The geeky gang struggled with dominance, decisions, and ET on The Big Bang Theory season 8, episode 21.
Speak my language
After Sheldon sings some “educational” songs, Raj tells the guys that he has been picked to design a message and delivery system for NASA to include on spacecraft, in case they encounter aliens. He invites them to help, but when Sheldon and Howard go crazy with suggestions, Raj picks Leonard.
Unfortunately, in spite of their desire to distance themselves from the “alphas,” Raj and Leonard get distracted stuck and distracted by ET. They end up coming up with the same idea as Sheldon and Howard.
Later, Howard is even more bothered about being left out of Raj’s project, and tries to hurt his feelings over Instagram. Bernadette finds herself laughing over the idea that Howard is a dominant personality.
Acting on advice
After knocking three times, Penny asks Sheldon for advice on her acting career — her job is great, but she has an exciting audition that could mess things up. Sheldon declines to tell her his opinion, thanks to Leonard and Raj thinking he forces his ideas on people.
Penny tricks Sheldon into telling her his opinion — which is to just see how the audition goes and not stress about it yet. She goes to the audition, where she has mixed feelings.
Later, Penny admits to Amy and Bernadette that she left after doing a terrible audition, and really doesn’t miss the acting world. The girls rope Penny into taking them out for dinner.
With a whimper
Raj and Leonard give in and ask Sheldon and Howard for their help. Raj tries to establish a more productive communication style, to little avail. This becomes a discussion about who has left who out of what experiences, and Sheldon tries to take over the project.
And then aliens take over the planet and devour humanity. Thanks, Sheldon.