Reviewing the Premiere Episode of "Stuart Fails to Save the Universe"

After about three years of waiting, anticipation, rumors, and promos, it finally arrived. Stuart Fails to Save the Universe finally hit HBO Max, but I had to wait a bit. See, here's the thing. Because it's an exclusive stream series, I thought that once the clock struck midnight Pacific Standard Time, the series would premiere. I would learn that the show does have a specific time slot: 9PM Eastern/6PM Pacific, every Thursday. I do like that it's weekly, though, and it's because of the weekly release format that I decided that this will be another show that I recap.

So let's get this party started!

The episode (and series overall) starts in a post-apocalyptic environment, with the comic book store standing--somehow. We see our central protagonist, Stuart Bloom, being encountered by Bert Kibbler, who wants Batman issue #608, with canned goods being used as currency. I'm dead serious, the mention of Dinty Moore beef stew took me back, and had me salivating; that is good stuff. The transaction is interrupted by an argument between customers Trevor and Kyle over whether or not Hawkeye can be considered an Avenger. That's a BBT callback, BTW. One of Sheldon's cracks about Howard saw the latter mention that they work in the same university. Sheldon's response:

"Yes, and Hawkeye's in the Avengers, but no one ever says, 'Help, Hawkeye!'"

The argument ends with Kyle killing Trevor, and Stuart tosses Trevor's body in what's revealed as a dimensional rift, doing so after kicking out Kyle. Afterwards, Stuart and Bert are encountered by an interesting visitor: Stuart.

"Shit just got weird."

We are treated to the theme and intro for the series (which is wonderfully weird and wacky), and afterwards, Bert looks at the two Stuarts, and has two questions. The Stuart who entered is from another stream of reality, and he says that this apocalyptic reality can be avoided. So what caused this? As Stuart 2.0 states, Leonard, Howard, and Sheldon cooked up what he calls a "quantum entanglement thing," which malfunctioned and Stuart was a witness. Reality was altered, resulting in the post-apocalyptic environment, but it can be prevented. Stuart 2.0 states that the device is still at Caltech, and he tells Stuart how to fix everything... well, a small portion of it. Unfortunately, the important parts were garbled due to the fact that 2.0 was going though a wormhole.

So Stuart and Bert are off to Caltech, and after passing Penn and Teller performing, the pair actually encounter Denise, who we remember is Stuart's girlfriend, but as we see, she's with Gary. Well, she was. Gary's time as part of this quest to Caltech lasted barely longer than overtime in the Gold Medal Game, as Gary gets knocked off. Oh man!

Stuart, Bert, and Denise head to what used to be Caltech and enter what was once Bert's geology classroom. Guess what, or who, they find?!

Your eyes don't deceive you, ladies and gentlemen. Underneath all of that wild hair and wilder ramblings is Dr. Rajesh Koothrapali, the legacy character's first appearance in seven years. As Raj revealed, he did get married at some point between the BBT finale and this episode, but his betrothed was eaten by a moth. So after stating that there's something messed up about this reality, Raj reveals the entire story. Leonard, Sheldon, and Howard built a vari-state quantum interference device, and once it malfunctioned, it messed up so much. It can be fixed, but there's one problem: everyone in that world is a prisoner of someone known simply as the "Evil One," who wants everything to stay exactly like it is.

So who is this "Evil One"?

Of course it's "Kwipke." Barry Kripke enters, giving us Colonel Klink vibes with the way he carries his riding crop. So how did Kripke get to this point? Simple; he seized power once everything got screwy, and he has all the guns and all of the women. So he's not looking to change any of that anytime soon. In fact, "Ward" Kripke wants Denise for himself. After Denise is taken away, Bert decides to use his geologic knowledge to make grenades, which they use to blast their way to the device, while Denise manages to uses her feminine wiles to fight off Kripke's advances and knock him out.

The group reaches the device, only for Kripke to emerge and attempt to stop them from fixing the device and changing things back. Raj's attempt to protect his friends gets him shot and killed by Kripke, holy shit! They get the device working, and we see Stuart, Bert, and Kripke sucked into a bubble and transported back to the comic book store. The trio are in different clothes, and things look peaceful, but they notice that Denise isn't with them. They look outside and see no apocalypse, no chaos, just people living in harmony. It looks like they made it back home.

The green glowing lights on their necks say otherwise.

"Spoiler: Gary Dies," the premiere episode of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, debuted on HBO Max on July 23, 2026. I knew I would enjoy this show already, and I totally do; the first episode delivered so much hilarity and chaos. Along with the BBT B-Squad, we were treated to a special appearance from Kunal Nayyar as Raj, and don't worry, fans. Despite his demise in this episode, we will see Raj again, thanks to the whole "multiverse" angle. A few attributes I learned about this show. One, the title of each episode will begin with "Spoiler." Secondly, series co-creators Chuck Lorre, Zak Penn, and Bill Prady wrote every episode of this season. That brings me to the third tidbit: The first season is 10 episodes, with the season finale set for September 24, 2026.

That ending definitely gives an "It's a Good Life" vibe. We all know that very famous episode of The Twilight Zone; a powerful young boy forcing everyone in town to think happy thoughts. Yeah, somebody's behind that creepy universe that Stuart, Bert, and Kripke stumbled into. Can't wait to find out who it is!

Thank you so much for reading my review; feel free to leave a comment below! If you like it, click the heart and click subscribe if you want more, and feel free to leave a tip or pledge (if you want)!