To Read The Big Bang Theory Season 2 Review, click here.
Here are the recaps for each of the 17 episodes for season two of The Big Bang Theory.
E1: The Bad Fish Paradigm
We pick up at the end of Leonard and Penny's date from the end of Season One. The kiss turns awkward near the end and Penny says she wants to slow things down. During the date, Penny worried that Leonard would think she wasn't smart. She told him that she was a community college graduate though she isn't and enlisted Sheldon to help her keep the secret. Unable to keep up the pretense of her secret, Sheldon decides to move out and terrorize his friends with his presence. After Howard drugs him, Sheldon reveals the secret to Leonard once he's dropped back at home.
E2: The Codpiece Topology
Leslie Winkle unexpectedly approaches Leonard to resume their previous attachment, only this time she is fully committed to an actual relationship. Sheldon is unhappy with the situation due to the fact that he hates Leslie and she is often mean to him. At the end of Leonard and Leslie's date, they run into Penny and her date and they end up trying to one up the other couple with the goodnight kiss. Sheldon tries to convince Penny that maybe she should give it another try with Leonard as she is a less repulsive option than Leslie. However, once Penny refuses, Sheldon decides to give Leslie a change. It unexpectedly starts a fight between Leslie and Leonard over a matter of physics that ultimately break them up.
E3: The Barbarian Sublimation
After a bad day, Sheldon tries to take Penny's mind off her problems by teaching her how to play an online MMO game. The game unexpectedly takes over Penny's life because it gives her a sense of accomplishment she doesn't have otherwise. Penny starts to interrupt Sheldon's life as well asking for game advice. Leonard tries to have a small intervention with her that is unsuccessful. Sheldon also tries to solve the problem by hooking Penny up with strangers. Penny eventually gets back to real life and work after she accepts a romantic invitation offered to her by Howard through the game which shocks her back to reality.
E4: The Griffin Equivalency
When Raj is recognized by People Magazine for noticing a cosmic body, the rest of the boys try to be supportive of him. However, the recognition goes straight to Raj's head making him act like a dick. Unaware of that, Penny accepts his invitation to go to the ceremony. She quickly sees how he's acting and tries to get away at the end of the night after a drunk Raj tries to introduce her to his parents. He apologizes the next day out loud even though the only word he can manage is 'sorry'.
E5: The Euclid Alternative
When Leonard's research requires him to work nights, the task of driving Sheldon falls to everyone else. They stage an intervention to get him to drive since otherwise he drives them insane. After a rough start getting his learners permit, they set him up with a simulator. Even in a simulator, as it turns out, Sheldon is the world's worst driver.
E6: The Cooper-Nowitzki Theorem
After an abysmal speech to new students, Sheldon gets a female fan who wants to talk more about his theories. After she offer him dinner, she insinuates herself into his life by waiting on him hand and foot so he can focus on his research. Her attentions grow increasingly smothering until Sheldon is actively trying to enlist his friends to help him escape her clutches. After he solves one of his problems, he's so happy and grateful he asks how he can repay her. After she suggests that he shares the credit for his theory with her, he kicks her out.
E7: The Panty Pinata Polarization
After Penny didn't pay her cable bill, she watches a show in Leonard and Sheldon's apartment that hooks the guys on the fantasy of a house full of beautiful models living in their state. During a show, Penny touches one of Sheldon's onion rings, sparking a fight between Sheldon and Penny. He claims that now that she is a member of their group, she is held to the same standards as all his friends which explains why she earned three strikes. The escalation continues to get out of hand until Penny can't take it anymore. Leonard offers her the solution, though it's very final: calling Sheldon's mother. Sheldon apologizes after his mother yells at him and him and Penny make up.
