Spoilers Leonard And Penny Season 7 *spoiler* Discussion Thread

[ArmyGirl]

Tomorrows episode is suppose to be Leonard's homecoming, isn't it? I wonder if we will get a touching Lenny moment, WITHOUT SHELDON?

 

I too was wondering what Leonard's homecoming will be like.  I guess we will find out on Tuesday.

Edited August 26, 2013 by ArmyGirl

[SRAM]

I wonder if TPTB heard that a lot of people didn't like Sheldon in the car at the airport and refrain from giving us a Sheldon overdose. I would just like a little alone Lenny time. However, being a needy greedy baby, I would also like to see something in episode 7.02 that indicates that Amy and Sheldon got a little closer, while he was gone, maybe just they hod hands or kiss each other sometimes. The indication in the first episode is that he got closer to Penny but not Amy, which is just weird.

[Tensor]

Penny drinks socially and we have seen her drunk only once since Lenny 2.0, when the guys had their Star Wars game weekend in season 5 and she played a drinking game with Amy.

Penny didn't appear to be that drunk there either(compare her there to say the season three finale or "Flaming Spittoon") and I think that was a nod to the comedy anyway. I'm sure everyone expected Penny to win. I mean who would have figured Amy being an expert at quarters?

[SRAM]

Penny is not an alcoholic, my father was a functioning alcoholic, he would work every day till he retired, anyway Penny is nothing like he was and doesn't even come close to the amount or frequency hr drank. She is an experienced drinker and she was a party girl, but I knew a lot of people that drank more than her when I went to college.

[Chrismo]

I wonder if TPTB heard that a lot of people didn't like Sheldon in the car at the airport and refrain from giving us a Sheldon overdose. I would just like a little alone Lenny time. However, being a needy greedy baby, I would also like to see something in episode 7.02 that indicates that Amy and Sheldon got a little closer, while he was gone, maybe just they hod hands or kiss each other sometimes. The indication in the first episode is that he got closer to Penny but not Amy, which is just weird.

While I share your wanting of Lenny alone time I'm guessing it won't be much. If anything Penny and Sheldon might be fighting over Leonard. Amy and Sheldon becoming closer would benefit Lenny.  At this point in the Shamy relationship Sheldon is still closer with Penny than Amy so I don't see the first episode as really being weird.

[bamf25]

From a more practical standpoint, how is Penny going to find out that he showed people the video?  There are no common ground characters between the boat and the main cast to my knowledge.  If they show that is was Howard that dug up the video a long time ago, he may get the bulk of Penny's anger, but unless Leonard proves to be beyond stupid (which they have done before), why would Penny ever find out?

[BangerMain]

Penny didn't appear to be that drunk there either(compare her there to say the season three finale or "Flaming Spittoon") and I think that was a nod to the comedy anyway. I'm sure everyone expected Penny to win. I mean who would have figured Amy being an expert at quarters?

 

Yes, she was mostly "buzzed"

 

"Flaming Spittoon" was the low point for Penny in the series. She was showing actual signs of depression and you could hear it in Kaley's performance of the "There was a guy I liked" speech. This is really the last time she got dangerously drunk. She passed out during the game of twister with Amy and Bernadette, who was able to wake her by saying, "Penny, we’re out of wine!".

 

Fortunately for her, The "guy she liked", restarted their relationship again three weeks later and she has not been drunk since.

Edited August 27, 2013 by BangerMain

[ArmyGirl]

@bamf25   --- I'm sure if TPTB want to bring some tension into Lenny, we could see movie/video pop up and be used by having Leonard saying the wrong thing (they love doing this).  I still don't understand why they went down that street in the first place. 

Edited August 26, 2013 by ArmyGirl

[Chrismo]

From a more practical standpoint, how is Penny going to find out that he showed people the video?  There are no common ground characters between the boat and the main cast to my knowledge.  If they show that is was Howard that dug up the video a long time ago, he may get the bulk of Penny's anger, but unless Leonard proves to be beyond stupid (which they have done before), why would Penny ever find out?

The only scenerio and this is a stretch is that Sheldon tells Leonard about Penny sharing a secret (sort of like his friends with benefits comment) with him. Leonard asks Sheldon about it and he refuses to tell him. Leonard asks Penny and she tells him which might make Leonard feel guilty for just watching the video on the boat. And then he tells her. (Which I agree would be stupid.)

