The Viewing Party Combustion

'The Viewing Party Combustion' is the twenty-first episode of the ninth season of the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory. The episode aired on Thursday, April 21, 2016.

Summary
Everyone must choose sides when a small between Leonard and Sheldon erupts into a heated  during a group get-together.

Extended Plot
At the comic book store Sheldon gets the guys in a about Batman and Manbat. If wore Batman's, what would he be called? Raj gets a call from Claire and has to run. Leonard thought he was back together with Emily, but he is really both women. Leonard is astonished that the guy who couldn't talk to for, now is dating two of them. now and Leonard struggles to believe it.

Sheldon comes in and wonders why Leonard got a  when the gang is getting together to watch "" and they are not having a party. He also reminds Leonard there is a The Roommate Agreement  is the next day. Leonard does not want to have one. Sheldon exclaims that that sounds like something that should be brought up at the next meeting, that happens to be. Also, it's Penny's first chance to lead the. Penny arrives and learns about Leonard's problem. She complains that she learned the Pledge just for the meeting. And if they decide to not have a meeting, Sheldon still wants them to have a on it. Leonard wants Penny to talk to him; however, she is still planning on attending. The meeting is important to Sheldon and they both did sign the. Sheldon appreciates Penny's which may allow her to make the, which causes Penny to.

Howard and Raj are playing a and Howard complains that it is exhausting. Raj knows how he feels since he is now dating two women. Raj thinks Howard is lucky being at every night with the woman he s. Raj never knows which  he is waking up in since he is dating Claire and Emily. Bernadette comes in and Raj asks how she feels. She's a little. Raj knows how she feels since he is dating two women. Bernadette tells Howard to go watch the she is going to up in bed with a good. Raj wishes he knew what it was like being in bed alone since he is.....

Sheldon wants to know if Penny is up on the "Game of Thrones" storyline. ,  and all the hot guys are. Leonard is still pouting about their argument and that Penny took Sheldon's side. He feels he's the only in the room. Sheldon still insists that if they are going to talk about it, it should be brought up at the meeting. Meeting. Meeting. Meeting. Amy arrives with her famous.

Howard is Raj over and it talking about whether their  is a  or a. If it's a boy he'll have to teach him how to after he learns himself. And if it's a girl, he'll have to worry about guys. Raj knows what he means since he is dating two women. He left one woman's in the other's. He's a bad boy. Howard is angry that even though Raj claims to be ing, he is really constantly bragging.

Amy wonders what is wrong with Leonard. They tell her about his complaining about the Roommate Agreement meeting and she understands. Amy never enjoyed their Relationship Agreement meetings. Sheldon thinks that she is kidding. Amy then says that she never thought that re-filing a matter in a  could be so fascinating. Sheldon then asks Penny what she thinks of Amy's comment.

Raj is following Howard up the stairs and wants to know if something is wrong. Raj claims that Howard is because of the  he has. Penny marches out of Apartment 4A carrying part of the sandwich telling Sheldon that they'll watch the show in her apartment. Leonard is calling to Sheldon that it'll be nice to watch the show without Sheldon complaining that it doesn't follow the book. Howard learns about how their arguing and Raj joins the group heading to 4B since he is not talking to Howard.

Leonard, Amy and Howard are still in 4A. Both Leonard and Howard are of the  they get from Sheldon and Raj. Stuart arrives in costume because Howard told him it was a, He goes over to Penny's because he is mad at Howard. Penny's takes his fur that kept getting caught in his  chain. Sheldon explains who is mad at whom. Raj explains to Stuart about him constantly talking about his dating life and that he called him jealous. Stuart is jealous because the closest he came to dating two women was the time he dated one woman.

Leonard doesn't know how she puts up with Sheldon. They don't need a meeting to decide which breakfast cereal to eat. He thanks Amy for sticking up for him. Amy could care less. She just wanted to take his side because she is annoyed because Penny and Sheldon are so close. Leonard challenges her. She retorts: Who always comforts him? Who get him to take his ? Who has Sheldon add things to the Roommate Agreement so she can have her way and not fight with her ? Son of a bitch! Howard laughs at Leonard's problem even though Leonard explains that Bernadette does the same thing between him and Raj.

In 4A Raj tells them that it's almost. "Game of Thrones". Get it? Leonard comes over and tells Penny that she doesn't have to use the Roommate Agreement to get her way. How did he know that? Amy told Leonard and now Penny is mad at Amy. Amy retorts that she always defends Sheldon. Leonard cites the weird --Elliot- relationship they have. Penny thinks that his relationship with Sheldon is just as weird, though thinks that he is like the little girl in "" and Sheldon is the weird thing on the. Howard comes in wondering about in the food and is obviously having an  to them.

