The Pirate Solution (Season 3, Episode 4)
When Raj loses his research funding, he’s at risk of deportation. His attempts to get a new job are thwarted by his inability to talk to women, so Sheldon offers Raj the chance to work for him (not WITH him, as the two will continue to argue about.) Meanwhile, with no Raj around, Howard ends up being a third wheel for Leonard and Penny. Fans enjoyed this episode more, especially as it gave us time with Raj and Sheldon – two characters who don’t normally get much screen time together. Howard’s increasingly annoying intrusions on Penny and Leonard’s love life are also good for a few chuckles. However, it stays in the middle of the pack because it’s ultimately an episode where not much really happens.
The Thanksgiving Decoupling (Season 7, Episode 9)
When Mrs. Wolowitz is stuck in bed with gout, Howard manages to convince all of his friends to have dinner together at his mom’s house. The most notable revelation in this episode comes when Penny fondly remembers a Thanksgiving in Vegas, where she ‘pretended’ to marry her ex, Zack. Of course, everyone else realizes that Penny is legally married, and now she needs to figure out a way to get an annulment. For once, Raj gets to be the calm, competent eye of the storm, as he creates a full Thanksgiving dinner in the middle of the chaos (his best line of the episode: ‘My, my. The plot, like my gravy, thickens.’) Meanwhile, Sheldon bonds with another man over football, and the stories about his childhood get good laughs while also being poignant and revealing.
The Platonic Permutation (Season 9 Episode 9)
Sheldon and Amy are broken up, but when he can’t find anyone to accompany him to a dinner at the aquarium she decides they can handle going as friends. Meanwhile, Leonard is frustrated that Penny doesn’t know when his birthday is. Emily, Raj, and Bernadette drag Howard to volunteer at a soup kitchen, which he tries to lie his way out of. Leonard’s attempts to prove that he knows everything about Penny only prove that he has been reading her journal Meanwhile, Howard gets to meet his hero Elon Musk at the soup kitchen, prompting a discussion on space travel. When Amy announces that she’s ready to get back together, Sheldon responds, ‘Amy, I excel at many things, but getting over you wasn’t one of them.’ This rare admission from Sheldon showed real growth for the character and saved this episode from being totally forgettable.