The Stag Convergence

"The Stag Convergence" is the twenty-second episode of the fifth season of The Big Bang Theory. This episode first aired on April 26, 2012.

Summary
At Howard's, a drunken Raj reveals a little too much about Howard's past sexual encounters, causing Bernadette to reconsider marrying him after she finds all the on.

Extended plot
At the Caltech cafeteria, Sheldon is musing while eating lunch and asks which lifeform humans should merge with. Raj wants to join a  to have a long graceful neck he always wanted. Leonard suggests a for the height and genital size. Howard likes the idea of merging with a to become  a "kanga-" that can dunk s. Sheldon prefers s and  so that he can be three types of organisms in one. They also ask about Howard's bachelor party. Howard mentions that he promised Bernadette no s. Raj and Sheldon want to take a train trip through.

At the apartment building, while Penny is walking up the stairs with Leonard, she tells him that she won't worry about him at the party since he never does anything crazy. She asks him what the craziest thing he had ever done with a woman is and that when they had sex in the ocean it doesn't count. Amy is filming the girls making wedding party gifts and asking Bernadette what their first married  going to be. Penny tells Amy to start asking other bridal party questions which take all the fun out of it for Amy.

At the bachelor party, Sheldon has a couple of words with Wil Wheaton on being Howard’s friend. Stuart tries borrowing some money from Leonard to pay for the evening as Howard and Raj arrive. As the begin, most of Sheldon's jokes fall flat though he does give Howard a "double bazinga" and wishes him good luck. Leonard tells everyone he has had sex in the ocean and he can do crazy things. Stuart tells Howard that he has everything and that he is very unhappy living in the back of the comic book store. Barry Kripke just complains that there are no strippers. Raj tells everyone how Howard is his best friend, that when he came to that he was very lonely, but finding Howard they could be lonely together. He finishes up with the stories about Howard losing his  to his, having with a heavy  girl at  and Leonard and Raj paying for a Jewish role-playing prostitute in  (to cheer him up after he was dumped by Leslie Winkle). Wil Wheaton records it all and uploads it onto YouTube. Bernadette picks Howard and Raj up since they are drunk and is mad at both of them after seeing the video. She wonders how she can marry a man that she doesn't seem to know. The girls turn out not to be much help to her. Amy, for instance, suggests she has sex with a cousin to get even with Howard. Realizing Penny set them up while knowing Howard s past, she asks Penny why she did so, and when Penny's response is insensitive because she didn't think their relationship would go further than meeting his mother or sleeping together and that, since the signs were there, it's Bernadette's fault. Bernadette storms out crying.

At first Howard keeps calling her and can't get any good advice about women from his friends. He shows up and gives Penny a message that he was sorry, that he also doesn't like the man he used to be and that the man Bernadette knows is who he is because of her. Penny gushes that that was the most beautiful thing she had ever heard and that it came from Howard of all people. Bernadette hears him and tells him that the wedding is not off though that she is still quite angry with him. They all end up in a which Amy finds "hot".

Later, Leonard meets Penny in the laundry room and tells her that they are going to get crazy and have sex on one of the machines. Penny declines and tells him to help her fold her sheets. He agrees and says that folding sheets in his is pretty crazy too.

Critics
"The Howard-Bernadette story was surprisingly simple, effective and believable. We know that Howard had a sleazy past of hitting on women relentlessly and I had just assumed that Bernadette was aware of that. But instead the writing plausibly portrayed her as seeing only the light side of him and not the grimy one...This wasn’t a particularly interesting episode until the end where things wrapped up nicely. However it does continue the wedding storyline which hopefully will provide for an interesting season finale."

Quotes
Sheldon: I wish you could all be inside my head. The conversation is sparkling!

Raj: Anyone has any words they'd like to say about the man of the evening? Sheldon: Yeah, I do. (Everybody groans)

Sheldon: Howard, I wish you nothing but happiness. Bazinga! I don't! Double-bazinga! I do!

