- Leonard is pleasantly surprised when Beverly comes to visit and she's genuinely kind to him, until he finds out the real reason she's there. Also, Denise and Stuart overstay their welcome at the Wolowitz house.
- For Beverly's visit, she has accepted Leonard and Penny's invitation to stay at the apartment with them rather than her usual routine of staying at a hotel, that offer which Leonard may regret in the continuing strain he has with his mother. To Leonard's surprise, Beverly, upon her arrival, seems truly interested in and eager to spend time with him, the criticizing "but" which doesn't seem to materialize. Does Beverly have an ulterior motive in her behavior or has she truly come to see Leonard in a more loving light? Meanwhile, Howard and Bernadette are uncomfortable with how much time Denise has been spending at the house, even when Stuart isn't there. As such, Stuart and Denise try spending a night in at her apartment, even if her "creepy" roommate Mitch is there. And Anu, at a concierge conference in London, telephones with the news that she has been offered a managerial job in London, that job which she is seriously considering. Raj and Anu have to decide what accepting the job means for their relationship.—Huggo
- Having tea with the Coopers, Sheldon asks when Leonard was planning on picking his mother up at the airport. Never because she always takes a cab. After Sheldon volunteers Amy and himself to pick up Beverly Hofstadter, Leonard gets goaded into doing it himself.
Leonard picks up Beverly who wonders why others didn't come. When asked about her flight, she complains about some adults on the plane crying because she made them cry after some of her constructive criticism. Beverly is staying with Leonard and Penny even though Leonard offers her the chance to stay in a hotel.
Howard, Raj and Bernadette are having dinner together in the kitchen while Raj wonders why they never eat in their dining room. Bernadette explains that that's for company and Raj finds out that he's not company. They discuss that Anu is in London when Denise comes in, says "hi" and adds juice to their shopping list. She has been staying at their house quite a bit lately.
In Apartment 4A, Beverly is discussing Leonard's new project co-leading on a photon entanglement team. She finds that interesting and wants to see his lab. Leonard is surprised, but glad to show it to her. Penny thinks that Beverly is being nice, while Leonard figures that she is dying.
Raj is Skyping with Anu in London at her concierge convention. He is glad to see him. Anu is staying in Notting Hill just like in the movie which Anu hasn't seen. She has bad news that she had been offered a management position in London. Anu asks Raj how committed he is to California. His friends are there, but Raj hasn't been happy for a long time.
Denise is leaving the comic book store for her art class as Stuart kisses her and says that he'll see her later. Howard notices and Stuart mentions that they are having a movie night later. Howard asks Stuart that he shouldn't say something to him since it is his house. Howard asks about them doing at her place. Howard finds out that she has a rather creepy room-mate. Stuart replies that he and Bernadette said that Stuart could bring girls over. But they were making FUN of him at the time.
Leonard shows his mother around his photon lab and she finds the equipment very impressive. Leonard is expecting a "but" tinged with criticism. Surprisingly he gets none. Sheldon joins them and Beverly is glad to see him, but wants to spend her time with Leonard.
Stuart and Denise sit down to watch Paddington 2 at her apartment when her creepy room-mate Mitch (Todd Giebenhain) asks to join them. He sits down even though he's seen the movie. He'd rather stare at them, which unnerves both Stuart and Denise.
Raj sits down with the Wolowitzes to discuss Anu. He thinks that her moving to London is the push he needed to move forward with their relationship. He plans to fly to London to ask her to marry him. Howard is shocked. Raj is going to present her the ring that he gave her once before. Howard wonders if that makes him an "Indian Giver".
Leonard gives his mother some tea which she appreciates. Penny tells her that she feels great since she and Leonard are getting along. Penny also comments that Leonard was so happy to show off his lab. Beverly wants her to grade his level of happiness. Beverly then asks that even though her parenting strategies were difficult at times, she wonders if they did contribute to his success. Penny wants some of the credit for helping him with his success. She would like to "observe" them together the next day. She is writing a book on how her parenting strategies affected her children as adults. On hearing this, Leonard gets very angry that while he thought they were enjoying each other's company, she was just doing research on him, yet again.
Sheldon is going through his correspondence with Beverly and, believing that she is mad at him and doesn't want to spend any time with him, relates not being able to understand why. Amy replies that she just may want to spend time with her son. Leonard comes storming mad about his mother. Sheldon is just relieved that Beverly is not mad at him.
Bernadette is having dinner with her husband and convinces him to go stop Raj. Raj is about to have his movie moment with Anu who won't even get the point.
Back in Apartment 4A, Penny tells Beverly that Leonard was very upset with her and that she should talk to him. She refuses because she doesn't think that Leonard should get what he wants by, as she claims, "throwing a tantrum". Penny then forcibly tells her to pick up her phone and call her son and apologize.
Talking to Sheldon and Amy, Leonard explains that around his mother he feels like a needy eight-year-old boy. Amy tries to show more compassion than her husband saying that biologically humans need the approval of their mothers.
At the comic book store, Denise is complaining about her sore neck because her boyfriend made her spend the night in a comic book store. Of course, if Stuart had agreed to move in with Denise, that they wouldn't be in this situation. Now Stuart does want to move in together with her more than anything.
Howard runs up to Raj while he is in line to get on his plane. He tells him to go if he loves Anu and can't stand to be without her for another day. If not, stay where his friends who love him and that he'll find another girl who loves cooking shows, sweater vests and all the other dumb things he loves. Then they both admit that they love each other. Raj hugs him and then everyone in line breaks into applause. They walk off together with Howard saying that he owes him for the plane ticket ($1300) he had to buy to get back through security.
Leonard comes storming in and asks Penny to leave so he can talk to his mother. Penny is fine with that. He explains to his mother that she hurt him. She asks if he is going to tell her how she failed as a mother. Leonard agrees and says that it's a long list. He pauses and then admits that she'll never change. If he wants her to accept him for himself, he has to accept her for herself. He forgives her and forgives himself for taking so long to do it. Leonard finds himself feeling good after the admission. Beverly also has the same feeling. It feels good for him to forgive her and it means a lot. She comes up and tearfully hugs him as he gives her an even tighter embrace.
Finally, Stuart and Denise sit down with Mitch and tell him that Stuart had made a mistake and that they want to live together. Mitch asks him if he loves her. Stuart admits it and then tells Denise directly. She loves him, too. They're happy. Then Mitch wants them to say it to him.
Title reference: Leonard accepting his relationship with his mother for what it is.
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