"The Romance Recalibration" is the thirteenth episode of the tenth season of the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory. The episode aired on Thursday, January 19, 2017.
Summary[]
Penny thinks that Leonard takes her for granted so she takes Amy on her spa weekend instead of Leonard. Howard is mapping the squeaks in the floor in Halley's room.
Extended Plot[]
Penny comes home from work to find Leonard has prepared her wine and pizza bagels because he thought she had a rough day. She calls his efforts so thoughtful. Leonard has her favorite rose wine, which she can't remember choosing and then says that he won't explain the thermodynamic principle of the cooling of her hot pizza bagels. Finally he starts to express his feelings for her through the NSYNC lyrics of her favorite song. Suddenly Leonard belches and we see Leonard sitting on the couch in his underwear playing a video game while Penny looks on in disgust. Penny was daydreaming.
As Leonard and Sheldon are climbing the stairs, Sheldon asks about his shoe size and what he was doing over the weekend because he has decided to take a greater interest in people. He giggles at Leonard's small shoe size and finds out that Penny is taking him to on spa trip over the weekend which she had won at work. Then Sheldon wonders what kind of infection Leonard will get from the spa. Since the girls are have Girl's Night in Apartment 4B, Leonard invites Sheldon over.
Girls' Night at Amy's.
Amy is now hosting Girls' Night. Amy is under the illusion that Penny is upset since she is now hosting it. Also Amy is happy about living with Sheldon who is taking an interest in her life. Penny then asks the already married Bernadette whether after a while the husband stops giving a crap. He has stopped bringing her flowers and wearing pants. Penny thinks that Leonard has stopped trying in their marriage.
At Howard's he has just gotten Halley to sleep with a Walking Dead themed lullaby. He wants to get her hooked on television so he won't have to go outside and play with her. Halley almost was woken up by the squeaky boards in the floor as Howard walked out.
Leonard and Sheldon are playing chess in Apartment 4A. Sheldon keeps telling Leonard how many moves he was going to win in. Penny returns from Girls' Night. Sheldon trying to show interest asks what Penny had eaten and drank while Leonard did not which annoys Penny. At first Penny doesn't want to talk about what is wrong, until Leonard insists. She complains about being taken for granted and that Leonard isn't trying. Leonard says that he is the only one that has worked on their relationship since day one. Penny then announces that she is taking Amy on her spa weekend instead of Leonard. Leonard tells her to go ahead and goes to his room, while Sheldon adds that Amy is free due to her cancelled harp lesson.
Bernadette's Dad tells her that they really have to replace the whole floor in Halley's room. Howard is an M.I.T. trained engineer. They consider other creative ideas by staying off the floor like swinging from the ceiling, going across the room in a harness, or use a sling shot. Howard or Raj visualizes each suggestionsand each ends in disaster.
Let's go!
Amy and Penny are ready to go. Penny says that they are leaving which Leonard barely acknowledges. Sheldon and Amy start with a small good-bye kiss which escalates into a make-out session. As Amy and Sheldon keep topping each other on how much they will miss each other, Penny ends up dragging Amy away.
Sheldon makes Leonard tea because he was sad. Earl Grey tea hot like Captain Picard's beverage of choice. Then Sheldon wants to cheer Leonard up by playing some game that he is happiest to lose at. No games. Sheldon is then worried that theirs is another relationship that he has started to phone in. Leonard insists that relationships do mellow with time. Sheldon had a similar experience with his excitement about the Pythagorean theorem.
Raj and Howard have set up a coordinate system to map the squeaks in Halley's room. Howard starts to find the squeaky squares. Then he hopes that his daughter can have the same amount of sex he had in his room quickly changing his mind.
Sheldon and Leonard drive off to the spa to fix things with Penny. Sheldon offers a car game which Leonard doesn't want to play since it has to do with his relationship with Penny. Leonard does not want to wait for two days to work things out with his wife. Sheldon agrees. Their wedding was a spur of the moment thing, so why shouldn't their divorce also be. Leonard wants to throw Sheldon out of the car, but he could end up to be the only friend he has.
Overworking the squeaky floor problem.
Penny and Amy at the resort are dressed in robes and discussing the massage they are about to get. Amy asks if they should be naked for the massage. Yes. Now Amy has to take off all of her clothes to get it. Leonard and Sheldon show up. Leonard apologizes; however, Penny wants to have some time for herself. Sheldon only has to say "hi" and Amy gets all flirty. Penny is trying to figure out what she wants. Sheldon offers to whip up a Relationship Agreement. Amy leaves with Sheldon to give the Hofstadters some time. Sheldon wants to find a minibar to show Amy how Godzilla gets drunk.
Showing Bernadette the path they developed, Howard and Bernie have to take large steps and climb over furniture to get to the crib. Bernadette wonders how she is supposed to do that while holding a baby in the dark. The guys partly solved that problem with glow in the dark marks on the floor. Bernadette walks away shaking her head.
