Spoilers Leonard And Penny Season 7 *spoiler* Discussion Thread

[terriblewaitress]

Looking at this, Leonard just went with the opportunity, there was no planning (at first) to manipulate Penny. Not to mention all the ammunition it gives Penny to tease Leonard. Also, unless Leonard's brother is about 7 years younger then him it gives a lie Beverly's contention that they only had sex for reproduction.

 

Season 2 episode 15:

Beverley:  Aside from a pro forma consummation of our marriage, his father and I only had intercourse for the purposes of reproduction.

 

Meh. That ping pong paddle incident was probably some neurological experiment. 

 

eta - a very disturbing one...

Edited October 11, 2013 by terriblewaitress

[Chrismo]

This is why some of us don't find his mother funny in the less.  I mean you have to wonder how Leonard turned out so decent as he did with Beverly as a mother.  Emotion abuse isn't funny to me and that is what does to Leonard over and over.

So Leonard's behavior toward Penny was excusable? I think it ended up a draw.

[ArmyGirl]

So Leonard's behavior toward Penny was excusable? I think it ended up a draw.

 

What are you talking about ---- Beverly isn't Penny and I said nothing about Penny.  And to be honest Penny could have handle it without calling in Beverly and we all know this!

[gsxdoug]

I thought tonight's ep. was pretty good, Penny made her point and now we have the couch cuddling scene and Penny's memento box to look forward to.

[eirwinrommel]

All in all it was a very funny episode. The only thing I didn't like was Penny bringing in Leonard's mom. She should have confronted Leonard and talked about what he was doing.

[ArmyGirl]

All in all it was a very funny episode. The only thing I didn't like was Penny bringing in Leonard's mom. She should have confronted Leonard and talked about what he was doing.

 

This all I was saying in my opinion it was wrong to get Beverly involve.  Penny has handled Leonard on more than one occasion which she had a right to in this case and we all know Penny didn't need Beverly to take down Leonard.  For me that was just wrong.

[gsxdoug]

I understand where you're coming from, but to me, the whole issue revovled around his mother. Rightly or wrongly, Penny using her to make a point brings the story full circle, IMHO.

[Oldnavy]

As I stated on another thread, I thought this episode was pretty funny.  I really liked the Lenny and Shamy stories.  I thought Leonard was pretty dumb for telling Howard what he was doing.  I loved the way Bernedette did fall for what Howard was trying.  In the end, I thought Leonard got what he deserved.

[terriblewaitress]

 

What I love is that here, Penny genuinely wanted to make Leonard feel better. And he didn't even think of it at first, but accepted it when she offered. She just wanted to make him feel better. Plus this was like my favourite scene in this episode I have already re-watched it too many times. 

 

 

Maybe I should reconsider my dislike of Physics. Penny most definitely loves being in that lab  

 

 

Things Leonard doesn't want to miss out on.

 

I love that Penny is doing a Psychology class. 

[I.Am.Molly]

 

What I love is that here, Penny genuinely wanted to make Leonard feel better. And he didn't even think of it at first, but accepted it when she offered. She just wanted to make him feel better. Plus this was like my favourite scene in this episode I have already re-watched it too many times. 

 I LOVED this scene! Wayy too much i just replayed it over and over again and if i didnt have to go to sleep now i would be playing it again probably. She was genuinely concerned for him, after all the teasing and thats what i really loved.  it was so cute they just give me too many feels.

 

 

 

Maybe I should reconsider my dislike of Physics. Penny most definitely loves being in that lab

  I dont blame her, id quite like to visit his lab. I wonder if they ever break any of the equipment in there, or if they just do that when they go away for weekends.

 

 

 

 

 

And finally just.... Wow. Leonard is a lucky man, i bet he done some serious apologizing after seeing her in this.

[Chrismo]

What are you talking about ---- Beverly isn't Penny and I said nothing about Penny.  And to be honest Penny could have handle it without calling in Beverly and we all know this!

You can never admit when Leonard is wrong. And Leonard could of gotten sex without involving Beverly

[ArmyGirl]

You can never admit when Leonard is wrong. And Leonard could of gotten sex without involving Beverly

 

So saying Leonard was wrong and that Penny had a right come at him isn't saying Leonard was wrong?