[bamf25]

How much of actual audience taped episodes make it into the final cut.  The episodes only run about 21 minutes including intro, end credits and molecule cuts, meaning a total of 19 to 20 minutes of actual new footage.  I am not implying they decide to drop this screen, but was wondering in what order, and how closely does the live taping resemble what is aired.

 

Another stretch way Penny finds out is if she was using Leonard's laptop (assuming he took his laptop on the trip), and stumbles on the saved video or it accidentally pops up on his browser. Again lazy ways to advance the plot.  Howard could also let it slip (which would fit his character), assuming he know about the video also.

Edited August 26, 2013 by bamf25

[terriblewaitress]

Ok Molly sent me here with this video. It's not a spoiler but I made it because, why not, I love Lenny. So here, have some feels to forget about Leonard being naughty and showing off his topless girlfriends! 

 

http://terriblewaitress.tumblr.com/post/59413026556/maybe-youre-loveable-maybe-youre-my-snowflake

 

 

If this shouldn't go here I'll post it somewhere else but idk this thread could do with some Lenny feels before the new season.

[gsxdoug]

This is from a Molaro interview linked to in the shamy spoiler thread, thank you, shamyforever. Just thought I'd put it here. Hopefully I'm not breaking any copyright laws by quoting it.

 

"I think we left Season 6 with Penny and Leonard in the best place relationship-wise they have ever been, which was why Leonard was concerned to go away for three or four months on this boat, but Penny was supportive of it. I think it was something we all knew he needed to do because it was a great opportunity. She is waiting for her boyfriend, who she now officially loves, to come home. It allows for a good amount of Leonard-Penny time."

 

http://xfinity.comcast.net/blogs/tv/2013/08/26/the-big-bang-theory-season-7-premiere-burning-questions-answered/

Edited August 26, 2013 by gsxdoug

[Nogravitasatall]

I'm hung up on the definition of binge. But she's not an alcoholic. Also there is no way to play cheap as other than a value judgement that is laden with overtones about gender. Was Howard cheap? No, sleazy. Was Penny sleazy? No. The point is she has been on a journey and things have happened to her. She has travelled past some things, some things she still carries with her. It looks like she drank to cope emotionally, now she doesn't have that drive to drink. I believe it will stay that way because her issues were circumstantial and those circumstances have changed.

Her next big deal will peeling off Sheldon, obviously. . But I am interested in seeing if they play the social contrast and fish out of water game with Penny and Leonard. I can imagine situations that will be stressful for them as a couple. Maybe the video brouhaha is a teaser. It's certainly a familiar setup. Wrong side of tracks etc.

[Chiara]

Hi, I'm new to the forum. Just caught up with the show and can't wait for season 7. 

 

I actually loved the taping report and was happy with everything that was said, so I was kinda surprised that most people are unhappy with it. Going on season 7, the thing that I wanted the most was seeing Penny miss Leonard. Even though by the end of season 6 things were more balanced out between Leonard and Penny, I still feel the ball is in her court and that she has to prove how committed to this relationship she really is. So, I love that she's missing Leonard terribly. That shows how much she truly loves him and how much she needs him.

 Well, hello there and a very warm welcome. 

 

I understand the "lack of balance" argument when it comes to Penny and Leonard for he has always been more "out there" than her emotionally. He is a demonstrative man and wears his heart on his sleeve. 

However, it may be a bit unfair to say that Penny is finally shown to miss Leonard. She confessed (to her door, yes, but confessed still) that she was going to miss him terribly before he left for the North Pole and threw herself at him when he came back as a result of it. So we have known for a long time that she values his presence in her life and feels much better when he is around than when he isn't. It is just that he has not given her many opportunities to miss him (he lives across the hall after all). 

Furthermore, in my opinion, her love for him has always been pretty clearly stated. As Tensor pointed out many times, even when she broke up with him, she did so because she felt it was better for him (Wheaton put the fear of Cthulu into her by mentioning that girl who led him on for years and she did not want to be so cruel to Leonard). She even agreed not to socialise with him anymore to facilitate his relationship with Priya, thereby proving she was willing, when push came to shove, to sacrifice her own happiness for the sake of his. 

