There was more than one bumpy ride on The Big Bang Theory season 7, episode 17. Check out our recap, and share your thoughts on “The Friendship Turbulence”!
Here’s what happened on The Big Bang Theory season 7, episode 17, “The Friendship Turbulence”:
Supportive friends and family
As the gang eats dinner, Penny announces that she turned down a role in the sequel to Serial Apist, which would require her to run around with giant gorilla limbs. (Funnily enough, she’s concerned about her dignity.) Leonard is perturbed that Penny is turning down paid work, and their bickering soon turns into a real fight.
Bernadette asks why Sheldon makes fun of Howard. Sheldon says Howard started their fight 10 years ago when he accurately observed said that Sheldon looks like C3P0 and Pee-Wee Herman, and later replaced Sheldon’s slides with pornography. Sheldon says that Howard has played pranks on him for years.
At work, Howard brings up Bernadette’s idea that he and Sheldon should be better friends; Sheldon thinks they’re good. Howard invites Sheldon to come with him to Houston as Howard gives a lecture at NASA. After confirming it’s not a prank, he agrees to go.
Put a key ring on it
Penny’s car breaks down beyond repair. (But at least her “check engine” light finally went off!) Penny then has a breakdown of her own with Leonard; she has no money, no way to get to auditions, and no job offers. Devastated, she prepares to return to waiting tables at the Cheesecake Factory. Leonard tries to lighten the mood, but is unsuccessful until he reveals that he bought her a car so she doesn’t have to be a waitress.
Leonard’s good people, guys.
Amy Farrah de Bergerac
Amy commiserates with Raj over his lack of romantic success. At work, he tells Amy that he’s gotten a message from a cute girl on a dating site, but when he reads her the message he wants to send her, Amy corrects his flowery prose with common sense. He asks her to write for him; at first she is reluctant, but she agrees.
Unfortunately for Raj, the girl, Emily, is not interested in Raj due to his passivity in having Amy write for him. Emily and Amy have hit it off, though, and they meet for coffee. Amy tries to pitch Raj to her again, but Raj ruins both potential romance and budding friendship when he barges in and acts like a weird, whiny ass.
Take the sky from me
On the plane, Sheldon bugs Howard with needing to pee. Howard gets frustrated by being nice to Sheldon, with little returns. Sheldon admits it was hard to see Howard get to go to space, when it was his dream… because clearly they’ll send anyone. Howard refuses to let Sheldon out to pee, and is smug when the turbulence scares him.
But as the turbulence worsens, Sheldon and Raj grip hands in terror and express how much they mean to each other. Sheldon says that he would have a hole in his life without Howard – like when Firefly was canceled, just not as big. (Wow.) They continue holding hands even after the turbulence ends.