Spoilers S7 Spoilers

[koops]

She quoted Yoda in bed with Leonard too. I know she's made plenty of nerdy references in the past, I also love when she strays into nerdom. But what I mean is that she's actually out with dumb, shallow people from her past and starts making this kind of references and realizing she's a fish out of water now. Her life is with the nerds. 

[Count Wally de Honk]

 

She quoted Yoda in bed with Leonard too. I know she's made plenty of nerdy references in the past, I also love when she strays into nerdom. But what I mean is that she's actually out with dumb, shallow people from her past and starts making this kind of references and realizing she's a fish out of water now. Her life is with the nerds.

 

ONE OF US. ONE OF US.

(I tried to find a gif for that also, but most seemed wildly inappropriate)

Edited August 23, 2013 by Count Wally de Honk

[Disgusted]

She quoted Yoda in bed with Leonard too. I know she's made plenty of nerdy references in the past, I also love when she strays into nerdom. But what I mean is that she's actually out with dumb, shallow people from her past and starts making this kind of references and realizing she's a fish out of water now. Her life is with the nerds. 

Leslie: Again, it’s your decision, you’re the man.

Penny (voice off, ascending the stairs): No, it wasn’t my cat, it was an experiment designed by this guy named Schrodinger.

Eric (appearing round corner with Penny): From the Charlie Brown cartoons?

Penny: No, he was some kind of scientist, let me start again. Oh, hey Leonard.

 

 

Gonna go down swinging, huh? 

 

 I know, I know, she hasn't realized it yet......

Penny: Zack was a perfectly nice guy, and then you ruined him!

Leonard: How did I ruin him?

Penny: ‘Cause in the olden days, I never would’ve known he was so stupid.

Leonard: Come on, he wasn’t that stupid.

Penny: Yes, he was! He thought you were gonna blow up the moon!

Leonard: Okay, yeah, he’s stupid.

 

 

There it is!

Edited August 23, 2013 by Disgusted

[Guest I'm not dead Cheryl]

Well, Shenny (non-romantic! before people lash out at me) was part of the premiere, so I think it's understandable why it's coming up. 

 

Anyway, regarding S/P background. While there are similarities, I don't think that makes a "deeper level of connection" between them at all. Social class is not the only thing that makes up a person's background. Sheldon was a child prodigy who went off to college aged 11 and since then has been restricted to academic settings. His mother used to take him to lectures as a child and he used to spend his time doing science since he was a little boy. Hardly sounds like a background that would connect him to Penny, who was, by her own admission, a high-school bully. 

 

If anything, I always found it interesting how Penny ended up surrounding herself with the type of people she used to bully as a youngster. Lio, I believe, has often suggested it would be awesome to have an episode where Penny goes back out with her old girlfriends and realizes how terrible that lifestyle was and how stupid these people were (ala "Zach was a perfectly pleasant guy and then you ruined him!") and how much she appreciates her friends now. I also agree that would be incredibly funny and sweet at the same time.

 

Disgusted, I think you are missing Spook's point, the "Zac realization" was mentioned. Koops is referring to a realization in a social setting, involving a circle of people (i.e.: the people at her apartment to watch the game) and Penny realizing that is not really her scene anymore.

[koops]

He's either missing it or trying to provoke I ain't biting, my dear. 

[Disgusted]

Disgusted, I think you are missing Spook's point, the "Zac realization" was mentioned. Koops is referring to a realization in a social setting, involving a circle of people (i.e.: the people at her apartment to watch the game) and Penny realizing that is not really her scene anymore.

 

I get it, but when have we seen any of Penny's "circle of outside friends" since season 1? Not saying they won't do it, it just seems unlikely.

 

The show has stopped mentioning/showing her other friends, except for rare occasions. But they are still there.

 

I just don't think for her its an either/or choice. She's just expanding into the nerd vacuum.

Edited August 23, 2013 by Disgusted

[phantagrae]

I think that Penny never considered herself a bully, as many kids like her might not have.  When she and the girls were talking about it, she said they didn't really have bullies at her school, but then the activities she described--taking that one girl out into the cornfield--were of course bullying.

