The Big Bang Theory: Season 6, Episode 24: 'The Bon Voyage Reaction' Recap

“The Big Bang Theory”, season 6, episode 24, “The Bon Voyage Reaction”

During lunch, Raj tells Leonard and Sheldon how much fun he’s been having with Lucy, including a Skype date where he stared into her eyes for 20 minutes, only to realize that the screen froze. Leonard asks if he’s ever going to introduce her to his friends, and he explains that she doesn’t do well around groups of people. Howard arrives and tells Leonard that he may have found a job of a lifetime for him. Stephen Hawking is mountain an expedition heading to the North Sea that requires an experimental physicist, and Howard recommended Leonard for the job. Sheldon isn’t pleased.

On the way home, Sheldon tries his best to dissuade Leonard from accepting the job offer, pointing out that most drowning occurring around ships, and that his and Penny’s relationship was just starting to fully recover and that a 4 month absence might do more harm than good. Leonard stops the car, and Sheldon gloats.

On one of their mini-dates, Raj shows Lucy various heavenly objects through his telescope, including the International Space Station, pointing out that his friend (Howard) was actually on board at one point. He segues into asking her if she’d like to meet his friends. But when she hears that there are six of them, she says it’s way too many. He then proposes that she meet just one of his friends. She still isn’t completely comfortable with the idea.

At dinner with Penny, Leonard spills the news about the expedition. She’s shocked at first, mainly because she’s scared that Stephen Hawking would just roll off the ship, but once Leonard explains it more, she is on board with it (no pun intended). He says he’s scared that it might hurt their relationship, and she points out that if their relationship was bound to get hurt, it would happen whether he was home or not. Relieved, Leonard asks Penny if she can keep an eye on Sheldon when he’s gone.

The next day, the gang gathers for dinner, and Leonard requests that they don’t throw him a going away party, but everyone insists. Bernadette mentions that one of the things that helped her through Howard being gone for so long in space was them getting married before he left. Penny tells Bernadette to shut up. Raj says (after having some booze, of course) that he wants one of them to meet Lucy, and he says he wants it to be Leonard, but Howard is offended he wasn’t asked. Raj explains it’s because his personality would be too much for Lucy to handle. Penny suggests that one of the girls meet her instead, so Raj asks if Bernadette will, because Penny is too attractive, it might scare Lucy. Bernadette gets offended, and Amy volunteers to do it because she’s been the group’s outsider, and they made her feel welcome.

The next night, Amy joins Raj and Lucy for dinner. She tells them how she was introduced to the group, and that they really helped make her feel loved. Amy suggests that Lucy should meet them all, but Raj cuts her off, and assures Lucy she doesn’t have to if she doesn’t want to. Amy butts in, saying that she understands the severity of Lucy’s social anxiety, but Raj cuts her off again, saying she can’t talk about it. Amy reminds him that she has a degree in neurobiology, and that she’s more than qualified to understand what’s not working in his girlfriend’s brain. He says that they’ve never had the conversation to decide if they were boyfriend and girlfriend or not, so he turns to Lucy to ask. She runs off to the bathroom.

Penny and Sheldon shop for supplies for Leonard’s upcoming going away party, and Penny stocks up on booze. Sheldon asks Penny why she’s being so encouraging, and she says she supports him as his girlfriend. He points out that men at sea often turn to each other for comfort. Penny realizes that Sheldon is just jealous of Leonard. He defends that he’s not jealous, he’s just upset that good things are happening for Leonard and not for him. Penny says he just needs to smile and nod, and say how happy he is for Leonard.

At the going away party, Raj convinced Lucy to come, but she hasn’t yet shown up. Sheldon gives a toast, explaining how happy he is for Leonard, but Raj gets a text from Lucy. She says she’s not coming, and that they shouldn’t see each other anymore. Raj gets upset and leaves.

The next day, Sheldon and Penny drop Leonard off at the airport, and Penny tries to say her goodbyes, but Sheldon is paranoid about them being parked in a red zone, and, thus, breaking the law. He tries to hurry them along.

On the way back to the apartment, Penny drops by Raj’s apartment to check up on him. He says he’s miserable and begins to cry about no one ever loving him. Penny sits with him on the couch and hugs him. She expresses her sadness over Leonard leaving. They both quickly realize that Raj is talking without having had a drink, and it causes them both to cry harder.

Later that night, the girls have a girls’ night in Penny’s apartment, which Raj attends. He talks the entire time, refusing any booze, obviously excited about getting over his selective mutism. He continues to ramble on even into the credits.