Leonard And Penny: Season 8 So Far

[meka3000]

There were too many WTF moments for Lenny, like the scavenger hunt fight,

 

How so?  They acted out that way because of their insecurities. Her feeling belittled because of her perceived lack of intelligence, and him feeling like he made that what it was.

 

 the whole lack of support by him for her, when she went for her acting career

 

You mean like when he bought her the car?  What was his reaction supposed to be?  Say he 100% supports her making a reckless decision in quitting her source of income?  His reactions towards that period was 100% in character.  

 

I'm just going to leave a quote here that I left earlier this season:

That criticism always makes me roll my eyes.  Saying Leonard wasn't supportive of her dreams is bs, he wasn't 100% supportive of the reckless way she was going about pursuing them.  THAT'S A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE.  And lets be honest, Sheldon had NO CLUE about the nuances of what Penny was doing, nor did he put much thought in to them.  But Leonard didn't want to throw away everything he and Penny worked hard to build with each other over the last few years, over a couple bad days/decisions.  While he didn't 100% agree with her decisions, it's important to note that HE DIDN'T FORCE HER to do anything.  He let her come to her senses.  Which SHE DID eventually.

 

I believe once he saw her regretting NOT taking any work she could get in Serial Apeist 2, he saw that she wanted to COMMIT to this.  Which in turn prompted him to buy her the car (that and he loves her).  The fact that he was willing to be with her through this ON HER WORST DAYS and backed her up EVEN when he didn't agree with her, shows he was commited to her.

 

Also your significant other is not always there to tell you what you WANT TO HEAR.  Sometimes they are there to tell you what you NEED TO HEAR.

 

Sometimes characters shouldn't always be THE PERFECT BOYFRIEND in specific situations.  Sometimes we're supposed to appreciate them navigating through difficult times.  EVEN WHEN those characters don't always have the answers, and they sometimes struggle through them

 

Sometimes you have to make an ommelette to crack a few eggs.  Lenny are going to have their days where they don't always agree, but I ALWAYS look forward to seeing how they both will navigate through what life throws at them.  The engagement episode wouldn't have meant half as much IMO IF they didn't go through those couple rough moments in the 2nd half of season 7.

I just realized the Lenny fans have nothing to worry about when Penny gets back she will go to the wise man for relationship advice.

 

Why would she go to Sheldon for advice on ANYTHING to do with social skills? 

 

Hmmm …. don't know.

 

But do TPTB really care?

 

In Season 8, they already have shown heavy investment in Sheldon, the Shamy, and Shenny. Leonard and Lenny? Not so much. 

 

Shenny? Two episodes of heavy interaction is not heavy investment. 

[veejay]

what about: 'Penny: Okay. That’s enough. Stop talking. Leonard: So…we’re still getting married. Penny: Yes. Leonard: Because we love each other. Penny: Yes. Leonard: And today is the happiest day of our lives. Penny: (Laughs). Don’t push it.' ?

[SRAM]

How so?  They acted out that way because of their insecurities. Her feeling belittled because of her perceived lack of intelligence, and him feeling like he made that what it was.

 

He had just gotten back, for being gone for 3-4 months, and suddenly she is all really upset with him over a casual remark, WTF.  Sorry if you are unable to understand it.  

 

 

You mean like when he bought her the car?  What was his reaction supposed to be?  Say he 100% supports her making a reckless decision in quitting her source of income?  His reactions towards that period was 100% in character.

 

 

I love how you try to throw in a different event to try a justify your opinion.  The episodes where it was implied that he didn't support her were before the car and nothing to do with it, so try again.

 

I'm just going to leave a quote here that I left earlier this season:

 

I'm going to agree, your comments always make me roll my eyes too.

 

Sometimes characters shouldn't always be THE PERFECT BOYFRIEND in specific situations.  Sometimes we're supposed to appreciate them navigating through difficult times.  EVEN WHEN those characters don't always have the answers, and they sometimes struggle through them

 

You keep trying to relate this show to normal people and then justify your remarks by what normal people would do.  It is a TV show, the characaters are not normal people, they are characters controlled by the writers.  The posters in this topic are saying that the writers are making Lenny less likeable and making it harder to believe they are a couple now.  This has nothing to do with real people.