 

I do think it would be interesting to see her at some kind of high school reunion kind of thing, or some other situation where she finds herself among that old crowd and finds herself not only the odd-man-out, but like koops said, sticking up for the nerds of the world or whatever.

 

Anyway, I think that the writers have repeatedly discussed how the fun in putting Sheldon and Penny in scenes together is that they antagonize each other, but of course, they don't hate each other.  As Sheldon said, Leonard made him like her, and she learned to like him as well.  As koops (I think?) said, Penny and Leonard are both the sort who can see beyond the exterior and can be very understanding and humane, so they have both been able to see past Sheldon's snarky exterior and understand the somewhat fragile person underneath.

 

But that doesn't mean that Sheldon and Penny don't still grind on each other's sensibilities and antagonize each other, which makes for great comedy.

[Chiara]

First of all, I would very much like to apologise if I have come up as disparaging of any Shenny 'shipper. While I do not believe this 'ship is in the cards, s to speak, I have no problem with people fancying a bit of Sheldon/Penny love if they so wish. If some of my comments were disrespectful, I am really sorry. 

 

If anything, I always found it interesting how Penny ended up surrounding herself with the type of people she used to bully as a youngster. Lio, I believe, has often suggested it would be awesome to have an episode where Penny goes back out with her old girlfriends and realizes how terrible that lifestyle was and how stupid these people were (ala "Zach was a perfectly pleasant guy and then you ruined him!") and how much she appreciates her friends now. I also agree that would be incredibly funny and sweet at the same time.

While I am all for Penny realising that she now has much higher standards when it comes to men and can no longer fall for the "nice abs - shame about the brains" type, I would actually resent a bit her being "colonised", for lack of a better word, by the boys' culture. 

 

Penny discovering that she has an interest in the beauty of the material world and the laws by which it abides ? Hell to to the yes. 

Penny using geek lingua to address the guys ? Absolutely (especially considering that it always gets Lenard hot under the collar. Though she should be careful because everytime she quotes Star Wars, he tends to go a tad overboard and propose or say ILY so... Great powers, great responsibilities and all that jazz).

Penny revisiting her past actions and making amends ? Definitely. 

Penny defending geekiness against a frontal attack ? Hear, hear. 

Penny rejecting en masse the non-geeky lifestyle as too "stupid" ? I'd rather not, to be honest. 

 

Geekiness is no better or worse than anything else. It is not, in and by itself, smarter or more useful than any other hobby/cultural preference. The way I understand it, at their core geeks are "merely" über fans of comic books, superheroes, heroic fantasy, science fiction, etc. Like jocks are über fans of sports, Twihards are über fans of sparkly vampires or Beliebers are über fans of a Canadian singer who shall not be named. Different tastes for different people, all of them fine in their own right. It so happens that the geeks TBBT focuses on are also geniuses. Brilliant ! But that does not make geekiness genius on its own. 

 

To have Penny (or any other character in fact) go overboard with a defense of geekiness over any other subculture would amount to bullying. As the guys demonstrated neatly in The Lunar Excitation, bullies are not always those with the bigger muscles or the conventional good looks. They, themselves, turned into bullies the moment they were more numerous and decided that, because Zac did not know as much as them on a specific topic, he was therefore worthy of contempt. 

TBBT, deep down, is about how the geek world needs a little bit of adulthood to be viable while a healthy zest of geekery makes the adult world that much more fun. Penny embodies the adult world and as such has embraced some geeky habits to become a more interesting character. But too much of that would imply the superiority of geekiness over any other passion. It might be unwise. 

[gsxdoug]

phantagrae

"I do think it would be interesting to see her at some kind of high school reunion kind of thing, or some other situation where she finds herself among that old crowd and finds herself not only the odd-man-out, but like koops said, sticking up for the nerds of the world or whatever."

 

I was thinking the same. Also a good way to have Leonard in Nebraska meeting her mother...2 birds, one stone.

