Stuart Fails to Save the Universe Episode 4 finally gives Stuart something dangerously close to the perfect life. He has Denise, two kids, a successful career as an artist, and even a version of Barry living next door. Naturally, Stuart decides there must be something terribly wrong.
And he is right. The Stuart Fails to Save the Universe Episode 4 recap starts inside a psychiatric hospital, moves through one of the strangest collections of hallucinations the show has given us yet, and eventually reunites Stuart, Denise, Bert and Barry. The problem is that getting the group back together doesn’t mean they have actually escaped anything.
Stuart’s Psychiatrist Looks Very Familiar
Episode 4 opens with Stuart in therapy, explaining his adventures through the different universes to his psychiatrist. He tells her about Penny, the chips implanted in everyone’s necks, and the universe with magic.
His psychiatrist also happens to be played by Mayim Bialik, making this another fun Big Bang Theory reunion. Bialik played Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler on the original series and, in real life, earned a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA in 2007. If you’re going to tell someone that you’ve been jumping between universes, apparently she is as good a person as any.
Stuart even admits that he knew Amy in his original universe; although she wasn’t a psychiatrist there, she was a neurologist.
This information does not exactly help his case; Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler doubles his medication.
Stuart continues insisting that he needs to get out because he has to find another, hopefully better, universe. She tells him that if he makes progress, he might eventually be allowed out for a day. At this point, “eventually” sounds suspiciously like “never.”
His room is covered with drawings of the universes he remembers. Stuart takes his newly increased dose of medication but leaves his door unlocked so he can explore the facility.
Unfortunately, exploring a psychiatric hospital while heavily medicated proves slightly more complicated than planned.
Stuart Finds Bert and a Sherpa Named Mamie Eisenhower
The hallway stretches into a seemingly endless uphill corridor. Stuart eventually wakes to the sound of someone knocking on a window and discovers Bert, who is also apparently a patient.
Stuart tries to open Bert’s door to help him escape, only for the doorway to suddenly lead to the edge of a snowy mountain, and this is where Mamie Eisenhower arrives.
Yes, Mamie Eisenhower.
He is played by another Chuck Lorre veteran, Jon Cryer, and is now a Sherpa. Mamie explains that he converted after meeting a woman online, only for the woman to go back to her ex after Mamie’s conversion.
These episodes really are getting better and weirder as they go.
Stuart then “wakes up” again and finds himself back in his locked room. Across the corridor, another patient is playing the accordion. That patient is “Weird Al” Yankovic.
Except Stuart turns around, and suddenly he is standing in the corridor with Bert. Bert admits that he never actually escaped his room. Stuart is simply extremely high.
As if the episode needs to prove the point any further, Stuart looks back toward Weird Al’s room and finds a black-and-white Porky Pig lying there instead. It is a Warner Bros. show, after all.
Eventually, guards catch Stuart. He did, at least, genuinely manage to escape his room. As they take him away, Bert keeps shouting the same warning from the other side of the door:
“None of this is real.”
Denise Gives Stuart a Reason to Get Better
Denise comes to visit Stuart, and this time the episode gives him something much harder to dismiss.
Stuart keeps insisting that he needs to escape, but Denise tells him he needs to get better first. Their children, Jaden and Talia, miss him.
Stuart promises her that he will do the work. So he does. Or, more accurately, he becomes very good at looking like he does.
He participates in group therapy. He cries during meetings. He takes his medication, does crafts, draws appropriately normal pictures, socializes with the other patients, and plays cards. Most importantly, he removes the drawings of the other universes from his room.
By the time he sits down for his final interview, Stuart admits that he genuinely thought he had completely lost his mind. He feels better, and his psychiatrist agrees that he can go home.
Before leaving, Stuart asks whether they plan on releasing Bert anytime soon. There is only one problem: according to his Amy, there is no patient named Bert.
Stuart Gets His Perfect Life
Denise is waiting outside the facility when Stuart leaves, but she has one more stop planned before they go home.
It’s an art exhibition, not just any exhibition, either: It’s Stuart’s.
