The Big Bang Theory: The Hesitation Ramification (7x12)

Alllright. Jumping straight into the plot, which was very Penny-centric this week.

Penny gets a minor role on NCIS, and she gathers everyone together to watch the scene. However, upon viewing the episode, Penny realizes that the scene was cut. She's very upset, but Leonard's attempts to make it better go awry when he admits honestly that he doesn't think Penny can make it as an actress. Later, he tries to apologize by getting her an audition for the new Star Wars movie, but of course that's just a publicity stunt. Penny, drunk and frustrated, tells Leonard that she has nothing to show for all of her hard work. Leonard reminds her that she has him, and Penny spontaneously proposes to Leonard. Leonard hesitates, because Penny is drunk and upset. Penny is angry about his hesitation, and the episode ends with Leonard uncertain about the state of their relationship.

Meanwhile, Sheldon tries to create a unifying theory for humor, and continually tests his ideas on Amy, who is bored by this. She joins Howard and Bernadette at lunch, and we get a hilarious When Harry Met Sally parody, where Bernadette shows Howard how she can convincingly "fake laugh" at his jokes. Raj and Stuart go to the mall to practice talking to people, but they are unsuccessful up until the very end of the night, when they briefly talk to the security guard who is closing up the mall at closing time.

Alright, so I loved the Penny-centric plot a lot. I think her character is one that is often ignored or pushed aside, but when she gets a chance to have a bigger role, it's always very good. I love the fact that Penny's failures to get her big break are not being treated merely as a joke. She's seriously upset about her career, and she feels totally helpless. I also liked that Leonard didn't accept her drunken proposal. It would have been an interesting direction to go in, certainly, to have had Leonard say yes and then deal with the drunken ramifications later. But I liked that Leonard had real qualms about saying yes to the woman he loves so much, because he knew she wasn't in the best state.

Now for the subplots... the one with Raj and Stuart was alright. Nothing much happened, but I got a few chuckles out of it. The plot with Sheldon was less funny in general. I found Sheldon to be more annoying than funny, and while I suppose that was the point, it didn't do much for me. The funniest joke bar none in the whole episode was Bernadette's When Harry Met Sally parody, which I mentioned earlier.

So there you have it. Another rather short review, but then this show is never all that difficult or complicated to talk about. Penny's plot had real substance this week, and I enjoyed seeing her take center stage. The subplots were barely worth mentioning.

7.5/10