Episodes 6.24 The Bon Voyage Reaction (May 16)

[rickfromillinois]

I think that we will see Raj's girlfriend return.   I also think that there are several possibilities as to how things will play out when Leonard returns, some dealing with his relationship with Penny and some with Sheldon. 1,) Leonard comes back and a female scientist who was on the ship with him shows up claiming that she loves him, even if nothing happened between them. 2) Steven Hawkins calls Leonard on the phone to thank Leonard for his help, causing Sheldon to wig out with jealousy.  Even worse, Sheldon gets nominated, not win, a Nobel prize......I think that Penny will be true and faithful to Leonard while he is gone.  I don't see her again getting drunk and doing something stupid.

[Tensor]

I'm sure they would love to have Lucy back but they had to write her out at least for now, because of the pilot that IFC has green-lighted for Kate Micucci called "Garfunkel and Oates". 

 

She maybe unavailable for next season.

Hmmmmmm, thanks Banger. Didn't know that. That's a good thing for Kate and, and her performing partner, Riki Lindhome. Who we know better as Ramona Nowitzki.

[queuetee]

There has to be a reason that the trip in in Hawkings' name----out of all the other important people why him???? It has something to do with Sheldon's admiration for him so we have to expect something to come up that gives Leonard a huge advantage over Sheldon that will make Sheldon crazy next season

[banshee826]

They really laid on thick the Sheldon as child template in this episode:

 

- Leonard asking Penny to take care of him and Penny equating this to her taking care of Leonard's goldfish.

- Sheldon acting like a clueless kid at the airport completely oblivious of the significance of Leonard and Penny's need for a loving farewell. He did at least know that they were in love with each other.

- Penny leaving Sheldon in the car with the window cracked and an activity book while she went to comfort Raj.

 

Wow, they really don't think of Sheldon as a fully functioning adult.

 

 

Sheldon's character, from the very beginning of the show, has been written to highlight the fact that he is needy and dependent on others for every mundane aspect of his life - he isnt a fully functioning adult that is reliant on himself.  Why should he be portrayed any different in the finale? He thinks solely of himself and that couldnt be any more clear in this episode.  This character "flaw" is where a lot of the humor comes from because most people do not act in this manner.  Not sure why this bothers a lot of people on this board,  The changes to Sheldon's character to indicate he is a fully functioning adult would be so unrealistic - adults are set in their ways...their personalities are formed.  To make Sheldon into a fully functioning adult  at this point would be a huge leap of faith to think the audience would buy it. because changes to one's personaities dont take place to the level is needed to make Sheldon reliant on himself.  It is what makes Sheldon.

[phantagrae]

My guess would be sooner than that, as there are a lot of people who would want to see the "Smart and beautiful" babies. If they wait until the last three episodes, we'll never see the kids.

 

I can't imagine they'd really do babies on the show...  If L&P were to get married sometime in the last season, I can see them having Penny get pregnant, but I can't see them actually having babies running around.

[Chrismo]

Don't be too sure, just yet. She broke up with him, that doesn't mean she's gone. Both Amy and Bernadette terminated their relationship with Sheldon and Howard, respectively, and they are still around. From published accounts, Kate is well liked by the cast and production crew, and Raj still has feeling for her. Listen carefully to what Raj is saying over the credits. I wouldn't be sure until they find someone for Raj.

You make good points but I hope @gwhh is right. After being able to talk to Penny to me that was a step forward. Going back to Lucy would be two steps back IMO.

[Chrismo]

I can't imagine they'd really do babies on the show...  If L&P were to get married sometime in the last season, I can see them having Penny get pregnant, but I can't see them actually having babies running around.

I agree about the babies and having Penny pregnant. I would think though that they would have L/P married in the second to last season and the final season would be a Sheldon/Amy wedding.

[tmp]

I agree about the babies and having Penny pregnant. I would think though that they would have L/P married in the second to last season and the final season would be a Sheldon/Amy wedding.

 

It raises an interesting question.  Which will happen first:  L/P wedding or S/A sex?

[Tensor]

I can't imagine they'd really do babies on the show...  If L&P were to get married sometime in the last season, I can see them having Penny get pregnant, but I can't see them actually having babies running around.

I wasn't referring to having babies running around, but I can see up to, say, three or so episodes at the end of the run with them showing L/P baby.

[phantagrae]

It raises an interesting question.  Which will happen first:  L/P wedding or S/A sex?

 

You know, it's hard to say with these kinds of BIG moments for these characters.

Any one of them--L/P wedding, S/A wedding, S/A sex--could be a big deal ending for a season or for the series, except that there's the idea of what would the aftermath be like and would it be funnier to see that or to have a big ending like the Howardette wedding at the end of S5.

