'The Big Bang Theory' Season 6, Episode 16: 'The Tangible Affection Proof' Recap

‘The Big Bang Theory’: season 6, episode 16: ‘The Tangible Affection Proof’

Leonard asks Penny what she’s doing on Thursday, and she has no plans. He informs her it’s Valentine’s Day, and she says they can do something, but is very unenthused. Leonard warns her that he’ll make the night special, because he’s a Romance Ninja.

In the stairwell, Sheldon and Amy have a vividly detailed discussion on how Sheldon believes the rectum has the sense of taste, but Amy points out that he’s avoid her question; what are they doing on Valentine’s Day. He is surprised she noticed his clever question dodging.

In the comic book shop, Howard and Raj peruse various comics while Howard is on the phone with Bernadette. There is trouble in paradise. Meanwhile, Raj, being single, proposes that Stuart keep the comic shop open late and have a “lonely people” party for him, Stuart, and all the other single men out there.

In Sheldon’s office, he asks Alex, his assistant to find Amy a Valentine’s gift. He gives her $2,000 and tells her Amy likes monkeys and the color gray. And she’s off.

In the engineering lab, Howard tries to come up with something romantic for Bernadette, since she’s been a “pain in the ass”, and asks Leonard his thoughts. He engraved their initials on a heart 1/1000th the size of a grain of sand.

“A micro-valentine for a microbiologist.”

“From her micro-husband.”

Howard asks what Leonard and Penny are doing. He says they’re going to dinner, and Howard says that’s hardly romantic… except he manages to drop his gift, and asks to make their dinner a double date.

In Sheldon’s apartment, Alex presents the gifts she purchased: a miniature harp music box that plays one of her favorite songs, a map of the journeys from the Canterbury Tales, both getting rejected. The final try was a signed sketch of a brain cell by Santiago Ramón y Cajal. Sheldon loves it, but says he’ll keep it for himself.

“But what about your girlfriend?”

“It’s too late. I called dibs.”

In the restaurant, Penny comments on how beautiful the restaurant is, and Leonard points out he’s the romance ninja. Howard and Bernadette arrive, fighting. Turns out, she hid his X-Box from him because he doesn’t do anything except play.

Penny interrupts the happy couple by saying she sees her ex-boyfriend, who happens to be there with her ex-friend who he cheated on her with.

“And it looks like she lost a lot of weight. Damn it.”

Leonard says not to let that ruin their night. And she agrees. But then Bernadette points out that the guy is proposing. Leonard says he can top it, and gets down on one knee, but Penny tells him to get up.

In the comic shop, Raj and Stuart are setting up for their party. Raj makes Stuart very uncomfortable when he tells him that they would have the perfect relationship, if only Stuart was a girl, including graphic descriptions of the sexual things he’d do to him.

In the restaurant, Penny is still fuming over the engagement of her ex. Leonard tries to get her to forget about it and move on, but she can’t let it go. This causes them to fight. Bernadette and Howard make up during their fight, because they feel better in comparison to the fighting couple. Bernadette tells him where she hid the X-Box, and he promises to do the laundry.

In Sheldon’s apartment, Amy shows up, ready for their dinner date. But, knowing Sheldon hated the idea of it, Amy cancelled the reservations and, instead, planned for a night in: no gifts, no romance, just ordering pizza and watching some sci-fi movies.

Sheldon is moved by Amy’s “gift”, calling it the most thoughtful gift. He says he has to give her his gift anyway: He added her as his emergency contact at work. She is moved to tears.

“This is the most beautiful gift you could have ever given me.”

“Well, I thought if I have a stroke or a kidney stone, who would I want to share that with?”

“And you picked me.”

“It’s like you said, you’re my girlfriend.”

She embraces him, but he tries to break the hug.

Penny and Leonard return from their disastrous date, and Leonard confronts her. She admits to being a bitch. She says she’s been too happy lately, and that she has commitment issues… and he’s going to keep proposing, and she’ll one day say yes, and they’ll be happily married, and it just freaks her out.

Leonard apologizes for proposing so much, and promises to never propose again. If she’s ready to get married, she’ll have to be the one to propose.

“I have a very important question to ask you…”

“You do?”

“Leonard Hofstadter…”

“Yes?”

“Will you be my Valentine?”

“Sorry, maybe next year. Nah, I’m just kidding. Romance Ninja! Let’s have sex, waaaah!”

In the comic shop, the party seems to be going well. But Raj is tired of being alone. He makes a speech, saying that as long as the community of nerds have each other, they are never truly alone.

Lucy overhears his speech and approaches him, saying it was cool. He asks her for a cup of coffee, and she agrees. He bids the “losers” farewell.

In Amy’s lab, she gets (another) call regarding Sheldon’s medical situation. They suspect he was bitten by a Chinese Bird Spider. She asks to talk to Sheldon, and tells him she won’t drive over there because she just went yesterday for his “brain tumor” that turned out to be an ice cream headache.

He logics her, and she regretfully says she’ll be on her way.

“A brain tumor would explain a lot.”