 

All I stated was that Penny didn't have to bring in the mother from he!! aka Beverly.

[Chrismo]

So saying Leonard was wrong and that Penny had a right come at him isn't saying Leonard was wrong?

 

All I stated was that Penny didn't have to bring in the mother from he!! aka Beverly.

So why is okay for Leonard to use Beverly to get sex from Penny but not okay for Penny to get even using Beverly?

[hamerman55]

I liked that the whole plot with Leonard and Penny developed organically. Penny wouldn't let the book alone when Leonard asked her nice, so he was willing to take advantage when Penny finally got the point that he was truly hurt. Leonard's mistakes to me were that he pushed it, then boasted to Howard. For a smart guy, he should know telling Howard is the same as telling Bernie, who will then tell Penny. Considering that all Leonard has had to do in the past to get sex was take Penny by the hand, it seems odd that he would feel he needed to manipulate her in the first place for sex. Getting out of the football game I can see. Leonard was just heavy handed and kept trying to see how far he could go. While excessive and over the top, Penny did make the point that she wouldn't put up with with Leonard manipulating her. Of course, Beverly proved again that she is truly awful. Why would she tell Leonard soemthing like THAT? I wonder if Penny suspected that Beverly was going to relate a spanking scene to him? It does point out, however, why Leonard's dad took off.

The thing that keeps ringing wrong is Leonard feeling he needed to do more than just ask Penny to have sex, even in the lab. She has shown that she is into doing it in unusual places, and this probably marks the first time while they were in a relationship that she shot him down. Further, we have never seen Penny dress up sexy for Leonard except for the glasses to look like a scientist. And that was the episode where her insecurities were front and center. Again, Leonard should have been smart enough to know that something was up given how she was dressed. We have had no indication that Penny would do that for Leonard.

[Chrismo]

I liked that the whole plot with Leonard and Penny developed organically. Penny wouldn't let the book alone when Leonard asked her nice, so he was willing to take advantage when Penny finally got the point that he was truly hurt. Leonard's mistakes to me were that he pushed it, then boasted to Howard. For a smart guy, he should know telling Howard is the same as telling Bernie, who will then tell Penny. Considering that all Leonard has had to do in the past to get sex was take Penny by the hand, it seems odd that he would feel he needed to manipulate her in the first place for sex. Getting out of the football game I can see. Leonard was just heavy handed and kept trying to see how far he could go. While excessive and over the top, Penny did make the point that she wouldn't put up with with Leonard manipulating her. Of course, Beverly proved again that she is truly awful. Why would she tell Leonard soemthing like THAT? I wonder if Penny suspected that Beverly was going to relate a spanking scene to him? It does point out, however, why Leonard's dad took off

You hit the nail on the head. What I think put her over the top was finding out from Bernie. Howard stupidly tried to do the same thing with Bernie and she caught on. It was bad enough Leonard manipulated Penny but seemingly bragged to Howard about it. Penny may had even thought the other guys knew. Her reaction may have been less if she found out on her own.

[hamerman55]

I get the feeling that if Leonard called Penny up while he was at work and asked to come over for sex, the conversation might go like this:

Leonard: Penny, I had a great idea. Why don't you come over to my lab, and we can play professor and grad student. We can wear lab coats and goggles, and turn the lasers on.

Penny: Sounds fanastic and kinky. I'll be there in twenty minutes with the condoms. Heat up the green laser. That's my favorite.

Does this sound like Penny?

If so, then why the manipulation for sex? Both Leonard and Howard trying to weasel out of the something they don't want to do makes sense, but neither strikes me as sex deprived.

