The Big Bang Theory - General Discussion

[WinnieWinkle]

Random observation - watching older episodes and noticed that with both Dr Stepanie and and with Raj's sister Priya we have women who try to change Leonard in terms of clothing and appearance.  In both cases not in a positive way.  With Penny I don't recall any episodes where she does this - he does try to change things about himself for her but once they are a couple I can't think of any times when she makes him wear clothes that itch or put him in contacts. Not sure where i'm going with this 😃.

[DedicatedFan]

There was an episode in which Leonard said that Penny wouldn't let him wear his ewok or wookie coat when out in public with her.  In another episode in which they made lists of changes they wanted in each other (Leonard wanted Penny to read more, so she read a book about getting better abs), Lenny asked her "What do you mean, my eyebrows are stupid?" and then said, "Never mind," because as he continued to read her list, he saw why she thought that his eyebrows were stupid.  I assume that she wanted him to change them.  In another episode, Sheldon said that Raj once waxed Leonard's eyebrows, but I don't know if it was because of Penny.

As someone who has worn contact lenses for 55 years (I am old), that episode with Leonard trying to get used to his new contacts struck a bad note with me.  When I first got contacts (back then, there wasn't any such thing as rigid gas permeable contacts or soft contacts - all contacts were hard), I was first fitted with blank non-prescription contacts that I wore while I wore my glasses, in order to see if my eyes could adjust to them.  After a month, when I finally got used to having things in my eyes, prescription contacts were ordered.  I don't know what kind of contacts Leonard was wearing, but I'm surprised that he was fitted with prescription contacts at what I assume was his first appointment with an optometrist and was expected to wear them all the time.  

[Guest]

4 hours ago, DedicatedFan said:

As someone who has worn contact lenses for 55 years (I am old), that episode with Leonard trying to get used to his new contacts struck a bad note with me.  When I first got contacts (back then, there wasn't any such thing as rigid gas permeable contacts or soft contacts - all contacts were hard), I was first fitted with blank non-prescription contacts that I wore while I wore my glasses, in order to see if my eyes could adjust to them.  After a month, when I finally got used to having things in my eyes, prescription contacts were ordered.  I don't know what kind of contacts Leonard was wearing, but I'm surprised that he was fitted with prescription contacts at what I assume was his first appointment with an optometrist and was expected to wear them all the time.  

Being given prescription contacts at your first appointment is exactly how it is handled now. I’ve had some optometrists who will give me a pair of disposable lenses to test for a week before getting the prescription or have had a month to have prescription adjusted at no charge. 

Edited July 22, 2021 by Guest

[DedicatedFan]

Okay, disposable contacts means soft contacts, right?  I don't know if Leonard's contacts were soft.  I remember at one point, he said that one of his contacts had gone into his skull.  I know what he meant, because I've been there (with my current rigid gas permeable contacts), but it doesn't really go into the skull.  Apparently, he went back to the optometrist, because he wore an eye patch when going to sleep (and I hope that means that the optometrist succeeded in taking the contact out of his eye).  Do soft contacts move away from where they should be?

[chitowngirl]

11 minutes ago, DedicatedFan said:

Do soft contacts move away from where they should be?

They can! I’ve nudged down one or two in my day from up in my skull!😆

[Guest]

1 hour ago, DedicatedFan said:

Okay, disposable contacts means soft contacts, right? 

Yes but not all soft lenses are disposable. 

1 hour ago, DedicatedFan said:

Do soft contacts move away from where they should be?

All the time. They are so pliable that it is very easy for them to fold and end up stuck. 

[DedicatedFan]

Okay, so we don't know if Leonard's contacts were soft or rigid.  And it's not surprising that he's wearing prescription contacts so soon after his first appointment with an optometrist.  I am somewhat surprised that he apparently has already mastered the art of putting them in his eyes, but that's okay.  

