The Big Bang Theory – Recap & Review – The Skank Reflex Analysis

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The Big Bang Theory
The Skank Reflex Analysis

Original Air Date: Sep 22, 2011

Kym – TwoCents Reviewer
kym@thetwocentscorp.com

Of all the shows, on all the networks, this was the season premiere I was anticipating the most and I’m beyond excited to be sharing my current favorite show with everyone! I, sadly, spent half of last season without cable – but I still saw most of “Big Bang”, and I even know the WHOLE theme song!

So, now that I’m done gushing – let’s move on to what we’ve all been wondering all summer. Penny and Raj – we know they were drunk. We know they woke up in Leonard’s bed together. What we don’t know, and it seems Penny doesn’t either, is if they had sex…..

We’ve had some uncomfortable lunches in the past on the show, but the opening lunch this week was AWKWARD. I had to love Sheldon and his typical naivety though. It never occurs to him that Penny might lie to him. If she said it wasn’t what it looked like, then there must be another alternative, and he’s going to figure it out. Yet, even once he’s told she lied – he’s ready to move on. It’s paintball time again and he’s going to take charge and micro-manage the experience to make sure they win. As he’s musing on what his rank should be, Raj and Howard show up and start bickering (Leonard’s Mother is so right about those two) about Raj’s previous interest in Bernadette and Howard’s chances with Penny. Leonard takes Howard down a peg by telling him Sheldon would have a better chance with Penny, if they were sure he had functioning genitals. At this point, Sheldon proves he’s still paying attention and that they are, in fact, “functional and aesthetically pleasing”. Pause while I reflect on “aesthetically pleasing”. Oh, and that he will be Captain.

Meanwhile, Penny is lamenting to Amy Farrah Fowler (it’s become ingrained – I can’t just call her Amy) that she’s screwed everything up. Amy Farrah Fowler tells her that it’s just the “Skank Reflex” – an episode of promiscuity when unhappy to stimulate the release of dopamine in the brain (hmm, so that’s why….) and that if Catherine the Great’s reputation could survive an interlude with a horse, Penny’s could survive sleeping with Raj. Later, Raj gets ripped a new one, in an oddly flattering way, by Bernadette and told to make things right with Howard. She’s right; Raj really is a sweetie. I don’t know about you, but I think that he’s the one that kept getting laid because the girls involved just thought he was a really good listener. Raj does decide to make things right all around and goes to confess to Penny that they didn’t really have sex – apparently he had a hair-trigger. She’s relieved and tells him she thinks they should go back to being just friends; she wouldn’t want the sex to ruin a good friendship. Even after Raj assures her that trying to ruin a friendship with sex was “like trying to ruin ice cream with chocolate sprinkles”, Penny is adamant that she’ll pass on the sprinkles. She does concede that it’s okay if everyone else still thinks they had sex, which I thought was pretty gracious. I did something like that for a friend once – it was a rather “Sixteen Candles” kind of moment.

So, ultimately, Penny’s realized that she’s never gotten anywhere in Hollywood, that she’s upset the friendship balance and that maybe she should go back to Nebraska. Leonard’s depressed because his ex and his friend slept together, that Priya is moving around the world and that, typically, his mother’s best advice is to “Buck up, Sissypants”. It almost seemed like we’d be leaving the episode on a sad note. But, of course, that couldn’t happen. Two miracles happen at the end to save the day! Penny finally gets her first part, in a hemorrhoids commercial, and, due to Captain Sheldon’s grand display of heroism, the guys finally win that game of paintball.

So, here’s what I want to know this week. First, would you join the Church of Sheldon? What would it be like? It might be a bit overly ritualistic to me. Second, what do you think of Penny’s acting? Did she just suck? Or was it the commercial that was bad?