Sheldon: Good luck following that.

Raj: Anybody else? Huh? No? Okay! It all comes down to me, as the best man. (Stands up) Ooo, this grasshopper's kicking my ass-hopper. Okay okay, when I first came to this country, I, I didn't know how to behave, or how to dress, or what was school, I was pretty lonely. But, then I met Howard and suddenly my life changed, because, we could be lonely together. This man became my whole world! Kripke: Yeah, nice speech Francine! (Tucks some cash into his pants) Raj: (Takes out the money) I'm not done but, thank you! I think back, to all the good times we had, like uh, when we went camping, and spent that night telling each other all our secrets.... I told him, I'm addicted to pedicures, and he told me he lost his virginity to his cousin. (Everybody laughs) Howard: She was my second cousin. Sheldon: And the first woman you ever disappointed sexually. Raj: Oh, oh yeah, and then there was a time when Leonard and I took Howard to Las Vegas and, and paid a hooker to pretend she was Jewish, and that she wanted his little Kosher pickle. (Everybody laughs again) Of all the Howard-humping-hooker stories, that was my favorite! Howard: (Stands up) Okay, buddy! That's it. Sit down. Raj: Oh, oh, what about that, that tubby girl in the Sailor Moon costume at Comic Con? Howard: I don't remember. Please sit down. Raj: The only threesome I've ever had in my whole life. And I'm proud to say it was with this man, right here! (Everybody laughs) Howard: Please, shut up. Raj: Oh, oh, don't get me wrong. Nothing happened with me and Howard. There was about, 200 pounds of Sailor Moon between us! Wheaton: (Recording the entire speech with his phone) Oh internet, this is SO going all over you! Sheldon: (Laughs) Jeepers, I'm drunk! (Clinks his glass with Wheaton's)

Penny: So, I hear you and the Lost Boys are having a Bachelor Party tonight. Leonard: Yeah, just going to a restaurant. Get some steaks, some Scotch. You've nothing to worry about. Penny: Why should I worry? Leonard: I don't know, it's a bachelor party. There could be strippers. Won't that make you a little jealous? Penny: Come on Leonard. It's you. What's gonna happen? I mean, even if there was a stripper, all you'd do is avoid eye contact and maybe offer to help her kid with his homework. Leonard: Hey, I am a young man in his sexual prime. Under my conditions, I am capable of this, really crazy stuff. Penny: Really? What is the craziest thing you've ever done with a woman? And the time you and I had sex in the ocean does not count. Leonard: Oh, come on, that's gotta count. That was a really strong undertow, we could've died. Penny: Well, have fun tonight! Leonard: Oh, I will! There is NO telling what might happen. Penny: (Snickers) Yeah, there is. Leonard: You know, there's nothing wrong with helping some woman's kid get through their s.

Howard: So, what did you do tonight? Bernadette: ...I found this. (Bernadette lifts up her phone and a video plays talking about Howard's previous intercourse) Raj: You know, my apartment isn't that far, if you stop now, I can walk home. Bernadette: You're not going anywhere, three-way. Bernadette: You lied to me, you said you told me about all the women you've been with, but you never told me about the your cousin, the prostitute, or Raj! Howard: The prostitute was a gift! Shame on you Raj, this is not how we treat women in this country! Bernadette: Oh no, you are not blaming him! Raj: Thank you, Bernadette. Bernadette: Zip it, pervert!

