Spoilers Leonard And Penny Season 7 *spoiler* Discussion Thread

[gsxdoug]

I feel there is something big happening with Lenny by the end of the year.

I think so, too. IMHO they are ready to move to another level, just hope the show writers see it that way.

[Tensor]

If there is another who has given information before, then there will be four people there.  Nogravitasatall was waiting for WB to start lining people up around 10 AM California time.   It will be his first taping and he will be flying back to Australia later this week.

[gsxdoug]

If there is another who has given information before, then there will be four people there.  Nogravitasatall was waiting for WB to start lining people up around 10 AM California time.   It will be his first taping and he will be flying back to Australia later this week.

I hope he gets in, coming all that way, not like that poor girl from France who got bumped out.

Edited January 21, 2014 by gsxdoug

[bigbangsheldon]

The third person is Inouken who wrote 7.06. Hey 10 I think MJ said in the shamy thread she is talking to Nog! Check it

[ArmyGirl]

If there is another who has given information before, then there will be four people there.  Nogravitasatall was waiting for WB to start lining people up around 10 AM California time.   It will be his first taping and he will be flying back to Australia later this week.

 

This is awesome that Norgravitassatall will get to see a live taping of the show.  Hope he has a great time and shares detail of his experiences.

[I.H.S.F.C.]

Roxanne is going tonight, so you can expect an extremely detailed taping report on her blog.  If they show the V-Day episode to the audience before tonight's taping (they may not since it will actually air after the episode taping tonight), I'm sure Roxanne will give her perspective on the Lenny scenes since she is a big Lenny shipper.

[phantagrae]

I don't think that Penny quitting the CCF has anything to do with becoming dependent upon Leonard financially, or with her commitment issues or with them moving in together or getting married or any of those things.

 

For some time, TPTB have talked about Penny needing to grow up and learn some things.  While quitting her job may not seem like a mature thing to do, in a way it is.  She's ditching her net and choosing to walk the tightrope of her chosen career without anything to fall back on.

As a person involved in the arts, I can totally get that choice.  If you're working while you're trying to get your big break, it can get too easy to simply let your dayjob take over, let your everyday life take over to the point where you're not really trying all that hard anymore.

I know a lot of people who kind of fell into that trap--working, getting married, having kids (not that any of these things are bad in and of themselves)--and just letting the desire to take auditions slip away.  It's hard and expensive and sometimes frustrating to take auditions--especially for musicians--so it's easier to just take the occasional local gig and sometimes even get to the point where you just don't play anymore.

 

For Penny, it would be way too easy to just keep working at the CCF, maybe even move in with and/or marry Leonard, and then just let her dream silp away.  We don't have any evidence to suggest that she couldn't have a viable career in acting, whether it's theater, TV or movies.  They kind of joke about it, and she's struggling, as most actors do, but I think the writers have tried to underscore that she really is good.  That's why they included the Streetcar scene last season.

So, for her to quit her dayjob and get more serious about taking auditions and maybe taking any gig she can get, is, to me, a step in the right direction for her.  Getting serious about her career means putting everything into it, in this case.  She's not playing it safe anymore and that means she's going to have to work that much harder at it.

 

Whether or not she chooses to propose, I don't think it should have to do with financial stability, or that her love for Leonard is somehow tied up in securing her future.

I think that whether or not she realizes it, she is committed to Leonard.  I think she made that decision back when she finally said, "You're the one that I'm with, you know that I love you..." etc.  I don't think that moving in together or getting married will make them more committed to each other.  It will change their everyday lives in that they'll be "cleaving", but I don't think it has to do with her desire to be with him.

I don't think that she is holding back on marriage because she wants to keep her boyfriend prospects open.  I think that it's just a matter of some kind of almost superstition or apprehension with the label or idea.  To her it seems to represent something final and her life up until now has been anything but settled.  I don't think she's hoping for a better boyfriend on the horizon or anything like that.

