The Gorilla Dissolution

"The Gorilla Dissolution" is the twenty-third and penultimate episode of the seventh season of the  The Big Bang Theory. The episode first aired on May 8, 2014.

Summary
Penny gets fired from her movie and takes a serious look at her life decisions. Raj and Sheldon go to the movies and see Emily on a date with another guy. Mrs. Wolowitz breaks her leg and Howard and Bernadette have to take care of her every need. Yikes!

Extended Plot
In the Wolowitz house, Howard, Bernadette and Raj are moving a walking exercise machine up the stairs for Mrs. Wolowitz to use. She claims to get plenty of exercise; however, according to Howard crushing his will to live is not exercise. The machine moves to the top of the stairs and is going to be set up in Howard's old room. Howard insists that he knows how to assemble it as he lets go of the box and it slides down the stairs hitting Howard's mother and breaking her leg.

During dinner at Leonard and Sheldon's they are discussing doing something for Howard's mother, while all Sheldon wants to talk about is going to see the new Spider-Man movie. Penny joins them and has decided to stop complaining about how horrible her movie is and be the best bisexual former go-go dancer slowly tranformming into a killer gorilla anyone has ever seen. Leonard tells her that the bisexual gogo dancing killer gorilla from "Schindler's List" is tough to beat.

Bernadette and Howard are now taking care of his mother who is confined to the downstairs guest room. Howard doesn't think that he can handle caring for her for six to eight weeks. Bernadette would do it for her mother. She is a caring loving person while Howard describes himself as a "putz". The alternative is getting a nurse preferably from a third world country that is used to suffering and smells. The care taker could also listen to their ethnic music while taking of Mrs. Wolowitz. She again calls out for help and Bernadette gets up to go to her. Howard asks if she wants to hear some Polish music to which Bernie tells him that he is a "putz".

Sheldon and Raj are attending the movies together after everyone else had turned him down. Sheldon brought his own 3-D glasses so that he doesn't get nose bridge herpes. Raj spots Emily and introduces her to Sheldon. Sheldon wants the dermatologist resident to check out his forehead because he went outside without sunblock. Emily wants to leave before her movie starts and is then joined by another man. They leave as Emily tells him that she'll call him. Sheldon describes that as awkward and is glad that he was right because otherwise he was worried that she saw something on his forehead.

On the "Serial Ape-ist 2" movie set, the director says "action" to Penny and Wil Wheaton. They are in a lab with Penny in a cage. Will pleads with her not to shut him out as a very hairy Penny is angry that he mixed her DNA with that of a killer gorilla. Wil still loves her and wants to find a way top change her back. Penny also loves him, but now loves killing more and is afraid that she'll hurt him as she growls and snarls at him. The director yells. "cut" and wants to set up the next scene. Penny wants to have another take so she can do it better. The director doesn't care because he thinks the movie is garbage. Penny should be happy since if it was a good movie, she wouldn't be in it. Leonard who was on the set watching and reciting all of Penny's lines and the director was ignoring her asks him to give Penny another shot. The director orders him off the set. Penny tells him that Leonard was with her, so the director orders her off the set and fires her. They just filmed the last scene where they see her face and someone else can wear the gorilla mask as her character. Will Wheaton stand up for her and then they are seen at a bar where Wil comments how fast their job situation fell apart.

In apartment 4A, Sheldon is making tea for Raj who is upset about seeing Emily at the movies with another guy. Sheldon can not find all the ingredients to make Chai tea since he is upset and Indian. Then he chooses English Breakfast tea because the English destroyed their culture. Sheldon feels that that would not happen with Amy because they have an ironclad Relationship Agreement. She can not have physical contact with any man, and neither he nor Raj have had sex with their ladies. He tells Raj to stick to his guns because there will be a lot of pressure to have sex together.

At the Wolowitz house, Howard and Bernadette are watching television when Mrs. Wolowitz says that she is hungry again. Bernie explains that Howard keeps asking about having a baby and that taking care of his mother is just like taking care of a baby. She says that Howard can't expect her to do all the work of taking care of their children.

Raj is at his apartment and Emily comes to talk. The guy was her tattoo artist who had been asking her out for weeks and she did so just to end the obligation. She mentions the tattoo on her shoulder, one that is not on her shoulder and one that is REALLY not on her shoulder. It has been a long time since Raj has seen something REALLY not on someone's shoulder. Emily suggests that if he'll show her his pierced belly button, he can see all her tattoos. They start to kiss and she then spends the night.