[koops]

First of all, I would very much like to apologise if I have come up as disparaging of any Shenny 'shipper. While I do not believe this 'ship is in the cards, s to speak, I have no problem with people fancying a bit of Sheldon/Penny love if they so wish. If some of my comments were disrespectful, I am really sorry. 

 

While I am all for Penny realising that she now has much higher standards when it comes to men and can no longer fall for the "nice abs - shame about the brains" type, I would actually resent a bit her being "colonised", for lack of a better word, by the boys' culture. 

 

Penny discovering that she has an interest in the beauty of the material world and the laws by which it abides ? Hell to to the yes. 

Penny using geek lingua to address the guys ? Absolutely (especially considering that it always gets Lenard hot under the collar. Though she should be careful because everytime she quotes Star Wars, he tends to go a tad overboard and propose or say ILY so... Great powers, great responsibilities and all that jazz).

Penny revisiting her past actions and making amends ? Definitely. 

Penny defending geekiness against a frontal attack ? Hear, hear. 

Penny rejecting en masse the non-geeky lifestyle as too "stupid" ? I'd rather not, to be honest. 

 

Geekiness is no better or worse than anything else. It is not, in and by itself, smarter or more useful than any other hobby/cultural preference. The way I understand it, at their core geeks are "merely" über fans of comic books, superheroes, heroic fantasy, science fiction, etc. Like jocks are über fans of sports, Twihards are über fans of sparkly vampires or Beliebers are über fans of a Canadian singer who shall not be named. Different tastes for different people, all of them fine in their own right. It so happens that the geeks TBBT focuses on are also geniuses. Brilliant ! But that does not make geekiness genius on its own. 

 

To have Penny (or any other character in fact) go overboard with a defense of geekiness over any other subculture would amount to bullying. As the guys demonstrated neatly in The Lunar Excitation, bullies are not always those with the bigger muscles or the conventional good looks. They, themselves, turned into bullies the moment they were more numerous and decided that, because Zac did not know as much as them on a specific topic, he was therefore worthy of contempt. 

TBBT, deep down, is about how the geek world needs a little bit of adulthood to be viable while a healthy zest of geekery makes the adult world that much more fun. Penny embodies the adult world and as such has embraced some geeky habits to become a more interesting character. But too much of that would imply the superiority of geekiness over any other passion. It might be unwise. 

 

I never said Penny should go overboard and become a nerd or defend nerds against everything and everyone. I merely said that it is pretty established that she used to lead a fairly superficial lifestyle surrounded by superficial people before meeting Leonard and Sheldon (and even some time after that), people who she used to bully when she was younger. I do not see my (well, Lio's) scenario as any different than her realizing that she does not dig men with all muscles and no brains any longer. It is the exact same type of scenario, just extended to friendships instead of mere love interests. I don't think Penny surrounding herself with nerds has only to do with comic books and sci-fi and board games. Like you say, these particular people are very smart and talented. It would be nice, imo, to see her recognize that she prefers intelligence in her friends rather than popularity now. 

 

I would also strongly disagree that the guys were bullying Zack in 3x23. I think that's a bit of an exaggeration. They did not stood around and humiliate him while he was helpless and powerless, they just made a few puns to each other about how dumb his questions were. 

[Chrismo]

 

 

I would also strongly disagree that the guys were bullying Zack in 3x23. I think that's a bit of an exaggeration. They did not stood around and humiliate him while he was helpless and powerless, they just made a few puns to each other about how dumb his questions were. 

Technically they were. In Zack case he was helpless and powerless because he couldn't outsmart them. Part of bullying is causing discomfort. In this case they did and Zack acknowledged that.

[Chiara]

 

I would also strongly disagree that the guys were bullying Zack in 3x23. I think that's a bit of an exaggeration. They did not stood around and humiliate him while he was helpless and powerless, they just made a few puns to each other about how dumb his questions were. 

You are right. I got mixed up with my references. I meant the apartment scene in The Justice League Recomposition. Then they openly bullied Zac and did not even realise it until somebody pointed it out to them. Very similar to Penny who can, in all honesty, believe there was no bully in her high school and then describe her own former bully-ish behaviour without spotting the problem. 