 

I think one could make the argument for almost any outcome.  What's the bigger payoff--seeing the scene where Sheldon and Amy finally hop in the sack (and maybe the morning after) as the big WOW moment?, or seeing how they deal with it for the rest of a season? (like if they did it during February sweeps and we watch them cope with it for the rest of the season.)

 

The L/P wedding could play out the same way, or a P pregnancy.  Is the moment the big finale send-off, or is it the aftermath that's funnier.

 

I think that once they decide that a certain season is going to be their last, they're likely to save the big WOWs for May sweeps because once you have a big wow like an L/P wedding, how do you top it for the series finale?

I think that the L/P wedding could be a Feb sweeps thing in the last season of the show, with the remainder of the episodes dealing with Sheldon being on his own--which could then lead to a Shamy wedding during May sweeps, and then something like everyone moving out of the Sheldon/Leonard apartment for the finale or something like that.

 

Anyway, I think there are too many variables to pin it down at this point, since they will likely go at least a couple more seasons and no one knows where they'll take the characters before they get to whatever they decide will be the last season.

Edited May 20, 2013 by phantagrae

[Lissie]

Baby topic again-- you guys want to kill me :icon_eek:

[Lissie]

So now Raj can talk to women??????? WHY HE CHANGED!!!!!!!!!?? 

[Lissie]

BAZINGA!!!

I am only joking :)

[Mars]

Well said, phanta.

Oh. Oh, no. Please, no Lenny babies. No Howadette babies, either. There's just something about sitcom babies that is so grating to me.

[SRAM]

Some things I have been thinking about, when Raj went out with the girls, he got into Amy at the end. Sheldon and Amy have not been especially close the last quarter of the season. Raj was talking more to Amy then her to Sheldon this episode. Raj can now talk to the girls. Sheldon has been acting more childish the last part of the season. Sheldon being normal is not good for the show. Could they be setting up Raj for Amy? Sheldon and Amy's relationship wouldn't change too much if they were just friends. Maybe a temporary fling between Amy and Raj?

[bigbangsheldon]

you have a wild imagination, SRAM.

 

If they only have Raj talking to the girls next season, then it would make sense for him to talk to Amy more because I think he might be able to speak to them because he considers them his "family" and he can talk to his family, so they had to give Amy and Raj more talking or Amy wouldn't really of been that close him, but he is to Bernadette and Penny.

[SRAM]

you have a wild imagination, SRAM.

 

If they only have Raj talking to the girls next season, then it would make sense for him to talk to Amy more because I think he might be able to speak to them because he considers them his "family" and he can talk to his family, so they had to give Amy and Raj more talking or Amy wouldn't really of been that close him, but he is to Bernadette and Penny.

Ha, ha, your right of course.

I wonder if Raj will be able to speak to girls outside the group. Amy made a point that they are a family and Raj could talk to his sister, so maybe now the girls fall into is mind like his sister. The way the episode was done, left the subject not clearly defined as to the extent of his new found speach.

[Moonbase]

Ha, ha, your right of course.

I wonder if Raj will be able to speak to girls outside the group. Amy made a point that they are a family and Raj could talk to his sister, so maybe now the girls fall into is mind like his sister. The way the episode was done, left the subject not clearly defined as to the extent of his new found speach.

 

I agree with you.

 

And I see a load more chemistry between Raj and Amy, than Sheldon and Amy. When she was talking to Raj in the club I thought they really had something. There was an honesty there, that she doesn't have with Sheldon because he rarely understands what she's getting at.

Edited May 20, 2013 by Moonbase

[bigbangsheldon]

we do not know where they are really going with raj's mutism, but if this is the case then well done to them, because they have had raj talking to amy more from the start of the season.

[phantagrae]

Some things I have been thinking about, when Raj went out with the girls, he got into Amy at the end. Sheldon and Amy have not been especially close the last quarter of the season. Raj was talking more to Amy then her to Sheldon this episode. Raj can now talk to the girls. Sheldon has been acting more childish the last part of the season. Sheldon being normal is not good for the show. Could they be setting up Raj for Amy? Sheldon and Amy's relationship wouldn't change too much if they were just friends. Maybe a temporary fling between Amy and Raj?

 

I don't think they'd be going that direction.

I'm thinking that Raj will either be trying to date other women (and may or may not be able to talk to women outside his group) or at some point Lucy might show up again.

 

But whatever ups and downs Sheldon and Amy have had, I don't think Raj and Amy have been all that close and she's certainly not going to be interested in him.

 

I think it was koops that mentioned the idea that perhaps Amy might be interested in studying Raj's issues and that could make Sheldon jealous--not romantically, but in terms of the time and attention she might give to Raj in studying his social anxiety issues.

 

But I don't think there's romance in store between Raj and Amy.

