After sex, Leonard tells Penny he loves her. Frazzled, Penny is unable to respond in kind. As Sheldon prepares to bowl against Stuart and Wil Wheaton, he, Howard, and Raj try to figure out what’s causing the tension between Leonard and Penny.
While I’ve enjoyed seeing Leonard and Penny as a couple, I agree with many fans who have been saying they should break up. Having Leonard in a “happy” relationship changed Big Bang‘s core dynamic for the worse. With Howard attempting a relationship with Bernadette at the same time, the show veered further from its original intelligent, geeky dynamic into well-worn sitcom territory.
“The Wheaton Recurrence” summed up how Leonard and Penny’s relationship has affected the rest of the show. The guys tried to interest Leonard in their usual discussions–the kind of discussions that set Big Bang apart from other series: Are the giant ants of science fiction possible in the real world? What about giant rabbits? Leonard had no interest in holding up his end, however, too distracted by where he stood with Penny.
Despite fans’ expectation of a break-up, the break-up happened in a fresh way. In a typical TV relationship, the girl says “I love you” first, freaking the guy out until, at the end of the episode, he’s able to say “I love you” back. Because Penny is the more experienced one in the relationship, it makes sense that she would balk at the “L” word. In the end, Leonard said he was willing to do whatever Penny wanted. Penny admitted it wouldn’t be fair to have that kind of control over Leonard, and ran out on him at the bowling alley. I’m glad the writers avoided the unrealistic relationship re-set: “Let’s forget either of us said ‘I love you’ and go back to the way things were.” Leonard is too smart for that, and Penny should want more than that.
Finally, I liked that Sheldon’s feud with Wil Wheaton didn’t take the focus away from Leonard and Penny, but that Wheaton played a small role in driving them apart, keeping the feud alive. “The Wheaton Recurrence” was one of Big Bang‘s best executed episodes.
