‘Stuart Fails to Save the Universe’ Brings Back Familiar Faces as the Multiverse Gets Even Messier

Back at the store after the cow universe, the quartet finds themselves in yet another strange universe, and this time, everyone can read everyone else’s minds, a situation that has its perks and its drawbacks. They also finally figure out why they haven’t been able to restore the prime universe. Warning: Spoilers ahead for Stuart Fails to Save the Universe Episode 7.

The gang has been moving laterally between universes when they should be moving along a fourth-dimensional axis: Time. The problem is that the machine was never completed. Essentially, it needs a steering wheel, which means they need to head back to Caltech for the missing components.

There’s also another happy development for Stuart (Kevin Sussman): Denise (Lauren Lapkus) wants to have his children, weak chin and all.

Once they arrive at Caltech, they find out there’s no Howard (Simon Helberg) to be found, but there are a couple of other familiar faces. First up is Ramona Nowitzki (Riki Lindhome), who is still working as a receptionist. Kripke wastes no time hitting on her, mentally conveying that she smells like his mother. Oddly enough, she seems… not disgusted.

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Then they find Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) in this universe, although this version of her is very different from the one they know (and the last version, which was an giant, evil demon). Instead of being a microbiologist-turned-pharmaceutical executive, Bernadette teaches tap dance. She also has a tragic backstory involving her time as a child beauty queen, a failed marriage, and a career she hates.

Rauch recently opened up about returning to the Big Bang Theory universe and revealed that Chuck Lorre personally called her to explain the twist on her character.

“I remember a while ago getting a call from Chuck [Lorre], and he shared what the premise was, and I remember him saying that ‘you would be Bernadette, but not really, just a different version of Bernadette. So it’d be extremely different from anything you ever played.’” Rauch told Variety. “And then he told me the cast, and I was just absolutely ecstatic. Because I love Kevin, and Lauren, and Brian, and John so much, both as human beings and also just fans of theirs as actors. I think each of them is just a comedic laser in their own right.”

Meanwhile, Bert (Brian Posehn) is thrilled to be in a universe where he can talk with his mouth full, while Stuart is simply happy because his sex life is benefiting from the open communication.

The quartet eventually comes up with a plan to steal the components they need from Caltech, although there are a few minor flaws: They don’t know what they need, where it is, or how to use it. And there’s the slightly larger issue of figuring out how to pull off a heist in a world where everyone can read their minds.

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Their solution? Meditation. But a version that requires them to sing “Come On Eileen” in their heads on repeat. That gets them past Nowitzki, followed by a mental rendition of “The Girl from Ipanema” to take care of anyone in the hallway.

But things get weird when they run into another set of themselves, but with lab coats.

As their duplicates are about to jump to another universe, the quartet makes a run for it and catches a ride on their stream. Suddenly, they’re bouncing through universes they’ve already visited, starting with the apocalyptic world from Episode 1. Next comes the “happy world” from Episode 2, followed by the magic universe, where Neil deGrasse Tyson is being burned at the stake for being a scientist. From there, they hit the paradise world from Episode 4, and finally the cow universe, where they literally trip over themselves after stopping to eat some grass.

At this point, there’s an increasingly complicated question hanging over everything: Who is everyone? And which version is actually the hero who is supposed to save the universe?

Before they can figure that out, military versions of Stuart and the gang suddenly appear from a future episode. They take the device from the lab coat versions, forcing our quartet to follow them into their universe, where they land smack in the middle of a war zone.

They manage to zap themselves out before things get worse — only to discover their next stop has turned them into centaurs.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, Thursdays, 9/8c, HBO Max