Stuart Fails to Save the Universe Episode 6 picks up exactly where Episode 5 left off, with Stuart, Denise, Bert, and Kripke landing in another universe. At first glance, it looks surprisingly normal. They’re back inside the comic book store, nobody is being burned at the stake, and there doesn’t appear to be an evil computer trying to kill them.
Then Denise starts eating Stuart’s ficus.
Everyone is understandably horrified until Denise explains that it tastes delicious. Stuart and Kripke try it too and discover she’s right. Bert eventually finds the explanation in one of the comic books in the store: in this universe, their digestive systems work like those of cows.
That means four stomachs. It also means chewing their own cud.
There are a few other differences. Baseball doesn’t have the designated hitter rule, and Skechers Slip-ins apparently don’t exist. But compared with some of the places they’ve visited, Stuart thinks they may have finally found a universe worth staying in.
Stuart And Denise Decide To Stay
Stuart has had enough of jumping between realities that keep turning out to be dangerous. This one isn’t perfect, but it’s peaceful, and he suggests that maybe they should simply stay. He even tells Denise they could get married.
Stuart asks whether she would say yes, although any potential romance in the moment is undercut by both of them repeatedly chewing their cud. He tells her to think about it. Later that night, Denise gives him her answer. She has thought about staying in this universe, and she’s in.
Bert and Kripke have other ideas. They don’t want to stay. As far as they’re concerned, they’ve done pretty well in some of the other universes they’ve visited, so if Stuart and Denise are finished with Leonard and Sheldon’s machine, Bert and Kripke want to take it and continue searching on their own.
There’s one obvious problem. If they leave with the machine, Stuart and Denise won’t have a way out. Denise is fine with that. The decision is made, and the four say goodbye.
It doesn’t take long for Bert and Kripke’s plan to go badly. They activate the machine and end up falling through what appears to be an endless void. Kripke has the device, but pressing its button does nothing. They’re stuck. Meanwhile, Stuart and Denise are having a much better time. They’ve even discovered the joys of a salt lick.
Raj Has Some Bad News About Their New Universe
Their new life is interrupted by Raj, who is trying to warn everyone that the universe is collapsing.
GN-z11, the most distant galaxy the Hubble Space Telescope can see, has disappeared. And it isn’t the only one. The Triangulum Galaxy and the Hyperion proto-supercluster are gone too. Entire star systems at the edge of the universe are disappearing.
Raj is desperately trying to convince people they need to act before it’s too late, but everyone thinks he’s crazy. That sounds like a fairly good reason for Stuart and Denise to reconsider their decision until they discover what “running out of time” actually means. They have roughly 300 to 400 years.
Neither of them is particularly concerned. They’ll be long gone by then. Raj eventually leaves them with the much bigger problem: the universe is ending, and there’s nothing they can do about it. That thought sticks with Stuart.
Stuart Learns He’s The One Who Can Save The Universe
When Stuart and Denise return to the comic book store, they find the original Stuart waiting for them, Or, more accurately, a projection of him.
He explains that because Stuart is entangled with the primary incident of divergence at a quantum level, he is inextricably connected to the potential resolution of the fragmented multistate universe.
In simpler terms: Stuart is the only person who can save the universe. Stuart doesn’t particularly want the job.
He never asked to save anything, and even if he changed his mind, Bert and Kripke have taken the machine. Original Stuart points out that this isn’t much of an excuse. Stuart can simply order another one through the comic book store, just as he did before.
That leaves Stuart with the harder question of whether he actually wants to do it. He talks it through with Denise. At first, he insists he hasn’t done anything wrong. He didn’t sign up for this. The universe they’re in isn’t going to disappear for hundreds of years. Why should saving it be his responsibility?
Denise doesn’t argue with him. Instead, her silence gives Stuart enough room to hear what he’s actually saying. Yes, he didn’t ask for this. Yes, he could stay here and live out the rest of his life with Denise. But countless people across potentially infinite universes would die, or never get the chance to exist at all.
Stuart isn’t a hero. At least, that’s how he sees himself. Denise tells him the decision is his, but she also offers him a different definition of what it means to be a hero. Anyone can be one if they’re trying to make life better for other people. And in Stuart’s case, “other people” could mean everyone who exists, or ever will exist, across an infinite number of universes.
Denise also makes one thing clear: there are no bad universes for her as long as they’re together, That’s enough.
Stuart orders another machine and Gary delivers it.
Why Are There Two Machines?
There’s an obvious problem with Stuart ordering another device: Bert and Kripke already have the original.
The instructions provide a very quantum explanation. The machine both exists and doesn’t exist, and when the new device is activated, it will merge with the original. That’s exactly what happens.
Stuart and Denise suddenly find themselves falling through the same endless void as Bert and Kripke. The machine Kripke is holding disappears and merges with the one in Stuart’s hands.
Kripke thinks they’re trapped somewhere between universes, but Stuart realizes why Bert and Kripke couldn’t get the machine to work. They weren’t chosen to save the universe; Stuart was. When Stuart presses the button, it finally works.
Where Do Stuart And The Gang End Up In Episode 6?
The four arrive back at Stuart’s comic book store, and for once, everything looks normal. That lasts about a few seconds.
Nobody is speaking, yet everyone can hear what everyone else is thinking. They’ve landed in a universe where thoughts aren’t private.
After surviving cows’ digestive systems, a collapsing universe, and an endless interdimensional void, Stuart, Denise, Bert, and Kripke have found their next problem. And this universe could get interesting very quickly.
