Episodes 824 The Commitment Determination (May 7)

[djsurrey]

So I was watching a rerun of 7.19.

 

 

Raj: I just got an e-mail from my ex-girlfriend Lucy. She misses me and wants to get together.

Leonard: Two women at the same time? Nice job, playa.

Penny: Really?

Leonard: Was it the two women thing or the playa? It was the playa.

 

and later...

 

 

Bernadette: What do you mean, yes?

Howard: What do you mean, yes?

Bernadette: Were you seeing other women when we started dating?

Howard: No. Were you seeing other men?

Bernadette: No.

Leonard: Were you seeing other men?

Penny: No.

Leonard: Aren’t you gonna ask me?

Penny: Come on, really?

 

Hmmm

[Nienna_Noone]

I have just watch again the season where we see Leonard on the boat during this party night. At the end of the episode we can see Leonard watching the first "movie" of Penny with the Gorilla and he says to everybody that Penny is her girlfriend so this whole story of kissing is even more weird for me … 

[phantagrae]

I have just watch again the season where we see Leonard on the boat during this party night. At the end of the episode we can see Leonard watching the first "movie" of Penny with the Gorilla and he says to everybody that Penny is her girlfriend so this whole story of kissing is even more weird for me … 

 

Well, we don't know when the kiss was supposed to have taken place--before Penny's call?  After?  Before he showed the movie to his colleagues?  After?

 

I think the "when" element is part of the equation--what was on his mind, how much alcohol had he consumed, who came on to whom, when did it happen.  These are all elements that, while they don't excuse his behavior, certainly may mitigate it.

[djsurrey]

Penny's reaction.

Really? Be-Because to me, it seems like we're about to get married and you're trying to sabotage it.

And then
 

Look, I'm not happy this happened, but I think I can get past it.
I mean, we weren't engaged at the time, and it was just kissing.
Right. Just kissing.

It almost seems like the other shoe is about to drop, but what?

 

My guess is they don't go through with it because they end up fighting. They go home, they make up and nothing much has changed. Penny was more bothered by the timing of the reveal than by what had happened.

[Susana Alcira]

Sometimes, Penny took off her engagment ring, when she was "flirting" with doctors during her work (and she didn´t tell Leonard!  Leonard himself discovered it!)

I think they are 1 to 1. Both are wrong!

[phantagrae]

I don't think Leonard's lapse in judgment is going to be considered a deal breaker, but I think that the air leaked out of their "let's elope!" bubble and they'll return home unwed.

And I think this for a couple of reasons.

 

First of all, I think that the writers aren't going to want the wedding to take place off camera.  That's a big card to play and they're not going to want to squander it.

Now, they could play it a couple of ways.  They could have L/P going as far as the altar before finally deciding they need to go home and work out how they feel about the incident.  Maybe Leonard senses that Penny's just going through the motions and is more upset that she wants to let on.  Maybe Penny is stewing about it and says, "let's go home" before they get that far.

 

Secondly, it gives them another reason to keep things more or less status quo until whenever they want to get the gang involved in the wedding--or maybe bring in some of Penny's family or something like that, and really make an event out of the Lenny wedding.  This also gives the writers an opportunity to have L/P take a while to talk it over and rebuild their level of trust.  Then maybe later in S9 they actually do get married.  Or the writers figure a way to delay it until S10?

 

But with all the ups and downs L/P have had, and the fact that as a sitcom TPTB aren't going to want to drag down the emotion of the show for very long, they're going to get through it and get over it.

And the same goes for Sheldon and Amy--I don't know how long it will take for Amy to figure out whatever it is she's figuring out, but the writers will probably milk both serious and funny elements out of the situation.

Maybe the girls will get together and gripe about their various situations--maybe that will be a moment to have Emily finally get in on the girls' nights or something.

 

Everyone has something to deal with as we go into the 9th season.

[Stephen Hawking]

I don't know how long it will take for Amy to figure out whatever it is she's figuring out

 

I think the break will make Sheldon realize how much he wants Amy, and he'll take a huge leap forward in the level of intimacy he's willing to embrace.

