The Hesitation Ramification

"The Hesitation Ramification" is the twelfth episode of the seventh season of the  The Big Bang Theory. The episode aired on January 2, 2014.

Summary
When Penny’s big acting break on NCIS is a bust, Leonard struggles to help her, which results in Penny asking Leonard a bold relationship question. Meanwhile, Sheldon tries to learn how to be funny and Raj tries to work on his “game” before talking to women.

Extended Plot
Amy and the guys are having dinner at Leonard and Sheldon's apartment while all the guys are texting in their phones. Amy looks miffed and wonders whether they can have a human conversation. Sheldon mentions that thanks to Steve Jobs, they don't have to talk to each other. Penny breaks in and announces that she got a part on. Leonard and Amy congratulate her while the others guys have to be pushed to do the same. Penny is not sure of the show's title, but she does get to flirt with . Leonard is proud of her, but is worried that it is more than just flirting. He feels that it is sexier if it's left to the imagination though Amy disagrees with him.

At the Cheesecake Factory, Raj is discussing how men who have dogs with them have better chances with women. Raj was letting Cinnamon eat peanut butter off his tongue. Howard thinks that if he wants someone to eat food out of his mouth he'll set him up with his Mom. Sheldon doesn't understand why that is funny. He tries to tell a joke and no one gets it. Penny tells everyone that her show is on tomorrow night and the party is on her though the food is stolen from The Cheesecake Factory. Sheldon claims that if Howard's mother comes, they should serve marbles, since that is what they eat in the game "Hungary Hungary Hippo". No one laughs.

Later walking up the stairs, Sheldon wants to know if he is funny. Leonard does not find him humorous, but does find the fact that Sheldon thinks he is funny humorous. Sheldon is going to develop a unified theory of comedy to make anyone laugh at any time. Leonard observes that he does well with people laughing at him, not with him.

Howard and Bernadette are bringing Raj and Stuart to watch Penny's debut. Bernadette thought he would be bringing a date and he ended up with Stuart. Raj tried to talk to a cute girl who took an interest in Cinnamon, but he panicked and asked to sniff her butt. Howard suggests that he try to talk to regular people if beautiful women intimate him. Raj asks if he means like fatties and uglies. Bernadette quips that maybe he should stop talking completely. Howard tells him to try talking to anybody at the mall while Bernadette thinks he should keep dating Stuart.

In Apartment 4A, the gang is watching NCIS as again Leonard tells Penny how proud he is of her. Sheldon is uncomfortable watching the show since he has never seen it before. Amy tells him to think of the previous episodes as the prequels, which Sheldon accepts. Penny turns the TV up as her diner scene comes up, but it was cut. Leonard and the others also look disappointed. Penny doesn't understand why since she thinks she did a real good job. She excuses herself and leaves. Sheldon wants to go over and make her laugh, however Leonard stops him.

In Penny's place, she is telling her Dad that her part wasn't cut because she was too pretty. He also doesn't need to come to L.A. to kick Mark Harmon's ass. Leonard comes in. All of Penny's relatives were watching in Omaha. Her brother was given a day pass out of rehab, but disappeared with their six foot long sandwich. Leonard feels that just getting the part was a big accomplishment. It was suppose to give her visibility and others would see it leading to more parts. Leonard adds that three lines wouldn't be that big a deal. Penny doesn't think that he believes in her. Penny wants to know if Leonard thinks that she has what it takes to be an actress. When asked to be completely honest, Leonard didn't think so. She is talented and beautiful, however L.A. is fulls of actresses like that, Leonard explained digging himself into a deep hole. Penny wants to hear more how she is going to be a waitress for the rest of her life. The odd of becoming a successful actress is a million to one. Penny thanked him and left for her bedroom.

Amy is making tea while Sheldon is researching the topic of comedy. He reads that the element of surprise is a key component of some comedy. He shouts "brain legion" at Penny and scares her. She finds it absurd that he can read a few books and come up with a theory of comedy. He then drops his pants and she does find that funny.

Stuart and Raj are in the mall food court. They don't want to talk to pretty girls, but they are looking at an elderly woman with a walker.

Sheldon is reading words to Amy asking her which are funnier. Kumquat or ointment, as an example. Amy is really not interested and then questions whether she want to hang out with him anymore. Sheldon tells her to stop joking and that they have to go through the whole dictionary.

Penny is watching television telling every actor on that they didn't get their part cut. Leonard comes in and asks if they can talk. Penny agrees, but is worried that her part might be cut. Leonard apologizes for his comments earlier and says that he thinks she should be one of the successful actresses. He brings her an acting audition, a chance for anyone to submit a video for a part in the next Star Wars movie. Penny says that it's just a public relations stunt. Penny has an advantage since she is a professional. Most of the submitter are weirdos and nerds; Howard has already submitted his. He knows it's a long shot, but when Luke Skywalker had one shot to destroy the death star...Leonard quits because he knows that Penny doesn't; like his analogy.

