The Platonic Permutation Season 9, Episode 9 -  Aired November 19, 2015

The Platonic Permutation

Sheldon and Amy try hanging out as friends when they spend Thanksgiving together at the aquarium. Also, Wolowitz reluctantly agrees to volunteer at the soup kitchen with Bernadette, Raj and Emily, and Penny discovers that Leonard knows more about her than she thought.

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Guest Stars: Elon Musk as Himself, Wayne Wilderson as Travis

Writers: Jim Reynolds (Story), Jeremy Howe (Story), Tara Hernandez (Story), Steve Holland (Teleplay), Maria Ferrari (Teleplay), Adam Faberman (Teleplay)

Director: Mark Cendrowski

Viewers: 15.19 million Adults 18-49 Rating: 3.8/13

Available on iTunes

Episode Lists

  • Sheldon & Amy: Key Episodes Sheldon & Amy: Key Episodes

    The key moments in Sheldon & Amy's relationship including Howard & Raj setting them up, the signing of the relationship agreement, the first time they said "I love you", them breaking up and subsequently getting back together, the proposal, the wedding and winning the Nobel Prize together.

Episode Notes

  • The title refers to Sheldon and Amy spending Thanksgiving together as friends following their break-up.

Episode Quotes

Amy: Let's see. I have been on six dates with three different people. It was either for coffee or dinner. One I met at a bookstore and two I met online. I haven't slept with anyone. The aquarium is 40 minutes away. And there's a baggie of Cheerios for you in the glove compartment.
Sheldon: Uh, regular or honey nut?
Amy: I mixed them.
Sheldon: You mixed them. No wonder gentleman callers are pounding down your door.

Raj: Have you guys seen this feature that lets you talk to Siri without pressing any buttons?
Howard: No. How does it work?
Raj: You just say, uh, "Hey, Siri, what time is it?"
Siri: The time is 6:37 p.m.
Howard: So now anyone can control your phone? Hey, Siri, show me pictures of naked grandma butts.
Raj: Nice try. It only recognizes my voice.
Howard: Oh, cool. (Imitates Raj): Hey, Siri, show me pictures of naked grandma butts.
Raj: I don't sound like that.
Siri: Here are some images of naked grandma butts.

Sheldon: Amy, I excel at many things, but getting over you wasn't one of them. I think I need to just be your friend.

Amy: I miss this.
Sheldon: How can you miss a game you've never played before, silly?
Amy: I guess sometimes I'm silly.

Leonard: Face it, you can't stump me. I am the king of husbands.
I know that you don't like the lingerie that I got you on Valentine's Day.
I know you hate the word "moist."
I know-
Penny: Hang on. Wait, wait. Why don't I like the lingerie you got me?
Leonard: Because it's orange and you think it makes you look like a slutty carrot.
Penny: Interesting. I never told you that.
Leonard: Sure you did.
Penny: No. I never told anyone that. But I did write it in my journal.
Leonard: (In a high-pitched voice) What? I didn't know you had a journal.
Penny: I also know your voice gets higher when you're lying.
Leonard: (In a deep voice) No, it doesn't.

News Stories

Title Date Posted
909 'The Platonic Permutation' Press Release November 10, 2015

CBS has released the synopsis for the November 19 episode of The Big Bang Theory, "The Platonic Permutation". Inventor and Tesla CEO Elon Musk makes a cameo appearance as himself in the episode.  Full story

Recap

As the group sit down for dinner in the apartment, Raj tells them about the new feature on his phone which means Siri can answer questions without a button being pressed. Sheldon comes out to tell them the good news: now he’s no longer with Amy, he has a spare ticket to the Thanksgiving luncheon at the aquarium. He wonders who wants the spare ticket. Leonard and Penny say they’re having everyone over on Thanksgiving and will be cooking all day. Bernadette and Raj are volunteering at the soup kitchen. When Sheldon turns to Howard, he says he’s going to the soup kitchen too, even though he previously told Bernadette that it sounded like the worst thing ever.

Sheldon starts a video call with Amy to offer her the Aquarium tickets as nobody wants to go with him. Amy realizes Sheldon still wants to go, so she suggest they go together as friends. Sheldon isn’t sure whether it will be awkward, but Amy thinks things will be fine between them.

As Howard, Bernadette, Raj and Emily arrive at the soup kitchen, Emily asks how this works. When Bernadette explains the manager will assign them a six-hour shift, Howard is unhappy at the prospect of complaining for the next six hours. The manager comes out and tells them they’re fully staffed today. As they turn to walk away, the manager comes back to say they’ve just had a cancelation and could use their help after all..