I just saw the episode in which Penny and Emily met, where Emily didn't like Penny because Raj had told her that the two of them had had a one night stand.  I was surprised, because in the episode in which Raj said that he told Emily and Lucy that he was dating both of them, he said that Lucy had mixed feelings, and he said that he told her, "Emily is cool with it.  Emily is great.  Why can't you be more like Emily?"  I don't know why Emily doesn't mind that she and Raj aren't exclusive, yet she has a problem hearing about a former hook-up.  (And this is another example of Raj not knowing how to talk to women.  Meaning that I am not surprised that his relationship with Yvette the vet never got off the ground.)

[Guest]

16 minutes ago, DedicatedFan said:

I just saw the episode in which Penny and Emily met, where Emily didn't like Penny because Raj had told her that the two of them had had a one night stand.  I was surprised, because in the episode in which Raj said that he told Emily and Lucy that he was dating both of them, he said that Lucy had mixed feelings, and he said that he told her, "Emily is cool with it.  Emily is great.  Why can't you be more like Emily?"  I don't know why Emily doesn't mind that she and Raj aren't exclusive, yet she has a problem hearing about a former hook-up. 

I didn’t think she had a problem hearing about a former hookup but that she had a problem with Raj spending a lot of time with a former hookup. That’s a pretty normal reaction particularly since the writing tended to be sexist. 

19 minutes ago, DedicatedFan said:

I am somewhat surprised that he apparently has already mastered the art of putting them in his eyes, but that's okay.  

Soft contacts are really easy to put in once you get past any difficulty sticking your finger in your eye. 

[WinnieWinkle]

2 hours ago, DedicatedFan said:

I just saw the episode in which Penny and Emily met, where Emily didn't like Penny because Raj had told her that the two of them had had a one night stand. 

I don't remember this episode but this description annoys me as Raj knew perfectly well that he and Penny didn't actually have a one night stand as he was the one sober enough (barely) to remember what had actually happened.  Was he just showing off to Emily that he could have a fling with Penny or did the writers forget the details I wonder.

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, WinnieWinkle said:

I don't remember this episode but this description annoys me as Raj knew perfectly well that he and Penny didn't actually have a one night stand as he was the one sober enough (barely) to remember what had actually happened.  Was he just showing off to Emily that he could have a fling with Penny or did the writers forget the details I wonder.

They remembered and it wasn’t described as a one night stand but a hookup. Penny brings up that they didn’t have sex. 

[DedicatedFan]

Quote

t think she had a problem hearing about a former hookup but that she had a problem with Raj spending a lot of time with a former hookup.

Okay, that didn't occur to me.  Priya made it clear that she didn't like Leonard hanging around with Penny so frequently, but I thought that Emily was intimidated by Penny because Penny was so pretty.  IIRC when Emily was okay with Raj dating her and Lucy, she didn't know what Lucy looked like.

Quote

Soft contacts are really easy to put in once you get past any difficulty sticking your finger in your eye.

So are rigid contacts!  But it's really hard to get used to sticking your finger in your eye.  And before that, you have to let the optometrist stick his/her finger in your eye.  I originally wore hard contacts.  So not only did I have to get used to sticking my fingers in my eyes, I had to get used to walking around with what felt like dimes in my eyes.

Quote

They remembered and it wasn’t described as a one night stand but a hookup.

I'm so old that I thought that a one night stand and a hookup are the same thing.  Well, they are, I thought, if the hookup happens only once.  I mean, you can have a hookup with someone once and then again (and maybe again and again), but if it happens just once, isn't that a one night stand?

Edited July 26, 2021 by DedicatedFan

[Guest]

32 minutes ago, DedicatedFan said:

Okay, that didn't occur to me.  Priya made it clear that she didn't like Leonard hanging around with Penny so frequently, but I thought that Emily was intimidated by Penny because Penny was so pretty.  IIRC when Emily was okay with Raj dating her and Lucy, she didn't know what Lucy looked like.

It was both. Raj told Emily that he and Lucy had only kissed once making her less of a threat than Penny. Plus Raj and Emily were a lot more serious when she met Penny than they were when Raj was seeing Lucy. 