 

Sometimes you have to make an ommelette to crack a few eggs.  Lenny are going to have their days where they don't always agree, but I ALWAYS look forward to seeing how they both will navigate through what life throws at them.  The engagement episode wouldn't have meant half as much IMO IF they didn't go through those couple rough moments in the 2nd half of season 7.

 

Same response as above.

 

Why would she go to Sheldon for advice on ANYTHING to do with social skills? 

Since when did old sailor say anything about 'social skills'?  Now you are putting words in his mouth to support your flawed opinions.  He said go to wise man for advice, like she did before in season 8, when she asked Sheldon if he thought she could go for the audition.

 

Shenny? Two episodes of heavy interaction is not heavy investment. 

 

So to try and justify your opinion, you will use the ploy of saying it is only two episodes.  Using your logic, if Penny slept with someone else it wouldn't be a big deal because it was only one time in one episode.  The two epiodes you are referrring to are one in which Penny and Sheldon took a love test, the whole episode, and said they had feelings towards each other, and the second one was Penny going to Sheldon for advice that could impact her future, instead of the man she going to spend that future life with.  And it is really more than three, the finale was Penny taking advice from Sheldon too.  It was Sheldon pushing that finally made Penny tell Leonard she wanted to get married now, Leonard really didn't have an input, it was Penny's suggestion after Sheldon talked with them.  It is really sad that a whole season goes by and Lenny doesn't make a single wedding plan, then one night when Sheldon starts questioning them, Penny all of the sudden wants to get married.  

Edited June 1, 2015 by Tensor

[Carlos]

SRAM: the only problem I've had with your post is that I could only give it one like. What the writers have done with Lenny in S8 has been pathetic, ridiculous and OCC. The Shenny love test was, to put it mildly cringe inducing. When Lenny did the relationship test with Shamy, and Shamy was supposedly the better relationship it was downright stupid. The Wheaton podcast episode and Lenny's bickering was, IMO bad writing. The kiss news in the season finale was the final nail on the coffin. That couldn't have been more OOC for Leonard if they wanted it to. What a lazy , cheap and artificial way of creating conflict. Some seasons back Leonard was the center of the group and now he is an omega? Do they even know they're supposed to be writing the same character? I know they are not too big on continuity, but to disregard past events so recklessly is just plainly bad writing. Not to mention, as you said the lack of wedding planning. The thing is they should at least been truthful to Shedon: they really didn't have a reason except that the writers wanted to develop Shamy and didn't have time for them as well. It's sad how the quality of the writing has decreased. Hope it makes a come back next season, but I'm not too confident.

[Kathy2611]

@meka I'm just curious....but why do you constantly feel the need to "correct" people who come on here and bitch and moan about certain things with Lenny? They are seeing things about the couple and the way they are being written now that they don't like.

I ship Lenny also but my OTP is Shamy and I consider myself a "casual" Lenny shipper rather than a hard core one. With that being said, I can even see the things they complain about and I agree with them on these things.

It's like Shamy vs Shenny. The writers have written Shenny as having a sibling like relationship but some fans (Shenny's) don't see it that way. But you don't see me going around EVERY SINGLE CHANCE I CAN to "correct" them on it. And there are a couple of people on here who do ship them. Most of them have left but there's still a few on here.

Why can't you just let them bitch and moan about what they're unhappy about? And like SRAM said, Lenny (and the rest of the ships for that matter) don't even exist. They're all fictional characters created by writers who have been writing them from the beginning. Why shouldn't they be able to complain when they see inconsistencies and OOC behavior?

One of my biggest complaints of their sloppiness and laziness? Sheldon's damn birthday!! I even said something to Bill about it on Twitter because it bugged me so much. His excuse was that they worked with someone for years and they still didn't know his b-day. What a piss poor excuse!! If they REALLY wanted to know, they could easily find out in this day and age. And they simply can't convince me that none of these 6 characters who has known Sheldon for YEARS never knew his birthday.....especially Leonard & Amy.....his roommate of 10+ years and his girlfriend. Did they forget he made Leonard and then changed it to be Amy as his emergency contact? Which by the way is a form that asks for your date of birth?