 

As for Penny's former social circle, I do not know. Her past boyfriends were all pretty daft but her friends... Have we ever really met them ? I only recall the Halloween party in season 1 and the football watching group in season 3. In the first case, the mistakes made by Penny's guests about the guys' costumes were pretty understandable (not that many people know what The Doppler Effect is or what it would look like in costume form and, in all fairness, Howard did look like Peter Pan) and the football-loving jocks seemed pretty nice, I think. 

Maybe her former friends were not all that bad after all.

[jennyferbrelaz]

I see that Penny has changed a bit since the first season - like all characters . She seemed like a sweet girl and fragile at the beginning. She seemed fascinated with the world of nerds. She blamed herself for believing in Kurt and all the guys like him. You could not imagine that she would be a bully, although it's not show it in many episodes, she still is. She changed her way of dealing with people including. She learned from the nerds and taught them a lot.

I'm glad that her relationship with Leonard is good this season, because in past seasons, from the third, she felt very superior to him and that was not good at all. Leonard deserved the reciprocity of affection that he so gave her.

As for the nerd side, I think it is very funny when she says anything about it because apparently she has the intelligence of those who hardly passes in the high school. 

[Chrismo]

Technically they were. In Zack case he was helpless and powerless because he couldn't outsmart them. Part of bullying is causing discomfort. In this case they did and Zack acknowledged that.

Actually I'm wrong. Got my episodes goofed up.

[koops]

Oh, right, that makes sense. I was confused! 

 

I did not mean just her relationship with the guys though, but the girls too. I count them under the 'nerds' label too. It was obvious from Penny's lines that she did use to bully girls like them too. But now she's friends with them. And from the "girlfriends" we saw with Penny in the past they were a very different kind than A/B. I always kind of loved Bernadette's line in TAD when the girls and Sheldon go out and she's all excited to tell Sheldon that they "smoked cigars and pretended that we were dragons". That sounds so cute and and hilarious, the way she said it, that it always gave me the impression she thought that was something so wild. I always wondered how Penny's life changed with these girls, because the girlfriends we saw her go out with before A/B seemed a very different breed.

Edited August 23, 2013 by koops

[Oldnavy]

Well, Shenny (non-romantic! before people lash out at me) was part of the premiere, so I think it's understandable why it's coming up. 

 

Anyway, regarding S/P background. While there are similarities, I don't think that makes a "deeper level of connection" between them at all. Social class is not the only thing that makes up a person's background. Sheldon was a child prodigy who went off to college aged 11 and since then has been restricted to academic settings. His mother used to take him to lectures as a child and he used to spend his time doing science since he was a little boy. Hardly sounds like a background that would connect him to Penny, who was, by her own admission, a high-school bully. 

 

If anything, I always found it interesting how Penny ended up surrounding herself with the type of people she used to bully as a youngster. Lio, I believe, has often suggested it would be awesome to have an episode where Penny goes back out with her old girlfriends and realizes how terrible that lifestyle was and how stupid these people were (ala "Zach was a perfectly pleasant guy and then you ruined him!") and how much she appreciates her friends now. I also agree that would be incredibly funny and sweet at the same time.

I think that you make some real good observations here.  One has to wonder how Sheldon's being prodigy and the rest of his "shortened childhood" play into his lack maturity at times. 

 

The reason, IMO, that Penny ended up so connected with a group that was opposite from what she normally ran with was the fact that the guys, beginning with Leonard, actually befriended her and really cared.  With the other crowd I am not certain that she really had what one can could call actual friends.  Leonard basically became her best friend before they ever really got together as a romantic couple. 

 

As for your suggestion about Penny going out with some old girlfriends and having a Zack like realization, I think that would be a great way to show how Penny has grown. 

Edited August 24, 2013 by Oldnavy

[Nogravitasatall]

And these are the untold stories - that don't require drama between the couples - because that vein is either exhausted or  so scarred  they have to shoot up through a central line (bad medical analogy and a mixed metaphor!). They can still progress the relationships but they get to be less introverted and hermetic.

