The Big Bang Theory“The Vegas Renormalization”
Original Air Date: April 27, 2009
Theresa – Staff Writer
theresa@thetwocentscorp.com
It was inevitable. Despite their shared Judaism and love for the Large Hadron Collider, Leslie Winkle has decided to dump Howard.
Of course, they weren't actually going out, they were only “friends with benefits” – a situation Sheldon doesn't quite understand. The boys operationally define it for him as maintaining a friendship with someone you have sex with while having the freedom to date, though he still can't grasp the idea.
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It was inevitable. Despite their shared Judaism and love for the Large Hadron Collider, Leslie Winkle has decided to dump Howard.
ReplyDeleteOf course, they weren't actually going out, they were only “friends with benefits” – a situation Sheldon doesn't quite understand. The boys operationally define it for him as maintaining a friendship with someone you have sex with while having the freedom to date, though he still can't grasp the idea. Now left with just his friends and no benefits, Howard decides – at Sheldon's surprising suggestion – that a trip to Vegas will help get his mind off everything.
Opting to stay home, Sheldon plans a perfect solitary evening for himself, so happy that he is even pleasant to Penny. Unfortunately, he has locked himself out of his fortress of solitude, aka the apartment. He is forced to stay with Penny (who, he discovers, is also the milk thief he's been hunting), socializing and having dinner. In the course of conversation, Sheldon brings up the “friends with benefits” idea.
Now, don't get excited if you're a Shenny (Peldon?) fan – he just wants her to explain how this type of arrangement can remain unemotional among those who are actually “afflicted” by sexual need. Penny explains that some people can't actually handle it, but is too uncomfortable to comment on her own FWB feelings. Poor Penny probably didn't realize that would be nothing compared to having to lull Sheldon to sleep with another rendition of “Soft Kitty”. In return, she is treated to a brief glitter of human gratitude before Sheldon reverts to his old self and kicks her out of her own bedroom.
Meanwhile, in Vegas, Raj is approached by a hot chick named Mikayla, played by guest star Jodi Lyn O'Keefe. After Leonard explains that the woman hitting on him is actually a prostitute, Raj lets her go until the idea dawns on the boys that she may be exactly what Howard needs to cheer up. Howard, by the way, is up in the room posting emo Twitter updates.
The boys lure Howard downstairs with exaggerated claims about shrimp, and then have him “accidentally” meet Mikayla, who has been paid to give Howard the “Jewish girlfriend experience.” When she's all over him, though, Howard figures out pretty quickly that she's bought and paid for, but is too happy to care.
Since this is a sitcom, you know there has to be a misunderstanding, which occurs when Sheldon emerges from Penny's apartment in the morning and announces to a stunned Leonard that he now understands the friends with benefits arrangement MUCH better. Ah, if only. (No no, I don't actually want the Penny/Sheldon pairing to occur, at least not in reality. But apparently the fandom for it is being attended to in small ways.)
So tell me what you thought of this one: were you hoping Howard and Leslie would stick together? Are you similarly amazed at the lengths people will go to assuage Sheldon's whims? How'd you like Jodi Lyn O'Keefe's guest turn? Leave your Two Cents down past some of the best lines of the episode.
Best Lines
Sheldon: You know, I'm given to understand that there's an entire city in Nevada designed specifically to help people like Howard forget their problems. They replace it with new problems such as alcoholism, gambling addiction, and sexually transmitted diseases.
Raj: Is it me, or was that Sheldon's way of saying "Vegas, baby!"
Howard: I say Vegas, baby!
Raj: Great, what are you going to tell your mother?
Howard: Sea World, baby!
Howard: Grow up, Raj. There's no place for truth on the Internet.
Raj: We should have a plan in case one of us gets lucky.
Leonard: Ok, if I get lucky, I'll take her to my stately manor outside Gotham City, and if you get lucky, I'll sleep on the moon.
Sheldon: We have a bowl. Our keys go in a bowl. You should get a bowl.
Penny: So, how did the beautiful mind of Sheldon Cooper forget his key in the first place?
Sheldon: ...I left them in the bowl.