 

Anyway, I hope they don't try to tie her quitting her job into whether or not they move in or she proposes or anything like that.  I think that would be sending the wrong message.

 

I do think that they're in a good place at this point, despite the jokes about Leonard in the bedroom, which I don't think were intended to be mean or cruel or anything like that.  They've always played that card with him, so it's nothing new, and they've always played it in front of the guys.  It's just like the way they all poke fun at each other for their various flaws.

[gsxdoug]

I don't think that Penny quitting the CCF has anything to do with becoming dependent upon Leonard financially, or with her commitment issues or with them moving in together or getting married or any of those things.

 

For some time, TPTB have talked about Penny needing to grow up and learn some things.  While quitting her job may not seem like a mature thing to do, in a way it is.  She's ditching her net and choosing to walk the tightrope of her chosen career without anything to fall back on.

As a person involved in the arts, I can totally get that choice.  If you're working while you're trying to get your big break, it can get too easy to simply let your dayjob take over, let your everyday life take over to the point where you're not really trying all that hard anymore.

I know a lot of people who kind of fell into that trap--working, getting married, having kids (not that any of these things are bad in and of themselves)--and just letting the desire to take auditions slip away.  It's hard and expensive and sometimes frustrating to take auditions--especially for musicians--so it's easier to just take the occasional local gig and sometimes even get to the point where you just don't play anymore.

 

For Penny, it would be way too easy to just keep working at the CCF, maybe even move in with and/or marry Leonard, and then just let her dream silp away.  We don't have any evidence to suggest that she couldn't have a viable career in acting, whether it's theater, TV or movies.  They kind of joke about it, and she's struggling, as most actors do, but I think the writers have tried to underscore that she really is good.  That's why they included the Streetcar scene last season.

So, for her to quit her dayjob and get more serious about taking auditions and maybe taking any gig she can get, is, to me, a step in the right direction for her.  Getting serious about her career means putting everything into it, in this case.  She's not playing it safe anymore and that means she's going to have to work that much harder at it.

 

Whether or not she chooses to propose, I don't think it should have to do with financial stability, or that her love for Leonard is somehow tied up in securing her future.

I think that whether or not she realizes it, she is committed to Leonard.  I think she made that decision back when she finally said, "You're the one that I'm with, you know that I love you..." etc.  I don't think that moving in together or getting married will make them more committed to each other.  It will change their everyday lives in that they'll be "cleaving", but I don't think it has to do with her desire to be with him.

I don't think that she is holding back on marriage because she wants to keep her boyfriend prospects open.  I think that it's just a matter of some kind of almost superstition or apprehension with the label or idea.  To her it seems to represent something final and her life up until now has been anything but settled.  I don't think she's hoping for a better boyfriend on the horizon or anything like that.

 

Anyway, I hope they don't try to tie her quitting her job into whether or not they move in or she proposes or anything like that.  I think that would be sending the wrong message.

 

I do think that they're in a good place at this point, despite the jokes about Leonard in the bedroom, which I don't think were intended to be mean or cruel or anything like that.  They've always played that card with him, so it's nothing new, and they've always played it in front of the guys.  It's just like the way they all poke fun at each other for their various flaws.

Well said, as always.

[bigbangsheldon]

Phanta just spilled it. Is it really hard to believe that Penny's career choices and development right now don't have anything to do with proposals or moving in and are just to you know actually do something for Penny on her own for once?

[SRAM]

Phantagrae

What you said is really nice, but the TPTB have stated before that the Penny character is not planned to succeed in acting. The said she is suppose to represent the typical pretty girl who comes to Hollywood with stars in her eyes who ends up with a healthy dose of reality. So her keeping up this path and it not being about being with Leonard is only going give us a Penny who keeps failing in her dream and getting more and more depressed, probably drinking more. I think the episode last season where she realizes Leonard and her.friends make her life exciting and then her admitting to Leonard the last 10 years were not wasted because of him are a hint that Penny finds these wonderful friends and soulmate in Hollywood, not stardom.