 

hmmm.

[3ku11]

Actually when you think about it is Lenny that really has the deep connection, they both have similar backgrounds in terms of the lack of love and recognition from their respective parents. Penny most likely has used acting to escape from her current reality, almost self actualizing herself in another reality, kinda the same way she did with that Warcraft ep in S2 when she got addicted to online gaming thanks to Sheldon. JMO but I find it hard to beleive that people think the same guy at the end of the S6 finalie Sheldon who was acting like petulant little child in the back of the seat, would ever be a suitable match for Penny lol. When you think about it Penny hasen't had as much interaction as she has had with Howard or Raj, or Bernadette or Amy. In terms of ranking the amount of social interaction she has had with the group; 1. Leonard 2. Sheldon 3. Howard 4. Bernadette 5. Amy 6. Raj (Up to now he coulden't talk to Penny unless he was drunk haha). Penny has always been confused about Sheldon's sexual preferance, never understood his deal as she referred to it in S2, if she cannot grasp the idea of Sheldon's deal but likelyhood of her ever seeing Sheldon in a romantic light seem's unlikely. So although I do not understand why the even name Shenny exists, to me that implies they are dating, but I do get people ship characters in shows ever if they barley said two words to each other haha, not saying that is the case with Sheldon and Penny just making an generalization. Leonard really is the nucleus of Shenny's relationship, Penny hugged Sheldon due to them both missing Leonard, Leonard is clearly the anchor that holds these relationships together. And I do not really agree Sheldon and Penny have the fact their upbringing's are similar, in what way? Yeah their parents are similar in the fact they are a type of people, but doesen't mean their upbringing was similar in any way. Am I missing something here? Is Sheldon still the nerotic, socially enept Physcist, and Penny the nebraska archetypical blonde girl next door? They are from opposite ends of the social spectrum. I think it is fine to ship Shenny for their platonic friendship but far as I can see it has always been an maternal brother-sister relationship, I have always thought Lenny was the most important relationship in the show but thats just me. Seeing this is not a Shenny shippers thread which I seemed to have started haha my bad although I guess it is relevant considering the S7 Premiere, I will stop now.

[hamerman55]

I think the definition of nerd being used is too narrow. Are Amy and Bernadette nerds? They have little interest in sci fi, video games, cosplay, etc. They are only really nerdish because they are scientists. Bernadette in particular seems socially quite capable. Lesli and David Underhill don't seem to fit this, yet they are both regarded as part of the nerd social group. It seems to me that being intensely interested in something arcane is a closer definition. Slackers, a group which Penny might identify with, would be the opposite. The nerds are all hard workers, and probably were in high school. The hobbies they have are objects of great focus. I knew of a chemistry research group in grad school where membership practically required ownership and active involvemnt in motorcycles. The research director would even fix you up with a great used bike, as his hobby was working on them. Chem grad students who rode Harley? Not the typical nerd stereotype. One can also be very socially capable, and drawn to nerd signifiers such as sci fi, cosplay or video games.

Part of what bonds the core four of TBBT is they all experienced bullying, either for just being very out of step (Sheldon) or parental grooming (Leonard). It is interesting that bullying is often represented as a group victimizing an individual in TBBT. The guys "ganging up" on Zack, or Penny i high school. Alone, Penny doesn't come across as a bully, but as a sweet affectionate girl. Todd Zarnecki seemed less like a bully than just an asshole.

[koops]

Allegedly, there's a distinction between geek (being intensively knowledgeable of or fixated on something) and nerd (being intensively knowledgeable of or fixated on sci-fi, comic books, videogames) and a dweeb (that I forget the definition of right now). I think there was a Venn diagram somewhere that explained that. But I think they're all pretty vague labels whose thresholds for inclusion change a lot depending on who you talk to and how much of a nerd they consider themselves to be. I think the way "nerd" is used in the show simply implies those people who are very passionate/obsessed with science and who share a past of being outcasts and bullied because of that, especially in school, and, to a certain extent, being socially inept. 

