeff explains that’s what they need to discuss. He reveals Missy rented Tonya an R-rated movie in a Disney case. Tonya is relieved that’s what this is about. When Mary asks Missy to explain, Missy claims it was an accident caused by people returning tapes to the wrong cases. She insists that she thought she was giving Tonya Bambi, which Tonya insists is what she wanted to rent. Pastor Jeff seems to buy their explanation, telling them not to let it happen again. As Jeff and Tonya walk away, Mary gives Missy a look to show she did not buy that story at all. Meanwhile, Sheldon is talking to another prospective buyer about a science set endorsed by Professor Proton. The guy has no idea who that is, so Sheldon tries to explain who Professor Proton is, realizing in the process that he doesn’t want to part with it.
Adult Sheldon explains his yard sale was a bust, and his dream of spending the summer in Germany was fading. Unexpectedly, Dr. Linkletter arrives at the door, having heard about Sheldon’s effort to raise money to study in Germany. Sheldon admits he’s not had much luck, but Linkletter tells him his luck is about to change. Linkletter hands Sheldon an envelope containing one week of his pay. “Wow, thank you.”, Sheldon says. “Whatever it takes to get you on that plane.”, Linkletter replies. He also passed a hat around the faculty lounge. For once, Sheldon is lost for words, but Linkletter isn’t. “Auf Wiedersehen, you little rascal.”, he says. After closing the door, Sheldon tells his father Linkletter gave him all this money. “Well, that's really something.”, George says with a chuckle. When there’s another knock at the door, Sheldon opens it to Pastor Jeff, who says his congregation heard about his trip to Germany and were thrilled to help. Pastor Jeff hands over a collection plate, remarking that he’s never seen it so full. “Well, thank you.”, Sheldon says before turning to his dad. “Are you seeing this? I am beloved.”, Sheldon tells his father. “Sure.”, Pastor Jeff adds.