37 minutes ago, DedicatedFan said:

I'm so old that I thought that a one night stand and a hookup are the same thing.  Well, they are, I thought, if the hookup happens only once.  I mean, you can have a hookup with someone once and then again (and maybe again and again), but if it happens just once, isn't that a one night stand?

I would say that a hookup has a much wider definition that can cover almost anything sexual but most assume that a one night stand means sex. 

[DedicatedFan]

I thought that both of them mean sex with someone you just met and/or don't know very well.

[Guest]

12 minutes ago, DedicatedFan said:

I thought that both of them mean sex with someone you just met and/or don't know very well.

Hookup can mean that or it could mean dozens of other things. 

[WinnieWinkle]

I just saw the episode where Penny and Leonard look after Cinnamon and the dog eats some chocolate.  The attitude of both Raj and the vet really annoy me.  Not everyone is even aware that chocolate is bad for dogs and yet Penny and Leonard are given no thanks or credit for rushing Cinnamon to a vet as soon as they realized what had happened.  Granted they left the chocolate within dog reach but even so they reacted in the best possible way but you wouldn't know that based on Raj and especially based on the vet.  

Edited September 5, 2021 by WinnieWinkle

[Spartan Girl]

While I know we all side-eye Leonard's Nice Guy behavior, I did like how in "The Recombination Hypothesis" (after his breakup with Priya) he went straight up to Penny and asked if she wanted to go out for dinner on a date. It was direct, honest, to the point, no fuss. Frankly, it's an approach he should have done years ago instead of passively aggressively pining over her, etc.

Edited October 15, 2021 by Spartan Girl

[SusanM]

Wolowitz Zero-Gravity Waste Disposal System broken

Ok it wasn't really the Wolowitz Zero-Gravity Waste Disposal System but I can't be the only BBT fan who immediately thought of this episode when they read the news about the SpaceX toilet being broken!

Edited November 7, 2021 by SusannahM

[SusanM]

Unlike a lot of fans I actually like the Sheldon Cooper character,  I enjoy the way he's written and played.  However I am watching some older episodes right now and the episode "The Bus Pants Utilization" from the 4th season where Sheldon gets fired from the smartphone app projec is on.  Sheldon is at his absolute worst in this one.  Tedious, exhausting and beyond redemption.  If he was this unrelievedly awful in every episode I think the show would have had a much shorter run.

[Bort]

I absolutely loathe Sheldon in the dining table episode. It made complete sense for them to get a table to eat at, with even a spot ready made to put it in with the alcove by the window that was usually occupied by an unused desk and obsolete desktop computer but noooooooo… Sheldon pitched a fit and everyone caved, going back to cramming the seven of them around a small coffee table.

[SusanM]

11 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

I absolutely loathe Sheldon in the dining table episode.

Oh I'd forgotten that one!  I only watched it once,  Once was more than enough.

 

[Pepper the Cat]

12 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

I absolutely loathe Sheldon in the dining table episode. It made complete sense for them to get a table to eat at, with even a spot ready made to put it in with the alcove by the window that was usually occupied by an unused desk and obsolete desktop computer but noooooooo… Sheldon pitched a fit and everyone caved, going back to cramming the seven of them around a small coffee table.

This is one of the few episodes that I cannot rewatch. It just makes me so mad. 

[Guest]

39 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

I absolutely loathe Sheldon in the dining table episode. It made complete sense for them to get a table to eat at, with even a spot ready made to put it in with the alcove by the window that was usually occupied by an unused desk and obsolete desktop computer but noooooooo… Sheldon pitched a fit and everyone caved, going back to cramming the seven of them around a small coffee table.

I completely agree. It’s even worse that the final line is Sheldon saying, “Sometimes the baby wins.” So infuriating. 

[Fellaway]

Watching The Scavenger Vortex on TBS right now, which is one of my favorite episodes, but every time Bernadette says "Congratulations. You got it last." I want someone to tell her "Well, you didn't get it at all, so..."

Ugh, I don't hate her or anything, even though she's my least favorite character, but I do really dislike her in this episode.