 

Admittedly, her displays of affection are always less spectacular than Leonard's. But they are there for everyone to see nonetheless. So the relationship is actually much more balanced that it may seem. 

 

How exactly?

Penny was a much nicer person in the first couple of seasons, then she is now. This idea that she has become more mature, is an total illusion. Penny has become an alcoholic, who used to be a bully and has no passion for anything in life but having a boyfriend. This is not the Penny I tuned in for.

The Penny from the first couple of seasons was a glorified child, to be fair. She was 21 and had not seen or experienced much : she had dated some idiots, had cried over the loss of them for about five minutes each time (and moved on almost immediately), she stil believed her big break was six months of waiting tables away, etc.

Now, Penny is much more experienced. She knows what it is like to have her heart broken and to break a love one's heart (and have no one to blame but herself), she knows what it is like to feel lonely, she knows what it is like to feel like a failure (thanks for that, Priya), she knows her acting career may never be as big as she first imagined... She is 27 and she is a grown-up. Slightly more bitter, slightly more disillusioned but also that much more interesting, at least to me. 

I was perfectly OK with her naivity and child-like cutsiness for the first couple of years because it was in keeping with her age. If she were still like that now, I would want to grab her by the shoulders and tell her to grow up. 

 

As for the drinking, many other posters explained it. Penny, from the very first season on, was shown to be prone to drink when either very sad or very bored. That's her MO. After all, she got drunk the first time Leonard's mother showed up because Dr Beverly had depressed her.

 

She just had more reasons to be depressed in season 4 than at any other times in her life, so she drank more. Ever since she reconciled herself with her actions and her life (beginning-ish of season 5, pretty much), she has not drunk out of reason. 

 

I agree, there are loads of glass in hand scenes as well. They have cheapened Penny, not matured her. Now we have yet another story about her colourful past thrown in. Penny may have been dating a lot of guys, before she fell in love with Leonard but she knew that she was getting her heart broken. She was less shallow and much more sensitive. She certainly wasn't a natural bully.

To be honest, nobody is a natural bully. People become bullies because the circumstances allow them to. Case in point : the boys and Zac. One would think that guys who suffered from bullying for most of their childhoods and teenage years would know better but, the moment they felt superior, both in number and in knowledge, to somebody else, they piled on and did their best to humiliate him. Are they natural bullies ? Of course not. But they had a technical advantage and went overboard with it. 

I would be tempted to believe that same thing happened to Penny (and pretty much all people who have behaved like that in their life). Opportunity + peer pressure + "weak" target = bad behaviour. It is not pretty but it does not change her nature. She is and was always a nice person, with a blind spot when it comes to some of her less palatable traits. Like everyone. 

Edited August 26, 2013 by Chiara

[I.Am.Molly]

Ok Molly sent me here with this video. It's not a spoiler but I made it because, why not, I love Lenny. So here, have some feels to forget about Leonard being naughty and showing off his topless girlfriends! 

 

http://terriblewaitress.tumblr.com/post/59413026556/maybe-youre-loveable-maybe-youre-my-snowflake

 

 

If this shouldn't go here I'll post it somewhere else but idk this thread could do with some Lenny feels before the new season.

 

If i was allowed to like this again i would. Over and over and over and over again, even though it made me cry. Its so perfect. So, so perfect.   :wub:      

[Tensor]

This is from a Molaro interview linked to in the shamy spoiler thread, thank you, shamyforever. Just thought I'd put it here. Hopefully I'm not breaking any copyright laws by quoting it.

You can quote short passages as long as you give proper attribution. Your post meets both conditions as your link goes to the source. Look up Fair Use.

[rickfromillinois]

I find it a little strange that some are attacking Leonard for showing someone a video of Penny topless.   Did she unknowingly appear in the video?   Did Leonard make a video of her topless and had promisded to never show it to anyone?  No.  Penny knowingly bared her breasts for a movie and Leonard found it and showed it to someonelse.  SO WHAT?  They're breasts.  If you want to find someone to criticize for it, criticize Penny. 

[Chiara]

I find it a little strange that some are attacking Leonard for showing someone a video of Penny topless.   Did she unknowingly appear in the video?   Did Leonard make a video of her topless and had promisded to never show it to anyone?  No.  Penny knowingly bared her breasts for a movie and Leonard found it and showed it to someonelse.  SO WHAT?  They're breasts.  If you want to find someone to criticize for it, criticize Penny. 