[bigbangsheldon]

Okay first off let me say that I never go on these things because I don't like to be spoiled but since I was at the premire taping I thought I would read what people were saying about it. I really liked the premire and only wish there could have been scenes with all of them together. I'm a huge Shamy fan and I must say nobody should be that worried about the Sheldon/Penny hug. Sheldon offered to shake her hand and she hugged him. It's funny to because he takes his hand and pats her on the back much like he did when Amy hugged him after the tiara except with Amy he used both hands and for Penny he used one. Also even though there was no Shamy scenes together, I did enjoy Amy's phone conversation with him at the hotel. There's a moment where Bernie is saying "I love you" to Howard over the phone and then it spans over to Amy who looks like she wishes she could say that to Sheldon or he would say that to her, which ends with a joke about her spleeping in her garment bag. So I have a crazy theory about this. I think they are setting up so that by the end of this season the Shamy will say "I love you" to one another because if you remember in last season's premire Amy asks Sheldon to say something "meaningful and from the heart" and in the Love Spell he does finally when he says "for me what we have is extremely intimate". I don't really have an opinon on the whole Lenny situation because personally it doesn't matter to me whether or not they are together.

Thanks for more info Dana.

[TheMorphologyoftheFolktale]

Ok..here is what I have a problem with.  While each individual thing itself in the Sheldon/Penny scenes are not big issues, what bothers me most is out totally out of character most of they were:

 

1) Since when does Penny suddenly have the ability to play 3D chess when she just barely learned regular chess last season.  Sure she did great, but she never played 3D and now is playing with Sheldon like it is a normal thing.  Totally out of character for Penny...she would rather be reading fashion magazines or watching Americas Top Model.

2) Since when is Sheldon willing to act like a girl on a slumber party and share deep dark secrets?   Yet he suddenly is sharing deep secrets with Penny?  Where did that come from..especially from a man who thinks all his time should be spent solving the universe's problems?

3) What was the whole purpose of the topless movie in this episode?   It gave them a tag scene (which was rather of questionable taste and again not clear the purpose other than Leonard being out of character and playing "big man on campus").   But why was it important then to say that Sheldon not only knew of it but had watched it?  What purpose did that serve other than to rile up fans?  Is it to cause friction with Shamy down the road and with Amy/Penny down the road?  Because other than that I don't understand the purpose.  It was out of character for Sheldon to have wasted time several years ago and watch it given he only wanted to work all the time in early episodes of the show.

4) Sheldon has often times slept alone in his apartment so why suddenly does he feel a need to sleep in Penny's apartment?  Totally out of character again.  The only other time he did that was because he locked himself out of his apartment and he griped the whole time about that (didn't want to stay there).  So it is out of character.

5) In hearing from Jennifer, while Penny initiates the hug, Sheldon warms to it and hugs back for quite some time.  While he may have considered this like a mother or sibling kind of hug, it still is inconsistent that they make him so afraid of germs and touch that he can't even hold hands with Amy, can't return her hugs, yet suddenly can share a big hug with Penny.  It is very frustrating and inconsistent.  Either make him totally OCD about germs and touch aversion or let him show his poor, patient girlfriend some affection for a change.

 

Bottom line, it wasn't each individual action, it was the whole of it that was ridiculously out of character that was the problem. I also don't understand the purpose at all of any of it.  It was to show they miss Leonard...yes I get that...but that could have been expressed so many other ways and remained in character for all three characters really.   So was the making characters fall out of character to fit a story that they wanted to tell for some reason, or that will tie into something down the road, or was this truly a new direction they will be taking with the characters?  I would have liked to have said neither, but I really don't understand what they are doing at all.   I just hope it works itself out and gets back to being a bit funnier and more interesting of a show than what I saw here.

 

I did like the Amy/Bernie scenes and felt rather "meh" about Raj/Howard/Mrs. Davis scenes.