[SusanM]

On 1/3/2022 at 8:22 PM, Fellaway said:

Ugh, I don't hate her or anything, even though she's my least favorite character, but I do really dislike her in this episode.

I'm watching the reruns now from around the time Bernadette is first introduced through to the one I saw yesterday where Howard tells his mother that he and Bernadette are engaged.  This is the episode, I think, where they start to tinker with her character.  Up to this point she's sweet, a little driven, but basically a nice person.  At the end of this episode she gets mad at Howard and yells at him in her Mrs Wolowitz voice.  I'm going to make a point of watching going forward to see when they completely turn her character into Bernie the Bully.

[peacheslatour]

On 1/8/2022 at 1:06 PM, SusannahM said:

I'm watching the reruns now from around the time Bernadette is first introduced through to the one I saw yesterday where Howard tells his mother that he and Bernadette are engaged.  This is the episode, I think, where they start to tinker with her character.  Up to this point she's sweet, a little driven, but basically a nice person.  At the end of this episode she gets mad at Howard and yells at him in her Mrs Wolowitz voice.  I'm going to make a point of watching going forward to see when they completely turn her character into Bernie the Bully.

At least she's not a creepy weirdo like Amy.

[SusanM]

10 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

At least she's not a creepy weirdo like Amy.

I liked Amy when she was first introduced and liked her again once she  got over her hot crush on Penny.  That interlude was creepy, and ridiculous.

[SusanM]

I officially need to stop watching BBT.  The episode where Leonard is going to take Penny to Switzerland and Sheldon thinks he should be the one going was on tonight and all I could think of was "so why can't Sheldon go along on his own dime and see the super collider with Leonard?  Penny wouldn't be interested in that part of the trip anyway."

And then the episode where Sheldon won't pay the traffic ticket came on and, I'm sorry Sheldon, but how is it Penny's fault that you didn't meet Stan Lee?  You were the one who figured you could talk your way out of the ticket and then refused to apologize to the judge.  

Hmm perhaps my problem isn't BBT but the shakey plot lines in most sitcoms.

Edited January 21, 2022 by SusannahM

[Spartan Girl]

1 hour ago, SusannahM said:

And then the episode where Sheldon won't pay the traffic ticket came on and, I'm sorry Sheldon, but how is it Penny's fault that you didn't meet Stan Lee?  You were the one who figured you could talk your way out of the ticket and then refused to apologize to the judge.  

I don’t know, I feel like Sheldon was right to be pissed at Penny; she deliberately passed the buck to Sheldon so that she wouldn’t have to pay the ticket even though it was her car and she was the one that made Sheldon drive through a red light. Sure he should’ve just paid the ticket anyway, but still.

[SusanM]

13 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

Sure he should’ve just paid the ticket anyway, but still.

Oh totally agree with you here it was Penny's fault the ticket had not been paid but it was Sheldon and his hubris that meant he didn't get to have gelato with Stan Lee!

 

[Bort]

12 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

I don’t know, I feel like Sheldon was right to be pissed at Penny; she deliberately passed the buck to Sheldon so that she wouldn’t have to pay the ticket even though it was her car and she was the one that made Sheldon drive through a red light. Sure he should’ve just paid the ticket anyway, but still.

Sheldon was the driver, it was his ticket to pay. And then he was the one who learned the hard way that you can’t condescend to a judge.

[Guest]

14 hours ago, SusannahM said:

 

I officially need to stop watching BBT.  The episode where Leonard is going to take Penny to Switzerland and Sheldon thinks he should be the one going was on tonight and all I could think of was "so why can't Sheldon go along on his own dime and see the super collider with Leonard?  Penny wouldn't be interested in that part of the trip anyway."

 

I don’t think that would have worked for a solution because Sheldon doesn’t respect boundaries. It would be impossible for Leonard and Penny to have a romantic trip with Sheldon there. 

13 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

I don’t know, I feel like Sheldon was right to be pissed at Penny; she deliberately passed the buck to Sheldon so that she wouldn’t have to pay the ticket even though it was her car and she was the one that made Sheldon drive through a red light. Sure he should’ve just paid the ticket anyway, but still.

