Howard struggles with whether or not he should open a letter from his father, Leonard and Penny throw a “grown-up” cocktail party at the apartment, and Sheldon cleans out Howard and Bernadette’s closets.
In another time, in another universe, Sheldon will be united with Monica from Friends.
I thought it was a nice episode. Sheldon emptying the lint trap was a classic. The solution to how to tell Howard and not tell him was actually pretty clever. And we get to see the braless Penny and the leggy Penny in one episode.
I missed the end. Do we find out what was in the letter?
Nope, at least not in this episode.
We do however find out that Penny has a battery operated “dog toy” buried deep in her closet. Probably named “Fabio”.
No, it is agreed that each person in the know will tell the contents of the letter, but only one will be telling the truth. That way, Howard will both know and not know the truth about what his father wrote. When they do, Howard says that he chooses to believe all of them.
I think that’s the actual answer, with the exception of Sheldon’s pirate map story. I note that none of the other 5 stories told are contradictory.
However, it brings up an issue of inconsistency in Sheldon’s characterization. He told an obvious lie with none of the physical tics he’s previously displayed when lying.
Also kinda doubt that Penny really buried her vibrator in the back of a closet. I’d expect her to know exactly where it was. Perv that I am, I also imagine that Amy has a collection of them. And probably at least one that has to be kick started…
Speaking of closets…Howard has a fracking huge walk-in. I’ve stayed in hotel rooms smaller than that.
No Raj’s Girlfriend this week. (I can’t remember her name).
I think it was pretty obvious that
Bernadette’s story was the real one. But I may be wrong.
It was a clever episode. But it was short on laughs. Too much maudlin stuff from Howard. I hope they stop that. I feel like this wasn’t the writer’s best stuff.
Amy does not have a vibrator. She has an electric toothbrush. 
I think taking a movie plot for his lie spared Sheldon some of his problems. He was using the ‘What if?’ of discussions about superheroes and fantasy worlds to address his real world problem, so he didn’t have to manufacture the fiction himself. Plus he knew that he had to participate as part of a logical means of resolving the complex ethical issues raised by the circumstances, as opposed to Sheldon lying to conform to an arbitrary social convention.
Amy has an electric toothbrush named Gerard.
I stopped watching the show after the first 2 seasons. It was getting to the point where someone would say one sentence, then Sheldon would go off on a ten-minute tangent. I thought there was way too much Sheldon. I saw they were adding Kate Micucci to the show, so I’ve watched the last 4 episodes. I thought this one was quite good, and made me glad I was watching it again. A little heart to go with the giggles.
The only thing that’s gnawing at me about the stories of what was in the letter: I believe Howard had said early on that he got it on his 18th birthday. But one of the stories was that his father watched him graduate from high school and was so proud.
OK, I suppose it’s possible to graduate from high school when you’re 17, but this is Howard - he only has a Master’s… 
Seriously, tho, that was the story that I thought was inconsistent. Overall, I enjoyed the episode. And depending on how many “dog toys” Penny owns, it’s possible one could have been misplaced, right?
I graduated from high school the same week as my 18th birthday, and I was not started early, nor did I skip a grade. It all depends on what month you were born on. If you were 5 years old before August 1st, my school district recommended you started in school (although they allowed exceptions), so I had several classmates who graduated before their 18th birthday.
I graduated from high school at 17. Nothing special, birthday is in July. So around here assuming you didn’t fail a grade you graduate from high school at seventeen if your birthday falls between end of May and September 1st. Starting school as a kid was based on age on September 1st. That’s about one fourth of everyone.
Guess I’m bringing my own issues to the party, then - I was just on the wrong side of the cutoff date, so I was always the oldest kid in the class. How pathetic that this still haunts me 40+ years later…
OK, I guess it’s a reasonable possibility.
It bothered me that Howard had that really awful bowl-style haircut. Was that ever reasonably fashionable? It is plausible that he would have such a terrible haircut, or that his wife would allow it?
It’s definitely a ‘Moe’. I’ve wondered about this too, but Bernadette must love Howard for something other than his looks.
No, she thinks he’s hot:
Why do I get the feeling that Howard’s Mother is the one that give Howard a haircut?
FTR - Here are the what everyone said was in the envelope
Raj - Card for Howard’s 18th B-Day, Happy B-day Howard, I Love You, Dad.
Sheldon - Map, leading to lost treasure of famous pirate, One Eyed Willie
Amy - Father was in Auditorium on your High School Graduation, and he cried because he was so proud of Howard
Penny-Letter, explaining that his father wasn’t who he said he was, eventually his other life was going to catch up to him, and the only way to keep Howard and his Mom safe was to leave
Leonard-Your Dad wrote about how family was the most important thing and you should never throw it away like he did.
Bernadette -Inside the envelope was a picture of your Dad holding you on the day you were born, on the back it said Howard, my son, my greatest gift.
My bet, Penny’s story is the one that is true, as it leads to more possible story arcs. But it could be all five of them.