Okay, so I read the report late last night and just LOVED it, and was incredibly surprised to jump back in this morning and see how uncomfortable people were with it all. I haven't gone through and read everyone's posts (primarily because I'm at work and shouldn't be posting this at all haha) but I thought I'd throw in my two cents on the Shamy plot for this episode.

After reading the report last night, Meg and I had a HUGE chat about the entire scenario, and both were just absolutely in love with it. I personally think that this is a fantastic step for Shamy, in more ways than one. Obviously, on the one hand we've got Sheldon staying to look after her, stating that he has made a commitment to her and he cares for her wellbeing, and therefore will look after her, despite his difficulty with illness and germs and close physical contact. On its own, this development is huge, and I know pretty well all Shamy fans were waiting on a moment like this. Now, we all know Sheldon never does anything half-cocked, nor does he do something half-assed--it was his wish to ensure that he helped her get better, and if he was going to do it, he was going to do it properly. Basically all or nothing. Given the seriousness of such a commitment, and the impact it has on him given his issues with germs, I believe that he's really had to revert back to what he knows, and that is caring for someone in the way his mother would have cared for him. His mindset clunks straight over to the caretaker, the maternal figure as Meg put it, and in doing this he's removing all traces of any sexuality, any arousal, from the situation. This being said, there is no doubt in my mind that given his current state (and the recent developments in him, along with Amy just whipping out her box for him to stare at) he would have been struggling with this under the surface, and hence his only way to cope is to ensure he takes care of her in the simplest form possible. So, from here he goes right on ahead and rubs vapor rub on her chest, innocently, and also bathes her because she requires the assistance. He remains 'clueless' to the sexual nature of these acts--especially given that she's his girlfriend, not just a friend--by maintaining that role of the caretaker, and it's really up to the viewer to decide whether--under the surface--he's wrestling with arousal/confusion/frustration/etc.

All of this being said, he's taken that culture and found out that she in fact is not sick, and the past two days have been an act. Upon discovering this, he has decided that she requires a form of punishment, and it's quite clear from what he says that he has considered the options (from locking her up in a stockade to spanking her) however he has not decided on a plan until he arrived at her door and sought her reaction/apology. This in itself is huge for Sheldon--when does he ever walk in without a plan? The Sheldon we know would have had her punishment set out to the letter (and, as Meg said, possibly would have already had it specified in the agreement) but he hadn't made a decision. He puts her on the spot, and we can gather from his reaction to her admission that he's quite overwhelmed with emotion--even hurt--and it's only after she has told him she enjoyed his care that he begins to consider (or perhaps reconsider) what form of punishment she deserves. Now, I truly believe that this situation for him was the perfect storm, and his choice of spanking her came down to multiple reasons. First off, it appears that he's lost/losing control of his emotions due to the situation, and his reaction to such a deed is to remain as the caretaker--and what would his mother have done should he have pulled such a stunt? She would have spanked him. Taking her over his knee was almost the natural progression for this caretaker mindset he has adopted. In other circumstances, Sheldon would almost certainly have not pulled out a punishment like that--he would have walked away, or cancelled their date nights for two months, or something far less invasive, but he is acting on impulse based on the state of mind he has had to put himself in. He admits to her that she has made him do it. Now, on top of this 'instinctual' reaction, the man has just been subject to days of physical closeness, Amy's naked body, and possibly a whole host of other things, and has devoted himself to looking after her and stepping way out of his comfort zone for her. We know that, to some small degree, he harbours frustration toward Amy in general for making him feel things/do things he wouldn't normally, and this--I believe--has been the tip of the iceberg. He has had to endure these feelings, struggle with them and bury them, and she had led him down the garden path. I honestly believe that, along with the progression of his role as her caretaker, he has snapped, just a little, and--with such extreme emotion under his belt (oh ha-ha)--this is why he has decided on a physical form of punishment. It was all simply too much.

Obviously we haven't seen the episode yet, and we have no idea as to the tone in which he says his lines during that final scene, however the selection of lines do jump out to me as being sexually charged, and not necessarily intentionally. I believe that he was definitely very 'clueless' for a good part (if not all) of this episode, and a lot of these feelings/reactions on his part were just bubbling under the surface and manifested themselves in ways that really do fit perfectly in line with Sheldon's character. Clueless as to Amy's sexual light on every act that he performed or not, Sheldon would be very aware of the fact that spanking your girlfriend isn't exactly an innocent act--but, for all we know, this thought might not have even crossed his mind until much later. It seems, to me, that this was the perfect blend of instinct based on his own experience, and his emotional reaction to the situation at hand (haha I didn't even mean that one!). The writers are, obviously, conveying to us that Sheldon can most certainly handle touching her--even in her germ-riddled state--but not only that, it seems that they are showing us that Sheldon can try as hard as he likes to revert back to a mindset he knows in order to handle the feelings he can't control/process, but, now that these feelings are growing stronger, it's not always going to work.