At the, Leonard apologized and did not know there were s in the party sub. Bernadette comes in and reassure everyone that Howard is going to be fine. Stuart feels that that experience puts everything in prospective. He mentions why he is in costume and Bernadette doesn't think that Howard was nice. Because Howard had a brush with, Stuart is still cool about it. Raj tries to equate their night with a real "Game of Thrones", though none really sees his. Howard comes out embarrassed and apologizes to everyone including Penny who had to carry him down the stairs like a. Amy exclaims that the whole experience was scary. Sheldon thinks that the important thing to remember is that the party sandwich ruined their night just how he predicted.

Stuart is getting on his bike at the guys are making fun of him and his girl's bike from the apartment window. He is also wearing a unlike the  riders in the show. Sheldon applauds his stance. Stuart bans their bathroom privileges at the comic book store and rides off pissed until his cloak gets caught in the chain and he flips over the.

Finally, Sheldon knocks on the Hofstadters' bedroom door because he still hasn't asked his Bat/man-Bat question. Penny responses asking him a question showing a knowledge of comics that stuns Sheldon and sends him away.

Credits

 * Guest starring:
 * NONE
 * Teleplay: Steven Molaro, Steve Holland & Tara Hernandez
 * Story: Eric Kaplan, Maria Ferrari & Jeremy Howe

Critics

 * Jesse Schedeen of IGN - "The Viewing Party Combustion" had a good thing going for a while, blending humor with a little deep insight into the core character relationships that drive the series. Sadly, this show has a habit of finding quick and lazy resolutions to its conflicts, and this episode was no exception. The characters weren't forced to work through their differences and patch things up. Instead, Howard's medical emergency brought a swift end to the civil war. Nothing actually felt resolved, and it's not clear if we'll see this conflict renew in future episodes or if one evening of complaining was all the catharsis these characters needed. There was another flaw with this episode that bears mention. Raj has become insufferable lately. His ongoing relationship drama with Emily and Claire has managed to bring out the worst in Raj. His constant bragging about dating two women was obnoxious and repetitive, to say the least. To be fair, it was certainly easy to understand why Howard would need a break from his best friend, and it did lead to an amusing moment where he mocked Raj with a dead-on impression.

Trivia

 * Penny knew enough about comic books to stump Sheldon and send him away.
 * Third episode (after The Celebration Experimentation) where all of the main characters (excluding Emily) share a scene together.

Quotes

 * Sheldon: I have a question about Batman. Batman is a man who dresses up like a bat. Man-bat is a part man, part bat hybrid. If Man-Bat dressed up as a man to fight crime, would he be Man-Batman?


 * Sheldon: What, why did you get a party sub?
 * Leonard: People are coming over; it looked fun.
 * Sheldon: Well, we’re only watching Game of Thrones. A party sub implies it’s a party.
 * Leonard: Your attendance implies it’s not.
 * Sheldon: I like a party as much as the next man, as long as the next man doesn’t like a party.


 * Raj: But, dude, you’re so lucky. Getting to stay home at night with the woman you love.
 * Howard: I guess I am lucky.
 * Raj: You are, because dating two women, I mean, I can’t even remember the last time I slept in my own apartment. I wake up and I’m like: “Am I at Claire’s or am I at Emily’s?” Is there a third girl I’ve forgotten about? Like… Where am I?


 * Amy: Well, I get why he’s annoyed.
 * Sheldon: Well, then you don’t understand what’s happening. See. Leonard refused to participate in a mandatory quarterly roommate agreement meeting. This is what a generation raise on Bart Simpson looks like.
 * Leonard: You love the Simpsons.
 * Sheldon: I love Lisa Simpson.
 * Amy: Well, I know how he feels. I never enjoyed our Relationship Agreement meetings.
 * Sheldon: Wait. You were pretending?
 * Amy: Sorry.
 * Sheldon: No! I don’t believe you. I could tell.
 * Amy: (Sexily) Oh, Sheldon. I never thought re-filing a matter in a standing subcommittee could be so fascinating.


 * Raj: Did Amy make her spinach dip?
 * Sheldon: She did.
 * Howard: And I'm gonna enjoy it all!


 * Leonard: I don’t know how you put up with it. He’s impossible. I mean holding a meeting to decide what breakfast cereal we should buy.
 * Howard: Yeah. Cap’n Crunch with Crunch Berries., move on.
 * Leonard: Anyway, Amy, thank you for sticking up for me.
 * Amy: Oh, I honestly couldn’t care less.
 * Leonard: Sorry.
 * Amy: Well, I just took your side ‘cause sometimes I get annoyed at how close Sheldon and Penny are.
 * Leonard: They argue all the time. They aren't that close.