Later in a lounge, Sheldon is complaining about the cucumber in his glass of water. Leonard and Penny arrive and Sheldon needs to know if they are going to get divorced and does he get two Christmases. The Hofstadters realize that they are facing some challenges and they ask Sheldon to prepare them a Relationship Agreement though Penny is reluctant. Sheldon is floored and then delighted to prepare one for them. He wants to get this "party of the first part" started. Amy laughs out loud, but is required to do that due to their Relationship Agreement.
Leonard and Penny signing their very own Relationship Agreement.
Finally, they are going over the agreement and seem happy about it. Leonard is to restrict his pant-less video game playing to when Penny is not at home and Penny can't say that everything is "fine" when it is not. They sign the document and Penny has to initial that she accepts Leonard in an "as is" condition like a used car. Amy is reminiscing about Sheldon and Amy's signing their agreement. Sheldon complains that she was forgetting the no nostalgia clause.
Credits[]
- Guest starring:
- None.
- Teleplay: Steven Molaro, Steve Holland & Saladin K. Patterson
- Story: Chuck Lorre, Dave Goetsch & Anthony Del Broccolo
Notes[]
- Title Reference: Leonard and Penny reconsider their married romantic relationship.
- Taping date: December 13, 2016
- This episode was watched by 15.15 million people with a rating of 3.4 (adults 18–49).
- Total viewers including DVR users 20.11 million.
- The Big Bang Theory was ranked #4 for the week ending 22 January 2017.
- This episode aired in Canada on January 19, 2017.
- Chuck Lorre's vanity card [1]
- Episode transcript [2]
Critics[]
- Caroline Preece at Den of Geek! - Oh wow. After the general indifference the previous episode of The Big Bang Theory inspired, it turns out things can always get worse. That's relative of course, because The Romance Recalibration isn't an offensively bad episode of the show, but it is a sloppy, forgettable one, and I wanted more from the promising concept...The Big Bang Theory has a major focus problem, and there's a part of me that can't really blame them. Jim Parsons is their breakout, Emmy-winning star and Sheldon has the potential to earn them more cash in the form of an upcoming spin-off, but the show is at its best when it's an ensemble sitcom. [3]
- IMDb user reviews [4]
Trivia[]
- After ten years together, Leonard and Penny get their own Relationship Agreement authored by document expert Sheldon.
- Sheldon and Amy's Relationship Agreement is still in effect even though Sheldon has been making concessions for Amy in their relationship.
- Halley's bedroom floor squeaks enough to wake her up.
- Sheldon deliberately insults Leonard in the Relationship Agreement as he often does.
- In Penny's fantasy, Leonard brings up the time they went wine tasting in "The Fermentation Bifurcation".
- With the deterioration of Lenny's romance, Shamy is now currently the most romantic couple of the three couples.
- Howard claims to have never had any sex in his old bedroom, though he has done so with Leslie Winkle and Bernadette.
- This episode is a classic example of Penny's selfishness, she believes Leonard has stopped trying in their relationship despite the fact that Leonard has always put the most effort in their relationship and she is just overreacting.
- Previously in "The Romance Resonance" Penny struggled to show effort in their relationship and listed all the kind things Leonard did. Here once again shows her unreasonable personality and refusal to take responsibility for her actions.
- Despite the problems in their relationship, this episode is a milestone for Penny and Leonard as their marriage becomes stronger after this episode.
Quotes[]
- Bernadette: It’s okay. Howie never has on pants. The Domino’s guy brings the pizza like this now. [Covers eyes while holding out her other arm.]
- Sheldon: I..what [game] would you be happiest at losing at?
- Penny: When was the last time you got a massage?
- Amy: Sheldon walked on my back two weeks ago, but that was just ‘cause there was a spider on his pillow and he was trying to get away.
- Penny: Leonard stood on me once, too, but he was just trying to see the Rose Parade.
- Sheldon: If you find this draft acceptable, then I believe your new Relationship Agreement is ready to be signed.
- Penny: Article 8, subsection: Leonard will restrict video-gaming in underpants to hours Penny is not home. This includes boxers, briefs, thongs, G stings or anything else that calls attention to his pasty little thighs.
- Leonard: Does it really have to say that?
- Sheldon: I did this for free, let me get a little something.
- Leonard: Article 10, subsection C: If questioned, Penny may not say that everything is fine if it isn’t. Other unacceptable responses include: “It’s nothing,” “Don’t worry about that,” and “I said it’s nothing, don’t worry about that.”
- Penny: I think it looks good.
- Leonard: Me too.
- Sheldon: Oh, well. Great, then. Here. You sign here, date here. And, Penny, if you could initial here to indicate that you’re accepting Leonard in “as is” condition.
- Amy: Aw, I remember signing our first Relationship Agreement.
- Sheldon: Mm. You seem to be forgetting the “no nostalgia” clause.
- Amy: Right, right. Got it.
Gallery[]
![What [game] would you be happiest at losing at?](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/bigbangtheory/images/b/b3/LRA46.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/500?cb=20170123180912)
| Episodes | Season 10 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|