I loved Dale, haha. I thought it was great that they finally broached the subject of Sheldon and Amy together. It’ll be interesting to see how long Amy puts up with (or if she goes along with) more of Sheldon’s insane relationship rules.
I would bet my life on Jim Parsons being gay.
Hasn’t he already come out? (or was this a whoosh?)
Wow I thought this episode was really weak. Lots of cheap and easy “laugh at the Nerds” jokes the show had in abundance in its earlier, weaker episodes and they turned Stuart from a character into a cliche. Oh and on top of that they dug up the dead horse so they could beat it with more “Amy wants Penny” humor.
Better luck next time.
I already mentioned that is a previous thread. Raj also mentioned the girl from The Wonder Years, who is Danica McKeller, who was a guest star in a later episode.
Agreed. In the earlier episodes, Stuart was a successful businessman with a tiny art career and an established social life. Now he’s become the whipping boy of Sheldon’s libido. That just ain’t right.
And Raj and Winnie did the wild thing as well. Lucky bastard.
Yeah, it’s seemed to me for awhile that the BBG people are aiming to address Penny’s drinking at some point (although the last time I remember her drinking coming up here, most people saw her alcohol consumption as completely normal.)
Anyhow, solid episode all around.
And note how quiet I’ve been!
Honestly, this episode was the one that made some of you think that maybe, just maybe the character is being written as a woman with a drinking problem? Her waking up unable to recall whether or not she had had sex with someone who she would not otherwise want to have sex with, and previous almost constant drinking, was a bit too subtle of a hint?
Agreed that they’ve morphed Stuart into a different, much more pathetic, character. Not the same character who once took Penny out. And agreed that AFF would never have just signed an agreement that restricted even handholding just to be able to say they are boyfriend girlfriend. She wants physical intimacy and she wants it now.
Well yeah, because everyone I know does all those things. No-one I know plays Twister with red wine in hand. (You’ll get it on the carpet. Stick with the white.)
But (only slightly) more seriously - it’s a sit-com, where behaviours are exaggerated for comic effect, and an excess of a behaviour is not necessarily a problem for a character in a sit-com in the same way it is in real life. It’s just a source of jokes, or of a plot being driven in a direction it wouldn’t necessarily go in real life. The drinking stuff in this episode was different - it was played up with no connection to any other parts of the plot or other jokes/situations. They were purely there to show that Penny is drinking too much. That stands out as something different.
With white wine? No no no. Silly boy. Vodka tonic. Always should be served with a Twist.
Seriously I see this episode as just playing her constant drinking, already a well established aspect of her character, for a few cutesy laughs. (Awww, she fell asleep playing Twister because she’s drinking that much serving alcohol to friends in her home, and she really likes her wine, much more than do her friends, isn’t that funny?) The waking up in bed with … bit, that I saw as a potential preamble to handling it as a significant plot item, a storyline; to me this is more just like Otis coming by and locking himself in for the night again. A pretty standard bit. Shows what I know.
From the vanity card:
“… Thankfully, the problem was solved when Jesus joined the team. From that day on, The Human Sponge was just a sweetie… except around money-lenders. Then he could be kind of a dick.”
That was the money changers, Chuck. Sheesh.
Not much of an episode. I think this was written by someone with an anti-geek bias.
Stuart’s sub at the store became annoying after .5 microseconds.
I’ve mentioned Penny clearly being an alcoholic before and gotten flak for that. Does anybody doubt it now?
Drunks are never funny.
Didn’t they do both anyways?
Seems like Foster Brooks made a career out of disproving that point. In real life, it’s not funny. But this is a sitcom.
I laughed. 
ETA:I will not, however, debate she may need an intervention at some point.
I agree, That pose in front of the fridge is straight out of an s&m (stand & model) gay bar. If he’s not gay, he’s a ***really ***good actor.
He *is *gay. I thought he already came out publicly when he did The Normal Heart on Broadway earlier this year? I met his boyfriend at the opening night party for that show.
And I was a major part of that discussion.
I still maintain that back then her drinking was not an issue. It was portrayed differently in this episode and I agree that they are taking her down that path.
As far as I know, he’s neither out nor closeted; he just hasn’t publicly addressed his sexuality because it’s nobody’s business.
Yes, but a terrible portrayal of what playing a CCG is actually like. Every time they play this “game” I cringe. Obviously written by someone who thinks every card game plays like Uno.
Overall I liked this episode. Perhaps there’s a human side of Sheldon somewhere after all. Just not sure when Penny became an alcoholic in need of an intervention. Nor am I sure why AFF is so interested in Sheldon, or Stuart, or even Penny’s ex, when she clearly just wants Penny herself.
Our upcoming “Very Special Episode” will likely involve Sheldon being the one to spot/deal with Penny’s “problem.” That will continue his humanization, as he will actively have to care about someone other than himself even more than he does now. He and Penny have bonded over Nimoy’s DNA and he’s gotten to 2nd base with her before, so he’s the one who gets her to step back from the bottle and admit she still has feeling for Leonard. Probably in the season finale, when her showing up drunk disrupts the wedding and sends everybody off on different orbits for next season.