It's that kind of lazy and sloppy writing that gets people pissed off. And sadly, it seems to be happening more often as the show goes on. I think at this point, they all need to be locked in a room and watch every single show from the beginning and take notes before they even start writing season 9!!

[djsurrey]

Excuse or explanation? I don't pay any attention to birthdays of people I'm not related to. Not hard for me to believe Leonard had no interest.

Amy is not so easy to explain away but she was rather odd.

[Carlos]

DJ Surrey I don't think Kathr2611 is saying that Leonard had any interest in when Sheldon's birthday was. However after living with someone for 10 years it's hard to believe that you won't know their birthday. Besides Leonard IS related to Sheldon. He's not a relative, but it's almost as if he were his brother. they have a close relationship. And to think that Amy doesn't know it? Come on! She kisses the ground Sheldon walks on so I'm quite sure she knows or should have known. I've said it many times: I think the quality of the writing has decreased dramatically since the end of season 6. IMO S7 was a mixed bag. it had some bad episodes, but it had some good ones as well. It just wasn't consistent enough. S8 has (as I see it) been quite bad , and the good episodes have been the exception rather than the rule. I think that while Molaro could stay as show runner, the whole team of writers should be replaced. Of course I'm not stupid enough to think that this will ever happen, but it could make for better story telling. Even if the status quo is maintained, which I'm sure it will be, I'm hopeful things might improve. I'm hopeful but not so confident.

[Tensor]

@meka I'm just curious....but why do you constantly feel the need to "correct" people who come on here and bitch and moan about certain things with Lenny? They are seeing things about the couple and the way they are being written now that they don't like.

You mean, this wasn't only just my own personal interpretation and I'm not the only one that thought he was coming across that way? I'm shocked, shocked I tell you.

[meka3000]

You mean, this wasn't only just my own personal interpretation and I'm not the only one that thought he was coming across that way? I'm shocked, shocked I tell you.

 

I visit many fan forums on a consistent basis.  This is THE ONLY one where that defense is used by someone, INSTEAD of someone actually defending their point of view.

 

Bold prediction, once the wedding comes.  I predict MOST OF THE COMPLAINTS seen here at this point in time will be nearly unheard of once the wedding takes place.

Edited June 2, 2015 by meka3000

[meka3000]

Did they forget he made Leonard and then changed it to be Amy as his emergency contact? Which by the way is a form that asks for your date of birth?

 

Where did they show that Amy has seen it?  I've filled out many forms where I've had to fill out "In case of emergency contact", and I would put either my brothers or my parents.  To this day my brother has never seen that form and he's been contacted at least twice.

Excuse or explanation? I don't pay any attention to birthdays of people I'm not related to. Not hard for me to believe Leonard had no interest.

Amy is not so easy to explain away but she was rather odd.

 

It's possible Sheldon explained his predicament with birthdays earlier on, and Amy probably accepted it.  Or at the very least found it out, but DIDN'T celebrate it.

[djsurrey]

Where did they show that Amy has seen it?  I've filled out many forms where I've had to fill out "In case of emergency contact", and I would put either my brothers or my parents.  To this day my brother has never seen that form and he's been contacted at least twice.

 

It's possible Sheldon explained his predicament with birthdays earlier on, and Amy probably accepted it.  Or at the very least found it out, but DIDN'T celebrate it.

 

I think you are correct in that Amy was very overwhelmed with her own Name and Number being on the form. She made no meantion of Sheldon's birthday and it certainly was not what she was thinking about.