[hokie3457]

Great take phantagrae!!!!

Sent from my iPhone using

Tapatalk

[phantagrae]

Phantagrae

What you said is really nice, but the TPTB have stated before that the Penny character is not planned to succeed in acting. The said she is suppose to represent the typical pretty girl who comes to Hollywood with stars in her eyes who ends up with a healthy dose of reality. So her keeping up this path and it not being about being with Leonard is only going give us a Penny who keeps failing in her dream and getting more and more depressed, probably drinking more. I think the episode last season where she realizes Leonard and her.friends make her life exciting and then her admitting to Leonard the last 10 years were not wasted because of him are a hint that Penny finds these wonderful friends and soulmate in Hollywood, not stardom.

 

I'm not talking about stardom.  TPTB have said that she's not going to be a star, not that she's going to fail at acting.

I'm not 1st chair in the New York Philharmonic, but that doesn't mean that I'm not a successful professional musician.

 

What I'm talking about is that she can have success in being a working actor--getting hired for roles, even if they're not starring roles, on a regular basis because she's got some talent and she's putting herself out there--not that she's going to become the next Meryl Streep.

 

I do think that they've shown her hitting the reality of what it means to try to make it in Hollywood, but I also don't think that they had her quit her CCF job just to make her fail and have to cling to Leonard in order to survive, or have to find some other lame-a$$ part-time job or whatever.

 

She is already with Leonard, even if they haven't taken that step over into marriage or living together.  They are together.  And I don't think that they intend to have her sinking into depression and drinking more, etc., just so that she can be rescued by Leonard's love.  What does she do then?  Become the happy housewife who once upon a time wanted to be an actress?

 

There's nothing wrong with being a homemaker, as long as you're not doing it only because you couldn't do the thing you really wanted to do.

While I agree that it was great that she realizes that she has these great friends and that she has found her true love in Leonard, that has, IMO, nothing to do with her ability or desire to pursue her acting career.

 

And while they may have said those things about Penny a couple of years ago, I don't think that it necessarily has to hold true in the future.  Otherwise, what would be the point of focusing all of this energy on her quitting the CCF (since they haven't had her go back there or take up another job) to concentrate on her career?  Do you really think they're going to crush her with it?  To say, in effect, "Sorry, Penny, but you're never going to make it, so you'd better go find yourself a job at McDonalds or else propose to Leonard so that he can support you financially and emotionally"?

I don't think they'd go there.

What does that say about Penny and her core self?  That she's nothing if she's not with Leonard?  That she has no talent or ability other than being the pretty girl?

 

I don't think they intend to strip her of who she is.

[SRAM]

I don't think they will strip her of her dreams, that would sort of destroy the character. They might have her pursuing being an actor till the end of the show or maybe she will find something else. I just don't think her quiting TCF is really about them writing her any success in acting, I think it is about getting her closer to Leonard, and depending on him, which is a way for her to get over her commitment issues with him. When she finds out living with him and waking every morning in his arms doesn't keep her from doing what she wants, marriage won't scare her as much.

[Guest]

I don't think they will strip her of her dreams, that would sort of destroy the character. They might have her pursuing being an actor till the end of the show or maybe she will find something else. I just don't think her quiting TCF is really about them writing her any success in acting, I think it is about getting her closer to Leonard, and depending on him, which is a way for her to get over her commitment issues with him. When she finds out living with him and waking every morning in his arms doesn't keep her from doing what she wants, marriage won't scare her as much.

 

Nice words! Makes sense in a way!

[djsurrey]

If there is another who has given information before, then there will be four people there.  Nogravitasatall was waiting for WB to start lining people up around 10 AM California time.   It will be his first taping and he will be flying back to Australia later this week.

 I have to come in this thread to get these tidbits because the regular spoiler thread is less active.