 

1. Barely? She kicked his ass. I don't see how she is not allowed to learn something new. She is good at it. Everyone has always been mad over her being nothing but a waitress and now that she is doing something different, something that obviously shows she is not stupid, which doesn't even haven anything to do with her personality nor is it crucial to anything else, you call that OOC? When is she not allowed to do anything just because it's not the stupid, superficial blonde everyone knows about? Sheldon has always been about "trying to educate her" so it wouldn't be surprising that he taught her how to play.

2. Since ever? They have always been like that since the beginning of the series. They always found themselves sharing personal stuff against their better judgment. They were all about not liking each other until suddenly they found similarities. They would never admit it but they share stuff and have always had. She was the one who told him about not finishing college and asking him to keep it a secret. She was the one that asked him to teach him physics, and just last season he went over to the bar several times to talk specifically with her. The time where they found themselves sharing something grudgingly has ended so I don't see how this is so surprising.

3. The writers write whatever they want, they don't have to necessarily write to answer anyone's questions about a purpose. And fact is Leonard has never been above bragging about his hot girlfriend. That was just him being him in a bigger scale. I don't see anything out of character about this. He went for it in the tenure episode, and he photographed her with the newspaper to prove he did have a girlfriend. 

4. Because he has done it before and whenever he is in Penny's apartment he is completely comfortable. He never said he didn't want to stay there. He was always mad about being locked out, not about having to stay there. He comfortably went to ask for her bed and comfortably stayed in it. He never complained about bed bugs or about him being on Penny's bed. Just last season (or was it five?) he shed his clothes there to take a shower in her bathroom. 

5. Sheldon never had a problem touching Penny though? They have hugged three times, and two of them were initiated by him. He never had a complain about touching other women, Amy included. Whenever he complains to Amy is was about useless romantic stuff and hygiene. But regarding Penny he never had a problem with her touching him. Those two are completely different situations. 

 

And regarding some other posts; Sheldon/Penny friendship, or any friendship in the show for that matter, can exist outside Leonard. Sheldon slept in her apartment because he missed Leonard, but the hug didn't imply it had to do with them missing him. They are friends, they don't have to hug because of Leonard, their relationship doesn't depend on Leonard. They are just friends and Sheldon was hurt and Penny apologised and that was pretty much it.

[Oldnavy]

1. Barely? She kicked his ass. I don't see how she is not allowed to learn something new. She is good at it. Everyone has always been mad over her being nothing but a waitress and now that she is doing something different, something that obviously shows she is not stupid, which doesn't even haven anything to do with her personality nor is it crucial to anything else, you call that OOC? When is she not allowed to do anything just because it's not the stupid, superficial blonde everyone knows about? Sheldon has always been about "trying to educate her" so it wouldn't be surprising that he taught her how to play.

2. Since ever? They have always been like that since the beginning of the series. They always found themselves sharing personal stuff against their better judgment. They were all about not liking each other until suddenly they found similarities. They would never admit it but they share stuff and have always had. She was the one who told him about not finishing college and asking him to keep it a secret. She was the one that asked him to teach him physics, and just last season he went over to the bar several times to talk specifically with her. The time where they found themselves sharing something grudgingly has ended so I don't see how this is so surprising.

3. The writers write whatever they want, they don't have to necessarily write to answer anyone's questions about a purpose. And fact is Leonard has never been above bragging about his hot girlfriend. That was just him being him in a bigger scale. I don't see anything out of character about this. He went for it in the tenure episode, and he photographed her with the newspaper to prove he did have a girlfriend. 

4. Because he has done it before and whenever he is in Penny's apartment he is completely comfortable. He never said he didn't want to stay there. He was always mad about being locked out, not about having to stay there. He comfortably went to ask for her bed and comfortably stayed in it. He never complained about bed bugs or about him being on Penny's bed. Just last season (or was it five?) he shed his clothes there to take a shower in her bathroom. 

5. Sheldon never had a problem touching Penny though? They have hugged three times, and two of them were initiated by him. He never had a complain about touching other women, Amy included. Whenever he complains to Amy is was about useless romantic stuff and hygiene. But regarding Penny he never had a problem with her touching him. Those two are completely different situations. 