I have just looked up and realised that I have written a small novel--apologies. I really could go on and on for days...so PM me if you want to chat about it. Haha. I just love, LOVE this episode, and I love that the ending is left so open and so ambiguous--it's going to be very interesting to see where they go next.

As amused as I am about the Shamy spanking, I'm appalled by everything I've seen on tumblr. For anyone who wanted to be unspoiled, I think that the surprise is ruined, and I'm sad about that.

In love with your post and I agree with it all Lauren! always a pleasure to read your awesome posts!

I think we are all way too focused on the spanking when that's basically the tag for the episode. The "heavy laugh moment" sorta thing.
The focus of the episode is Sheldon finally taking care of another human being, getting willingly exposed to germs and going out of his way to make Amy feel better. THAT my friends is HUGE, and saying HUGE is a huge undestatement.

Not only that. He did it for days and when he found out that the last couple of days Amy was faking it (it's not like she was lying all along either) he got upset at her, but even then, forgave her pretty quickly and it only cost? Amy a spanking (that she, of course, thoroughly enjoyed).
In the past, we have talked a lot on the Shamy thread how Amy seems to get away with things in respect to Sheldon that no one else can get away with. And IMO this episode is the biggest example of them.

This episode, to me, is the biggest proof in the show so far of how much Amy is extremely special to him, how much he is willing to fight (and take care) of her, and how much the standards he applies to everybody else do not apply to her.

In love with your post and I agree with it all Lauren! always a pleasure to read your awesome posts!

I think we are all way too focused on the spanking when that's basically the tag for the episode. The "heavy laugh moment" sorta thing.
The focus of the episode is Sheldon finally taking care of another human being, getting willingly exposed to germs and going out of his way to make Amy feel better. THAT my friends is HUGE, and saying HUGE is a huge undestatement.

Not only that. He did it for days and when he found out that the last couple of days Amy was faking it (it's not like she was lying all along either) he got upset at her, but even then, forgave her pretty quickly and it only cost? Amy a spanking (that she, of course, thoroughly enjoyed).
In the past, we have talked a lot on the Shamy thread how Amy seems to get away with things in respect to Sheldon that no one else can get away with. And IMO this episode is the biggest example of them.

This episode, to me, is the biggest proof in the show so far of how much Amy is extremely special to him, how much he is willing to fight (and take care) of her, and how much the standards he applies to everybody else do not apply to her.

Bravo! Yes indeed, it shows tremendous growth in Sheldon that he put Amy before himself in a huge way. I agree with all that you stated and think this is again showing everyone that Sheldon does treat Amy different (back to the feelings bucket conversation - he has not figured out a bucket for her because his feelings for her can't be placed in his usual platonic friend, family, parent buckets).

I think the one thing that still bothers me just a wee bit is that he treated Amy's regimen (or at least from the transcript) not much different than when he helped Penny with her bathtub incident. I guess a tiny part of me would have liked to have seen him react just slightly less comfortable helping Amy than he was helping Penny (to show that his attraction to her was kicking in a bit). It would have to be clearly shown that his discomfort was not in touching her, as much as in what touching her means to him (his body reacts). I like they kept it innocent and all, but somewhere perhaps in a future episode if they could have him thinking back and suddenly freaking out because he realizes that he saw his girlfriend that he loves naked or something. I just want them to make a distinction a bit there.

Lio and Miss Lauren - it is very sad about Tumblr! Yikes!

I would really wait to see the episode, but I do think it is different in this case. When he had to help Penny he didn't really have a choice and Penny begged him to help her. He was reluctant most of the times.
In this case, Amy did give him the chance to leave but he didn't. Not only that, but he was proactively doing things to help her without Amy even asking him to. She was enjoying it, sure, but she wasn't asking him to do it. Like when he prepared the bath. He came up with it himself and judging by the dialog, it seems that was the way he acted all along.

To me. that aspect alone really sets it apart form The Adhesive Duck Deficiency.

I would really wait to see the episode, but I do think it is different in this case. When he had to help Penny he didn't really have a choice and Penny begged him to help her. He was reluctant most of the times.
In this case, Amy did give him the chance to leave but he didn't. Not only that, but he was proactively doing things to help her without Amy even asking him to. She was enjoying it, sure, but she wasn't asking him to do it. Like when he prepared the bath. He came up with it himself and judging by the dialog, it seems that was the way he acted all along.

To me. that aspect alone really sets it apart form The Adhesive Duck Defficiency.

Again, I need to see the episode first, but for what I read, that's my interpretation at the moment.

Why didn't he sing soft kitty to Amy