Recap / The Big Bang Theory S 2 E 3 The Barbarian Sublimation

The Barbarian Sublimation is an episode from Season 2 of The Big Bang Theory that first aired on October 6, 2008.

Sheldor the Conqueror is about to get into a major quest in Axel's Fortress on Age of Conan, a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMPORPG) he plays on his computer, when he hears Penny making a racket at the door of her apartment. Penny has managed to jam her car key into the apartment door lock and spill most of her groceries.

It's the manifestation of Penny's frustration with the overall stagnation of her life: she goes to auditions but gets no parts, she didn't get a promotion at her day job, she hasn't had sex in six months,^note Assuming these episodes are supposed to take place roughly on their original airdates, this would suggest that Penny's most recent sexual encounter was shortly prior to "The Tangerine Factor", which first aired on May 19, 2008. That would mean it hasn't even been five months, but of course Penny's not particularly known for precision. etc. Sheldon "helps" Penny by explaining the mechanics of why her car key got stuck in the apartment door lock and why her groceries spilled.

Penny waits for the locksmith on Sheldon's couch as Sheldon resumes playing Age of Conan. Penny becomes interested in the game and quickly gets addicted, bothering Sheldon for advice on the game at all odd hours of the day and night. Penny's hygiene deteriorates and she neglects to go to work.

The last straw is when Penny calls Sheldon at the university as he appeals to Department Chair Gablehauser (Mark Harelik) to resolve a dispute over mainframe computer time in Sheldon's favor — Leslie Winkle (Sara Gilbert) ignored a sign-up sheet Sheldon posted. Sheldon hangs up on Penny on his mobile phone, so Penny calls Gablehauser's office phone. Obviously Gablehauser will rule in Leslie's favor.

In the cafeteria, Leslie drops by the table where Howard, Leonard, Raj and Sheldon are eating lunch. Leslie asserts that Penny's addiction to the MMPORPG is rooted in her sexual frustration. Sheldon signs Penny up for online dating under the guise of filling out her Age of Conan registration.

Although Sheldon does not put much stock in the "science" of matchmaking sites, he does think that Tom (Mark Hames), whom he describes to Penny as "a sexually passive outdoorsman," is a good match. But Penny is too engrossed in the game to notice Tom. After getting some game advice from Sheldon, she leaves abruptly.

Tom remarks that Penny, all disheveled, doesn't look like her profile picture. Maybe nothing will snap Penny out of her addiction to the game.

