7.16 The Table Polarization

[taffinabean]

...I'm sorry, I'm kind of outraged at the group shot. I understand technical blocking for camera shots, yadda yadda, but there's still something about the positioning of the characters that really bugs me. Penny has been most definitely ousted from the central seat, (focal point of shot) and made to sit on the floor. It just seems to outline her positioning within the group now.

Penny always sat beside Sheldon on the sofa, it reinforced the fact that the central focus of the show, was the Sheldon-Penny-Leonard grouping. Now, she's been dethroned. And making her sit on the floor, putting her head below the level of the other characters, is a visual shorthand. Leonard can literally talk down to her.

Is this the first time she was on the floor like that eating? If so, it's probably done for the purpose of the plot of the show. You know, Penny is pissed she has to sit on the floor because so many people are there now eating so "Hey lets get a dinner table like adults" kind of crap. TPTB do random shit with these characters to advance whatever storyline is that week, regardless of continuity. The fact this is the first time Penny is on the floor eating with the group is done just for the point of getting a dinner table. This show is not character driven it's "this week's story" driven and they bend and twist the characters to push whatever story or point they want to sell on the show that week.