She also could have warned him that the ticket was coming. 

My biggest problem with that episode is that I don’t believe Sheldon would have run a red light just because Penny told him to.  We saw Sheldon driving. He was rigidly following the rules to Penny’s constant frustration. 

[Bort]

3 minutes ago, Dani said:

She also could have warned him that the ticket was coming. 

She could have but that would’ve just meant that Penny would’ve had to endure a longer amount of Sheldon bitching about it. So I get why she didn’t.

[Guest]

18 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

She could have but that would’ve just meant that Penny would’ve had to endure a longer amount of Sheldon bitching about it. So I get why she didn’t.

I understand why she did it but I still think she was wrong. Penny also only passed the buck onto Sheldon because her own driving record is so bad she couldn’t afford any more points. They both made bad decisions and they both suffered for it. To me it’s an episode where they deserved each other. 

[SusanM]

44 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

She could have but that would’ve just meant that Penny would’ve had to endure a longer amount of Sheldon bitching about it. So I get why she didn’t.

Frankly it's still on Sheldon, he had a drawer full of summons with regard to the ticket.  He had ample warning even without Penny saying anything to him.  If he couldn't be bothered to open those letters that's not her fault! Also seems very unSheldony to me - this is the guy who freaks out if someone doesn't answer their phone or check their messages!

[Bort]

30 minutes ago, Dani said:

I understand why she did it but I still think she was wrong. Penny also only passed the buck onto Sheldon because her own driving record is so bad she couldn’t afford any more points. They both made bad decisions and they both suffered for it. To me it’s an episode where they deserved each other. 

I wasn’t saying Penny was right in not warning Sheldon, just that I get why she didn’t. And also, as @SusannahM pointed out, he’d had multiple letters about it but ignored them. But I don’t agree that she was “passing the buck,” no matter what she said about her own points. It still wasn’t her ticket to deal with. 

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, SusannahM said:

Frankly it's still on Sheldon, he had a drawer full of summons with regard to the ticket.  He had ample warning even without Penny saying anything to him.  If he couldn't be bothered to open those letters that's not her fault! Also seems very unSheldony to me - this is the guy who freaks out if someone doesn't answer their phone or check their messages!

To me, it’s not about assigned blame to one person. They both handled badly and share part of the responsibility for the ticket. Sheldon is completely responsible for ending up in jail and not meeting Stan Lee. They also both had to suffer some consequences so I don’t feel bad for either of them. 

3 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

But I don’t agree that she was “passing the buck,” no matter what she said about her own points. It still wasn’t her ticket to deal with. 

Personally, I would say she took some level of responsibility because she knew Sheldon only had a learners permit and was extremely uncomfortable driving. Legally she is in the right. Morally, I find it questionable and so did she based on her reaction. If I was in Penny’s situation I would have paid the ticket but I wouldn’t expect everyone to do the same. That doesn’t make what Sheldon did right or him not responsible for the consequences. 

[NoReally]

Question: In the finale, why do only call Sarah Michelle Gellar "Buffy" or "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and never use her real name?

 

This jumps out at me every time I see that last episode. As far as I recall, the show's characters identify every other guest star as their on-screen persona (I guess for viewers who don't know their roles) and then call them by name (Summer Glau, Nathan Fillion, Brent Spiner, Wil Wheaton, etc.).

It just bugs me.

[MaryMitch]

I never understood why she took up so much screen time on the finale of the show. 

[Bort]

Because otherwise Raj would’ve had no lines in the last half of the finale. Buffy was his subplot.

[Silverplume]

I always found it odd that Penny wore almost no jewelry on the show. She seems like a wearer of multiple bracelets and/or necklaces.

[Fellaway]

I may be sitting at a table for one, but I hate everything about the "Sheldon wins a Nobel" storyline.

