[S7E16] The Table Polarization
The Table PolarizationPenny and Leonard shopping for a dining room table.InformationSeriesThe Big Bang TheorySeason no.7Episode no.16AirdateFebruary 27, 2014DirectorGay LinvillEpisode GuidePrevious EpisodeThe Locomotion ManipulationNext EpisodeThe Friendship Turbulence"The Table Polarization" is the sixteenth episode of the seventh season of the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory. The episode aired on Thursday, February 27, 2014.
[S7E16] The Table Polarization
Leonard buys a dining room table which causes Sheldon to re-evaluate the changes in his life. Meanwhile, Howard is offered a chance to go back to space and Bernadette struggles with whether or not to encourage him. Amy diverts Sheldon's attempt to break up with her.
The gang is having take-out food for dinner and making fun of how Raj say the word "mustache". (moo-stache) Penny enters the apartment after an audition making everyone groan. Penny gets angry that they didn't ask her how it went. Leonard then does ask and she tells him to shut up. Raj offers her his seat so she doesn't have to sit on the floor. Penny declines and sits down. Bernadette asks if they ever thought of getting a dining room table so they can all eat together. Amy notes that they could put it by the window. Sheldon doesn't like the idea. He explains himself describing the change using chaos theory. Leonard translates it saying that the baby doesn't want a table.
Later, Leonard invites Sheldon to join Penny and him table shopping. Sheldon is too busy falling back in love with Windows 98. He has set up his old tower computer in the unused area by the window claiming it as his new spot. He has several thousand updates for his old operating system. Sheldon compares himself to Arthur Dent from "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" when he laid down in front of the bulldozers to protect his home. They haven't used the junk by the window for years. Sheldon wants Leonard to show him one thing he could live without and he takes a picture of Sheldon. Then Sheldon tells him that do they want to argue over this comment since they have never argued over anything else. Leonard looks at him like he is crazy and leaves.
Penny and Leonard are looking at tables at a furniture store. Penny likes a table made of reclaimed wood which would not appeal to Sheldon since he is worried that the original owners might reclaim it. Penny tells Leonard that he should stand up to Sheldon more often. Leonard says that he is living too much in his head. Sheldon chooses what TV shows they watch, what food they eat, what is Leonard's favorite hobbit. Leonard agrees and chooses a glass topped dining room table which Penny doesn't like. He then changes to another one that Penny does like.
After the new dining room table is set up where everyone can sit around it and it has a great view out the window. Sheldon's spot has a great view outside a window. Sheldon sits at it for a fraction of a second and still doesn't like it. Also it hasn't been approved by the furnishing committee specified by the roommate agreement which unfortunately only meets every two years. After Penny's prodding, Leonard tells Sheldon that he is going to stand up to him more. Sheldon then exclaims that the problem isn't the table, the problem is how Penny has changed Leonard and that Sheldon can no longer manipulate him. Penny gets angry and says that that is what happens in relationships and that Amy has changed him. Before Sheldon didn't want to touch another human being and now he is holding hands and even making out with her. Sheldon is shocked that Amy told Penny; however, Penny feels that it is the most interesting thing that ever happened to Amy. Sheldon realizes that Amy has changed his personality so he has to break up with her. After Sheldon leaves, Penny calls Amy. After Amy learns that Leonard bought the table, she jumps to the conclusion that Sheldon is on the way over to break up with her.
Sheldon shows up at Amy's Apartment to break up with her by signing a portion of their relationship agreement. He doesn't want her to cry all over his iPad. Amy agrees with Sheldon and has already moved on. Amy tells him to have a nice life. Knowing Sheldon, she agrees with him and then Amy convinces him their breakup is not about them, it is about Leonard taking Sheldon's attention about that awful table. Leonard is manipulating him like he always does. Leonard also knows that Amy would support Sheldon since she is his girlfriend and Leonard wants them to break up according to Amy. Then Sheldon wonders if Amy was manipulating him however Amy says that he is smart enough to see that. Finally he agrees with her as she has a little smile that Sheldon can't see.