Raj and Stuart are eating a meal. They spot a woman who is speed walking and she disappears. Stuart suggests talking to the mannequins, however Raj says that they just look stuck up. Then Raj insists that they will talk to the next person who walks by, but nobody does.

Amy greets Howard and Bernadette at the Cheesecake Factory alone. Sheldon is home working on his comedy project. Amy finds the experience exhausting. How many knock-knock jokes can she stand that starts with Sheldon's "Knock-knock-knock, Amy...knock-knock-knock, Amy...knock-knock-knock, Amy". Bernadette finds it easier to just fake a laugh. She denies having done it with Howard, though she doesn't believe that he could identify the fake one. Howard makes a minor quips that she laughs and laughs and laughs at and then suddenly stops. Howard then claims to fake his orgasms.

Leonard is at home ordering roses for Penny. First a hundred and then drops the order to three. Penny enters carrying a wine glass. She apologizes for calling his Star War suggestion idiotic. Leonard says that she didn't, then she quips that she probably meant to. Penny was upset with herself and not mad at Leonard. Everything is falling apart for her. Her waitress job was supposed to be temporary. She was getting her big break and it went away. At Starbucks, some old underwear fell out of her pants leg twice. She has been in for ten years and has nothing to show for it. Leonard reminds her that she does have him. Penny says that he is right and that they should get married. She gets down on one knee and asks him formally and Leonard replies "Ummmm". Penny asks him if he seriously just said "Ummmm". Leonard tells her that he loves her, but that she is drunk and sad and lost. Penny asks if he doesn't want to marry her. Leonard did not say that. She then withdraws the proposal. Sheldon comes in and asks if everyone wants to laugh. Penny then leaves because she wants to be alone. He tries to tell him the joke, but Leonard heads to his room.

Raj and Stuart are in the mall as it is getting ready to close. They see two pathetic guys on a bench and it's them in a mirror. A security guard comes over to tell them that they're closing. Raj asks him if he likes his job and he tells them that it's all right. They seem happy with the brief conversation.

Later, Leonard can't sleep. Sheldon asks him if he wants to talk about it. Leonard tells him that Penny proposed and he didn't say yes. Sheldon asks him if he thinks his relationship with Penny is over. Leonard isn't sure and is afraid to ask her. Sheldon replies that he is sorry. Leonard is surprised that Sheldon doesn't make a joke or an inappropriate comment. Sheldon replies that he s his friend and that he is sorry a she pats him on the back. Leonard asks if Sheldon put a "Kick me" sign on his back. Sheldon replies that that would not be funny as he rips the sign off of Leonard's back.

Howard in his bedroom filming his Star Wars audition video starring Howard Joel Wolowitz, a real life astronaut. He can feel Darth Vader's presence on the moon. Bernadette yells at him to replace the toilet paper. Howard tells her that he is in the middle of something. So is Bernadette.

Critics

 * Jesse Schedeen for IGN - Well, that was uncharacteristically depressing. I can't say I was expecting The Big Bang Theory to take such a dark turn upon returning from its brief holiday hiatus. But in some ways, that's a very good thing. The show has a tendency to be very lazy when it comes to exploring the more dramatic and less chuckle-worthy character conflicts...However, Bernadette did briefly come to the rescue on that front. The general level of humor this week might have been abysmal, but her spoof of the infamous diner scene from When Harry Met Sally was golden...This episode finally forced Penny to take a long, hard look at her life and deal with the crushing disappointment of failure...(I)t's high time the show started exploring her lingering resentment towards the others and what they have. It allows for a good, solid character arc that emphasizes Penny as a person and not just Leonard's wise-cracking girlfriend...But I hope Penny's struggle for professional success will be an ongoing plot point throughout this second half of Season 7.
 * Dhruv Rao of The DR Club gave the episode a B+, expressing his content at the character development throughout the episode.

Trivia

 * Penny finally gets a network television series acting job on NCIS.
 * Penny proposes to Leonard, in accordance to Leonard's request in The Tangible Affection Proof (S6E16).
 * Sheldon thinks that he is funny while no one else does.
 * Bernadette can effectively fake a laugh - sometimes. In the early stages of her relationship with Howard (in season 3), she laughed at his jokes to appease him. Her laugh in this episode was extremely over-the-top in contrast to her normal laughs.
 * Amy wanted to terminate her and Sheldon's relationship, and Sheldon refuted the idea as "Ridiculous". However, in her defence, she only said that because of her frustration with his attempts to be funny.
 * In Howard's "audition" video for Star Wars film, his lines are 's from, but his "costumes" and motions are not Luke's.
 * In fact, the symbol of the Jedi Order can be seen on Howard's "costume" (the dark brown round symbol) - and this symbol was not used in the Original Triology of Star Wars (IV-VI), in which Luke is the main character.
 * It is possible that he only used his "costume" for his audition. Had he gotten a callback, he would've made more effort to dress the way Luke would.

Quotes

 * Amy:  Can we maybe put the phones down and have an actual human conversation.


 * Sheldon: We can, but thanks to Steve Jobs, we don’t have to.