The Skank Reflex Analysis

The Skank Reflex Analysis is the first episode of fifth season of The Big Bang Theory. It aired on September 22, 2011 in a back-to-back episode with The Infestation Hypothesis.

Plot Summary
The gang deals with the fallout from Penny and Raj's night together. Amy counsels Penny when she considers moving back to Nebraska due to her failing acting career. Meanwhile, Sheldon takes charge of the paintball team after naming himself a Captain.

Extended plot
The episode starts just a couple of hours after the previous episode, with Sheldon trying to solve a "puzzle" presented by what Penny said in the last episode. Howard and an embarrased Raj arrive and Sheldon informs them about the University's interdepartmental Paintball Tournament. Sheldon begins to ponder about his rank within his team, and ultimately decides that he will be Captain.

Later, Penny grabs some wine and can't find a glass, so she improvises and uses a measuring cup instead. Amy arrives saying that she knows that Penny had sex with Raj. Just as they are about to exit the apartment, they bump into Leonard and Sheldon. Penny asks Amy if she can sleep at her apartment for a while and Amy delightfully welcomes her, exclaiming about how she can finally experience a traditional girl's sleepover.

At their apartment, Leonard is showing Sheldon his camouflage suit for the Paintball Tournament which he cites as unnecassary, while Sheldon pretends the camouflage is extremely effective. Sheldon has called up Leonard's mother; Beverly Hofstadter to console Leonard. After Leonard tells her his troubles, her sole piece of advice is "Buck up, sissy-pants"

Later, Raj is seen drinking beer in his apartment, just as an angry Bernadette bursts in knowing that he told Howard about his love for Bernadette, Raj asks her if he has a shot with Penny, to which Bernadette reassures him that he does.

Back at Amy's apartment, Amy is combing Penny's hair, following girl's sleepover tradition. Raj enters and Amy leaves them alone. Penny says that she had intercourse with Raj purely because she was drunk. Raj explains that they actually did not have sexual intercourse, but in fact, when Raj was putting on the condom, he had a "premature" start. Penny is both shocked and relieved by this.

The boys are discussing stratergies in a paintball shack, Sheldon shows an overhead display of paintball field via Google Earth and explains his plan to take out the Geology Department. Leonard, Howard and Raj are all are not in the mood to play paintball. Sheldon blames himself for his team's lack of motivation and tries to rip off the Captain insignia he had sewn on, but he is unable to do so.. Sheldon begins to exit the shack, and when Leonard asks him where is he going, Sheldon replies that he is "following the footsteps of Kirk, Crunch and Kangaroo". Sheldon leaves the shack and provokes the enemy by saying "Geology is not a real science!" in turn sacrificing himself; he is shot at least 20 times. Angered, Sheldon's team attacks the enemy and emerges victorious.

Back at the apartment, the boys are celebrating their victory and toasts their Captain, who has promoted himself thumb|left|300px|Penny's hemorrhoid commercialto Major Sheldon Cooper. Penny enters the apartment, proclaiming that she is going back to Nebraska because her acting career is failing, at that exact moment her agent calls her telling that she got a part in a commercial for hemorrhoid cream. In the final scene the gang watches the commerical in which Penny stars.

Quotes
Leonard: (After Howard claims Penny would've slept with him instead of Raj) Please! Sheldon would’ve been before you, and he might not even have genitals!

(One minute later, after much conversation) 

Sheldon: For the record, I do have genitals. They’re functional and aesthetically pleasing.

Penny: You heard what I did?

Amy: Well, I heard who you did.

Bernadette: (Furious with Raj for confessing his fleeting feelings for her to Howard) What the hell is wrong with you?!

Raj: You were always so nice to me, I thought maybe you liked me.

Bernadette: I’M NICE TO EVERYONE!

Amy: (After finding Raj at her door while Penny staying with her) A guest in my trundle bed and a boy at my door? I wish I could tell 13-year-old me, it does get better!

Penny: We should have never slept together. It's what ruins friendships.

Raj: You can't ruin a friendship with sex. That's like trying to ruin ice cream with chocolate sprinkles.

Raj: (To Penny, after confessing that they didn't technically have sex) Can I say I ruined you for white men?

Trivia

 * The Hemorrhoid cream commercial is Penny's first acting job.
 * Sheldon and Beverly think Leonard likes to point out the obvious since he was a toddler.
 * Beverly has written books about parenting which are (not in real life) available on Amazon.com.
 * Sheldon thinks he follows in the footsteps of Captains: Kirk, Crunch, and Kangaroo.
 * Amy has a secret language, which she dubs "Op." For example, instead of "sounds great", its "sounds gop rop e a top!"
 * Sheldon still takes things literally. For example, when Penny tells the guys in the season 4 final that her sleeping with Raj is "not what it looks like", he spends the rest of the day trying to figure out what she meant. He comes to the conclusion that Penny was checking Raj's anal region for parasites because of what it looked like to him and because Raj is from India; a third-world country. Leonard then clarifies that they did have sex and she lied.
 * Contrary to popular belief the guys previously had, Sheldon does have genitals. He says they are functional and aesthetically pleasing.
 * Howard claims Penny would've slept with him before Raj if he wasn't engaged to Bernadette. Leonard believes Sheldon would have a better chance with Penny than him.
 * Penny is willing to drink wine out of anything. She thinks that after drinking wine from a measuring cup, that wine glasses should have handles.
 * Raj is always "packing" condoms.