The Apology Insufficiency

The Apology Insufficiency is the seventh episode of the fourth season of the CBS sitcom, The Big Bang Theory. This episode first aired on November 4, 2010.

Summary
Howard is trying to get top-level security clearance, and in order to clear him, an attractive F.B.I. agent interviews his friends about his past and any secrets he may have.



The Apology Insufficiency

Extended Plot
When Howard attempts to receive government security clearance, his friends are interviewed by an FBI agent checking into Howard’s past. Raj and Leonard screw up their respective interviews (the former being overly terrified over being deported back to India despite no good reason, and the latter trying and failing to ask her out by seeming “confident”), but the worst comes from Sheldon, inadvertently lets slip Howard’s involvement in crashing the Mars rover. His slip was included in a long list of trivial examples of Howard being irresponsible. Sheldon feels guilty that he caused Howard’s career to be set back, and apologizes, expecting to be forgiven. Howard refuses to accept the apology, leaving Sheldon unsure what to do, with him feeling true guilt for one of the first times in his life, with him even having a guilt-ridden dream. Sheldon visits Penny at the Cheesecake Factory bar, looking for guidance and alcohol to drown his sorrows in. Because of a reference Penny makes to Star Trek (" Kobayashi Maru"), Sheldon decides he will force Howard to accept his apology with neurolinguistic programming. Sheldon finds Howard in the lunch room, where he at first tries to reprogram the latter, then gives him the couch cushion from his and Leonard's apartment, offering Howard his spot. Howard is touched and accepts Sheldon’s apology and friendship. The last scene shows the group back at the apartment with Howard sitting in the spot. Howard tells Sheldon he can see why the latter chose that particular spot, lists its good qualities, causing Sheldon to announce he changed his mind and wants his spot back. Penny and Leonard consult a clock, noting that Sheldon lasted less than two minutes without his precious spot.

Critics
"Sheldon's decision to offer Howard his spot on the couch is another victory for continuity. The writing has so consistently made that spot a core component of Sheldon's character that the offer to Howard came across as a genuinely meaningful sacrifice on Sheldon's part...The scenes with Sheldon confronting Agent Page and then chatting to Penny suffered because they had little purpose. They were attempts to exploit Sheldon's ability to get laughs but they failed. Sheldon works at his best when he organically interacts with the outside world as he did in the original interview." - The TV Critic's Review

Quote

 * Sheldon: No, the cushion is merely symbolic. I'm giving you my spot on the couch.
 * Howard: [aghast] But... you love that spot!
 * Sheldon: No, I love my mother. My feelings for my spot are much greater. It is the singular location in space around which revolves my entire universe... And now it's yours.

Trivia

 * Howard's middle name, Joel, is revealed for the first time in this episode.
 * Sheldon mentions his honorary Justice League of America membership card, first mentioned in "The Grasshopper Experiment".
 * Penny is shown behind the bar as her actress Kaley Cuoco was recovering from a broken leg to hide the injury. She also appeared at the end but did not move.
 * Sheldon revealed that he loves his spot on the couch more than he loves his own mother.
 * Sheldon, confused about the cause of his guilt-ridden insomnia, reveals that he is no longer obsessing over why the predicted mass of the quantum vacuum has little effect on the expansion of the universe.
 * Raj's paranoid behavior regarding Agent Page is partially justified because he was almost deported in "The Pirate Solution".
 * The appearance of Eliza Dushku as an FBI agent could possibly be a subtle reference to Dollhouse.