In the apartment, Leonard and Penny are excited to be spending their first Thanksgiving together as husband and wife. As they get ready to cook, Leonard tells Penny the recipes are on his iPad and that the four digit code to unlock it is his birthday. When Penny can’t get it to open, Leonard successfully enters the code and wonders what number Penny was putting in. After Leonard claims she doesn’t know her husband’s birthday, Penny argues he doesn’t know everything about her either. As Leonard rolls off a list of facts about Penny, she wonders whether this might be their last Thanksgiving as husband and wife.

When Sheldon climbs into Amy’s car to go to the aquarium, he says he has printed out a list of safe topics so they can reduce awkwardness as they learn to function as friends. As he talks to Amy about pets and vacations, Sheldon wonders where the list has been his entire life. Meanwhile, the soup kitchen manager shows Howard, Bernadette, Raj and Emily around the kitchen and assigns them jobs. Howard was hoping for a front of house role.

As Sheldon reels off a list of daily temperatures, Amy wonders if they’re done discussing the weather. Amy stops Sheldon as he tries to move onto the next item on his list, telling him they’ve known each other long enough to be able to converse without relying on some list from the internet. When Amy tells Sheldon to ask her whatever comes to mind, Sheldon jumps straight in by asking if Amy has had coitus with any of the men she’s been dating.

As Leonard and Penny prepare the food, he continues to drop hints about how much he knows about her. Penny tries to stump Leonard with questions about her favorite bands, but Leonard insists he’s the king of boyfriends and can’t be stumped. When he says he even knows she hates the lingerie he got her on Valentine’s Day, Penny wants to know why she doesn’t like the lingerie. Leonard says it’s orange and it makes her look like a slutty carrot. Penny is intrigued as she never told anyone that, but she did write it in her journal.

When Howard thinks he’s getting into a groove doing dishes, Emily says there’s only five hours and forty minutes to go. Howard is stunned they’ve only been doing it twenty minutes. Raj claims that washing dishes can be an excellent form of meditation if you focus your mind on just washing the dishes. Howard thinks it sounds stupid but after he gives it a go, he misses out when the manager asks for some help out front.

Leonard apologizes to Penny for reading her journal, saying it was a long time ago and it was an accident. Penny can’t see he could accidentally read her journal. When Leonard promises to make it up to her by reading from an online journal he keeps, Penny doesn’t want to hear something that he thinks will butter her up .After she asks for the most recent thing he wrote, it turns out to be a post about the new Star Wars movie.

In the car, Sheldon tells Amy he senses things have gotten awkward. Amy tells him it’s okay and they should be able to talk about anything as friends. Amy encourages him to ask any questions he has about her seeing other people. In response, Amy explains she’s been on six dates with three different people, either for coffee or dinner, she met one at a bookstore and two online, and she hasn’t slept with any of them. When Sheldon asks Amy if she has any questions for him, Amy has one: “Are you doing okay?” Amy is pleased to her Sheldon is, telling him she wants him to be happy.

Howard is stunned when tech visionary Elon Musk brings him a tray of dirty dishes at the soup kitchen. Howard says it’s an honor to meet him, as he’s such a fan of Tesla and SpaceX. Howard is quick to mention he’s a former astronaut who spent two months on the International Space Station. After Elon wonders whether Howard might ever get back out to space, Howard says he’d love to go to Mars. Elon promises to give Howard his email and keep in touch, as he suggests they share a piece of pumpkin pie someone barely touched.

At the aquarium, Sheldon says the Thanksgiving buffet was really bad, but Amy thinks he’s just unhappy they ran out of Pilgrim hats. Sheldon asks her if she’d like to play an ocean-themed game he invented: “Food, Friend, Fight”. One of them choose three aquatic creatures and the other must decide which hey would eat, befriend or battle. As they play the game, Amy says she’s missed this. Sheldon calls Amy silly as they’ve never played this game before.

Back in the apartment, Penny wants Leonard to come check whether the turkey’s done. When Leonard comes out, he is wearing the orange lingerie that Penny thought made her look like a slutty carrot. Leonard says he’s trying to make it up to her, by allowing her to post a “shame picture” of him on the Internet. Penny doesn’t want people to see that. In fact, she doesn’t want to see it. As Leonard grinds up against Penny in the skimpy outfit, their friends arrive for Thanksgiving dinner.

Later that night, Leonard tells Sheldon he’s glad he had a nice time with Amy. Sheldon is comforted to know they can function as friends. When Sheldon gets a phone call from Amy, she tells him she really enjoyed spending the morning with him. After Amy tells Sheldon she was thinking she may be ready to be his girlfriend again, Sheldon admits he excels at many things, but getting over her wasn’t one of them. Sheldon thinks he just needs to be her friend. An upset Amy says she understands as Sheldon starts talking about their game again.