Why?

It’s a little hard to say if this episode served a long-lasting purpose, or if it really was just filler. As of late, the writers address and re-examine recurring issues within the sitcom. This time around, they slide Howard and Sheldon’s relationship under the microscope. It’s a rather cramped petri dish.

On the other side of the viewfinder: Amy and Raj, spotlighted in their own plot. When Raj decides to retry online dating and respond to a profile, Amy offers to chat up the lucky lady in question before Raj’s antics take center stage. I’m also not sure if the romantics are his front anymore—he may require a very, very amorous partner. Nevertheless, his plan backfires when the woman misreads (or reads perfectly) Amy’s gesture to mean Raj is too shy and passive. A Raj of five seasons ago, potentially. Nowadays, he’s more than happy to burst down the door of a coffee shop to prove his date wrong and ruin Amy’s budding friendship in one fell swoop.

Howard takes steps to rectify his 9-year-11-month-and-3-week-old transgression by starting afresh with Sheldon on a weekend trip to Houston, where he will speak at NASA headquarters. We never see them make it. No, they don’t detour to South America. On the flight over, Howard and Sheldon hit a second rough patch—of turbulence, that is. Nothing says bonding like hasty apologies on death’s doorstep. And would you look at that? Neither of them needed that bag. A little disconcerting if you ask me.

Penny, still living her full-time acting plot, turns down the Serial Apeist sequel to hold out for a more IMDB-worthy role, just in time for her car to break down. Not one to be unsupportive, especially after he’s said more than one thing that sounded very unsupportive, Leonard replaces her totaled car in a very sweet gesture and plot twist. Now Penny can afford to become the next Meryl Streep.
She should really consider modeling.