History Recap / TheBigBangTheoryS7E3TheScavengerVortex

* ParentheticalSwearing: Bernadette tells Leonard that Penny called him "a big willow." She could have also said "a big cat."

'''Amy:''' [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers There's a]] Music/NeilDiamond [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers concert next month!]]\\

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* ToTheBatNoun: {{Parodied|Trope}} by Amy, who exclaims "To the Neil-Mobile!" in reference to her and Howard's mutual like of Music/NeilDiamond music.

'''Bernadette:''' You suck...so hard!

After (deliberately) missing the dinner murder mystery party that Raj invited all his friends ([[TheFriendNobodyLikes minus Stuart]]) to, Raj guilts them into going on a scavenger hunt of his own making. Divided into teams of two, the group must travel all around Pasadena for clues to find the "golden coin", but it soon becomes apparent the competition may do much more harm than good...

* AnAesop: "When we're all having fun together, we're already winners!" Brutally Deconstructed as, sadly, by the end of the game, neither Penny, nor Bernadette, nor Leonard are left in any mood to appreciate Raj's intended moral.

* CrazyPrepared: Sheldon packs a knapsack with everything he might need to win, most prominently a bowling ball. [[TheCuckoolanderWasRight It turns out the scavenger hunt does, in fact, lead to a bowling alley.]]

'''Penny:''' Thank you, do you wanna be on my team?\\

* TheLoad: Everyone is afraid Penny will be this, even Raj, the creator of the scavenger hunt. Sheldon is upset when he is the one who gets paired with her. However, in practice, Sheldon is more of this than Penny, since he ends up wasting time on tasks they don't need to finish when they already know the answer. During the final sprint, he would rather rinse his shirts out to clean them than join in on the race to the coin. The only assistance Sheldon is of to Penny is when he immediately figure's out the Riddler's clue at the comic book store.
* OnlyOneFindsItFun: Raj is the only one who enjoys the murder mysteries he plans. Given the resulting scavenger hunt and the murder mystery a few episodes later, it's not hard to see why the others hate them.

* ScavengerHunt: The premise of the episode. Raj sets up a scavenger hunt taking everyone across the city of Pasadena, the objective being to find a golden coin.

* SomethingWeForgot / SuddenMusicalEnding: In the course of the scavenger hunt, Howard and Amy find that they both like Music/NeilDiamond. As the rest of the players get into the hunt, Howard and Amy wind up conspicuously absent. It is not revealed until the end that they had ended up abandoning the scavenger hunt and instead wind up at a karaoke bar singing and dancing to Diamond's "Cherry, Cherry".

* YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe: Leonard and Penny have this reaction when Raj announces that he had slipped coins in everyone's pockets earlier so that everyone would win the game.

'''Penny:''' That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard!

* ThatCameOutWrong: Raj, when he tries to explain the ending of the hunt to Leonard, Penny, and Bernadette. He throws in a sentence where he "didn't know who was gonna get [[TheFriendNobodyLikes Penny]]".

-->'''Leonard:''' [[LampshadeHanging You're really mean, you know that?!]]

* SuddenMusicalEnding: Howard and Amy end up abandoning the scavenger hunt and wind up at a karaoke bar singing and dancing to Music/NeilDiamond's "Cherry, Cherry".

** Nobody wants Penny on their team, with them all trying to backhandedly start a game of HotPotato on who gets her, because everyone is afraid that, as the least intelligent person in their group, she would slow her partner down.

* {{Hypocrite}}:

** Amy is also this:

* ShoutOut: To Music/TheBeatles, Music/{{Eminem}}, and Music/NeilDiamond at one point.

* ParentheticalSwearing: Bernadette calls Leonard "a big willow." She could have also said "a big cat."

* AnAesop: "When we're all having fun together, we're already winners!" Brutally Deconstructed as, sdly, by the end of the game, neither Penny, nor Bernadette, nor Leonard are left in any mood to appreciate Raj's intended moral.

* AnAesop: "When we're all having fun together, we're already winners!" Sadly, by the end of the game, neither Penny, nor Bernadette, nor Leonard are left in any mood to appreciate Raj's intended moral.

* ShoutOut: To Music/TheBeatles and Music/{{Eminem}}. Amy finds the former boring and the latter scary. But both she and Howard like Music/NeilDiamond.
* SuddenMusicalEnding: Howard and Amy ultimately abandon the scavenger hunt and wind up at a karaoke bar singing and dancing to Music/NeilDiamond's "Cherry, Cherry".

