10 Years Later: 1.6 - The Middle Earth Paradigm

[Nutz]

Season 1, Episode 6 - The Middle Earth Paradigm (First Aired on October 29, 2007)


The guys are invited to Penny's Halloween party, where Leonard has yet another run-in with Penny's ex-boyfriend Kurt.

Canon Facts:

• It is established that Sheldon brings tea to people who are upset because of "cultural convention"
  
• Penny kisses Leonard for the first time
  

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There were some great moments in this episode, but it will never be a "favorite" of mine. Although the Flash scene was funny I was disappointed that they were all "store bought" costumes which made them look really cheap after seeing the quality of their 2nd costumes. The other thing that keeps this being a favorite is the Leonard/Penny kiss. Leonard is such a jerk during the Kurt/Leonard interaction that I really had no sympathy for Leonard, so to see him rewarded with Penny kissing him later left a bad taste in my mouth. (of course we know now that Leonard is always rewarded with Penny taking a step closer to marriage when he behaves like a Jackass)

Favorite Quotes/Moments
Sheldon: I'm confused. If there's no costume parade, what are we doing here?
Leonard: We're socializing. Meeting new people...
Sheldon: Telepathically?

Sheldon: Like Jane Goodall observing the apes, I initially saw their interactions as confusing and unstructured, but patterns emerge, they have their own... language if you will.
Leonard: Go on.
Sheldon: Well, it seems that the newcomer approaches the existing group With the greeting: "How wasted am I?" which is met with an approving chorus of: "Dude!"
Leonard: Then what happens?
Sheldon: That's as far as I've gotten.

Raj: [dressed as Thor, Norse God of Thunder] Hey. Sorry I'm late but my hammer got stuck in the door on the bus.
Leonard: You went with Thor?
Raj: What? Just because I'm Indian I can't be a Norse God? No, no, no Raj has to be an Indian God. That's racism. I mean, look at Wolowitz. He's not English but he's dressed like Peter Pan. Sheldon is neither sound nor light but he's obviously the Doppler effect.
Howard: I'm not Peter Pan. I'm Robin Hood.
Raj: Really? Because I saw Peter Pan and you're dressed exactly like Cathy Rigby. She was a little bigger than you but it's basically the same look, man.

Leonard: What's that?

Sheldon: Tea. When people are upset, the cultural convention is to bring them hot beverages. ... There, there. ... You wanna talk about it?
Leonard: No.
Sheldon: Good! "There there" was really all I had.

[CTR69]

One of a few episodes, where Leonard is supposed to carry the main plot and Sheldon is his wingman. But Sheldon still creeps into the spotlight with his costume, comments and observations. Explaining human behavior was hilarious. Jim was awesome in this ep. 
Sheldon had this energy and enthusiasm, which Leonard completely lacked. He was so whiny and concerned throughout the ep, while Sheldon remained in 'zero effs given' attitude about what other people thought of his costume or his impression.