 

Edited June 2, 2015 by djsurrey

[djsurrey]

DJ Surrey I don't think Kathr2611 is saying that Leonard had any interest in when Sheldon's birthday was. However after living with someone for 10 years it's hard to believe that you won't know their birthday. Besides Leonard IS related to Sheldon. He's not a relative, but it's almost as if he were his brother. they have a close relationship. And to think that Amy doesn't know it? Come on! She kisses the ground Sheldon walks on so I'm quite sure she knows or should have known. I've said it many times: I think the quality of the writing has decreased dramatically since the end of season 6. IMO S7 was a mixed bag. it had some bad episodes, but it had some good ones as well. It just wasn't consistent enough. S8 has (as I see it) been quite bad , and the good episodes have been the exception rather than the rule. I think that while Molaro could stay as show runner, the whole team of writers should be replaced. Of course I'm not stupid enough to think that this will ever happen, but it could make for better story telling. Even if the status quo is maintained, which I'm sure it will be, I'm hopeful things might improve. I'm hopeful but not so confident.

 

I lived with my step father for five years and I never knew his birthday despite being told.

 

35 years later and I still don't remember. Different people focus on different stuff.

[Kathy2611]

My whole point about the stupid birthday is that THESE ARENT REAL PEOPLE!!!! It's the writers and their SLOPPY and LAZY writing!!!

When you tell a story, especially when it starts getting really long (and so far it's an 8 year old story going on 9) it's a good idea to stay consistent and true to characters. If you start straying off the path of that consistency, people who were interested will slowly start to lose interest and stop reading (or watching in this case).

I realize that some people don't care one fig about someone's birthday or (like my brother) couldn't remember ones birthday to safe his life. But the way they've written ALL the characters I just don't buy the mystery birthday crap.

Let's just pretend for a few that these characters are real. Sure Amy probably didn't pay attention at the time he gave her the emergency contact paper but I bet she looked at it closely later. But I think she would've known it before that anyway.

Then there's this. The man has a TWIN sister. Obviously they share a birthday and before some smart ass states they could be born one day apart, let's not forget (like the the writers seem to do on occasion) about Mary's story of popping them out at the local K-Mart one day while she was shopping.

Then there's the man himself. Early on in this story we all love called The Big Bang Theory, Penny mentions him being a Taurus. Now this is a man who ALWAYS corrects people when they are wrong. But he didn't say a word when she mentioned his supposed birth sign!!

We also have that episode were Amy was trying to help him with his need to complete stuff. The Closure Alternative. One of those things was blowing out all the candles on a birthday cake. That episode was aired on April 25, 2013.....under the sign of Taurus.

I can definitely buy that Bernie didn't know it. Why would she and why would she care? I could even buy that MAYBE Raj & Howard didn't know it even though they're the ones that filled out the dating website for him to meet Amy. But his best friend and girlfriend? No. Hell even Penny would want to know since she's into birth signs, horoscopes and stuff and would be interested to know ALL their birthdays? No!! If they were real people, No!

But in the end it just boils down to sloppy and lazy writing.

And Meka....you still never answered my original question.

Edited June 2, 2015 by Kathr2611

[5Mississippis]

^^^^^^

Well said and completely agree, Kathr. It's just more of the stupid and very lazy writing we've been given.

[SRAM]

I never really put much stock into the lazy writing theory, but I am lately thinking that opinion may have some real justification after season 8. I think the whole 'we don't plan ahead thing and just write what comes to us' attitude that permeates the writing staff of the show is coming back now to bite them in the ass. Not only have they lost their sense of the show history, characters personalities and even the original theme of the show, they seem to be winging it each week, just trying to make Sheldon funny no matter what the cost is to the onther characters. That does seem to support a pattern of lazy writing. I think the writers need a big dose of TBBT 101 to get them back on track.

[Tensor]

I visit many fan forums on a consistent basis.  This is THE ONLY one where that defense is used by someone, INSTEAD of someone actually defending their point of view.

And so? How do you defend feelings? Most of these things, here, have an emotional basis, and hence can't always be defended. I spend time on some very scientific sites, where data, it's reduction and conclusions are argued based on measurable facts( like here , or here , or here .

