Young Sheldon

Previously, on "Young Sheldon"...

You can't be my lab assistant.

There's a wait list of students

and I just can't give you special treatment.

Not with that attitude.

Hello?

Can I be your lab assistant?

If I say yes, will you please stop hounding me?

- Absolutely. - Fine, you win.

I understand my role here.

In fact, I noticed a flaw in your reaction rate,

but I kept it to myself because I know my place.

- What is it? - Nice try.

Fire!

Fire!

Was it too much oxygen in the reagents?

See, you didn't need my help after all.

My role as Dr. Linkletter's lab assistant

was progressing nicely.

I had mastered operating the manual particle collector,

AKA a broom.

I may not always recognize

sarcasm, but I sure know how to use it.

Sheldon,

I've hit a bit of a roadblock

with the solar neutrino detector.

Why don't you come have a look?

Are you saying you would like meto take part in your experiment?

Well, I think a fresh set of eyes might be helpful.

Because my previous observationsproved correct?

Yes.

And had you listened to me, the lab wouldn't have caught fire?

Yes.

So just to be clear, at the tender age of 11,

I'll be officially participatingin an academic study.

Will you do it or not?

Absolutely. Here you go.

What am I supposed to do with this?

Well, if you can't figure thatout, no wonder you need my help.

Do we have another hair dryer?

This one broke.

Just use a towel.

So my hair can look like yours?

I don't think so.

Go look in the garage.

Thank you.

I like my hair.

I may have been part of an academic study,

but I wasn't the only Cooper

on the verge of making a great discovery.

Sheldon's tests.

I'm gonna be rich.

Missy, ten minutes.

Okay.

Whatcha looking at?

Uh, just Pastor Jeffand Mrs. Sparks.

They were out there the other day, too.

Oh.

How come you don't go with them?

They didn't invite me.

Ouch.

Rough start to your day.

So, the problemthat I'm running into

is I can't getthe inner sphere

to remain suspendedin the buffer liquid.

Have you tried wrapping the sphere in copper wire?

I did, but it just slips out.

Perhaps we could suspend it in some sort of sleeve.

That would prevent lightfrom getting through.

Hmm.

I wonder if my thinking would be more effective

if I had a beard to stroke.

It's one of the few aspects of puberty I'm looking forward to.

Hey, Tam.

Hey. What if I told you

you didn't have to study for your chemistry test tonight?

Why?

'Cause I found this.

Cool.

But how do you know we're gonna get the same test?

I checked... we've been taking the same ones all year.

And teachers call uslazy?

I know.

Well, thank you.

Hold on now. I ain't just givin' it away.

How much?

Five bucks.

It's worth it.

If I get another B, my mom will kill me.

Hey, I don't just sell tests.

I bring families together.

Get this.

I drove past

the Methodist church and you know

what the sign out front said?

What?

"Friendship, pirate ship, try the best ship... worship."

Clever.

That was our sign last year! I wrote that!

Isn't the most important thing

that it might get more people to go to church?

But whoever did it has the sin of stealing

on their soul now, so at least there's that.

There you go.

Oh, um...

I saw

you and Brenda Sparks

out for a walk this mornin'.

That's fun. Yeah.

Nice way to start the day.

Yeah. Um...

I'd go with George,

but he's a gym teacher,

and as a group, they're not much for walkin'.

Well, you keep asking, maybe he'll come around.

Good idea, thank you.

It's not just witty church signs up here.

I never thought a sphere suspended in mineral oil

could be so exciting.

Eight minutes and it hasn't moved.

So far so good.

Oh, boy, my heart is pounding.

I hope I don't turn into an adrenaline junkie.

What's going on in there?

This is a prototype of a solar neutrino detector.

We need to keep the sphere suspended

precisely in the scintillator.

Speaking of scintillating...

No. Sorry.

Darn it.

Ah, the oil must've dissolved the adhesive.

Well...

ready to hit the road?

Please, not yet. We're so close to cracking this.

Just ten more minutes?

Fine.

Oh, boy. Yes!

I wasn't even at that school,

and I was still boosting its grade point average.

You got biology?

Depends. You got money?

Yeah. I got biology.

Perhaps we could create some sort of a cocoon to suspend it.

Out of wire? Or nylon.

But I wouldn't know how to weave it around a sphere.

I'm not a genius, but it sounds to me

like what y'all are talking about is, uh, crochet.

I suppose we are.

Because with crochet, you can make all kinds of shapes.

Intriguing.

Hell, I even crocheted a cover for Jolene.

I'm sorry?

That's my bowling ball.

She likes to name inanimate objects... it's odd.

Or whimsically charming.

Connie, would you help us detect solar neutrinos?

Really?

You-you-you want me to be a part of your science thing?

Indeed.

Well...

sure, why not.

Excellent.

And just like that,

my meemaw had been seduced by the siren call of science.

But before we unravel the secrets of the universe,

I'm gonna hit the John.

Oh... of course.

And bless the hands that prepared it.

Amen.

- Amen. - Amen.

Where is everyone?

Georgie's out and Sheldon's at the university with Meemaw.

A lot of pressure on me to keep things fun.

Hey, I was thinking

after dinner, maybe you and I could go out for a walk.

Why?

Pastor Jeff and Brenda have been doing it, might be nice.

So go with them.

They didn't invite her. She was all upset about it.

Well, you get left out

and I get punished?

A walk with your wife is punishment?

You're up, say somethin' fun.

I think Pastor Jeff and Mrs. Sparks

might be talking about Billy.

What's going on with Billy?

He's been getting in trouble at school.

How is that fun?

It's gossip. Gossip's fun.

Poor thing.

Brenda did say he was having trouble adjusting.

Maybe I should see if she's doing okay later.

Great idea. I'm not walking, good job.

So what am I making this thing out of?

We were using wire, but that might be

difficult to crochet with.

Oh, please, I could crochet barbed wire

with a chopstick if I had to.

I admire your bravado.

In this case,