Previous Episode Next Episode 

103 - Poker, Faith, and Eggs

Aired Thursday, November 9, 2017
Poker, Faith, and Eggs

When George Sr. falls ill and Mary rushes him to the emergency room, Meemaw comes to babysit. As their concern for their father builds, the kids sneak out of the house and attempt to get to the hospital on their own.

Rate this Episode
  • Ratings - Viewers: 12.39m Household Rating: 7.7/12 Adults 18-49 Rating: 2.2/8 Rank: 1
iTunes   

Episode Notes

  • Title Reference: "Poker" refers to Meemaw playing the card game with Sheldon and teaching him how to bluff. "Faith" refers to Sheldon questioning the merits of religion and prayer. "Eggs" refers to the gift from Billy Sparks for Missy, which subsequently made the family ill.
  • This episode features the first appearance of Annie Potts as Meemaw.
  • Sheldon's close relationship with his grandmother, including their pet names of "Moon Pie" and "Meemaw", were established in The Big Bang Theory's second season. [217]
  • Meemaw's fondness for a drink was established when she visited in The Big Bang Theory's ninth season episode, "The Meemaw Materialization". [914]
  • Vernee Watson, who played Nurse Robinson in this episode, has a recurring role as a nurse on The Big Bang Theory.

Quotes

Quote from Meemaw

Sheldon: Do people know about this?
Meemaw: Sheldon, what's on a person's face is not always what's in their heart.
Sheldon: Well, this changes everything. How do you know who to trust?
Meemaw: You don't. That's what makes life interesting.

Quote from George Jr.

Sheldon: We're going to jail.
Missy: Georgie's going to jail. I'm saying I was kidnapped.
Sheldon: That's a good plan. You and I were kidnapped.
George Jr.: If I'm going to jail, we're all going to jail.

Quote from Adult Sheldon

Adult Sheldon: I've often been asked why I never learned to drive a car. This night is your answer.

Quote from Meemaw

Meemaw: What kind of Texan drinks pink wine?

Quote from Adult Sheldon

Adult Sheldon: But I wasn't a good sport. At that moment, I vowed to come back the following Sunday and destroy Pastor Jeff.

View more quotes from this episode

Featured Music

  • Faith
    George Michael

    Faith Opening scene: Missy singing along and playing guitar, Georgie sets off fire crackers, and Sheldon plays cards with Meemaw. Reprised later.

  • Hungry Like The Wolf
    Duran Duran

    Hungry Like The Wolf On the radio in the car as Georgie drives Sheldon and Missy to the hospital.

Episode Trivia

  • Which musician did Meemaw say she wanted to go see in Vegas?
    • Willie Nelson
    • Waylon Jennings
    • George Jones
    • Johnny Cash
  • Georgie said the hospital was opposite which fast food restaurant?
    • Arby's
    • Dunkin' Donuts
    • Pizza Hut
    • Dairy Queen

Episode Recap

In her bedroom at night, Missy is playing George Michael’s “Faith” while she sings along and strums a guitar in the mirror. Outside, Georgie is throwing firecrackers around the garden, while in the kitchen Sheldon is playing cards with Meemaw, flinching each time a firecracker goes off. After Sheldon places his bet, Meemaw says she wants to teach him something. She has him look at his cards, then look at his face in a mirror, where he sees he is smiling - revealing that he likes his cards. When Meemaw looks at her cards, Sheldon sees she’s unhappy. Knowing he has good cards and that Meemaw has bad cards, Sheldon raises his stake and reveals his cards, but he is surprised when Meemaw’s hand beats his. She explains that she was bluffing, and that you can’t always tell who is trustworthy by looking at their face. When Mary and George Sr. arrive home, they are surprised the kids are still up. After Missy runs through the kitchen on sugar rush from eating so much candy, Meemaw gets up to leave and tells Mary the kids are all hers now.

At church, Missy is asleep next to Meemaw, as Sheldon and Mary listen to Pastor Jeff. When the Pastor says his faith in the existence of God comes down to simple math, Sheldon raises his hand to question his premise. When Pastor Jeff invites Sheldon up to the altar, Sheldon tells him and his congregation that he has confused possibility with probability - the possibilities of God existing and not existing are not necessarily 50/50. Sheldon says he trusts fact, not faith, and does not believe in the existence of God. After Pastor Jeff argues that many famous scientists believed in God, he sends Sheldon on his way. Sheldon vows to come back the next week to destroy Pastor Jeff. Meanwhile, back home, George Sr. answers the door to find Billy Sparks who hands him a basket of eggs for Missy.

Later, Missy is examining the basket of eggs in the kitchen as Mary prepares dinner. When Mary asks if she wants the eggs cooking,Missy says no as they were a gift. George Sr. calls for Mary to get into the living room. After she goes to check on her husband, Sheldon tells Missy about Pascal’s Wager, which says that a rational person should believe God exists as there’s everything to gain if you’re right and nothing to lose if you’re wrong. When Mary returns, she turns off the oven and tells the kids Meemaw is coming over to watch them as she’s got to take their daddy to the hospital. Mary tells them they can’t come with her and should just sit at the table and not move until Meemaw gets there.