I am not entirely sure why anyone should criticise Penny. Many actors and actresses have appeared nude (or partly nude) in films. I fail to see what is worthy of criticism about it. 

 

The problem some of us have with Leonard showing this particular film to his crewmates is that it can be seen as exploitative or objectifying. There is nothing wrong with Leonard being proud of and happy with Penny. Nor is there anything wrong with him wanting people to envy him his felicity (it may be a bit petty, but it is overall OK). 

There are many ways in which he could express such pride and joy : he could show photographs of them together being all smile-y and love-y; he could talk about her play (which he loved); he could tell others of the times when she helped him and his friends out; he could describe the great things they have done together over the years; etc. The fact that he chooses to broadcast a film in which she appears topless is, at best, a tad inappropriate. 

As many posters mentioned, it makes it look like Leonard only cares for Penny's physique as that is what he elects to brag about. Furthermore, as Bangermain reminded us, considering we know Leonard happens to think of her as the future mother of his children, it is rather unfortunate. 

 

However Leonard has a history of getting overly excited about his girlfriend's physique and wanting to make sure everyone knows he is in a relationship with a "cheesecake-scented goddess". So it is not entirely out of character. It is just an extreme case of Leonard going overboard without even realising it. 

Also, and that to me is the crux of the matter, Leonard does not know that Penny is ashamed of that movie. Since Penny has never even mentioned the film in his presence, he has no reason to assume she is embarassed by it. He may very well believe that she has not refered to it because... It is a bad film ? She cannot remember it ? She does not care ? So he is not intentionally disseminating images of Penny he knows for a fact she finds distasteful. 

 

We all know by now that extreme contentment makes Leonard go slightly insane in the membrane. The writers have made it clear on several occasions that he is not used to being happy (considering who his mother is, it is hardly surprising). He is not equipped to deal with it in a normal way. He blurts out ILY, he proposes, he plays the cello, he removes his clothes, he sweats gallons of water, he overtalks... The poor man has no idea how to keep it together when things go his way. When Penny proposes, he may very well wet himself. 

Edited August 27, 2013 by Chiara

[3ku11]

Its a shower scene in a movie, its not explicit in anyway ses not the first actress to do a nude scene is pre standard if you ask me. Leonards just missing Penny but also around his peers most likely geeks, it well give Leonard a good ego boost and thats good.

[Chrismo]

Its a shower scene in a movie, its not explicit in anyway ses not the first actress to do a nude scene is pre standard if you ask me. Leonards just missing Penny but also around his peers most likely geeks, it well give Leonard a good ego boost and thats good.

I get what you and others are saying about how's it not that big a deal. As @Chiara pointed out he could have shown pictures of her. Part of the problem is this isn't five years ago. I can see showing the topless video then. But I can't imagine showing it now when he wants her as his future wife. I can't imagine showing a topless video of my future wife. 

[BangerMain]

I get what you and others are saying about how's it not that big a deal. As @Chiara pointed out he could have shown pictures of her. Part of the problem is this isn't five years ago. I can see showing the topless video then. But I can't imagine showing it now when he wants her as his future wife. I can't imagine showing a topless video of my future wife. 

 

I don't care how roaring drunk a decent man gets, there is a governor in his head that would scream: "Do not show topless images of my (future) wife". There are some inhibitions that alcohol would not overcome.

[Tensor]

I don't care how roaring drunk a decent man gets, there is a governor in his head that would scream: "Do not show topless images of my (future) wife". There are some inhibitions that alcohol would not overcome.

Yeah, I may disagree here. I mean how many men (actually women also, stupid drunk isn't isolated to one gender)cheat on their SO when drunk? As a man I can't really say, but I would think a woman would prefer their SO show a legitamate movie they where in, even topless, rather than cheat on them.

