The Big Bang Theory 5x13: The Recombination Hypothesis

Original Air Date: 19 January 2012

Storyline: Leonard and Penny contemplate reviving their romantic relationship. Sheldon's attempt to order Star Trek memorabilia doesn't go as planned.Trivia: The opening scene is nearly identical to the opening scene of the pilot episode: Leonard and Sheldon arrive at their apartment and spot Penny doing something in her apartment through her open door, and Leonard goes to talk to her. The characters are even dressed similarly, with Leonard wearing a crimson shirt with a hoodie, Sheldon in a superhero T-shirt and checked pants, and Penny in a light blue short-sleeve shirt (but long pants instead of shorts).

This episode's end titles has Chuck Lorre's Vanity Card #374, a thank you to the audience for getting the show to 100 episodes.

Best Quote:

Penny: Bat signal? What are you, some kind of nerd?
Leonard: Not some kind of nerd, I'm the king of nerds.
Penny: What does that mean?
Leonard: Uh, it means if anyone displeases me, I don't help them set up their printer.
Penny: You are so funny.
Leonard: Good. Remember that when I take my shirt off.
The Sheldon: It's customary, when using the restroom at a retail establishment, to make a small purchase. Did you?

Review: I was happy to see that The Big Bang Theory's 100th episode brought back the relationship between Leonard and Penny and made them the focus of the story. I'm one of those people who really like Johnny Galecki's performance and would love to see more of him than just the lovable sidekick to Sheldon's prominent role. And if we go back to that first episode, you will see that the way the pilot and this week's installment begin is almost similar, with Leonard contemplating dating the girl next door. But neither Leonard nor Penny are the same people they were five years ago and, while he has more confidence, she has learned to appreciate her geeky neighbor and has grown into a less judgmental and shallow person.

I'm usually not a fan of flash forwards (as opposed to me being a big fan of the flashbacks), but I will say that this episode has done this so well that it surprised me when it turned out to be all in Leonard's imagination. Everything was very realistic, from Penny picking out her clothes, to the fight in the restaurant ("always" does make things worse!) to Leonard going as far as picturing his friends playing Settlers of Catan and having a conversation about his mother with Sheldon. I admit to have put together scenarios about different things, but none so imaginative as Leonard and Penny 2.0.
With the episode ending with them actually deciding to go out on a date (despite thinking it through and realizing things may go badly), the question that I keep asking myself is, do we want them back together? My answer to this is definitely yes. I can't picture this show ending without them being together and, though I hope TBBT to have a good long run, I don't want a will they won't they going on until the finale. So it would be great if Leonard and Penny 2.0 will start now.
While I wasn't crazy about the wood jokes (though it made total sense when we found out it was all in Leonard's head), they somehow went back to the origins of Sheldon's character, the brilliant but utterly clueless guy when it came to everyday stuff. And it reminded me that, despite having them evolve, Raj and Howard are still nerds who amuse themselves with jokes that anyone past adolescence would find boring.
To conclude, I will say that my favorite moment was Leonard indicating to Penny the direction of her bedroom after his "Isn't sex after fighting kind of what we do now?!", showing us that he has really built up his confidence enough to be sure he will still get laid despite all the yelling.