‘Stuart Fails To Save The Universe’ Episode 2 Features a Surprising OG Star Return
The highly anticipated HBO Max series, ‘Stuart Fails To Save the Universe’, has once again surprised fans with a surprise return of an original cast member from ‘The Big Bang Theory’. In the second episode of the series, viewers were thrilled to see Brian Thomas Smith reprise his role as Zack, a recurring character who was Penny’s (Kaley Cuoco) on- and off- boyfriend while she and Leonard (Johnny Galecki) were broken up.
The second episode of ‘Stuart Fails To Save the Universe’ takes place in an alternate universe where everyone is forced to be perpetually nice and happy by shock-inducing buttons on their necks. In this universe, Penny is a leader of the resistance against an AI-imposed mind control, with Zack as her second in command.
When asked why the creators opted to have Penny be with Zack as if her relationship with Leonard never happened, Chuck Lorre explained, “Because that’s what happened in that universe, we don’t know what Leonard is doing in that universe.” Bill Prady added, “There was no Cheesecake Factory in her life,” a reference to Penny’s place of work for most of Big Bang’s run.
In this alternate universe, Penny is a very different character who is pretty ruthless, violently slapping Stuart (Kevin Sussman), Bert (Brian Posehn) and Kripke (John Ross Bowie) to “deprogram” them and ordering them killed with no hesitation once she realizes that they don’t know how to defeat the AI overlord. The trio are ultimately saved by a drone attack launched by the AI, with Penny, Zack and the rest getting incapacitated while Stuart, Bert, Kripke, along with Denise (Lauren Lapkus), use Leonard and Sheldon’s machine to transport themselves to another universe.
The episode also features appearances from ‘The Big Bang Theory’ cast members Christine Baranski and Riki Lindhome. Baranski plays a version of herself as the host of the 30-month re-education program Stuart, Bert are Kripke are forced to attend, while Lindhome reprises her role as Ramona Nowitzkis, an obsessive CalTech graduate student, who is now a receptionist from hell at her alma mater.
When asked if the creators enjoyed going dark in the spinoff, Prady replied, “Beyond. It was fun to do something different, that was part of the promise, come and play with us, and we’ll make sure that you’re playing a version of your character you never got to play before, an entirely different approach to the character, and that was fun for the actors.” Lorre added, “Beyond. It was fun to do something different, that was part of the promise, come and play with us, and we’ll make sure that you’re playing a version of your character you never got to play before, an entirely different approach to the character, and that was fun for the actors.”
Zak Penn also weighed in, saying, “And everyone wants to play the bad guy, that’s always the most fun role.”
The creators have established a pattern with the first two episodes, each featuring a surprise return of a Big Bang Theory original cast member. Following Kunal Nayyar’s appearance as Raj in Episode 1, where he is shockingly killed by Kripke (John Ross Bowie), Cuoco showed up in the second episode alongside Zack (Smith).