[3ku11]

I don't think Leonard planned on manipulating Penny, it's just he has probably never been in a relationship where the possibilities are limited, he is in a relationship where the women he loves loves him deeply as he does, not that excuses Leonard taking advantage of Penny's affection, but he's a guy. Guy's act differently around other guy's, it's not the first time Leonard has bragged about his hot girfreind, so it doesen't surprise me he would brag to Howard, he even said he is not proud of it, but now he is seeing how far he can get with it. Penny and Leonard's interests and hobbies are different, they have different friend's, circle group's e.t.c. So he may of been trying too see how much Penny would do for him, sex was just an extension of that. People say Lenny are boring and predictable not everyone but some people, this prooved they can get a lot of fun and excitement regardless of the behaviour portrayed by Leonard or Penny, and still maintain the core of their relationship. Like I have said before Leonard and Penny are in such a good place right now, I mean if this was 5 season's ago and she was dating another guy and he pulled this stunt, she would dump him on the spot haha, even go back to Season 3 when Beverley visited, Leonard was upset and went to his room, S7 Penny now would of gone and check too see if he was okay, where as back then I still feel like they were struggling to define the identity of their relationship, where as now they have defined it and their is an equal partnership now more then their was 4 years ago. I also loved the fact Penny was going to spend time with her friend's outside the group, it's all good the writer's have remembered her character and that she has friend's she has more in common with, like in S3 The Football Episode, I thought it was a cool homage to that episode, it's almost like nothing has changed but everything haha. If you go back to that ep and Leonard was trying to hard haha, remember Penny was like "Yeah that's my boyfriend, he is really smart", where as now she changed her plans for Leonard, you can see how far these two characters have progressed, they have always been a work in progress, but if anything this episode highlighted too they still have a while to ago before they can get engaged, but it also highlighted even with Penny bringing Beverley into their relationship, their relationship is strong enough to deal with it, which says their is trust and compromise their, I mean Leonard could leave the tap on in Penny's apartment and I still feel they would get through that, after of course Penny is done going nebraska on Leonard's ass haha.

[Chiara]

You hit the nail on the head. What I think put her over the top was finding out from Bernie. Howard stupidly tried to do the same thing with Bernie and she caught on. It was bad enough Leonard manipulated Penny but seemingly bragged to Howard about it. Penny may had even thought the other guys knew. Her reaction may have been less if she found out on her own.

Absolutely. After finding out, Penny might even have assumed he had kind of premeditated the whole thing. We know he did not, of course, but she had no way of being sure. So she hit back. Very hard.

 

I did not mind Penny poking fun at Leonard for, to me, her reaction was very similar to how most would behave when discovering their S.O.'s "embarrassing" baby pictures. It was innocently done. I did not mind Leonard seizing the opportunity not to go watch the football game (though considering the number of times she went out with him and his friends to do what they liked, one sporting event on occasion is not the end of the world). I did not mind Leonard bragging to Howard (the poor man was high on endorphins). And, in context, I did not mind Penny's retaliation.

However, there was one little thing I found slightly off. At some point, Leonard mentioned using the "traumatised child" card to get Penny to watch a six-part documentary on Monty Python even he did not want to stay awake for, just to see if she would do it. As long as the manipulation had some sort of utilitarian bend, I was OK with it (Leonard was being overly enthusiastic with his newly found superpower) but the moment he started manipulating Penny's feelings of compassion and guilt just for the sake of it... I thought it was a bit too much. 

 

Other than that, it was all perfectly fine. Leonard's last line really made the day in this regard. "Penny come back ! I'm really sad now" indeed !

Edited October 11, 2013 by Chiara

[3ku11]

I get the feeling that if Leonard called Penny up while he was at work and asked to come over for sex, the conversation might go like this:

Leonard: Penny, I had a great idea. Why don't you come over to my lab, and we can play professor and grad student. We can wear lab coats and goggles, and turn the lasers on.

Penny: Sounds fanastic and kinky. I'll be there in twenty minutes with the condoms. Heat up the green laser. That's my favorite.

Does this sound like Penny?

If so, then why the manipulation for sex? Both Leonard and Howard trying to weasel out of the something they don't want to do makes sense, but neither strikes me as sex deprived.