Tropes

• Acronyms Are Easy as Aybeecee: Inverted. Sheldon mistakes Penny saying "Oh, I see" as OIC and asks what that stands for.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Penny starts crying at the beginning of the episode as she complains she's a total failure in her life at everything, she can't score or even be allowed in auditions for acting roles, she lost thousands of dollars having to fix her car battery and her breath smells like fly after she swallowed one.
• Bigger Is Better in Bed: When the guy in the cafeteria gives Sheldon his phone number (believing he is hitting on him), he is seen briefly checking out his package for a second before agreeing and writing down the number for him.
• Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick: Penny describing how bad her luck has been. No success in acting or work, no sex and a fly flew in her mouth and she accidentally ate it.
• Butt-Monkey: Sheldon, as Penny keeps hounding him for advice on playing Age of Conan which interferes with his job, his sleep, his leisure time. And Sheldon promises to make Leonard suffer (even more so than he already does) if Penny doesn't stop.
• Create Your Own Villain: Sheldon turns Penny into a video game addict shut-in who badgers him for advice how to get through the game.
• Descent into Addiction: Penny easily and quickly becomes a gaming addict to Age of Conan to escape the harsh reality of her life. She skips her dead-end job as a Cheesecake Factory waitress, limits her diet to nothing but Cheetos, junk food and energy drinks, and cuts off all communication with everyone but Sheldon.
• Dressing Down: In "The Barbarian Sublimation", hot girl Penny, at a low point in her life, gets addicted the Age of Conan online game, at which point she wears only sweats with her hair in a messy ponytail.
• Everyone Has Standards: Penny is willing to do anything to fuel her online gaming accomplishments, like endure bad bodily hygiene, miss work, stay up for hours on end and ignore Sheldon's attempts to fix her up with someone in the real world. But it takes her accepting a date in the online world with Howard Wolowitz' avatar for her to realize she has a problem.
• Fanservice: Penny's online dating profile which shows her in a pink tank-top with a smile and cleavage.
• Fan Disservice: Penny is an attractive 20-something woman but as she becomes addicted to online gaming, she ignores all personal health and gets dark circles under her eyes, wears dark possibly messy clothes, has food stains on her lips, and Cheetos in her unkempt tangled hair which she eats.
• Heartbreak and Ice Cream: A disheartened Penny buys Ben and Jerry's ice cream (Vanilla flavor) after being turned away for an acting audition and having lost her hard-earned wages from the Cheesecake Factory to a dead car battery. She doesn't even get the chance to eat it because she can't get her door open. A calico cat ends up eating her ice cream.
• Heel Realization: Played for Laughs. It takes Penny accepting a date with Howard Wolowitz in an online world for her to close her laptop and realize: "Oh my God, I need help!".
• Humiliation Conga: The episode begins with Penny getting her car key stuck on her front door cause she was too flustered due to being rejected at an audition. This is just the Last Straw in what has been a very disappointing couple of years.
  Penny: You know, I have been in L.A. for almost two years now, and I haven't' gotten a single acting job. I have accomplished nothing, haven't gotten a raise at work, haven't even had sex in six months, and just now when I was walking up those stairs a fly flew in my mouth and I ate it.
• Ignore the Fanservice: Penny is so into her online gaming that she ignores the attractive guy Sheldon tries to fix her up with.
• Insane Troll Logic: Sheldon blames Leonard for Penny badgering him about tips to get through Age of Conan, saying Leonard never should've said "Hello" to her in the pilot episode, even though Sheldon's the one who introduced Penny to the game.
• Mistaken for Gay: Sheldon attempting to fix Penny up with a potential suitor leads to the guy mistakenly believing that Sheldon is hitting on him and write his phone number on Sheldon's hand. Sheldon misses the point and Leonard and friend have to tell him what just happened.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Penny realizes she's hit rock bottom when she's propositioned by Howard online, and she accepts.
• Off with His Head!: Leonard approaches Penny inside the game to beg her to stop. She responds by beheading his avatar.
• Old Shame: In-Universe for Penny who suffers terrible hygiene, gets addicted to online gaming and accepts a date online with Howard Wolowitz.
• Rule of Three: Lampshaded.
  Sheldon: Leonard, you need to do something about Penny. She's interfering with my sleep, she's interfering with my work, and if I had another significant aspect of my life, I'm sure she'd be interfering with that too.
• Sarcasm-Blind: Guess who.
  Sheldon: Would you prefer to wait in our apartment?
  Penny: No, Sheldon, I'd rather sit on this freezing cold floor sobbing like a three-year-old.
  Sheldon: All right, then.
  Penny: For God's sake! [stomps inside]
  Sheldon: Just when I think I've gotten the hang of sarcasm.
• Sleep Deprivation: Penny suffers this due to ingesting various amounts of energy drinks and junk food to stay awake longer hours so that she could continue playing her online gaming. Sheldon suffers from this due to Penny barging into his room and interrupting his sleep for online video gaming tips.
• Who's on First?: Sheldon explains to Penny what the acronym AFK^note Away From Keyboard means. She responds "Oh, I see", and Sheldon thinks she's saying OIC and asks what that means.
• Woken Up at an Ungodly Hour: Sheldon is woken up in the middle of the night by Penny barging into his room to ask for gaming tips. Given his Super-OCD, he's not only frustrated about being woken up, but at having her in his room at all.
• You Need to Get Laid: Leslie Winkle snarks to the gang that Penny just needs to get some. Sheldon misses the point briefly but then catches on and tries to fix Penny up with a casual date.