BBT finale reaction post
I don't usually get to do these because my Thursdays are ruled by TVD but since that finale was last week I was able to watch this when it aired.
It was a good episode. Howard and Bernadette's troubles were reasonable and firmly cemented in their characters and histories. I actually liked Leonard/Priya if only because they're shipping properly. (Kirk/Uhura. Ship it forever.) Raj moving into the apartment was hilarious. Amy and Sheldon were so awkward and cute and I love them so much. It's nice that Sheldon has an equal now.
But then there was the badness. I knew it was coming. I've actually had a vague idea it was coming for several episodes even though I never consciously admitted it because ew. That didn't make it a good idea. It's clear the show is using Raj and Penny having sex as a way to get Leonard/Penny to happen. This is not in any way a good reason to make two characters have sex.
There were plenty of other ways to do this that aren't so completely cruel to the characters. Penny is already fully aware that she messed up with Leonard. Having her making yet another, even bigger mistake is not going to help her. If anything, this will hurt her chances of going back to him. She'll be too guilty over this and see it as the huge stumbling block it is. Leonard never stopped wanting to be with Penny. He's only moved on because he honestly thinks she doesn't want him the way he wants her. He certainly didn't need this big event to remind him of her. She is the one who broke them up. She is the one keeping them apart. The ball has been in her court and now I'm pretty sure the show is going to make Leonard go after her when she should be the one to go after him.
But the absolute worst thing?
Raj is going to be hurt. He is in desperate need of a solid relationship. He's in love with his best friend's fiancee and throwing him, even if only for one night, together with someone who should have been off limits for much the same reasons is just bad. He's going to feel guilty and he won't have moved on from Bernadette the way he really needed to.
I know a lot of people will think I'm being petty and selfish in my viewing when I say that I honestly don't know if I'm going to put the effort into watching next season. (With three shows I love on at eight on Thursdays and a DVR I share with three other people, it requires a fair bit of scheduling to see them all in a reasonable amount of time.) Really though, I just don't want to watch these characters hurt anymore. I spent years watching Ross and Rachel go back and forth and at the end of it I hate Ross and think the entire relationship is one of the most self-destructive I've ever seen on TV. I do not want Leonard/Penny to become that and I certainly don't want to have to watch it become that.
It was a good episode. Howard and Bernadette's troubles were reasonable and firmly cemented in their characters and histories. I actually liked Leonard/Priya if only because they're shipping properly. (Kirk/Uhura. Ship it forever.) Raj moving into the apartment was hilarious. Amy and Sheldon were so awkward and cute and I love them so much. It's nice that Sheldon has an equal now.
But then there was the badness. I knew it was coming. I've actually had a vague idea it was coming for several episodes even though I never consciously admitted it because ew. That didn't make it a good idea. It's clear the show is using Raj and Penny having sex as a way to get Leonard/Penny to happen. This is not in any way a good reason to make two characters have sex.
There were plenty of other ways to do this that aren't so completely cruel to the characters. Penny is already fully aware that she messed up with Leonard. Having her making yet another, even bigger mistake is not going to help her. If anything, this will hurt her chances of going back to him. She'll be too guilty over this and see it as the huge stumbling block it is. Leonard never stopped wanting to be with Penny. He's only moved on because he honestly thinks she doesn't want him the way he wants her. He certainly didn't need this big event to remind him of her. She is the one who broke them up. She is the one keeping them apart. The ball has been in her court and now I'm pretty sure the show is going to make Leonard go after her when she should be the one to go after him.
But the absolute worst thing?
Raj is going to be hurt. He is in desperate need of a solid relationship. He's in love with his best friend's fiancee and throwing him, even if only for one night, together with someone who should have been off limits for much the same reasons is just bad. He's going to feel guilty and he won't have moved on from Bernadette the way he really needed to.
I know a lot of people will think I'm being petty and selfish in my viewing when I say that I honestly don't know if I'm going to put the effort into watching next season. (With three shows I love on at eight on Thursdays and a DVR I share with three other people, it requires a fair bit of scheduling to see them all in a reasonable amount of time.) Really though, I just don't want to watch these characters hurt anymore. I spent years watching Ross and Rachel go back and forth and at the end of it I hate Ross and think the entire relationship is one of the most self-destructive I've ever seen on TV. I do not want Leonard/Penny to become that and I certainly don't want to have to watch it become that.