 

I'm not saying he'll go straight to coitus, but I expect he'll go much further than the making out they've been doing so far.

[Tensor]

I think the break will make Sheldon realize how much he wants Amy, and he'll take a huge leap forward in the level of intimacy he's willing to embrace.

 

I'm not saying he'll go straight to coitus, but I expect he'll go much further than the making out they've been doing so far.

 

I have to admit, it was kind of neat to see how eager he seemed in the finale to get back to it.

[rachelshamyfan]

I wonder if Leonard kissing the other woman was why he came back from the trip early and how he didn't get the romanticism of it that Penny talked about

Also I am not expecting coitus or a proposal for shamy until later in s9, maybe s10

Sheldon holding the ring was just him being confused and shocked as to what Amy had just told him, he didnt know what to do with himself, the ring was just a prop to end the seeason with

Jmo oc

Edited May 28, 2015 by rachelshamyfan

[phantagrae]

I think the break will make Sheldon realize how much he wants Amy, and he'll take a huge leap forward in the level of intimacy he's willing to embrace.

 

I'm not saying he'll go straight to coitus, but I expect he'll go much further than the making out they've been doing so far.

 

I don't think it's about how much he wants Amy or what level of intimacy he's willing to get to.  I don't think that's what Amy was upset about.  I think it has to do with tryin to understand what rung she's on in his ladder of priorities.

 

Is he more important to her than his favorite TV shows?

Is he in it for the long haul?

What do each of them want out of the relationship apart from comradeship or even intimacy?

 

I think she knows he's coming along in the intimacy department, and I don't think that he needs to show her that he can go further (second base? third base?) physically to prove his committment to her.

 

I think that maybe they need to talk about what he thinks of her, how he thinks of her.  I mean, they both know that Sheldon loves her, but maybe Amy wants to understand what that means to him.  Why does he love her?  What does his love for her mean to him?

 

I think that's why the ring, though it does seem out of the blue, is significant.  Though we don't know when he got it (and I don't think it was between the make-out and the skype session), and we don't know when he intended to propose (and I don't think he was necessarily going to propose on their anniversary or he would have been more upset when she got mad at him), I do think that it does show where his mind is in the big picture.

He's decided that he wants to marry her, but since she doesn't know that, she maybe thinks that he just doesn't have his mind in the game and doesn't make her a priority.  Maybe she thinks he's happy with the status quo--he has a girlfriend, he's learning to make out, but he still wants to focus on TV rather than on their relationship.

We really don't know exactly what it is she wants to think about, what it is she wants him to do, apart from paying attention to her when they're together.

 

It reminds me of some funny comparison I vaguely remember--how when a couple is together, the girl is thinking about romance and relationship while the guy is thinking about the game he's missing or whatever.  I don't remember it properly, but it was just about how differently male and female minds work when it comes to relationships.

The girl asks the guy, "What are you thinking about?" and he's at a loss because he may not have been thinking about anything, or not about whatever it is she probably wants him to have been thinking about.

[djsurrey]

When it comes to relationships the way Sheldon's mind works does not seem typical for a guy at all!

Perhaps the feelings he had in Amy's presence during that session was a bit overwhelming for him. Perhaps he can't easily handle being taken over by more base urges rather than his higher faculties. The comment about TV may really been about keeping his higher faculties in control and not giving in to something he does not understand or that he does not trust. Remember his comment in the Egg Salad Equivalency":

 

 

HR Woman: Well, according to Ms. Jensen, you said that she was a slave to her biological urges and called her an egg salad sandwich. I don’t even know what that means, but I’m gonna go ahead and tell you you can’t say it.

Sheldon: Oh! I see the confusion here. No, no, Alex thought I was singling her out. No. I meant that all women are slaves to their biological urges, you know? Even you. You’re a slave.

 

Given not much to go on regarding Sheldon, I speculate he is actually afraid of being a slave himself and that is part of the reason he shuts down his libido and distracts himself in 8.24 by thinking about the TV series. Of course perhaps he just does not have a libido but I find that a lot less interesting. If he does not have one I don't think there are any magic beans that will change it. If he is suppressing it out of fear then the dam could burst at some point.