I don't think it was the sex neccessary Leonard even said he can get Penny to do anything he want's which included sex. Not sure if Penny would be up for it though, just because it sounds a lot like her character. So your right why manipulate their SO's when they are clearly not sex deprived, that's the point though I feel Leonard was testing the boundaries of what he can get away with, not neccessarily the sex that came with it, like Leonard said they stayed up watching Sar Wars or a Docu, "I was even bored!" lol so I don't think it was neccssary the proportion of sex, more the boundaries of their relationship he was testing, or it could of just been a plot device from the writer's but your right I agree.

Edited October 11, 2013 by 3ku11

[Chiara]

On a completely different topic : am I the only one delighted Penny is still going to community college and, apparently, doing well there ? 

 

I know the reference to the "check plus/check/check minus" grading system was meant as a little jab at the level of academic "excellence" usually associated with such institutions but still... Penny used to have to bully her friends to help her get a B-. Now she does it all on her own and seems to be performing perfectly fine, by community college standard ! Surely that is progress.

[Tensor]

On a completely different topic : am I the only one delighted Penny is still going to community college and, apparently, doing well there ? 

 

I know the reference to the "check plus/check/check minus" grading system was meant as a little jab at the level of academic "excellence" usually associated with such institutions but still... Penny used to have to bully her friends to help her get a B-. Now she does it all on her own and seems to be performing perfectly fine, by community college standard ! Surely that is progress.

 

That she was still going to school and seemingly doing well, was a yay moment for me.

[eirwinrommel]

On a completely different topic : am I the only one delighted Penny is still going to community college and, apparently, doing well there ? 

 

I know the reference to the "check plus/check/check minus" grading system was meant as a little jab at the level of academic "excellence" usually associated with such institutions but still... Penny used to have to bully her friends to help her get a B-. Now she does it all on her own and seems to be performing perfectly fine, by community college standard ! Surely that is progress.

 

That she was still going to school and seemingly doing well, was a yay moment for me.

I agree, the fact that Penny is still going to school is a big thing for her. Especially since she's probably paying for it (she might qualify for financial aid). Considering the way they've described Penny's money problems in the past, it's a big commitment (I know she's cut down on her drinking, but really... it couldn't be that much of a savings). So Go Penny!

[arash]

that was a funny episode i enjoyed it .lol and it was implied that penny is still hanging with her old friends. stuart was the best. i think writers should write more stories for him did anyone notice that leonard is getting fat episode by episode? Sent from my HTC One X+ using Tapatalk 4

Edited October 11, 2013 by arash

[3ku11]

I woulden't say Johnny or Leonard is gaining any substantial amount of weight, he is definately more stockier then he was in Season one, but that was seven years ago. Nor do I think his weight has fluctated between episode's, and I haven't noticed him getting fatter each episode, like I said he has obviousley put on weight, but I don't think he look's any bigger then he did last Season.

[terriblewaitress]

People are making this all sound supremely bad. I think most of us would have similar reaction, teasing and joking, if we saw baby photos or a book about someone close to you, because you both know that it's just as a joke, you're not genuinely going ha ha you did this when you were a kid - and if Leonard thought Penny was genuinely mocking his childhood I'm sure he would have told her flat out and she would have understood that. But they had that sense of trust there that she wasn't going to use it to personally insult him. When he saw that he could use this to his advantage, he did, but it wasn't taking advantage of her, he was just testing out how far he could go and enjoy that she was doing things for him, because he wouldn't have gotten this level of care from his mother when he was upset, whereas Penny is the exact opposite. And then Penny finds out from Bernie from Howard what he has been doing, of course she's going to have that kind of reaction, because she doesn't know the story from Leonard. She only hears the worst part of it and reacts to that specifically. And Bev's emotional abuse isn't nice, but her purpose on the show is to provide a bit of comedy and some sympathy towards Leonard, not represent the psychological issues of emotional abuse and experimental parenting. Taken out of the context of the show, yes, it's bad, but within the show, it serves its purpose, but naturally people will have very different reactions to it - and it's good that we do see the bad side of it because we understand a lot more about Leonard and his upbringing through this, as well as why he doesn't tell Penny these things easily. 

 

I'm so happy Penny is doing a Psychology class though like it's so cute. I'll bet she started that while he was away! Ooh and I enjoyed that Leonard was wearing that tiger-face t-shirt in the lab, rrrrr!