I hate that it ate up so much time in the final season. I hate that he won it with Amy. I hate that we're supposed to believe Amy is as smart in Physics as she is in Neurobiology. (Hey, Sheldon, your wife is smarter than you!) I hate that he won a Nobel at all. And I hate that it took a place of such great reward for him to come to his epiphany about his relationships with his friends.

Oh, how I would've loved it if one of the others had won the Nobel, perhaps Amy in her own field or, better yet, Leonard. Sheldon's epiphany would've felt more authentic and meaningful to me if it had come from a place of watching someone else win the prize.

Do theoretical physicists generally win Nobel prizes anyway? It seems more logical that those who prove theories would win. Hey, maybe those two doofuses who proved Sheldon and Amy's theory by accident should have won. That could've been karmic.

[Guest]

21 hours ago, Silverplume said:

I always found it odd that Penny wore almost no jewelry on the show. She seems like a wearer of multiple bracelets and/or necklaces.

She does? I would have said the exact opposite. I really only remember her wearing the locket Leonard bought her occasionally. 

3 hours ago, Fellaway said:

Do theoretical physicists generally win Nobel prizes anyway?

Yes. A few have won in the last few years including one of last years winners. 

3 hours ago, Fellaway said:

It seems more logical that those who prove theories would win.

That can be the case but that is often because it can take decades for a theory to be proven and the Nobel can’t be awarded posthumously. Those that prove a theory often have an advantage if they proved the work of someone who is already dead. They also can award up to three people so it can be split between those who come up with the theory and those that prove it which the show addressed.

If it hadn’t been for his disease shortening his life there is a damn good chance Hawking would have won the Nobel prize in 2020. His black hole theory was in the process of being confirmed when he died. The prize ended up going to the cosmologist who came up with the mathematical theory with Hawking and the two astrophysicists who proved them right. 

Edited February 22, 2022 by Guest

[Tom Holmberg]

Due out in Oct

"The Big Bang Theory: An Oral History" by Jessica Radloff 

ISBN: ‎ 9781538708491

The definitive, behind-the-scenes look at the most popular sitcom of the last decade, The Big Bang Theory, packed with all-new, exclusive interviews with the producers and entire cast.

The Big Bang Theory is a television phenomenon. To the casual viewer, it’s a seemingly effortless comedy, with relatable but deeply unique characters tackling real-life issues—a kind of visual comfort food for its millions of dedicated fans. But the behind-the-scenes journey of the show from a failed pilot to a global phenomenon is a riveting story that even the most die-hard fans don’t know in its entirety. 

THE BIG BANG THEORY: THE DEFINITIVE ORAL HISTORY is a riveting, entertaining look at the sitcom sensation, with the blessing and participation of co-creator Chuck Lorre and executive producer Steve Molaro, as well as Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Melissa Rauch, Mayim Bialik, and more. Glamour senior editor Jessica Radloff, who has written over 200 articles on the series (and even had a cameo in the finale!), gives readers an all-access pass to its intrepid producing and writing team and beloved cast. It’s a story of on-and-off screen romance told in hilarious and emotional detail, of casting choices that nearly changed everything (which even some of the actors didn’t know until now), of cast members bravely powering through personal tragedies, and when it came time to announce the 12th season would be its last, the complicated reasons why it was more difficult than anyone ever led on. Above all else, The Big Bang Theory tackled issues no other sitcoms would touch, which underwent a brilliant metamorphosis during its 279 episodes that mirrored the changing attitudes of America itself. These are the stories shared here, with the intimacy and the reverence the show has earned.

 

[Tom Holmberg]

Also

The Big Bang Theory Book of Lists: The Official Guide to Characters, Quotes, Timelines, and Memorable Moments
Bryan Young 
ISBN: 9780762481187

Celebrate the nerdiest friend group with this ultimate fan guide packed with trivia, facts, and memories from all twelve seasons of The Big Bang Theory. 

With more than 100 inventive lists, charts, and timelines, The Big Bang Theory Book of Lists offers fans a creative way of looking at and celebrating the iconic and beloved early 2000s sitcom. Revisit some of your favorite moments, pairings, cameos, and geeky references (or test your super-fan knowledge) with these fun groupings exploring the variables of life in apartment 4A.