Trivia

 * This episode is similar to season 4's "The Hot Troll Deviation", as Bernadette is disgusted by Howard and the two have to reconcile. Bernadette was forthcoming about a previous relationship, specifically with Glenn, in "The Love Car Displacement", but Howard never spoke about some of his relationships, including in "The Hot Troll Deviation", hence the recurrence here.
 * Sheldon refers to Howard as a "good friend," unlike in "The Bozeman Reaction" where he referred to him as "a treasured acquaintance".
 * This is the second time Penny sees a softer side to Howard, with the first time being in "The Killer Robot Instability". She also acknowledged that he's a good guy in "The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary", wherein she was hesitant to introduce Howard to Bernadette.
 * Penny calls the guys the, a reference to the characters in . This may also be a reference to Howard and Raj referring to themselves as "lost boys" in "The Gothowitz Deviation" where they were dressed gothic and "of the night", most likely referring to the 1987 film  about vampires.
 * Raj drinks a again. The last time he drank one was during season 4's "The Herb Garden Germination", and almost ordered one in season 2's "The Hofstadter Isotope". He was first introduced to them in season 1's "The Grasshopper Experiment".
 * Raj says, "This grasshopper is kicking my ass-hopper." In "The Love Car Displacement", he says, "these s are kicking my little brown ass."
 * Sheldon says, "If I’m to participate in the that is the, then I must embrace all its components, including , s, and yes, ." Sheldon previously had an alcoholic drink in "The Grasshopper Experiment" (without his knowledge), "The Pants Alternative", and "The Toast Derivation" (spitting it out).
 * Barry Kripke previously met Stuart in "The Toast Derivation". On the other hand, Kripke, a Star Trek fan as seen in "The Rothman Disintegration", first meets Wil Wheaton in this episode.
 * Bernadette's apartment number is 306.
 * Sheldon asks, "If you could merge with another species, what species would you pick and why?" Raj states "I'd pick  because, uh, the resulting hybrid would have the advanced industrial civilization of a human and the long graceful neck I’ve always dreamed of having." Leonard responds, ", but mostly just for the height. A little bit for the genital girth." Howard answers, "--uh, I’d be a Kanga-Jew. The first of my people to dunk a basketball." Leonard adds, "Also instead of just living in your mother's house, you could actually live inside her body." Sheldon then says, "Clever, but also wrong. No, the best organism for human beings to merge with is the itself. That way, you’d be human,, and . Triple threat. Like three-." In "The Weekend Vortex", Penny makes animal references regarding Leonard and Sheldon after Leonard mentions being , "Sorry, . Your weird friend  is here." She also says Sheldon looks like a giant  in "The Cooper-Nowitzki Theorem", later repeated by Leonard in "The Justice League Recombination", and Leonard revealed a doctoral candidate  he looks like a giant  in "The Thespian Catalyst". Meanwhile, Leonard said of Sheldon, "It's like living with a ," in "The Infestation Hypothesis". Additionally, in "The Psychic Vortex", Howard refers to Leonard and himself as horses: "These s have been saddled." Amy, in "The Date Night Variable", calls Sheldon a sexy praying mantis and that they devour their mates. "Dinner is served."
 * When the guys are discussing the animals they want to be fused with, Howard and Raj happen to be dressed in clothing with colors matched with the animals they answered; Raj is wearing white for swan while Howard is wearing brown for kangaroo.
 * Howard reveals that he lost his to his  in season 3's "The Adhesive Duck Deficiency". His tryst with the "Jewish hooker" in Las Vegas occurred in "The Vegas Renormalization".
 * Howard says that he would want to merge with a kangaroo to be the first of his people to dunk a basketball. dunked a basketball in an NBA game on February 28, 2011.
 * Embarrassing videos have factored into past episodes: Leonard and Sheldon's fight in season 1's "The Cooper-Hofstadter Polarization," and Sheldon's drunken  in season 3's "The Pants Alternative". Leonard similarly put embarrassing information about Howard on  in "The Gorilla Experiment".
 * Captain Sweatpants appears as a guest at Howard's bachelor party.
 * There is an extra cast member at the bachelor party that looks like a small Todd Zarnecki, who stole Sheldon's virtual World of Warcraft stuff, but it is actually, the world's greatest extra. He previously appeared as a member of Wil Wheaton's entourage, alongside Captain Sweatpants and Lonely Larry, in the "The 21-Second Excitation".