[hamerman55]

I also think that the all-in mindset is ultimately good for the relationship. In Leonard and Penny 1.0, Leonard was fairly clear on the point that Penny was keeping her boyfriend options open. Not a good place for him to be, and one of the fatal flaw of that version. Leonard felt like he could lose her at any point, and eventually Penny got scared because that became no longer true. In Leonard and Penny 2.0, we get the ILY from Penny, which surprised her as much as it did Leonard. It is almost if she did not realize she felt that way. Now, in the third version (post-VD 2013) and into these recent episodes, Penny is going through a lot of changes and thinking a lot about her future. It also seems that she is clearing out unimportant things, like the CCF. I hope that her commitment fears fall into the unimportant category, since maintaining such constructs take a lot of work. Her life would be simpler and more focused if her relationship with Leonard was more settled. Regardless of financial concerns, she would be more at peace and get stronger support from Leonard if she would deal with whatever it is that is making things crazy in their relationship.

[phantagrae]

I don't think they will strip her of her dreams, that would sort of destroy the character. They might have her pursuing being an actor till the end of the show or maybe she will find something else. I just don't think her quiting TCF is really about them writing her any success in acting, I think it is about getting her closer to Leonard, and depending on him, which is a way for her to get over her commitment issues with him. When she finds out living with him and waking every morning in his arms doesn't keep her from doing what she wants, marriage won't scare her as much.

Sorry, but I still think that's a lousy way for her to get over her commitment issues--"depending" on Leonard because she no longer has a day job makes her nothing more than a freeloader. She would be trading her CCF safety net for a Leonard safety net. She doesn't have to worry about not making it as an actress because she can just let Leonard support her.

To me, that's a terrible way for her to get over her commitment issues. If all it takes is waking up in Leonard's arms every morning, she could have made that decision ages ago. They've been sleeping together for ages and she's woken up in his arms plenty of times.

Why would quitting her day job make it any more meaningful than it was before? Just because he's "taking care of her"? That doesn't seem to me to be a healthy way to progress in their relationship.

I don't think their going to make Penny financially dependent upon Leonard as a way to make her want to marry him.

I think that quitting the CCF has everything to do with her career--how committed to her career is she, really? If she's going to work without a net, she's either going to fight to stay up on that high wire, or they're going to have her crash to the ground.

But i don't think they're going to use it to drive her into Leonard's arms because of it--not in terms of her suddenly making a decision about their future.

I think those should be two separate issues--her career and her life with Leonard. She should choose to live with him or to marry him for reasons other than depending on him because she quit her job.

[BangerMain]

Sorry, but I still think that's a lousy way for her to get over her commitment issues--"depending" on Leonard because she no longer has a day job makes her nothing more than a freeloader. She would be trading her CCF safety net for a Leonard safety net. She doesn't have to worry about not making it as an actress because she can just let Leonard support her.

To me, that's a terrible way for her to get over her commitment issues. If all it takes is waking up in Leonard's arms every morning, she could have made that decision ages ago. They've been sleeping together for ages and she's woken up in his arms plenty of times.

Why would quitting her day job make it any more meaningful than it was before? Just because he's "taking care of her"? That doesn't seem to me to be a healthy way to progress in their relationship.

I don't think their going to make Penny financially dependent upon Leonard as a way to make her want to marry him.

I think that quitting the CCF has everything to do with her career--how committed to her career is she, really? If she's going to work without a net, she's either going to fight to stay up on that high wire, or they're going to have her crash to the ground.

But i don't think they're going to use it to drive her into Leonard's arms because of it--not in terms of her suddenly making a decision about their future.

I think those should be two separate issues--her career and her life with Leonard. She should choose to live with him or to marry him for reasons other than depending on him because she quit her job.

 

Having Penny decide to marry Leonard for financial expediency would be sending the wrong message about their relationship but having her become what she dreams of being would violate TPTB's design of the character. They have to find a middle ground that is believable and consistent with what they have shown of her past traits and experiences. 