Lists include:

Timelines of all the characters, their romantic partnerships, vows, and weddings  

Analysis of Sheldon's Public Restroom Kit

All of Penny’s Relationship Advice

Pictorial Records for Sheldon, Leonard, Penny, Howard, Raj, Amy, and Bernadette

Record of all of the guests (cameos) in the apartment

Diagram of The Universe of All Women

Everything that's in Bernadette's Grab Bag

A break-down of all of Sheldon's geeky shirts and their references

And more!

Illustrated with full-color photographs and visuals from the show throughout, The Big Bang Theory Book of Lists is an officially licensed, must-have collector's item for the ultimate fan.

 

[chitowngirl]

Not that these aren’t great for fans of TBBT, but you think they would have published these years ago when the show ended to capitalize on the publicity

[SusanM]

I just picked up on something I never noticed before - in reruns on the channel I watch we've reached the episodes where Howard goes to the International Space Station.  Along with that running storyline is one where Penny is having second thoughts about continuing her relationship with Leonard.  We have a couple of episodes where it looks like she is considering ending things - but then a new character is introduced. 

Sheldon hires Alex as his assistent and Penny realizes long before Leonard does that Alex is very interested in Leonard.  After this I don't think we ever see Penny seriously consider dumping Leonard again.  I guess Amy is right, Leonard becomes much more desirable when someone else starts sniffing around!  

Edited March 4, 2022 by SusannahM

[Fellaway]

That episode always stands out like a sore thumb to me. There's really nothing leading up to it, and it's completely forgotten afterwards. For which I was glad. The on again, off again with Leonard and Penny was getting old, especially since they were endgame.

[SusanM]

8 hours ago, Fellaway said:

The on again, off again with Leonard and Penny was getting old, especially since they were endgame.

It did seem to come out of nowhere!  Similar to the episode where everyone thinks Bernadette is about to dump Howard - mainly because that's what she told Penny - and then Howard proposes, she accepts and it's like she was never thinking of ending the relationship.  

[Bort]

52 minutes ago, SusannahM said:

It did seem to come out of nowhere!  Similar to the episode where everyone thinks Bernadette is about to dump Howard - mainly because that's what she told Penny - and then Howard proposes, she accepts and it's like she was never thinking of ending the relationship.  

We never heard Bernadette’s reason for pondering a breakup. If it was because she thought Howard was a momma's boy who would never untangle himself from the apron strings long enough to even propose, then it makes sense that she’d change her mind when he… proposed.

[Guest]

12 hours ago, Fellaway said:

That episode always stands out like a sore thumb to me. There's really nothing leading up to it, and it's completely forgotten afterwards. For which I was glad. The on again, off again with Leonard and Penny was getting old, especially since they were endgame.

It’s not directly brought up but I feel like Penny wanted to dump Leonard plot really gets resolved two episode later when she realizes how attractive Leonard’s intelligence is to her. I thought that was supposed to be the thing that makes her really commit to Leonard and not her jealousy of Alex. Although her jealous did but her in the position where she could look at Leonard differently. Then it was cemented in Closure Alternative when she decides to stop waiting for all her dreams to come true before she can get really excited about her life and learns to appreciate who and what she has.

It’s not particularly well plotted or explained but there is a season long arc there resolving her relationship issues. I wish it was better done but I kind of like that it was more subtle and was more about her than Leonard since the reasons she wanted to break up with him was more about her issues than anything to do with Leonard. 

3 hours ago, kariyaki said:

We never heard Bernadette’s reason for pondering a breakup. If it was because she thought Howard was a momma's boy who would never untangle himself from the apron strings long enough to even propose, then it makes sense that she’d change her mind when he… proposed.

Yeah. I feel like this is another time where are the details are there but it was but together in a way that feels disjointed. Bernadette and Howard’s dating issues always resolved his inability to commit first because of his looking for something better and then because of his mother. There were multiple episodes setting that up so that being the reason she wanted to end it makes the most sense.