This place is about a TV show, and hence is not reducible to straight facts, most of the time. How one feels about the show is dependent on ones experience. Your experience is different from others experience, and hence your interpretation will be different from someone else's. That doesn't make your feelings wrong, nor does it make their feelings wrong. But, then, that allows multiple interpretations. Many of those posters are simply venting thier feelings. Why you feel the need to continuous tell them they are wrong to feel that way, is the question. Perhaps, in those cases, it's best to follow Wil Wheaton's dictum.

By all means, give us your interpretation and how you feel. However, when it comes to how others feel, your interpretation is not a refutation of the others interpretation or feelings. I noticed you bypassed Kathr's question about why you need to "correct" others feelings and interpretations.

 

Bold prediction, once the wedding comes.  I predict MOST OF THE COMPLAINTS seen here at this point in time will be nearly unheard of once the wedding takes place.

It wouldn't even take that. More consistent writing, a few moments together, actually act like they were engaged(or at least not wait an entire season and THEN try to explain it as cold feet, only to introduce something that many Lenny's here feel is OOC). Hell, I would have been happy even with the amount of interaction we got between them in season four, when they were broken up.

[veejay]

..........When you tell a story, especially when it starts getting really long (and so far it's an 8 year old story going on 9) it's a good idea to stay consistent and true to characters. If you start straying off the path of that consistency, people who were interested will slowly start to lose interest and stop reading (or watching in this case)........ .......Not only have they lost their sense of the show history, characters personalities and even the original theme of the show, they seem to be winging it each week, just trying to make Sheldon funny no matter what the cost is to the onther characters........ Well said! It's clear that the writers intend us to believe that Leonard and Penny are made for each other. That's been the premise from day one ('our babies will be smart and beautiful’). If people don't believe it, that just means the writers aren't doing as good a job as they should.

[djsurrey]

It is clear that the focus of attention is one episode at a time and the timing and rhythm for the jokes.

Consistency takes a back seat and some times goes out the window.. That is just the way of a sitcom I think.

 

None of then expected this to go 10 seasons at the beginning.

[Tonstar17]

It is clear that the focus of attention is one episode at a time and the timing and rhythm for the jokes.

Consistency takes a back seat and some times goes out the window.. That is just the way of a sitcom I think.

None of then expected this to go 10 seasons at the beginning.

Doesn't give them the right to ruin the show for ppls who started watching from day one because of Lenny and went along with the ride because we saw something special about those two.

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

[Kathy2611]

It is clear that the focus of attention is one episode at a time and the timing and rhythm for the jokes.

Consistency takes a back seat and some times goes out the window.. That is just the way of a sitcom I think.

None of then expected this to go 10 seasons at the beginning.

Are you f**king kidding me!! That's no damn excuse!! These writers are supposed to be professionals! I don't buy that crap about them winging it every episode. They are telling a story! They know what they want the ending to be. And I'm sorry but as much as I love Sheldon and thinks he's funny, he's not THE FUNNIEST (IMO). I think it's Howard. Hell I even notice how much MORE I laugh when Howard & Raj are on rather than anything Sheldon says or does!

Now I realize they probably had a monkey wrench thrown into their plans with Susi's death and I get that but that's no excuse to have Shamy (as much as I loved it, btw) front and center at the expense of all the other 5 characters in the background for the entire season!!

And what the hell did they do to Bernie??!! She is my least favorite character now. She just comes off as being a real hateful and angry bitch sometimes and goes out of her way to cut Howard's nuts off!! I'd never dream of doing half the things to my husband that she has and he wouldn't even put up with it if I tried!!

And you say none of them expected it to go to 10 seasons in the beginning? The writing was pretty good up to season 7. Ironically it was towards the end of that season that they knew they were getting 3 more seasons. So what's your excuse for them having shitty writing for season 8? Especially when they're dishing out 3 million dollars per episode for their 3 main characters? Two of which are supposed to be a happy couple and hardly spent any time together in this last season. The same couple, from day one, that has been written as being the "main" couple! What the hell happened??!! And again, keep in mind, I'm not a hard core Lenny shipper. Now if I notice this crap, how the hell do you think the actual hard core Lenny shippers feel?

Am I a happy Shamy shipper? Hell yes!!

