The Wildebeest Implementation

" The Wildeebest Implementation" is the twenty-second episode of the fourth season of the CBS sitcom, The Big Bang Theory. This episode first aired on May 5, 2011.

Summary
While Leonard, Priya, Howard and Bernadette are having a dinner, while Penny and Amy have Bernadette as their "double agent" code named "Wildebeest" to secretly spy on Priya and Leonard. Sheldon "invents" three person chess. Raj tests out a new drug for his social anxiety.

Extended Plot
Penny, Amy, and Bernadette are in a public toilet; Amy who is in one cubicle talks to Penny who is the adjoining one. Amy explains that her previous trips to the toilet have mostly been about excreting, but now she can socialize too.

Penny, however doesn’t enjoy this socializing activity too much as she presumably suffers from bladder shyness. Next the girls proceed to a shoe shop, where Bernadette announces that she and Howard have been invited by Priya to dine with her and Leonard. Amy assumes Priya's plan to be testing Bernadette's loyalty to the group; however, she wants Bernadette to attend the dinner because Bernadette can be a double agentthat way.

Amy is hanging out at Penny's apartment and gets a text confirming that Bernadette is at Raj's house dining with Priya, Leonard and Howard. Bernadette soon alerts Amy and Penny about a snide comment Priya made about Penny’s acting career. In retaliation they lie about Penny shooting a movie with Angelina Jolie in Prague which will be showed in 3D. Leonard was surprised that Penny didn’t tell him this, Priya then asks why he is surprised when he doesn't spend time with Penny; his ex-girlfriend. Leonard, who is now trapped between a rock and a hard place, is at a loss for words, but finally says he wasn't surprised, but "befuddled". Bernadette announces that Penny is also dating an astronaut after she misreads a text saying "architect" from Amy and Penny.

Sheldon is emulating three people and is testing out his three-person chess, when suddenly Raj knocks on the door and says he needs a hug. Sheldon makes the excuse that he has company (his other two selves). After some deliberation, he lets Raj in. Raj tells him that he has received a new drug that his friend claims to be the next big thing for people with social anxiety. Raj is worried that the side effects will affect his brain, which is a very important tool in his field. Sheldon reassures him as he believes Raj isn't so smart.

At Raj’s, Howard is curious about how Penny met an astronaut. Bernadette tries to answer his question, but soon the lies falls apart and she gradually becomes crankier. Bernadette then heads to the toilet and calls Penny and Amy. She tells them about her dilemma about the lie falling apart. Bernadette mentions that Leonard is going to India to meet Priya’s parents.

Raj and Sheldon go out to a coffee shop to test out the effects of the drug. Raj approaches a girl and stares at her silently for a moment. Eventually he is able to talk to her and they hit it off quite admirably. Sheldon takes his eyes off Raj for a moment and when he looks at him again Raj is already stripping. The woman then leaves as Raj becomes completely nude.

Back at Raj’s, Bernadette asks Priya about her and Leonard's trip to India; after establishing that Priya is not getting engaged to Leonard, she tells Priya she is going to the bathroom but her true intention is to update Penny and Amy. Priya notes that she has been in there a lot this evening and asks if she's okay; Bernadette breaks down and storms off, with Howard following. Priya is at a loss for word at this and Leonard says "I think the word you are looking for is 'befuddled'".

The final scene shows Leonard, Sheldon and Howard playing a confusing game of three-person chess, and Raj, who is completely naked, still under the effects of the drug.

Critics
"I liked the simple way that situation unfolded. Penny suggested the lie in a simple flick of resentment but the less savvy Amy and Bernadette foolishly took her seriously. The transformation of Amy into a "typical" girl remains fun...The writers lost focus here and presented a fairly mediocre story. However the strong arc plot they have built up for the characters prevented this from feeling too irrelevant." - The TV Critic's Review

Quotes
[Amy's phone rings]

Amy: Hang on. [looks at her phone] It's the wildebeest. Priya just made a snide comment about your acting career.

Penny: What the hell did she say?

Amy: She thinks it's cool you're following your dream, no matter what.

Penny: [short pause] That bitch!

Trivia

 * "Three-player chess" does exist in reality; of course, the version that was invented by Sheldon was a rather exaggerated one compared to its analogues in reality.
 * When Sheldon is working on his three-person chess game, but is interrupted by a lonely Raj, he announces that he has company and later speaks to an empty chair for an aside. Apparently, he has created imaginary opponents to test his chess variant. In "The Porkchop Indeterminacy", Sheldon's twin sister Missy mentioned his imaginary colleagues during his childhood.
 * Raj tells Penny about Priya in "The Wildebeest Implementation" (S4E20), "You should hear how she talks about you". In this episode an instance of how Priya talks about Penny is given: "Priya just made a snide comment about your acting career ... She thinks it's cool you're following your dream, no matter what."
 * Raj believes the colour orange may be lonely as nothing rhymes with it.
 * The colors that Sheldon says (blue and orange) are the colors of Sheldon's shirt and Raj's jacket.
 * While Howard, Leonard, Priya and Amy consider it implausible for Penny to date an astronaut, causing Bernadette grief, Howard later becomes an actual astronaut in the next season.
 * Amy did two years of Cub Scouting before anyone realized she wasn't a boy.
 * The Worker at the Coffee Shop that Raj and Sheldon went to was credited as Elsie and was portrayed by Whitney Avalon.