In this universe, Stuart is one of the hottest artists around, and his work consists of paintings inspired by all the other universes he thought he imagined. Even better, Bert is there and owns the gallery.
Once Stuart gets home, things somehow become even more perfect. He and Denise have a normal family life with Jaden and Talia. Barry is their neighbor, and Gary is Barry’s husband.
The universe itself has a strange 1960s look despite being otherwise modern, but for a while, Stuart seems willing to accept what he has.
Then the cracks start showing. While out for a walk, he notices a doormat telling him to WAKE UP. A car appears to be following him. Then he finds his comic book shop.
Inside is a comic called Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, and inside the comic, Stuart finally gets some answers. He is followed by the Stuart of the “original universe”, who was there to make sure he got the comic.
What Happened to Stuart in the Original Universe?
The comic reveals that Sheldon, Leonard, and Howard built a vari-state quantum entanglement device.
Stuart happened to walk by because he wanted to share the good news about his clean colonoscopy. In his excitement, he knocked the device off the table.
Honestly, if Stuart was going to become accidentally entangled with the fate of the universe, finding out it happened because he was celebrating his colonoscopy feels about right.
From that moment on, Stuart became connected to the fate of the universe. Messages have been sent to him throughout his journey, including newspapers and the doormat, but Stuart hasn’t understood what they were trying to tell him.
The comic promises that more instructions will come. First, however, Stuart has to escape the prison he is currently trapped inside.
That prison is the universe itself, the comic ends with the same warning Bert gave him: None of this is real.
On the back is an advertisement for a machine capable of traveling between universes. Stuart orders it. Of course he does.
Stuart Fails to Save the Universe Episode 4 Ending Explained
When the machine arrives, Denise wants to know what Stuart is doing. His answer is surprisingly simple: this life is too perfect.
Everything Stuart ever wanted has finally happened. He has Denise, children, success, and a life that seems almost specifically designed to make him happy. That is exactly why he no longer trusts it. He turns on the machine, taking Denise with him into another universe.
This time, all four friends are finally reunited.
Stuart, Denise, Bert, and Barry wake up bald, covered in goo, and seemingly free from the false reality. Bert immediately points out the obvious: they appear to have landed in an actual scene from The Matrix.
More importantly, he doesn’t believe they escaped at all. According to Bert, whatever is controlling their reality wants them to think they got out. They are still trapped.
Stuart notices light coming through what appears to be a rip in their surroundings. He opens it, the screen turns white, and the four find another machine. They activate it, again.
The next universe looks like a jungle, where the group is quickly surrounded by natives. Stuart and the others try to explain that they come in peace.
The natives aren’t particularly impressed; instead, they start discussing among themselves whether these four strangers simply sound stupid.
That’s where Episode 4 leaves them: together at last, but still jumping through universes with absolutely no idea where they’re going.
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FAQ
Who plays Stuart’s psychiatrist in Episode 4?
Mayim Bialik plays Stuart’s psychiatrist in Stuart Fails to Save the Universe Episode 4. Bialik previously played Amy Farrah Fowler on The Big Bang Theory.
Who does Jon Cryer play in Episode 4?
Jon Cryer appears as Mamie Eisenhower, a sherpa Stuart encounters during his bizarre journey through the psychiatric facility.
What does Stuart learn from the comic book?
Stuart learns that he became entangled with the fate of the universe after knocking over a vari-state quantum entanglement device built by Sheldon, Leonard and Howard. The comic also tells him that he must escape the universe he is currently trapped inside.
Key Details
- Series: Stuart Fails to Save the Universe
- Episode: Season 1, Episode 4
- Guest stars featured in the episode: Mayim Bialik, Jon Cryer and “Weird Al” Yankovic
- Returning characters: Stuart, Denise, Bert and Barry
- Ending: Stuart, Denise, Bert and Barry escape into another universe and find themselves surrounded by natives in a jungle
- Major reveal: Stuart became connected to the fate of the universe after knocking over Sheldon, Leonard and Howard’s quantum entanglement device