 

And regarding some other posts; Sheldon/Penny friendship, or any friendship in the show for that matter, can exist outside Leonard. Sheldon slept in her apartment because he missed Leonard, but the hug didn't imply it had to do with them missing him. They are friends, they don't have to hug because of Leonard, their relationship doesn't depend on Leonard. They are just friends and Sheldon was hurt and Penny apologised and that was pretty much it.

I am sorry but there would be no friendship between Sheldon and Penny without Leonard.  Leonard was the one to initiate the relationship in the pilot by inviting Penny over for lunch.  Sheldon had no interest Penny he was more focused on watching Battlestar Galactica Season 2 with commentary. 

[Zhalen565]

1. Barely? She kicked his ass. I don't see how she is not allowed to learn something new. She is good at it. Everyone has always been mad over her being nothing but a waitress and now that she is doing something different, something that obviously shows she is not stupid, which doesn't even haven anything to do with her personality nor is it crucial to anything else, you call that OOC? When is she not allowed to do anything just because it's not the stupid, superficial blonde everyone knows about? Sheldon has always been about "trying to educate her" so it wouldn't be surprising that he taught her how to play.

2. Since ever? They have always been like that since the beginning of the series. They always found themselves sharing personal stuff against their better judgment. They were all about not liking each other until suddenly they found similarities. They would never admit it but they share stuff and have always had. She was the one who told him about not finishing college and asking him to keep it a secret. She was the one that asked him to teach him physics, and just last season he went over to the bar several times to talk specifically with her. The time where they found themselves sharing something grudgingly has ended so I don't see how this is so surprising.

3. The writers write whatever they want, they don't have to necessarily write to answer anyone's questions about a purpose. And fact is Leonard has never been above bragging about his hot girlfriend. That was just him being him in a bigger scale. I don't see anything out of character about this. He went for it in the tenure episode, and he photographed her with the newspaper to prove he did have a girlfriend. 

4. Because he has done it before and whenever he is in Penny's apartment he is completely comfortable. He never said he didn't want to stay there. He was always mad about being locked out, not about having to stay there. He comfortably went to ask for her bed and comfortably stayed in it. He never complained about bed bugs or about him being on Penny's bed. Just last season (or was it five?) he shed his clothes there to take a shower in her bathroom. 

5. Sheldon never had a problem touching Penny though? They have hugged three times, and two of them were initiated by him. He never had a complain about touching other women, Amy included. Whenever he complains to Amy is was about useless romantic stuff and hygiene. But regarding Penny he never had a problem with her touching him. Those two are completely different situations. 

 

And regarding some other posts; Sheldon/Penny friendship, or any friendship in the show for that matter, can exist outside Leonard. Sheldon slept in her apartment because he missed Leonard, but the hug didn't imply it had to do with them missing him. They are friends, they don't have to hug because of Leonard, their relationship doesn't depend on Leonard. They are just friends and Sheldon was hurt and Penny apologised and that was pretty much it.

The tenure episode Leonard didn't want her involved SHE persuaded him that she could help, nowhere did he go for it. The quote is "do it" and Penny's reaction suggests she has told him her plan

[Chrismo]

Penny initiated the hug. Sheldon responded by trying to shake her hand, but she hugged him anyway. He seemed to warm up to the hug though. The touching moment for me was when he told her that she hurt his feelings.

 

Bernadette made the comment and then realized she made a mistake and apologized. It never went too far. Amy had a hard time forgiving her though...

 

I didn't find the end scene offensive and really didn't think of it that way. It was the very short clip they show at the end of an episode. I didn't think much of it. Leonard was very different in this episode though...Carefree and loving the North Sea!

 

I thought the episode was good, but missed the connection the entire cast has when they are all together.

Enjoyed your review. You made the comment about how the cast wasn't together and you missed the connection. I can understand that. I think that may have been the point of the episode. It's been mentioned on the show and on this forum that Leonard is the center of the show. With him gone the group wasn't together. I thought it was interesting how they had them paired up. Howard/Raj reverting back to their "bachelor" days, Sheldon/Penny missing Leonard and Amy/Bernadette together because of their interest in science. I agree with you the episode does sound good.