[sarah7]

Shipping preferences aside, I honestly don't think there would be any partner swapping among the already stablished group.

 

I think if they were going to break up one of the couples and pair one of the members with someone else, temporarily or permanently, they would create a new character for that. To mix the current members of the group would damage the group dynamics, the weird experiment they did with Raj and Penny failed miserably and enraged a lot of people, I don't think they want to mess with all that again.

 

And I see a load more chemistry between Raj and Amy, than Sheldon and Amy. When she was talking to Raj in the club I thought they really had something. There was an honesty there, that she doesn't have with Sheldon because he rarely understands what she's getting at.

 

What do you mean with there's not honesty between Amy and Sheldon? One of the foundations of their dynamic is precisely the brutal (almost rude) honesty between them.

How do you categorize the totally sincere talk they just had in the Love Spell episode? They told to each other their mutual expectations and needs and what each is capable of give to the other at this moment. You may like or not their relationship or scenes, but you can't tell there wasn't honesty in that moment.

 

I think you are unfairly judging them based only in what happened in sixth season (specially during the second half), and they are much more than that. I don't enterily like the way they handled it, but they presumably make Sheldon act colder towards her and kept Amy accumulating pressure for the sake of reaching the breaking point we had in 6x23.

 

I think (and hope) this season's push-resist interaction ended up for good there (or, at least, will be seriously toned down). It's the logical thing to do. Amy can calm down after knowing by his own words that a physical relationship between them is in the realm of possibility, and Sheldon can't feign innocence to Amy's insinuations anymore, not after having their first sexual experience (doesn't matter if there was no touching, to describe intimate situations and actions to your partner in a "I'm doing this to you" fashion is VERY sexual in my books), and it was conscious, consensual and voluntary, unlike with the spanking scene, there's no place for that kind of controversy here.

 

And I think we have evidence that when the writers decide to make an important advance, they usually stick to it. They didn't made Howard declare he wanted to settle down with Bernardette just to have him chasing a different girl next episode, they didn't clear things up between Leonard and Penny in the Valentine's episode just to have him proposing again a couple eps later.

 

I think (and again, I hope) Shamy will have a quite different dynamic in season 7, I don't neccesarily mean an increasingly sexual one, but one happier and smoother, less confrontational.

Edited May 20, 2013 by sarah7

[Tensor]

Wow final got big audience figures of 21.31million for this episode after getting 16 million on the day and the rest came after

 

 

That's not the final rachy.  The Live + 7 are delayed by two weeks.  That was for "The Proton Resurgence", the episode with Bob Newhart.  See the thread Big Bang Hits all time high ratings.

[asusus]

Sorry if it has been discussed earlier in this thread ( i am a liitle bit lazy to scroll over through 19 pages lol). So, i am just curious if Hawking expedition team in the North sea achieved a huge success and perhaps got some big result to support his theory. What will the team including Leonard get? Is it just a matter of cv, recognition (further cause for the team to continue working with Stephen Hawking again), incentive money or are there anything else?

[menamena]

I think Shamy are endgame at this point, especially after TLSP where Sheldon literally stated that their relationship was extremely  intimate for him. I just cannot see Sheldon backtracking from such a huge declaration - he would not be Sheldon if he let go of his girlfriend so easily, and as for Amy - she has never shown any indication or attraction towards Raj. The only reason they had that conversation about their loneliness in The Santa Simulation was because she felt left out being the only girl Raj didn't covet - but once he did start liking her, she immediately ended the conversation and proceeded to leave the club. Plus for all of Amy's sexual talk, she is very loyal to Sheldon: she punches the TSA agent for getting too handsy and tells Penny, her "bestie", to go away and leave her and Sheldon alone at the end of TLSP. To Amy, Sheldon is not just a boyfriend, but "the best boyfriend." To her, there is no-one else comparable to him. Anyways, I could go on - but I think I have made my point - and this is ignoring the massive backlash TPTB are going to receive from the fans if they pair Amy with Raj even for a temporary fling and break up the Shamy.

Edited May 20, 2013 by menamena

[Tensor]

Sorry if it has been discussed earlier in this thread ( i am a liitle bit lazy to scroll over through 19 pages lol). So, i am just curious if Hawking expedition team in the North sea achieved a huge success and perhaps got some big result to support his theory. What will the team including Leonard get? Is it just a matter of cv, recognition (further cause for the team to continue working with Stephen Hawking again), incentive money or are there anything else?

It's been discussed, but basically, if proved, Hawking would probably get a Nobel. The designers of the experiment may get one also. For Leonard, and most of the team, it's recognition. Which would help the members of the team( and Leonard of course) get more pay, help get tenure, or get better position at different or international institutions. The recognition gained would basically set them up for life.

Edited May 20, 2013 by Tensor