 

As the producers have said in the past, Penny represents all those legions of girls who come to LA with dreams of stardom and almost no preparation or entre to the business. She is also shown to be lazy and unmotivated to do the grunt work for preparation. Actresses who make it  to TV or movie stardom either are discovered as adolescents or teens (like Jennifer Lawrence, Natalie Portman or Kaley Cuocco); have extensive training either with degrees in theater or experience in repertory work in large cities; are the daughters of high ups in the business. Penny is none of these things.

 

Penny is a 28 years old with a resume that is so ridiculously thin she has to lie on it claiming that she's 22. She is completely unprepared to be a working character actress and playing Blanche Dubois in an acting class exercise is not a credit that can be used. By now Penny should have the kind of resume that Alicia of season 2's "Dead Hooker" complained about having. Instead we get Penny getting three lines cutout of

"NCIS", the number one show in the US and she can't even remember its title. Yes, that was an absurd joke to have Penny, a supposed professional actress say but it is representative of how the writers have treated her preparation for the business.

 

Now that Penny has quit the CCF after 10 year of continuous failure at making it, even small, in acting what can they do that would be logical? She is no better prepared to even be a working actress, getting just enough work to pay the rent. Will the powers that be get her some small gig like another commercial? Tensor, who is a part time professional actor, has thoroughly detailed in several post the economics of acting jobs and she is not going to subsist long that way. She maybe available full time to pursue roles now but she is still a 28 year woman who is only really qualified to be a young, decorative blond and as the writers said through Leonard, Hollywood has plenty of those to chose from.

 

How they plan to resolve Penny's great gamble is the most interesting question this season. The most obvious answer is to continue with the theme that has always defined the Lenny, Leonard to the rescue.

 

I fully agree with you that this should not be the reason for them to marry. Penny loves Leonard so much she wants to bring something to their lives together beside a debt load. She wants to be a full partner. And I hope they find a way to believably give her that chance.

Edited January 22, 2014 by BangerMain

[hamerman55]

I believe there is a middle ground, in that Penny can get decorative blonde work if she works at it. There are a fair number of actors that seem to show up everywhere, but never get regular cast work in TV. Her relative maturity can work here, as she can play more groundup roles. And her personal maturity could make her more employable as she will be reliable. Her commitment to Leonard means she won't fool around and chase the other actors. She'll want to do the job professionally and go home to Leonard. What Leonard can do for her is smooth out the dry spots, as she may have good months and bad months. The writers could use her bit part roles as a source of humor. She could get a rep as playing the barmaid or bartender, essentially reprising her work at the CCF. Or she could regularly get jobs as hookers. These could be the source of much humor, as the guys could see her on TV in various series.

[vasu]

And the real question still remains..

How is Penny going to pay her bills now?? She was barely able to pay her bills properly when she had a job...

[SodidIwin?]

And the real question still remains..

How is Penny going to pay her bills now?? She was barely able to pay her bills properly when she had a job...

Well since this is a sitcom, that subject can actually be totally ignored if the writers so choose to do so. However, I just can't see the writers letting Penny fall flat on her face and be a failure.

[phantagrae]

Having Penny decide to marry Leonard for financial expediency would be sending the wrong message about their relationship but having her become what she dreams of being would violate TPTB's design of the character. They have to find a middle ground that is believable and consistent with what they have shown of her past traits and experiences. 

 

As the producers have said in the past, Penny represents all those legions of girls who come to LA with dreams of stardom and almost no preparation or entre to the business. She is also shown to be lazy and unmotivated to do the grunt work for preparation. Actresses who make it  to TV or movie stardom either are discovered as adolescents or teens (like Jennifer Lawrence, Natalie Portman or Kaley Cuocco); have extensive training either with degrees in theater or experience in repertory work in large cities; are the daughters of high ups in the business. Penny is none of these things.

