Penny's confused, Howard's a space plumber, and Stuart becomes a Wolowitz replacement... The Big Bang Theory Recap

Bernadette opens their wedding presents, when the ladies started talking about possibly Sheldon and Amy's wedding (in four years as per Amy). Bernie asks Penny about her marriage with Leonard and she keeps dodging the question. It seems that she has no plans of marrying Leonard some time in the future. They ask her if she loves Leonard and she finally admits to them that she loves him--she just never have said it to him yet.

Raj, Sheldon and Leonard calls Howard at the International Space Station to see how he's doing. He said it's great and that he still finds it unbelievable that he's living this adventure. Massimino and Dimitri  interrupts to remind him of cleaning up the space toilet. According to tradition, the new guy is the one who cleans it.

Stuart knocks in the guys' loft and Sheldon was surprised. Apparently, Raj invited him to join their movie night. Sheldon says he didn't authorize it, but Leonard agrees. Turns out, since Leonard is coming with Penny and Sheldon with Amy, Raj just doesn't wanna sit in the movies the whole time by his lonesome. Leonard suggests that Sheldon just pretend that Stuart is Howard.

At the movies, Amy wants Sheldon to hold her hand. Sheldon obliges, but not without complaining about how preposterous her insistense on hand-holding is. He also whines about Penny and Leonard not holding hands, and they have to. Amy tells him that probably the reason is because Penny thinks that she doesn't wanna be Leonard's girlfriend anymore. Sheldon thinks otherwise.

Later on, Sheldon wonders if Penny doesn't wanna be Leonard's girlfriend anymore, how come she doesn't just break up with him. Amy spills that Penny is not sure of how she feels. Of course, Sheldon makes it all about him. Amy then compels him to keep it a secret. Unfortunately, Sheldon thinks it's wrong to keep it from his best friend, Leonard.

At home, Sheldon feels guilty about keeping the secret from him. He tries to tell Leonard about it in a weird "Transformers" way. However, Leonard didn't get it. That night, Sheldon knocks on Leonard's room to talk about it, but he just can't. He goes to Penny's instead.

He wakes Penny in her room. Clearly, he really just can't let it go! He then gives Penny awesome trivia about Leonard just so she thinks he's a keeper. Penny, sensing that Amy said something about her relationship with Leonard, she asks Sheldon what Amy may have said. Sheldon opens up with Penny about the talk he had with Amy earlier at the movies about Penny's relationship with Leonard. She tells him that it's none of his business. He explains about it using homeostasis as his reference, saying that he's not comfortable with change. That if she breaks up with Leonard, things will change, so she just have to continue dating him to avoid that... and he also complains about the scent of her new shampoo. Yes, he hates change.

Penny tells him that until she figures out how she really feels, Sheldon must not say a word to Leonard about it. Then she kicks Sheldon out of her loft. Before he leaves, Sheldon pleads Penny to never hurt his friend (Awwww...). Penny says that it's the last thing that she wants to do.


The guys are playing cards when Raj and Stuart invites Leonard and Sheldon for drinks later that night. They tells that they're trying to meet girls. Sheldon suddenly suggests Leonard to come. He gives Leonard reasons why Penny is not the girl for him. Leonard tells her that he can't just replace her that easily. Sheldon gives him the "Hulk" analogy. Edward Norton was replaced by Mark Ruffalo and seems like a better Hulk, and Sheldon thinks that his "Mark Ruffalo" is still out there somewhere. Leonard thinks it's ridiculous and dismisses him.

Penny's about to break up with Leonard, when he started doing those "puppy dog eyes". She couldn't take it, and slept with him instead. Later, she tells Amy and Bernie about it. Their talk is interrupted by Leonard's text saying how amazing she is and how lucky he is to have her in his life, causing Penny feel guiltier.


The episode ends with Howard calling Bernadette about how he stood up for himself to the other astronauts, after confiding with her previously about being bullied there. He says that after that confrontation, he has never slept better in his entire stay at the space station til that moment. Little did he know, the other astronauts Sharpeed his face.

Quotes:


Penny: Do you ever feel that way about Howard?
Bernie: That's not really a fair comparison. I'm basically married to a sexy Buzz Lightyear.
Penny: Amy, you?
Amy: Can't help you kid. Whenever I'm around Sheldon, I feel like my loins are on fire... In the good way, not the urinary tract infection way.

Raj: Hey buddy, how's it going up there???
Howard: You don't have to shout Raj. It's not like I'm an astronaut floating around in outer space... Oh wait. I am!!!

Sheldon: If you're gonna replace Wolowitz, I need to know a little more about you.
Stuart: Alright.
Sheldon: Wolowitz went to MIT. What's your educational background?
Stuart: I went to Art School.
Sheldon: Equally ridiculous. Let's go.

Stuart: I like Mark Ruffalo too
Sheldon: Yea, settle down there, Fake Wolowitz. No one likes to kiss up.

Bernie: Don't worry, you'll have plenty of chances to break up with him... Your wedding day, your honeymoon, your fiftieth anniversary...