Sheldon is still reading as he and Missy sit in the kitchen. When Meemaw arrives, she tells them everything’s going to be okay, although she’s less than impressed that she has to cook them dinner. Elsewhere, Mary and George arrive at the hospital where Mary tells the nurse on reception that she thinks her husband is having a heart attack. After the nurse orders a crash cart and starts asking George questions, Mary gets impatient and urges the nurse to do something.

Back home, Meemaw is reassuring Sheldon and Missy as they eat dinner in the kitchen. When Georgie arrives home, Meemaw tells him his dad is at the hospital.  When Georgie asks why they’re sitting around and not going to the hospital, Meemaw tries to calm him down and get him to eat, but he says he doesn’t feel like eating and retreats to his room.

Later, the kids are watching TV as Meemaw searches the fridge for alcohol. When Mary phones from the hospital to check on the kids, she tells her mother that they are running tests on George. After Meemaw assures her everything’s under control at home, Mary says she’ll phone when she knows more. When Meemaw gets off the phone, Meemaw tells her nervous grandchildren that the doctors are running tests, but she thinks George will be fine. After Meemaw tells Sheldon and Missy to go to bed, George Jr. storms off to his room after Meemaw refuses to let him go to the hospital to see his dad.

Later that night, Sheldon and Missy are struggling to sleep, feeling scared every time the phone rings. After George Jr. comes in and says he’s going to the hospital,  they all sneak out the back of the house while Meemaw sleeps in a lawn chair with a cigarette in her hand. Georgie grabs her car keys from her pocket and sneaks off to her car.

Inside Meemaw’s car, George Jr. can barely see over the steering wheel. Sheldon arrives wearing George’s football helmet and clutching pillows, explaining that he doesn’t expect this to end well. Georgie tells Missy to turn off the radio as he’s got to concentrate. After they set off, the car keeps careening onto the sidewalk, hitting trash cans.

Back home, Meemaw is awoken by the phone ringing inside. After Mary tells her that they’re keeping George overnight to run more tests, Meemaw says that’s nothing to worry about. Whenr Mary asks about the kids, Meemaw says they were worried earlier but she was able to calm them down and get them to sleep. After Mary ends the call by thanking her mother for being there, Meemaw finds a note left by Sheldon telling her that Georgie was taking them to the hospital in her car.

On the road, after Missy says Georgie should admit they’re lost, Sheldon wonders why they don’t stop and ask for directions. Georgie points out as children in a car that wouldn’t be a good idea. After Missy questions whether Georgie is aiming for the trash cans he keeps hitting, they are all worried when they hear sirens and see flashing lights behind them. As Sheldon warns Georgie to pull over, their fear subsides as the ambulance cruises past them. Sheldon tells Georgie to follow after it as it’s obviously heading to the hospital.

At the hospital, Meemaw finds Mary in a waiting room and asks where “they” are. After Mary doesn’t know what she’s talking about, Meemaw changes tack and asks how George is. Seconds later, the kids rush into the waiting room and Meemaw claims to have lost them in the hall. After they kids say they want to see their dad, Mary tells them the doctors are in there now, but she will take them in a bit. After Mary asks Meemaw why the kids are there, Meemaw says they were so worried they couldn’t sleep so she thought it was for the best to bring them to the hospital. Sheldon congratulates her on her bluff.

In the waiting room, Meemaw is hugging Sheldon and Missy when Mary asks if they want any food before she goes to check on their dad. After Mary leaves, Meemaw asks Georgie for her car keys back and wonders how she managed to beat them there. Sheldon gets up to say he needs to wash his hands because of the deadly germs in the hospital. Before he goes, Meemaw warns the kids that if Mary ever finds out about how they got to the hospital she will never be allowed to babysit them again. Sheldon says he can’t lie to his mother, but Meemaw tells him he can and he should believe in himself.

As Sheldon walks through the hallways of the hospital, he sees the room where his father is being treated. Sheldon is scared by the beeping machines, the tubes running in and out of his father, and the doctors and nurses hovering over him while Mary holds his hand. After a doctor closes the door, Sheldon goes to the bathroom. On his way out, he notices the chapel and goes inside. Sheldon sits down and prays - to Blaise Pascal - for his father to get better. Sheldon’s thinking was that if Pascal was right about the existence of God, he could pass along the request to God. And if he was wrong ... well, in that moment, Sheldon needed him to be right.

Back in the waiting room, Georgie is getting impatient as Sheldon and Missy sleep next to Meemaw. Meemaw tells the “car thief” to calm down, and warns him not to come to her if he needs to make bail one day. After an elated Mary comes in to tell them that their dad is going to be fine and should be home in a day or two, she says their prayers were answered and takes the kids to see George.

The next Sunday, the whole family attends church. As Pastor Jeff starts to talk about the origins of the earth, Sheldon again raises his hand to object. Sheldon questions the idea of there being light before God created the sun on “day four”. While Sheldon goes back and forth with the Pastor, George Sr. whispers to Mary that if he pretends to have a heart attack they might be able to sneak out. Sheldon continues arguing with the Pastor, prompting Mary to tell George to do it; he feigns chest pains as the family get up to leave the church.

 Episode 102 Episode 104