 

And going all the way back to 1.12

 

 

Raj: Hey, look at that. (There is a group of youngsters on the grass, laying about. One is playing a guitar. Dennis Kim is among them. He is drinking something from a bottle in a brown paper bag.) It’s Dennis Kim.

Howard: Wow, I almost didn’t recognise him.

Raj: You know, I kind of feel bad about what we did to him. (Dennis is now snogging the face off Emma)

Leonard: Yeah, we really ruined his life.

Sheldon: Screw him, he was weak.

 

Not proof but I interpret Sheldon as being full of fear. He still thinks going farther in his relationship could ruin his life and if he goes that way is is a sign of weakness.

 

The ring shows he has feelings for Amy. He is just afraid of them.

Edited May 29, 2015 by djsurrey

[Kathy2611]

I agree I think Sheldon is full of fear but I don't think it's fear of him being ruined or whatever. He's come to terms with the fact that he loves her and has no problem professing his love for her to Amy herself or around his friends. I think now after all this time, his fear is about disappointing her, not being good at it, etc. He's always bragging about how he excels at everything. Well not when it comes to sex because he's simply never done it before and the only one he could practice with his the one he doesn't want to disappoint.

He's been holding on to both his fear (whatever it's been) and Amy. Now it's come to the point where he has to choose because he can no longer hold onto both anymore.

[phantagrae]

I don't think Sheldon is afraid of disappointing performance.  How would he even know?  And how would Amy know, since she's just as much a virgin as he is?

 

I do think that Sheldon may have some reservations about whether or not becoming more sexually involved might distract him from his larger purpose--scientific breakthroughs and a Nobel Prize.  When Sheldon was working on this three-person chess game and Leonard was going to go out (Priya? I don't remember), Sheldon made the remark that ever since Leonard started having coitus on a regular basis, his mind had lost its keen edge.  Leonard points out that Einstein had sex (I think) and Sheldon said, yes, and he never (some science mumbo jumbo).  If he'd been less of a horndog, we'd all have (flying cars?)

 

Anyway, I've always thought about Sheldon before Amy as being like a monk, only devoted to science instead of God.  He sets aside things he thinks will distract him, including sex, and devotes himself to the pursuit of science, and a Nobel.

And I think that he's also kind of emotionally and psychologically stuck in a pre-adolescent phase, perhaps because of how he was out of sync with his age-peers, so he never went through that locker-room adolescent kind of talk that Leonard, Howard and Raj went through, even though they were bullied.  All that comparing of notes, so to speak.

 

And with his mother being very religious, I'm sure she didn't encourage him to explore that part of his life, but took him to church and perhaps kept him rather sheltered.  He went to school with older kids and young adults when he was hitting puberty and he seems to have answered his own questions about the birds and the bees by looking it up in a science book or something.

 

At any rate, I think that it's quite possible that he was thinking about things other than TV when he and Amy were making out.  When she asked him, "Is that what you're thinking about?" he said, "It's one of the things" in a slightly flirty voice.  If Amy had asked him what else he was thinking about, maybe he would have said, "Kissing you" or something like that.  He certainly was eager to get back to it.

 

I think it's more a matter of being out of sync, or perhaps trying to say the same thing, but simply speaking different "love languages" as I mentioned somewhere else (probably the Shamy thread).

[lennyx3]

It reminds me of some funny comparison I vaguely remember--how when a couple is together, the girl is thinking about romance and relationship while the guy is thinking about the game he's missing or whatever. I don't remember it properly, but it was just about how differently male and female minds work when it comes to relationships.

The girl asks the guy, "What are you thinking about?" and he's at a loss because he may not have been thinking about anything, or not about whatever it is she probably wants him to have been thinking about. [emoji14]

So you're assuming that guy's always think about other stuff they are missing while they're hanging with their girlfriend?

And girls think about romantic stuff and their boyfriend.

That would be a sad...

I can barely imagine some guy thinking about a football match he's missing while he is making out with a girl.

Not even Sheldon.

I think he is thinking about a lot of stuff at the same time including, of course, Amy.

