The Middle-Earth Paradigm

Summary
Penny invites the guys to her Halloween party. They all dress up in elaborate costumes and head there early but have trouble meeting new people. Leonard decides to try and match wits with Penny’s ex-boyfriend and they end up arguing. Leonard leaves upset and embarrassed. Penny comes to see if he is ok and ends up drunkenly kissing him.

Critics
"The scene with Kurt and Leonard reveals something to me. The writers worked out that they wanted Leonard and Penny to kiss and then thought about how to get them there. Despite the failure of that scene, this is a very good sign. It suggests that the producers have a good idea of how their characters story should unfold and won’t be swayed by just trying to make as many jokes as possible. Kudos to them and to their credit there are jokes here to laugh at too." - The TV Critic's Review