E8: The Lizard-Spock Expansion
Right after Sheldon introduces us to Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock; Howard introduces yet another way he thinks he can seduce women which just ends up with Penny hurting him. Later that night, Howard ends up getting the Mars Rover stuck in a ditch on Mars after using it to impress a girl. She is a doctor named Stephanie that ends up going home with Leonard instead. Leonard continues to date Stephanie, though Howard still calls thinking he's going out with her instead. They finally tell Howard who takes it out on Leonard, saying they are no longer friends. He quickly forgives them however when Stephanie hooks him up with her roommate. At the end of the episode, the lost Mars Rover is found with data that has new data that is an enormous scientific breakthrough. However, as they covered it up, Howard can't take credit for it.
E9: The White Asparagus Triangulation
Because Stephanie is a doctor, Sheldon thoroughly approves of her relationship with Leonard. As such, he asks Penny to not appear as a sexual rival. At the same time, Sheldon intrudes on Leonard and Stephanie's relationship in a bid to make sure she stays around. As he tries to make Leonard more attractive to Stephanie, he ends up landing Leonard in the hospital needing stitches.
E10: The Vartabedian Conundrum
Sheldon asks to amend the roommate agreement now that Stephanie is staying over so often that she is now considered living with them. When Penny comes over to steal coffee in the morning, Stephanie gets worried about who this attractive neighbor is since she's so comfortable just coming into their apartment. Leonard is surprised with this sudden move and is starting to feel uncomfortable with how serious the relationship has gotten. Every time he tries to take a step back, she cries and distracts him with sex. Finally, he texts her to move back to her own place.
E11: The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis
When Dave Underhill, a physics superstar, comes to Caltech Leonard ends up getting a chance to work with him. He starts hanging out with him and is only slightly annoyed that Dave hits on Penny since he likes him so much. When Penny and Dave start dating, Leonard tries to be supportive. He also comforts her when Dave ends up being married.
It's near the holidays and Penny buys Leonard and Sheldon gifts, which Sheldon strongly objects to. To overcome this perceived obstacle, Sheldon buys several gifts for Penny to match any gift she may give him. When she presents him with an autograph of Leonard Nimoy, he gives her all the gifts he bought along with a hug since the gifts were not enough in his estimation.
E12: The Killer Robot Instability
Howard and gang create a killer robot to compete in robot throw-down. Howard invites Penny to the event and ends up offending her. When Penny calls him out on his sexist and offending actions, he realizes she is serious and retreats. It throws him into a spiral of depression. Leonard calls in a favor Penny owes him by coercing her into talking to Howard. It pulls him out of his room. Meanwhile, Barry Kripke challenges their robot to a duel with his own robot. Howard shows up in time to control the team's robot and get their asses kicked.
E13: The Friendship Algorithm
When Sheldon thinks that Kripke only lets his friends use the open science grid computer that he needs, he endeavors to befriend him. This is unsurprisingly unsuccessful. So Sheldon tries to create an algorithm for friendship that Howard helps him complete. This leads to a series of outings with Kripke that ultimately lead nowhere since the equipment is used based on a schedule and not just favors for his friends. In light of that information, Sheldon abandons his attempts at friendship with Kripke.
E14: The Financial Permeability
Sheldon lends Penny money when she is behind on her bills. However, owing him money makes her paranoid and confrontation around him. Leonard reassures her that Sheldon doesn't care when she pays him back and find out that her ex-boyfriend owes her a lot of money. He goes on an adventure to get Curt to pay her back. While it doesn't work then, Curt ends up giving her the money he owes her though he takes credit for it by convincing her that he's turning into a nice guy.
E15: The Maternal Capacitance
Leonard's mother, Dr. Beverly Hofstader, comes to visit against his will. She immediately hits it off with Sheldon, who she resembles, and embarrasses or upsets everyone else. While Leonard and Penny drink in her apartment to get over Beverly's affects, Beverly and Sheldon bond further over karaoke. Leonard and Penny almost end up sleeping together before Leonard ruins it by bringing up Beverly's psychology in bed.