[3ku11]

I think people are overexagerrating a tad here, Leonard has never in any normal circumstances would never show the film then anyone else under any circumstances. All we know is that he showed a film that Penny happens to be in one scene nude to some of his castmates, their is no confirmation whether nor not he just shows the film, and makes a reference to an upcoming scene or shows the scene itself. Maybe the shower scene shows just her face but she is nude but their is no visibility at all, we don't know. So jumping to conclusions based on Leonard's intentions or whether or not he had an interior motive is pointless, the context is he is partying and drinking having a great time after researching and working for so long, he is having fun they come across a film and maybe the girl shows up and Leonard is like "Hey that's my girlfriend!" I doubt he ever intended to show it to his peers in anyway. And I don't understand how everyone seems to entertain the notion it is Penny's fault, she is an actress and she is not the first actress in ever that has done a nude scene, sounds to me it is partial nudity anyway. It's the writers take on this which gets me, after seven years of knowing about the film, even if inadvertantlly came across it by accident, it's confusing as to why Leonard would hide he knew about a nude scene in a movie she was once in, maybe he diddn't think it was a big deal and thought Penny knew, or thought she would be embarrased by it, as she was young when she did it. That's the point Penny is no longer 19 she is in her mid 20's, and I don't understand why Leonard feels the need to seek validity from his peers, people he most likely well never meet again. Then again he is isolated and has probably bonded with these people, as a way of dealing with missing Leonard. I think Leonard deserves the benefit of the doubt, because I doubt he was showing Penny off as a prize, but almost like he feels proud that she is his GF and wanted to show her off in that context. I don't know if the writers plan on bringing it up again, but it does seem irrelogical after Lenny are in the best place they have ever been, they would even attempt to disrupt them at all espically in the first episode of the premeire. But I have always seen Leonard when it comes to Penny as so even to this day in shock he got Penny, Leonard has always been submissive in his behaviour due to the lack of love and recognition he recieved from his mother, Penny has a similar relationship with her father, he refers to her as his little "slugger" clearly her father has not been a fan of her love life and her choices in men, you could argue he always wanted a boy. I remember the first time Leonard and Penny started to bond on a deeper level, was the ep Leonard's mother came to stay, it really showed Leonard and Penny may be from different worlds but they have alot more in common then they realized. I also think Penny has always thought she hasen't deserved Leonard, so times like pushing him away as been a result of her own insecurites and intimacy issues. I have never understood people undermining Penny's outlook on Leonard, Penny to me anyway has always showed affection to Leonard, even in S1 she organised Leonard's birthday party thought that was really nice. The finalie of S2 when the guys went to that expedition, she started to realize the depth of her feelings for Leonard. When she broke up with Penny she was more worried about how Leonard is dealing with it, I understood she came home one night and blamed Leonard for her lack of or how she has no tolerance of dumb guys anymore, she can no longer overlook their dumbness. Obviousley their was a double standard when Leonard tried the same thing haha, but Penny remorsed. Okay I am getting off track I just think the writers saw this as not really a reflection of how Leonard see's his potential future wife, more just a gag a cheap joke for the sake of it, status quo should resume when Leonard returns.

[Disgusted]

I get what you and others are saying about how's it not that big a deal. As @Chiara pointed out he could have shown pictures of her. Part of the problem is this isn't five years ago. I can see showing the topless video then. But I can't imagine showing it now when he wants her as his future wife. I can't imagine showing a topless video of my future wife. 

 

Reminds me of a movie: "Got any naked pictures of your wife? You want some?" 

 

Late at night in the dorm  "Hey, you know Dr. Hoff's wife, right? Check this out! My TA told me he was showing it to them on some expedition a few years ago."

 

And, this is a joke they took from 2.5 men a few years back.

 

But I'm sure it will all be Just Fine.

[3ku11]

Reminds me of a movie: "Got any naked pictures of your wife? You want some?" 

 

Late at night in the dorm  "Hey, you know Dr. Hoff's wife, right? Check this out! My TA told me he was showing it to them on some expedition a few years ago."

 

And, this is a joke they took from 2.5 men a few years back.

 

But I'm sure it will all be Just Fine.

Well in Taahm if Charlie showed a nude photo of his GF people would expect it and be dissapointed if Charlie wouldent do something like that lol, that was part of the charm of the show yes I WAS  a Taahm fan. But with TBBT Leonard obviousley wants to marry Penny at some point, but I do understand why he did it, its just a movie, I mean if he was back home in Pasadena he would never show it, just got to give Leonard the benefit of the doubt based on his current state of mind.