They were so cute while kissing!

I really felt these teenage-oh-my-god-everything's-new-and-exciting thing. So great.

[emoji7] [emoji180]

Gesendet von meinem HTC Desire X mit Tapatalk

[Stephen Hawking]

I wonder if there'll be further Shamy make-out sessions, in the next season?

[Stephen Hawking]

He certainly was eager to get back to it.

 

Who wouldn't be?

[loriparis80]

I wonder if there'll be further Shamy make-out sessions, in the next season?

I hope so.

[SheldonIsAJerk]

I've just watched this episode as we are way behind in the UK

 

anyway, let's hope for poor Amy that she really comes to her senses and realises that she'll never be happy with Sheldon. His emotional illiteracy is crippling

 

The poor girl could do much better

[djsurrey]

I've just watched this episode as we are way behind in the UK

 

anyway, let's hope for poor Amy that she really comes to her senses and realises that she'll never be happy with Sheldon. His emotional illiteracy is crippling

 

The poor girl could do much better

 

Yeah for sure. If Sheldon is like this in his early thirties what the heck is he likely to be like by his 60's and 70's (shutter). He might actually develop real medical issues eventually.

 

As I get older and more arthritic, less adventuresome and less social I'm thinking at least when I was young I was making an effort to be in social situations, go on adventures....

 

but TBBT is entertainment and not reality. If Amy really "left" Sheldon she would stop having a purpose on the show (she was not part of the original concept). That's not happening.

[SheldonIsAJerk]

Yeah for sure. If Sheldon is like this in his early thirties what the heck is he likely to be like by his 60's and 70's (shutter). He might actually develop real medical issues eventually.

 

As I get older and more arthritic, less adventuresome and less social I'm thinking at least when I was young I was making an effort to be in social situations, go on adventures....

 

but TBBT is entertainment and not reality. If Amy really "left" Sheldon she would stop having a purpose on the show (she was not part of the original concept). That's not happening.

 

she could start dating Stuart, Barry, Rajesh... any of those would be a better boyfriend than the odious Cooper

[djsurrey]

she could start dating Stuart, Barry, Rajesh... any of those would be a better boyfriend than the odious Cooper

 

Not Barry! Sheldon actually looks good beside Berry.

Not Raj he is a much bigger ass than Sheldon much of the time.

She had a date with Stuart already.  No, Sheldon's her man.

[lennyx3]

Sheldon is 100% her man!

In the last episodes I've realised that he is kinda attractive. Maybe because he acted normal, somehow...

Rajesh is really not the right one for her.

But he is cute. Yes sometimes he's strange. But just because of his insecurities.

One time I made out with a guy just because he looked something like Raj.[emoji85]

[SheldonIsAJerk]

Not Barry! Sheldon actually looks good beside Berry.

Not Raj he is a much bigger ass than Sheldon much of the time.

She had a date with Stuart already. No, Sheldon's her man.

a plain Jane like Amy isn't going to get the chance to pick her partner based on looks

Cooper is clearly not capable of forming a successful and satisfying pair-bond

Amy is obviously frustrated, unfulfilled and unhappy in the relationship. She knows it is faulty but has put up with Cooper's idiosyncrasies for long enough

This episode shows that she is starting to question the wisdom of staying with this emotionally infantile robot & so she should. University staff is full of single folk that would be far more fulfilling partners

yes I know it's TV show...

[Tensor]

You may say you know it's a TV Show, but you seam to be forgetting the economics of it being a TV show. Adding one of those single people from the university costs money. Since we know Mayim isn't going anywhere through season ten(see the interviews by her and Steve Molaro) and Jim is signed through, at least that long, I don't see them separating them, just based on the cost of adding another member to the cast, when they've already got a couple that the majority of people happen to like. Not to mention, the producers of the show continually mention they like writing for the couple. So, feel free to rant, just don't expect changes.

[Stephen Hawking]

Plus, a great many fans are rooting for the Shamy, and wouldn't feel comfortable, with the idea of Amy being in a physical relationship with someone else.

 

Plenty of fans ship the Shamy hard, and want them to eventually bump ugglies.