JonRS92

This may be because I didn't know what was coming but I thought this was the funniest episode of the season so far. I laughed more than any episode this season.

That's a fair assessment and taken in a vacuum it's very reasonable. My point in that post was not to criticize Penny as much as it was to bring up the fact that some keep calling penny's adventures as honest mistakes that anybody would make. I don't think they are and not just the marriage. I get it was a stupid mistake but I get the feeling that Penny has been very lucky that there have not been more consequences. She appears to have lived a very reckless life where, at the very least, she's lucky she hasn't had a kid by now. Also I get that this is a sitcom and all this is supposed to be funny. Part of the humor has to come from the fact that she puts herself in these ridiculous situations but several of her diehard defenders seem to think she's making the mistakes all young people make and to me that is absurd. I can't think of many people who intended to get fake married who ended up really married. That's just the latest example. To be fair, Penny has risen to the occasion. She's owned all of this more so than some of her defenders. She's not that person anymore and is better for it.

I agree that Leonard and Penny ended the episode on a higher note, but I find it really telling how many people here think Penny getting married was no big deal and just a simple mistake like she misspelled a word or did some bad arithmetic. She got married. That's not a simple mistake that anyone would make. To those who think too big of a deal is being made I would ask how many people they know went to Vegas (probably got drunk) and ended up in a marriage chapel (fame or real). As much as I love and feel bad for Penny she deserves a lot of criticism for her past behavior. It isn't youthful exuberance. It's not the simple mistakes of youth. She led a reckless youth from everything we know. Yes she's grown and yes she's better now but her past is her past and no sugar coating changes that and she has to face the consequences for it. I think she has been handling it fairly well too. I get why she got mad at Leonard for pushing it. Sometimes when you know you screwed up the last thing you want is people rubbing it in. I get that. If people think I am being too hard I. Penny and letting Leonard slide then I apologize. Leonard is no saint and has made his share of mistakes.

I think it is completely IC for Penny to have married Zach if the reason was that she was drunk and silly and thinking none of it was real. The marriage itself shouldn't be the problem. The reasons and actions that led to it should be the real concern. But they have been dealt with and this incident is something from that past that came back to bite her. I would hope that her friends wouldn't have been so flippant about it but a certain amount of embarrassment for Penny was due. It feels more unfair than it is because Penny has already made amends for her previous self that allowed these things to happen. She turned that corner after Raj. I don't think there should be any pause and Leonard doesn't need to date Alex. Penny already knows that she has to work to keep Leonard. There is no need to hammer that home again. What I think could happen and I've said this before. I think when Penny does propose that Leonard is going to balk at it. At first I felt that he would be having doubts about himself but I think he will now also have doubts about whether Penny really wants it. That's why I am glad no proposal happened in this episode because Leonard would have to assume she was only doing it to make up for Zach.

Well now that I have read the whole summary I have to say I am a bit confused as the why this marriage had to happen. It appears as if it if is going to be brought up again at all it will be if Leonard makes some snarky reference to it. I found the whole rest of the episode to seem rather funny but the Lenny stuff just makes me cringe. Now to look at what actually happened I feel Penny should be embarrassed. Once again when she gets drunk her decision-making hits the crapper. I am so glad she is beyond that now. As for Leonard's reaction, I get why he was upset and I also get where Penny was coming from too. Penny really was not being hypocritical here since she thought it was fake. We can argue how stupid it was for her to NOT know but I am willing to give the benefit of the doubt. All in all it looks like a funny episode with this weird Lenny story that just feels uncomfortable more than anything else.