Leonard and Penny are back in her apartment after a long tiring day. Penny wants to start making smarter decisions about her life. She says that they could get married and Leonard asks her to be serious. Leonard asks her if he is a smart decision, like choosing a healthy boring bran muffin. Penny doesn't care what pastry he is because she is CHOOSING HIM. Leonard is still talking about being a pastry like a strawberry Pop Tart that she is excited about. Penny tells him to forget about it. Leonard does want to marry her, but feels that she is just feeling sorry for herself because she was fired. Penny explains that it may seem that way, but getting fired made her think that fame and fortune is not what is going make her happy. Leonard wants to know what she needs. "You, you stupid strawberry Pop Tart!" Leoanrd finally says that he guesses that he is in, which also bothers Penny. Leonard then retorts that it is an excited "I guess I'm in" and they agree that they are engaged which seems somewhat anti-climatic. To change the mood, Leonard pulls a ring out of his wallet that he has had for a couple of years, gets down on one knee and asks Penny formally. Penny says "yes" and he slips the ring on her finger that still has ape hair glued to it and they embrace.

Finally, Howard and Bernadette are having coffee and feel like they are going to get through their caretaker issues. Mrs. W. calls out for some pancakes. A nurse comes out of the kitchen with her meal as Bernie and Howard toast "Team Putz".

Critics

 * Jesse Schedeen for IGN- "The Gorilla Dissolution" divided its time pretty evenly among three pairings - Howard and Bernadette, Leonard and Penny, and Sheldon and Raj. Only poor Amy was mostly left out of the fun,...One would think Sheldon would be completely ill-equipped to guide Raj through his latest heartbreak. But maybe Professor Proton's parting wisdom from last week is still rubbing off on Sheldon. He offered some surprisingly sound advice At this point, Sheldon is in danger of becoming a well-adjusted person. It was almost a relief to see him shoo Raj out the door so he could stick to his rigid bedtime. Another thing Season 7 has been better about is using Sheldon a little more sparingly...And Leonard directly addressed the notion that he's her safety net in life. Calling Leonard "the bran muffin" of Penny's life is pretty apt. So it was yet another awkward, fumbling marriage proposal. But the writing and the acting sold the ordeal enough that I was willing to accept that this is finally the right time for Leonard and Penny to stop screwing around and move their relationship forward...At least the payoff was worth it."

Trivia

 * Penny and Leonard are finally engaged after numerous rejected proposals:
 * Leonard first proposed to Penny during sex in "The Launch Acceleration" (S5E23).
 * Leonard again proposed to Penny in "The Tangible Affection Proof" (S6E16) after Penny's ex-boyfriend proposed to one of her friends.
 * Penny drunkenly proposed to Leonard in "The Hesitation Ramification" (S7E12).
 * Penny twice proposed to Leonard in "The Proton Transmogrification" (S7E22).
 * Penny's role as Anne Frank in a theatre above a bowling alley was mentioned in "The Terminator Decoupling" (S2E17), and she won the role for the hemorrhoid TV commercial in "The Skank Reflex Analysis" (S5E1).
 * Sheldon referred to Penny as a gorilla when he tried to teach her physics in "The Gorilla Experiment" (S3E10).
 * Amy only appears in one scene in this episode.
 * Bernadette previously called Howard a 'putz' in "The Engagement Reaction" (S4E23).
 * Raj and Emily consummate getting past their jealousy issues in their relationship.
 * Like in "The Proton Resurgence" (S6E22), Howard and Bernadette again talk about one day starting a family and being prepared to take care of their own baby.
 * It gets pretty obvious Sheldon is happy and secure with his relationship with Amy since he points out that he's not afraid of Amy being with someone else because she cannot have physical contact with another person but him, despite that they haven't had sex yet. In "The Cooper/Kripke Inversion" and "The Love Spell Potential" (S6E23), he has admitted openly that he might someday have sex with Amy, so his happiness may be unseen partial excitement on looking forward to that day. Another reason Sheldon is happy is that they are in a steady relationship, which ironically began when Sheldon became jealous of Amy and Stuart on a date in "The Flaming Spittoon Acquisition".
 * Behind the director is a gorilla mask with a blonde wig which would be Penny's final transformation into her bi-sexual killer go-go dancing gorilla character.
 * The scene where Howard and Raj are struggling to bring an exercise machine upstairs is similar to the scene in "The Nerdvana Annihilation", where the nerds struggle to bring a prop time machine upstairs or in "The Big Bran Hypothesis" where Sheldon and Leonard are bringing Penny's new entertainment center up the stairs.
 * Second episode where someone sees their love interest with another man and Sheldon helps them with their problem. First was "The Fuzzy Boots Corollary".
 * Second episode where Howard impersonates Bernadette. First was "The Holographic Excitation".

