DaisyJane

In sickness and in health means you'll love and be devoted to that person regardless of those circumstances, which Penny is. What she didn't do, and what Leonard didn't need or ask her to do, is drop everything for a simple cold like she would the infantile Sheldon, because it's not reasonable. You take medicine, tough it out, and move on. Nothing another person can even help you with. Half the time it's not even worth the trouble of missing work. For what it's worth, my mom and dad have been married since 1991, she has been by his side as he's dealt with a bunch of health issues, and she called me laughing about the snot bag comment, which she undoubtedly relayed to him. Because a common cold is just that.

I mean, it's the common cold. Not really reason to do anything except take medicine and tough it out. As for Sheldon, she did that for him because of he has a mental and emotional age of an elementary schooler. With Mary in Texas, she often does fill the role of his mother. Leonard ran away from him because the expectations that someone spend their day tending to an adult with a cold was so unreasonable.

The redheaded doctor Howard liked? They dated one episode.

I'll give you Leslie, casual and brief as that always was, but the French teacher, seriously? We never even saw her or their relationship and it has never been of any relevance to the show. Again, hate Sheldon, and even if I didn't it'd be completely irrelevant to the discussion. Total non-sequitur.

Sure, things that happened on-screen are factual inconsistencies. Nice dig.

Likely not gonna happen but would be hysterically funny (assuming Marissa's baby is Zach's). I just love Zach.

As is your right.

Probably Penny, even though he's cheated on every established girlfriend he's had, prostituted himself to a rich old woman, and broken the "bro code" with two of his three best friends. Also, he barely wants kids, so he's not being oppressed there either.

Seibert was probably the highlight for me, and Sheldon was less insufferable than usual (the purple stripe bit was really funny). Bernadette really shouldn't have that much screen time, she got irritating real fast.

Pure, unadulterated sarcasm. Sheldon is not swoon worthy and it isn't the least bit believable that he would act in an unselfish manner, based on every single one of his actions. But it will please a portion of the fans so they'll write it that way, even though it's not believable.

Please, they are so going to make Sheldon swoooonworthy and have Amy take the credit because they're "relationship goals" and all that jazz. 😒

I don't, I listed these as individual personality traits that Sheldon possesses. Someone can certainly be infantile without being hateful or pathetic, or hateful without being pathetic and infantile (Priya is someone I'd describe in that particular way). Sheldon, however, is all of the above. I don't disagree with either of those sentiments and did not mean to insinuate that Bernadette would wish her children away. That said, the notion that Amy chose to be in a situation where her marriage more closely mirrors her friend's experience raising two under two than it does any of her friends' marriages is sad and unfortunate IMO. Sadder is the notion that the writers have decided they are a suitable couple to raise children, despite Sheldon being so hateful and Amy being so permissive. It would be a miserable situation for everyone involved, while Leonard and Penny, based on the personas established throughout the course of the show, would make very loving and capable parents.

The scene at the bar was completely inoffensive, and the exchange between Amy and Zach was quite humorous. I didn't see any insinuation on Penny's part that she settled for Leonard, and the fact that Penny works harder to maintain her appearance is well-established and readily mentioned. There was no superiority or coldness as mentioned on here, even in the face of Amy's socially inept behavior (which I found humorous because, well, it's a sitcom and doesn't need to be taken that seriously). I'm surprised by the retcon, at least on the forum, that Leonard has desperately wanted children and that it was clearly agreed upon before his and Penny's impromptu wedding, when in fact it was only mentioned briefly as a very abstract, far off idea. Since then, Penny and Leonard have settled into a happy marriage, had great careers, and been generally happy with their lives. The realization that a child could disrupt that, and thus make the option less appealing, is very reasonable and true to life. I have several friends and relatives who are grappling with that reality now, and I don't think the party not wanting a/another child was manipulative, selfish, or malicious from changing their mind on the issue as reality set in. Even now, Leonard really only wants to donate out of pride and flattery, knowing that the couple he's donating to are not likely capable of managing the workload of raising a child, and came off as very whiny in his realizations that life wasn't fair (obviously) and that a guy working in the private sector has a better chance at wealth than someone in academia (also obvious). That said, I do find it sad that Leonard and Penny are the ones not looking to have babies as they are clearly the most-suited for the job. Amy herself equated 'having Sheldon' in the same breath as Bernadette having two toddlers, and she is spot on in that remark as he remains as infantile, hateful, and pathetic as he's always been, while she puts up with and enables the behavior. There's no joy that would come from having those two as parents. Meanwhile, Leonard and Penny are both warm, steadfast, and nurturing in their interactions with others. So yeah...that last scene left me with a sense of loss, and a deep disdain for the writers for not matching the characters with the believable courses that their lives would take.

Sad that there is no Christmas episode in the final season. Those are usually pretty funny and memorable.

What this show really needs is more of Sheldon acting like a petulant toddler while everyone appeases him. Never too much of that.

A brother in prison, a mom who smoked pot when she was pregnant with her kids, and a family with an extensive history of teenage/out-of-wedlock pregnancies is no more dysfunctional than anybody else? I have to disagree with that one.

Honest about what early on? The episode did a good job of portraying the fact that neither Penny nor Leonard had ever thought about or discussed the possibility of children beyond the very, very hypothetical. This wasn't some terrible ploy to stop him from experiencing the joy of parenthood.

Really, you want Leonard to demand that Penny bear the children he's only half-wanted up until this point or else? Because her thoughts and feelings about a major, life long decision are of such little worth?

There's no indication that she did and neither her or Leonard have ever talked, or perhaps even thought, about children beyond the very, very hypothetical, which has caught up to them.

Again, these doubts were depicted as being pretty recent, so I'm not sure what she could do beyond purchasing a time machine. This wasn't some diabolical plot to deprive him of offspring. I'm not sure what either of those things have to do with the subject. Leonard wasn't right to get her father or Amy involved in something that does not concern them to get Penny to do what he wants. They're at an impasse. Penny has her doubts about wanting children, which seem pretty very newfound, and expressed those doubts to Leonard. She felt horribly guilty about it and expressed those doubts to Leonard, aware and empathetic of the fact that it will be a disappointment (she seemed a bit disappointed in herself and her current lack of desire). I really hate that they're doing this storyline but I'm not exactly sure how she's in the wrong for expressing this. What exactly is the alternative?

No, he hasn't, and she didn't expect him to just accept it. She clearly seemed pretty torn up about her recent revelation. What exactly do you propose? That she shuts her mouth about any possible doubts she might have and spit out kids in obedience to Leonard? I would describe that as an aforementioned "yeah, sure, maybe someday" discussions that they've had in the past.

"Some people" obviously doesn't include Leonard since clearly neither of them have ever given it any thought beyond "yeah, sure, maybe someday" until tonight's episode. Also, what the heck are you talking about with secret keeping? This was more a recent contemplation in reaction to Bernadette than diabolical, drawn-out plot.

Um, neither Penny nor Leonard discussed any concrete re: children until this episode. It wasn't some horrible, sinister secret that she kept from him until she was ready to twist the knife in. I get that people are disappointed in the episode, I was too, but good grief.

Not sure what everyone means when they say Lenny aren't ready to be parents, especially looking at the sole parents of the group. Both are significantly more mature than Howard and much more patient and nurturing than Bernadette.

I enjoyed this one. Got some solid laughs with all of the storylines, and especially the end scene. The girls talking about their anxieties related to their life/relationship stages felt very honest to me, I think almost everyone tends to compare themselves and it's a habit you often have to work at breaking (I compare myself to Kaley every damn episode). I deal with contracting officers at my job, so the army guy's insistence on such a difficult task rung true to me.