I do not really want to get into the whole debate over who treats who better although I think, when you look at the entire relationship from episode 1 until now, Leonard has been better to her than she has been to him. That's not to say that I think Penny is a jerk or that Leonard is a saint. I do love Penny, really. My main problem with what I have read thus far is that I find it almost unbelievable that Penny would not know about those chapels. She's the party girl, the Vegas expert of the group. I don't see how she doesn't know about those chapels. I think that's a slip. They should have just stuck with it being another mistake brought on by her excessive drinking. That, I'd believe. Truth be told, I am sure that this will all work out, but it seems another attempt at shock value rather than anything that needed to happen to the two. It's almost another Raj incident though believe it or not, I don't think this is as bad. I am now prepared to be attacked by the Penny fans

I would love to see that. It's been a while since Penny has been in a good fight so she and Priya should throw down I still say (without knowing any details of course) that having Penny somehow run into Lucy is too forced. Unless it is at the comic book store or something, I just don't see them meeting in a way that would not be forced just to put them together. I also kind of agree with the others that Lucy is not really to blame. Raj is too coddled and Penny will do no one any favors by reinforcing his belief that he is an eternal victim. It is also not fair to Lucy either. Yes, breaking up via text is not cool and Penny should back Raj as they are friends, but she needs to sit down and explain to Raj why she broke up with him and how he was being pushy. Lucy doesn't deserve the junior rodeo treatment

I thought the song was too long too. I hesitated to say anything because I figured I'd be in the minority. Probably still am. There didn't seem to be any need to make the song that long other than to say "look, we wrote a whole song" don't get me wrong, I liked the song I just think they overdid it a bit. Loved the rest of the episode though.

Nothing wrong with manning up a bit. It doesn't have to make you insensitive. I think the guys are ok as they are except for Raj. I can't imagine a woman seriously considering a guy who goes out on girls' night with the girls. The girls should ban Raj from girls' night to man him up a bit.

Well, I hope Lizzy is a separate person because either her being Lucy or anything related to Lucy just seems so far fetched to me. Although I could buy Penny manipulating Raj into a date with Lucy as you suggest (I could see her manipulating both of them actually), I would still have a hard time putting Lucy and Penny together in a way that doesn't feel forced. But, if that's the route the writers go then I have faith they'll pull it off. I just hope that Lizzy is a different person entirely.

If Leonard were to find out early I think he'd try and pretend he doesn't know as to not ruin it for her but then his excitement t gets the better of him and tries to force it. Then the truth comes out. Just to chime in on the past topic of how we'll find out. I kind of imagined Penny going into a jewelry store and the salesperson asks if she needs help. She says she's looking for an engagement ring and the salesperson asks where her fiancé is assuming he will buy the ring for her. She says he's not there and it is going to be a surprise. The salesperson says okay and offers her a few to try on. She says, "oh, it's not for me it's for my boyfriend." The salesperson is taken aback and asks her if she knows his ring size. Penny thinks for a minute and says, "dammit" and cut to credits.

Is it possible that People heard Lizzy and mistook it for Lucy? Where did we get the scoop on Lucy? I only ask because Penny meeting her seems kind of contrived (of course I have no idea what the writers have planned. Just because I can't see it doesn't mean a good reason for them to meet can't happen). As for Raj and Lizzy working out. I doubt it. The writers did this with Howard and Bernie. I don't see them going this route again.

I did love that whole speech and the part about liking her quirks and all. That was all good and very progressive of their relationship. I just thought him thinking she was the one with issues was strange given that he has acknowledged his own issues last season and I expected him to own up to this one. Yes Amy is weird but she had made great strides under Penny and Bernie's guidance. I have trouble seeing her as weird most of the time now. And you are right about the punch lines right after tender moments. They've always done this but I never thought it took a character backward like I felt this time. Oh well I probably just don't get it yet.

I enjoyed the episode as always. Howard and Raj were funny, nice Lenny and Shamy moments. What really stuck with me, but in a bad way, was how the writers handled Sheldon at the end. His comments to Amy about the demands of dating a socially awkward person were really good...until he said he was talking about Amy. I get that this probably supposed to be for humor but I thought they really made Sheldon take a huge step backward after all the positive growth he made in season 6. At least three times last season Sheldon addressed and took ownership of his own social awkwardness. All of a sudden he just doesn't see it again and is back to square one? I think that scene with Amy would have been so much better if he was being like season 6 Sheldon. Maybe there is some subtlety that I am not getting, but I thought Sheldon had a huge regression at the end of this episode that slightly took away from what I thought had been a great episode.

It's the "thank God we're not the ones with drama this time" scene