Am I a happy Big Bang Theory Fan? No not really. I want to laugh more. I want to root for the other 5 characters as well and see more of them and if that means seeing a little less Shamy than so be it. I started watching the show for ALL the characters. Not just two or one of them!

[Tensor]

I moved the discussion of Howard to

, as this is a Lenny thread.

[meka3000]

Let's just pretend for a few that these characters are real. Sure Amy probably didn't pay attention at the time he gave her the emergency contact paper but I bet she looked at it closely later. But I think she would've known it before that anyway.

 

Sounds like an assumption more than an actual fact.

 

Then there's the man himself. Early on in this story we all love called The Big Bang Theory, Penny mentions him being a Taurus. Now this is a man who ALWAYS corrects people when they are wrong. But he didn't say a word when she mentioned his supposed birth sign!!

 

Always? From the Hawking Excitation:

"Sheldon: Because if I don’t, he won’t give my paper to Stephen Hawking. He’s a famous physicist.

Penny: Yeah, yeah, I know, he’s the wheelchair dude who invented time.

Sheldon: That’s close enough."

 

We also have that episode were Amy was trying to help him with his need to complete stuff. The Closure Alternative. One of those things was blowing out all the candles on a birthday cake. That episode was aired on April 25, 2013.....under the sign of Taurus.

 

I don't see how a show's airdate PROVES it was his birthday.  Especially since the experiment had NOTHING to do with whether it was his birthday or not.

 

I could even buy that MAYBE Raj & Howard didn't know it even though they're the ones that filled out the dating website for him to meet Amy.

 

How do you know they didn't enter a bogus birthdate?

 

Hell even Penny would want to know since she's into birth signs, horoscopes and stuff and would be interested to know ALL their birthdays?

 

I can buy that Penny would care to a certain point, but I doubt she would lose sleep over not knowing Sheldon's birthday.

 

But in the end it just boils down to sloppy and lazy writing.

 

well...

 

 

And Meka....you still never answered my original question.

 

Why do you care?

Edited June 2, 2015 by meka3000

[meka3000]

And so? How do you defend feelings? Most of these things, here, have an emotional basis, and hence can't always be defended.

 

If you couldn't defend it, most of us wouldn't dwell on it as an arguing point.  Or spend very much time defending it.

 

Many of those posters are simply venting thier feelings. Why you feel the need to continuous tell them they are wrong to feel that way, is the question.

 

You can vent your feelings without people questioning them on blogs.  On a forum I feel CHALLENGING a persons viewpoint is fair game.

 

your interpretation is not a refutation of the others interpretation or feelings.

 

I never said it was, your the one who said that.

 

I noticed you bypassed Kathr's question about why you need to "correct" others feelings and interpretations.

 

Again, is it really important that you know in the grand scheme of things?

a few moments together, actually act like they were engaged

 

There's only one way to act like you are engaged?

 

(or at least not wait an entire season and THEN try to explain it as cold feet,

 

Why did they need to tip their hand sooner?

 

only to introduce something that many Lenny's here feel is OOC

 

IMO most of them feel that way because THEY WANT Leonard to be THE PERFECT PRINCE CHARMING for Penny, and ignore Leonard's history with women and how he has been a serial week resistance to female attention.  And NO I don't feel Penny being Leonard's one true love, just MAGICALLY makes that problem disappear right away.  I believe it would make him try harder, but not make the problem disappear instantly.

[Tensor]

Blah, blah, blah, blah

 

 

snip

 

 

Blah, Blah, blah, blah

 

 

Translation in my opinion: My opinion is the correct one, all the others are wrong. So I'll tell you all about how your opinions are wrong.

 

Again, is it really important that you know in the grand scheme of things?

Probably not. Your behavior is your behavior. From my PMs, there are enough here that recognize it for what it is.

[djsurrey]

Are you f**king kidding me!! That's no damn excuse!! These writers are supposed to be professionals! I don't buy that crap about them winging it every episode. They are telling a story! They know what they want the ending to be. ...

 

 

No I'm not kidding. They are not only professionals I'm thinking by now they must be well paid professionals who have the currently top rated sitcom.

They must have done something right.