 

Penny is a 28 years old with a resume that is so ridiculously thin she has to lie on it claiming that she's 22. She is completely unprepared to be a working character actress and playing Blanche Dubois in an acting class exercise is not a credit that can be used. By now Penny should have the kind of resume that Alicia of season 2's "Dead Hooker" complained about having. Instead we get Penny getting three lines cutout of

"NCIS", the number one show in the US and she can't even remember its title. Yes, that was an absurd joke to have Penny, a supposed professional actress say but it is representative of how the writers have treated her preparation for the business.

 

Now that Penny has quit the CCF after 10 year of continuous failure at making it, even small, in acting what can they do that would be logical? She is no better prepared to even be a working actress, getting just enough work to pay the rent. Will the powers that be get her some small gig like another commercial? Tensor, who is a part time professional actor, has thoroughly detailed in several post the economics of acting jobs and she is not going to subsist long that way. She maybe available full time to pursue roles now but she is still a 28 year woman who is only really qualified to be a young, decorative blond and as the writers said through Leonard, Hollywood has plenty of those to chose from.

 

How they plan to resolve Penny's great gamble is the most interesting question this season. The most obvious answer is to continue with the theme that has always defined the Lenny, Leonard to the rescue.

 

I fully agree with you that this should not be the reason for them to marry. Penny loves Leonard so much she wants to bring something to their lives together beside a debt load. She wants to be a full partner. And I hope they find a way to believably give her that chance.

 

I think that you're making very broad points over very specific details.

 

Yes, she's never going to be a big star and land a leading role on TV or in the movies.  She's probably always going to struggle, and as hamerman pointed out, it would be easy to use her random acting gigs as fodder for humor on the show--humiliating commercials, murder victim roles, etc.

 

While Penny may have come to LA with stars in her eyes and no real preperation, we have seen that she has been taking acting classes pretty much the whole time since we met her and she's been trying for roles, struggling with the issues in the business (not getting to audition because she looked "too Midwest", or that she was too perky, or finding out an audition is for a porno), doing small off-the-beaten path theatrical roles.  And BTW, her role as Blanche in her class production can indeed be used on her resume.

If an aspiring opera singer sings a lead role in a university production of an opera, that goes on the resume.  Same thing with actors.  If she's played Blanche Dubois, she's played it and can say so on her resume.

 

As for lying about her age--EVERY actor, especially women, probably do that.  That speaks to the ageism in the business.  That someone as young as Penny would be better off claiming to be 22 rather than 28 is probably horribly true in Hollywood.  Let alone being in one's 30s or 40s.  Even established stars have trouble getting roles appropriate to their age.  A 50 year old man will be cast in a movie and his love interest will be some 20-something starlet.

 

And the Dead Hooker actress apparently got her roles by working the casting couch, so I don't know that her resume is a fair comparison to Penny's.  Penny's is probably more realistic, which, again, doesn't mean that she can't make it as a working actress.

And a big deal was made over her not remembering the name of the show she was cast in, but if you pay attention, in that moment, that's when she's first been cast in the role.  She hasn't yet reported to the set for the role.  If anything, she probably got the sides from her agent or whatever and just showed up for the audition and maybe only glanced at the name of the show on the sides.

But obviously, by the time she's actually filmed the scene, she knows what show it is, etc.

If you think about it, that audition may have been only one of many that she did, or that she saw pages for, etc.  I don't think it's meant to indicate that Penny doesn't care about what show she's on.  I think that the primary purpose of that line, anyway, was to poke fun at a fellow CBS show, not to be some indicator of Penny's integrity as an actress.  I really think people made a big ol' mountain out of a tiny molehill on that one line.

 

How realistic it is for her to get by has to do with what the writers want to do.  I think that the only reason to have her quit the CCF and say the things she said about the idea--that she has to focus all of her energy on her career--signifies that that is part of where they're going with this.  Again, not to crush her and show that she's a failure, or that she's going to have to break into Sheldon's snake can again, but I would think they'll use it to show how hard she's going to have to work in order to get by--that she'll have to take any and every gig that comes her way, whether she likes it or not.