E16: The Cushion Saturation
When Howard gets abandoned in a game of paintball, he ends up having sex with Leslie Winkle in a shed while they're under fire. They start a relationship where Howard gets work favors for sleeping with her.
Elsewhere, Penny accidentally ruins Sheldon's couch cushion with a paintball gun. Sheldon finds out and loses it. Though Penny tries to fix the cushion and replace it, Sheldon can still tell the difference. To distract him from it, Leonard tells Sheldon that their Chinese takeout comes from an unapproved restaurant since the old one closed down and he didn't want to tell him.
E17: The Terminator Decoupling
On the way to a conference, Sheldon insists on taking the train instead of flying. While on board, they run find that Summer Glau is also aboard in their compartment. After Howard gets shot down, Raj takes over and manages to attract her after having a drink. Once he realizes that it's actually nonalcoholic beer, he is unable to continue the conversation and Howard again takes over much to her dismay.
Back in their seats, Sheldon realizes that he forgot his USB drive which had a paper he wanted to give to scientist George Smoot. He enlists Penny's help to locate it in his room and email it to him. Penny find it but also find private letters and extorts embarrassing information from him while finding the thumb drive.
E18: The Work Song Nanocluster
Penny has started to make rhinestone barrettes and sell them around town. She asks Sheldon to improve her business. The rest of the guys end up helping as well and they streamline her manufacturing process and create a website. Due to an oversight, a massive order with rush shipping was placed. It takes the gang all night to fill the order for 1,000 barrettes. Once they finally finish, Leonard realizes that he forgot to take the rush delivery option off the website when another 1,000 rush delivery order is placed.
E19: The Dead Hooker Juxtaposition
When a new attractive neighbor moves in above Leonard and Sheldon, all the guys minus Sheldon quickly start doing her favors. Penny feels jealous and tries to compete. Realizing she's lost, Penny just asks the new girl to not take advantage of them. Once Penny realizes that her neighbor doesn't care if she takes advantage of them, they end up in a cat fight. We find out that Penny truly cares about the guys and is willing to protect them.
E20: The Hofstadter Isotope
When Penny joins the guys for a visit to the comic book store, none of them expected her to walk away with a date let alone a date with the owner Stuart. Distressed by the turn of events, Leonard asks Howard to take him to a bar so they can hit on women. Leonard and Howard ultimately strike out while Raj lands himself a night with a girl from the bar.
E21: The Vegas Renormalization
Leslie Winkle unexpectedly breaks off her casual relationship with Howard, throwing him into a spiral of depression. To take his mind off of it, Raj and Leonard decide to take him to Las Vegas. While there, they meet a prostitute that they hire to pretend she's Jewish and seduce Howard. When Howard finds out she's a hooker, he still thankful.
Back at home, Sheldon settles in for what he thinks will be some much needed alone time. Upon returning, he realizes that he's locked himself out of his apartment and has to stay with Penny instead.
E22: The Classified Materials Turbulence
Howards waste disposal system has a minor flaw - it's set to literally backfire after about 10 flushes. The guys desperately try to figure out a workaround that NASA can use for the problem. Meanwhile, Leonard gives some misleading advice to Stuart on his second date with Penny hoping to sabotage it. The advice ended up working better than he anticipated. However, Stuart and Penny decide to stop seeing each other. Leonard later finds out that Penny said his name during an intimate moment with Stuart, prompting the awkward conclusion of their relationship.
E23: The Monopolar Expedition
When Sheldon is awarded the opportunity to do his research in the Arctic, he invites Leonard, Raj, and Howard to go with him as his team. They decide that it's too good an chance to pass up and agree. However, Leonard considers not going once he thinks Penny may have feelings for him and want him to stay. After she reassures him that she's fine with him going, all four end up in the Arctic Circle under the insufferable leadership of Sheldon.
To watch episodes and special features, pick up your copy of The Big Bang Theory: Season 2
on Amazon. All screencaps were taken by me.