Amy and Sheldon return to apartment 4A with Sheldon saying that Leonard's attempt to break them up didn't work. Sheldon repeats everything that Amy says including that their relationship is stronger than ever. Leonard objects to Sheldon's complaints about change. Sheldon's favorite spot is on a couch that Leonard bought. He wants to know how that change is good while the table change is not. Sheldon is speechless until Amy says that he doesn't have to explain himself. Amy then says that he is tired of Leonard's nonsense and ready to move in with Amy. Sheldon then tells Leonard to just keep the table which Amy feels that she got too cocky,
Finally, they are all having dinner at the new table except for Amy and Sheldon, who are in their old spots. Howard is lamenting failing his blood pressure tests, but rejects any suggestions where he could get it back down so he could go. Sheldon tells them to eat up there if they want to; however, it makes him sad that things have changed. Bernadette feels sorry for them since they are sitting in two groups. The time to stand up to Sheldon is over as they return to the living room. Raj doesn't want to return since he sits on the floor, but gives in. Sheldon says how nice it was now and that sometimes the baby wins.
Sheldon: Chaos theory suggests that even in a deterministic system, if the equations describing its behaviour are non-linear, a tiny change in the initial conditions can lead to a cataclysmic and unpredictable result.
Sheldon, unbeknownst to him, calculates how to synthesize a new, stable superheavy element, but then realizes that his discovery was erroneous, which spoils his achievement and makes him feel a fraud. His friends, co-workers and the scientific community praise him, but Sheldon just wants it to stop. Amy finally tells him he does not deserve the attention, for Sheldon the most romantic thing Amy could ever say. Howard has everyone join him in performing a song he wrote for Bernadette to commemorate the anniversary of their first date. However, Bernadette is quarantined after an accident at her lab so Howard and the gang sing the song for her at the hospital. Leonard says Penny never does anything romantic for him; even Raj's advice fails to inspire her. Penny then gifts Leonard a first edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - his favorite book growing up. Leonard appreciates the gesture but tells her that he already has a first edition of the same book. Penny feels bad and tells him she wishes she could be as romantic as he, showing him a box of dozens of mementos, examples of his romantic gestures during their time together. Leonard is moved, finding it incredibly romantic that Penny kept these things.
Leonard and Penny decide to get a dining table for the apartment so that they no longer have to eat around the coffee table. Sheldon objects to the change, blaming Penny for changing Leonard, though she points out that Amy has changed Sheldon. Unhappy with this and that Amy told her about the kiss, he decides to break up with Amy. Penny alerts Amy, who agrees to break up, but blocks Sheldon's plan by convincing him that Leonard is manipulating him. Amy feeds Sheldon arguments against Leonard, but goes too far when she suggests they move in together. Finally, Amy and Sheldon eat together on the sofa, with the others at the table, until everyone pities Sheldon and all end up back at the coffee table. NASA asks Howard to revisit the International Space Station. He has forgotten his horrible first time, and eagerly wants to return. Bernadette holds an intervention where Howard is reminded he would have to go through survival training again. Howard finds a way out by phoning his mother during his blood pressure test, thus failing his physical.
After reinstating "Anything Can Happen Thursday", Sheldon, Leonard and Penny wander around town looking for a new restaurant or things to do. They find Amy and Bernadette having dinner after lying to their friends. They were tired of hearing Sheldon moan about searching for a new research field and hearing Penny complain about her horrible movie. Leonard sympathizes, so Sheldon and Penny storm off. Bernadette admits lying to Howard too, and Penny calls Howard to inform him, but Bernadette says she will just put on a Catholic schoolgirl uniform to make it up to him. Amy tells Leonard she is jealous of how comfortable Sheldon is with Penny. Raj and Howard watch a horror film, which both find disturbing, to prepare Raj for watching it with Emily. Emily later says she, too, finds the film disturbing, but Raj watches it with her after she says it also turns her on. After dinner, Penny drags Sheldon to a psychic who says all his problems will be solved if he commits more to his lady friend - Amy. A rattled Sheldon scoffs at this "malarkey" and storms out of the psychic's office, leaving Penny stunned.
Bernadette: Have you guys ever thought about getting a dining room table?Amy: Yeah. You actually do have room for one up there.Raj: Oh, sure, I sit on the floor for years, no one cares. The pretty white girl's there ten seconds, and suddenly we're all running to Ikea.
Leonard buys a dining room table and it causes Sheldon to reevaluate the changes in his life. Meanwhile, Wolowitz is offered a chance to go back to space and Bernadette struggles with whether or not to encourage him. 041b061a72