 

I think that this storyline gives them some stuff to work with for Penny other than just being Leonard's girlfriend and a CCF waitress and talking about acting in passing.  They can give her her own stories and her own struggles and her own triumphs that have nothing to do with hopping in the sack with Leonard or killing spiders for the guys or whatever.

 

We've seen the guys have professional victories and struggles, seen them deal with their parents, seen them struggle with their social lives, but with Penny we've seen only a bit of that.  She's often the foil against which the guys' social backwardness is contrasted, and we've seen some of her own struggles with self-esteem and insecurity, but we haven't seen very much at all of her career or her talent or professional struggles.

 

I'd kind of like to see her dealing with some a$$ onset, even if it's just doing a commercial.  Some handsy director or fellow actor, or having to get doused with suds for a laundry detergent commercial or whatever--just as we've seen the guys struggle with the likes of Leslie Winkle or Kripke or having to do fundraiser gladhanding.

 

I think this could be a great chance to see more of Penny's life outside of the CCF and the apartment building.

[djsurrey]

Sounds like good perspective to me.

 

I was just thinking it gives the possibility for some good Penny stories. She is a popular character who has not hat much of a story in a while. I really don't know anything about this business but I could not help but wonder if KC made getting out of that CF uniform part of the contract negotiation.

[Tensor]

I'm puzzled by how much it is assumed that if Penny and Leonard moved in together, it would be because of only financial reasons.  It's rather obvious that while it may be  consideration, it will in no way be the only reason it happens.   They have both proposed (ill timed, no doubt and rightfully refused)  but it shows that they have been thinking about it.  I know quite a few couples who's SO supports them financially, while they chase their dream, and I include my daughter here.  She moved in with her boyfriend (now husband) as it made financial sense for both of them to do so, but they had been dating for about a year, had thought about marriage, but the big thing was it allowed her to not worry about how much she worked as a waitress (and to be honest, she didn't out and out quit).

 

 I don't see a problem with Penny pursuing her acting career, running short of money and Leonard pointing out moving in together and having him pay rent, utilities, food, etc for THEIR apartment, is an investment in Penny's (and as an extension, THEIR) future.   If she makes it, even as a small part and commercial actor, she will then be able to contribute to the household.  If she never makes it, she still tried.  She articulated this very well in the last episode.  It's something she has to do.  If she doesn't, she will have a "crapload" of regret, and could hold it against Leonard for not supporting her (again, not saying this is right, but it a normal human reaction) which could poison the relationship. She can at least feel good that she did try.  If she tries, and it still doesn't work, why does she have to be classified as a failure?  After all, if it never happens and she finally realizes it, why can't she go back to school full time, again with Leonard supporting her as an investment in their future together, getting her degree and then contributing to the household?   

 

I realize others may see it differently, but for me, it would be a no brainer to help someone I love finically while they chase their dream.  With the relationship the Leonard and Penny currently have, I wouldn't believe that me supporting her financially is the only reason she would be with me.  

Sounds like good perspective to me.

 

I was just thinking it gives the possibility for some good Penny stories. She is a popular character who has not hat much of a story in a while. I really don't know anything about this business but I could not help but wonder if KC made getting out of that CF uniform part of the contract negotiation.

 

I don't see why.  All the actors have acknowledged that they wouldn't know what or how to write the plots the writers come up with.   Demanding a change to a major plot point is something divas do and none of the actors in this show appeart to be divas.   If you want examples of divas, see what happened on a couple of other Lorre shows  "Grace Under Fire" or "Cybill", where Chuck was overruled by the network.

[djsurrey]

I'd agree with you Tensor except Penny is a girlfriend who has trouble acknowledging commitment. Leonard wants to be the boyfriend not the father figure or the rich uncle/brother.  If he pays for everything before she has made some verbal commitment than he just looks like a sugar-daddy.