-->'''Sheldon:''' My brain is better than EVERYBODY'S!!!! ''[pulls out his bowling ball]''

* TheCloudcuckoolanderWasRight: Sheldon suspected that the bowling alley would be part of the scavenger hunt. Turns out he was right, and celebrates the fact that he brought along his very own bowling ball.

After (deliberately) missing the dinner murder mystery party that Raj invited all his friends ([[TheFriendNobodyLikes minus Stuart]]) to, Raj guilts all the main cast into going on a scavenger hunt he conducted himself where they must travel all around Pasadena for clues to find the "golden coin".

!!Tropes
* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: Sheldon due to his OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) finds it more necessary to assort and pre-soak his laundry than help Penny win the scavenger hunt.

* DeathGlare: A truly ''remarkable'' one from Penny to Raj at the very end of the scavenger hunt.
-->'''Raj:''' [[ThatCameOutWrong Some of those puzzles were really hard and I didn't know who was gonna get Penny !]]
-->'''Penny:''' ''(slowly turning her head toward Raj, seething)'' [[TranquilFury Run.]]
-->'''Raj:''' Okay, okay, that came out wrong, but you have to admit : you had a wonderful time !
-->'''Penny:''' ''(even madder)'' [[TranquilFury Run to India.]]
* DownerEnding: After a disappointing end to the game where Raj announces he never intended to pick a single pair of winners for the game, Leonard, Penny, Bernadette and Raj do not resolve their issues with one another (Penny and Bernadette for being aggressively competitive, Raj for killing the purpose of the game, Leonard for just getting caught in the middle of Penny and Bernadette's competition).

** Nobody wanted Penny on their team and play a game of HotPotato on who gets her, because everyone was afraid that as the least intelligent person in their group she would slow her partner down.

** Sheldon complains he doesn't want Penny as his teammate because she'll just slow him down. When the game commences, the reverse happens. Sheldon slows down Penny by forcing her to wait until he can conclude the jigsaw puzzle is pointing to the comic book store and not the train store.
*** Another moment involves Sheldon trying to explain how he got the riddle just three words in, but doesn't allow Penny to reveal how she got the next clue telling her that "no one likes a know-it-all".

'''Amy:''' Maybe we should pick names out of a hat?
* InstantlyProvenWrong: Leonard attempted to calm down Bernadette's competitiveness by explaining to her that the puzzle will take a while to solve, only to be shot down by Sheldon getting the riddle just a few words in, with Amy and Howard not far behind in solving it moments later.
* ItWasWithYouAllAlong: Raj had slipped a golden coin on the pockets of each member of the group, so that "when we're all having fun together, we are all winners!" None of them took this well, except for Sheldon, who arrived late and had already found the coin, assuming he was the winner.

* TheLoad: Everyone is afraid Penny will be this, even Raj, the one who made the scavenger hunt. Sheldon is upset when he is the one who gets paired with her. However, in practice Sheldon is more of this than Penny, since he ends up wasting time on tasks they don't need to finish when they already know the answer. During the final sprint he would rather rinse his shirts out to clean them than join in on the race to the coin. The only assistance Sheldon is of to Penny is when he immediately answers the Riddler's clue correctly.
* OnlyOneFindsItFun: Raj is the only one who enjoys the murder mysteries he plans. Given the resulting scavenger hunt and the murder mystery a few episodes later, it’s not hard to see why the others hate them.

-->'''Sheldon:''' To the planetarium!
-->'''Penny:''' Let's go!
-->'''Leonard:''' To the tar pits!
-->'''Bernadette:''' Let's go!
-->'''Amy:''' [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers There's a]] Music/NeilDiamond [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers concert next month!]]
-->'''Howard:''' Let's go!
* ShoutOut to Music/TheBeatles and Music/{{Eminem}}: Amy finds the Beatles boring and Eminem scary. But both she and Howard like Music/NeilDiamond.
* SuddenMusicalEnding: Howard and Amy sing one of Music/NeilDiamond's songs, "Cherry, Cherry" and dance along to it.

-->'''Sheldon:''' My brain is better than EVERYBODY'S!!!! (''pulls out his bowling ball'')
* ThatCameOutWrong: Raj, when he was trying to explain himself to Leonard, Penny and Bernadette. He threw in a sentence where he "didn't know who was gonna get [[TheFriendNobodyLikes Penny]]".

* TheCloudcuckoolanderWasRight: Sheldon suspected that the bowling alley would be part of the scavenger hunt. Turns out he was right, and celebrates the fact that he brought along his very own bowling ball.