The Big Bang Theory 100th Episode

The Big Bang Theory

Episode 13: The Recombination Hypothesis

The Series 100^th Episode Special Review

By: Carlos Uribe

The Big Bang Theory is about a group of nerds and the girl next door. This is the 100^th episode of that series.

Spoilers Ahoy!

The Big Bang Theory has now lasted 100 episodes. That's pretty amazing, considering that this show was on the bubble back when it first aired. Over time the show has managed to expand in popularity, like how the universe has kept expanding since the big bang. This is the little show about nerds that has managed to grow into such a big mainstream hit, that this week in it's timeslot The Big Bang Theory has done what no other show has done before it: beat American Idol. This show had started out to not just be about nerds, but also about the potential romance between Leonard and Penny. It makes sense that the 100^th episode would explore that relationship, just like it made sense that the beginning scene eerily mirrored that of the opening scene from the pilot, down to the three core characters wearing similar clothes.

The nature of the Big Bang Theory is that characters don't evolve much throughout the series length. Don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean the characters don't change. It simply means that if you look at a character from the first season there's a big chance their very similar to a character now. Leonard is sort of that character. In the first season, he was an awkward nerd who didn't really know how to act very well in social situations involving girls. He was the most normal of his group of friends and usually comes across the most adorable. As the series has gone along, he has managed to get more confident in himself. He has also dated and slept with numerous women although his tendency to overthink things tends to ruin his relationships. He's also managed to date Penny several times. The series has struggled with keeping Leonard one of the guys, but at the same time making him with to be more normal than them. There's been times when people have questioned why he's still friends with the nerd gang when he shows so much disdain for them. Thankfully the series has managed to do the balance much better in recent episodes.

If any character has made the most progress, it is Penny. She's the hot girl that moved in and she was presented as someone who isn't very bright. She's a wanna be actress who is stuck waiting tables until she makes her lucky break. While she hasn't gotten any more intelligent, she definably has gotten more nerdier. She's been known to get into making nerdy references to more normal people and even making metaphors using science fiction. The influence of the guys on her has been rather visible. She has managed to get close to all of them, even Sheldon. I would make the argument that she's actually the best friend Sheldon has. It makes sense that whenever Sheldon needs some advice on how to deal with a social situation, he turns to a person he actually trusts on the matter: Penny. It's no surprise that she has managed to therefore develop feelings for Leonard. Her closeness to the group and the influence on her has made her open to considering him an actual and serious mate. She has developed feelings for him because she can understand him better.

As for the relationship between Penny and Leonard, that has been a complicated one. It's been one of friendship for the most part, although Leonard and Penny both wish it would be more. The two still have feelings for each other, despite their break-up in the third season. They had a brief fling in the beginning of the second season which culminated with them breaking apart due to Penny's lack of higher education. They got back together in the third season, after the Alaskan trip, and managed to stay together for most of that season. They ended up breaking up after Leonard told Penny that he loves her and she couldn't say it back. There was also some meddling by Will Wheaton just so he could win a bowling game. In the 100^th episode, Leonard imagines what it would be like if Penny and him tried to get back together. No matter what, he can't possibly imagine a good outcome. In a surprise move, he decides to take the risk anyways and asks her out.

A character that has made some minor shifts towards changing is Sheldon. He's moved from not caring at all about social interactions to at least trying to understand them. The progress he's made to knowing social clues tends to depend on the episode, as sometimes he can understand sarcasm and other times he's trying to determine if something is sarcastic or not. The addition to Amy as his girlfriend managed to make him a bit more human, although the signs tend to be rare (such as when Sheldon scolded Leonard for thinking Leonard had feelings for Amy.) He's been the breakout character of the show so it's no surprise that the writers are going to try and keep him the same for as long as possible. This actually makes sense since Sheldon would be the kind of person who slowly changes into someone more human thanks to the relationship with Amy and his friendship with the rest of the group.

Howard is a character that has changed a lot. He's started out as a womanizer, the character who makes all the nerdy perverted jokes. He was presented as someone who was simply desperate for some sex. When he started going out with Bernadette, he has changed into someone who respects and loves his fiance. He's managed to get a lot less annoying and Bernadette has made him a much better person. When Howard was temporarily split from Bernadette, he returnned to his old self. This shows just how much of an influence she is on him. As for Raj? He's pratically the same character from the pilot. He still can't talk to women and he is still perverted mostly in his head. Hopefully they can find a way to change him over the next couple seasons, since his disability to talk to women has gotten old over the series.

Since the series launch, only two characters have been added to the series main cast. Three if you can the temporary Dr. Leslie, but she was demoted almost immediately afterwards. Those two are Amy and Bernadette. Bernadette has largely stayed the same since her introduction. She's a little nerdy, but she's also a lot of fun. She's been someone who can realistic make Howard a respected man in society. Amy has changed quite a bit since her introduction. At the beginning, she was introduced as a female clone of Sheldon. She quickly morphed into someone who is Sheldon, but who is actually exploring her sexuality and social situations. In my opinion, she's single-handedly the best character on this show. She's the funniest of all the characters.

This has been a good series. It has hit some rogue patches at times, but for the most part it's a lot of fun to watch. The 100^th episode may have been one huge scenario that runs in Leonard's head, but it was still a rather funny one. Here's hoping that the series can continue to evolve it's characters. The one issue it has had for a long while, it's laziness, will probably persist but I don't see myself or the popularity of this show going away for a while. As for the next episode? I hope that the date runs better in reality than in Leonard's head, although it would be interesting if they decided to keep their relationship a secret.