Quotes

 * Raj: Aren't you going to get 3D glasses?
 * Sheldon: I brought my own. No sense of risking bridge-of-nose herpes.


 * Penny: There’s no reason why I shouldn’t be the best bisexual go-go dancer slowly transforming into a killer gorilla that anyone has ever seen.
 * Leonard: I don’t know. The bisexual killer gorilla go-go dancer in “Schindler’s List” is tough to beat.


 * Penny: Oh my God, What a day.
 * Leonard: Can I get you anything?
 * Penny: No. I need to start making some smart decisions.
 * Leonard: With your career?
 * Penny: With my life.
 * Leonard: Like what?
 * Penny: I don’t know. We could get married.
 * Leonard: Come on, be serious.
 * Penny: I am.
 * Leonard: Why? Because I’m a smart decision?
 * Penny: Well, yeah.
 * Leonard: So I’m like a bran muffin.
 * Penny: Well, no. That’s not what I’m saying.
 * Leonard: No, it’s exactly what you’re saying. I’m the boring thing you’re choosing because I’m good for you.
 * Penny: What does it matter? The point is I’m choosing you.
 * Leonard: Well, it matters a lot. I don’t want to be a bran muffin. I want to be a Cinnabon, you know? A strawberry Pop Tart. Something you’re excited about even though it could give you diabetes.
 * Penny: Sweetie, you can be any pastry you want.
 * Leonard: No, no, no. It’s too late. I’m your bran muffin. Probably fat-free and good for your colon.
 * Penny: You know what? Forget it. I should’ve never brought it up.
 * Leonard: You know I want to marry you., but you’re only doing this because you got fired and you’re feeling sorry for yourself.
 * Penny: Okay, it may look that way, but getting fired from that movie was the best thing that could ever happen to me, okay? I finally realize I need to be famous or have some big career to be happy.
 * Leonard: Then what do you need?
 * Penny: You, you stupid Pop Tart.
 * Leonard: Oh. Then I guess I’m in.
 * Penny: Really? You guess you’re in?
 * Leonard: Not like “I guess I’m in:” Like “I guess…I’m IN!”
 * Penny: Okay. Cool.
 * Leonard: So is that it? Are we engaged?
 * Penny: Yeah, I think so.
 * Leonard: All right.
 * Penny: What’s wrong?
 * Leonard: I’m not sure. Just feels a little anticlimactic.
 * Penny: Yeah, it kind of does, huh?
 * Leonard: Oh, I know. This might help.
 * Penny: Where did you get a ring?
 * Leonard: I’ve had it for a couple of years, not important. [Gets on knee.] Penny, will you marry me?
 * Penny: Oh, my God. Yes.
 * Leonard: This would have been so much more romantic if you didn’t have monkey hair on your finger.


 * Director: And action.
 * Wil: Please don’t shut me out.
 * Penny: Go away. Just go away.
 * Wil: I swear, I will find a way to turn you back.
 * Penny: What gave you the right to mix my DNA with that of a killer gorilla?
 * Wil: I was trying to save your life.
 * Penny: Life? What life? Look at me I’m a monster! And now I have blood on my hands or paws. I don’t know.
 * Wil:You can’t give up. I love you.
 * Penny: I love you too. But I’m afraid I love killing more. Like, one day, I might actually try and kill you. [Ape screaming at him.]
 * Director: And cut. All right. All right, let’s set up for the next scene.
 * Penny: Actually, you know what? Can we do one more? I think I could do it better.
 * Director: Let’s just move on. No one cares.
 * Penny: Well, I care. I mean, look. IF we’re gonna do this, why not try and make it something we’re actually proud of?
 * Director:Look sweetie, this movie is garbage, but you should be happy about that, ‘cause if it was a good movie you wouldn’t be in it.
 * Leonard: Whoa, whoa, hang on. There’s no need to insult her.
 * Director: And who are you?
 * Leonard: I’m her boyfriend.
 * Director: Isn’t she too hot for you?
 * Leonard: A little, yeah.
 * Director: Well, boyfriend. Get off my set.
 * Penny: You can’t do that. He’s with me.
 * Director: You know what? You can get off my set too. You’re fired.
 * Penny: What? You can’t fire me. I’m the star. I’m the girl that goes bananas. It says so on the poster.
 * Director: Yeah, but we just shot the last scene where we see your face. So from now on, the star of the movie is whoever wears this.
 * Wil: Hey, if you’re gonna fire her, then you have to fire me too. [Everyone is in a bar.] Wow, that fell apart real fast.