FileXxX

With how light hearted the show is, I can't really see them going there, but I do understand your concerns. I watched the scene where they make up a couple times. What he says comes across as 100% sincere. I think they can make this work. Plus nothing is set in stone yet. Maybe one day she'll get that itch and decides she does want a baby after all.

WeBuiltThePyramids

Well, that's the thing about it - I'm sure he was sincere. But over time, things change a lot. One of my uncles told the woman he was dating straight up he didn't want kids, she did, but she said she loved him more than the idea of kids and they got married anyway. She was completely committed to the relationship. Eight years later, they divorced over their disagreement on kids. Over time, she realized she was only okay with no kids over the short term, and as she got older she realized no, I really do want to find someone that will be a parent with me. Both his and her families were devastated because they were such a great couple otherwise, but that broke them. His family - mine - we don't consider her a liar for telling him eight years before their divorce that she was okay with not having kids, because at the time, she genuinely thought she was.

FileXxX

I guess that'll always be a possibility, but that goes for relationships in general. People break up over minor things after ten, twenty or even thirty years, even though everything was rainbows and unicorns up until then. You never know what the future brings.

SargeantFuzzyBoots

It especially concerns me with this being the final season because it's not a lot of time for either Penny to change her mind about kids, or concretely show that Leonard really does not want them anymore. And if they let this plot end here with this episode, no matter how happy Leonard and Penny are when the series ends, it'll still leave me with lots of doubts about how long they'd last.

But again, the way things tend to go is that stories can change on whim. We started early season nine with Bernadette lying to her dad about Howard being the one to not want or like kids, when it was really her, to her being initially quite pleased at a surprise pregnancy a few months later, so who knows.

WeBuiltThePyramids

Yes. And especially with the trend of reviving past shows lately, and often going with a couple that was solid at the end of the original run being broken up when the revival starts, that's really damaged the happily-ever-after illusion shows used to give with their series finale.

FileXxX

I'm sure this isn't the last time they'll talk about this. It's the third episode of the final season after all. Maybe Leonard gets to babysit the Wolowitz kids and absolutely hates it. I mean, we don't even know how good he does with children.

Whimsical Elf

Interesting episode. I'm happy they explored the idea of women not wanting kids - and I think the reactions from Bernadette and Amy are pretty realistic as to the attitudes some women can have towards others who don't want children.

I also think Leonard's reaction was justified. Anyway, I don't know how this is going to progress - perhaps it's to avoid the expectation of Penny having kids by the end of the series. Somehow I predict they eventually will. I don't really mind what happens, so long as we have some reference to the smart and beautiful line before the end. If not, I'll have no closure.

As for the Raj storyline - I don't know where that's going. Perhaps they'll have them fall in love before or after they get married and turn it into a sweet story in the end. She seems kinda hard-nosed for our soft, sweet Raj, but perhaps that's what he needs.

The more we see of Stuart and Denise the better.

ennaxor

If Leonard and Penny were a real-life couple, I might be concerned about them. But seeing as they're in the final season of the show - and that relationship has been a focus since the pilot - I'm honestly not really worried. Kids or no kids, I can't see the writers giving them an unhappy ending, and that's what matters most. (Even though I'll still need time to adjust to the idea of no kids for them.)

I just really hope this wasn't the last we hear of it. In the Gilmore Girls revival, Luke and Lorelai talked about their differing opinions on kids in the first episode, and ended it by coming to an agreement of sorts. But it didn't feel resolved to me, and I kept waiting for it to come up again, and it never did.

Regarding Raj - I'm not liking his fiance. I guess there's a chance she'll evolve to be more likeable - both Bernadette and Any have changed quite a bit since they were introduced (not saying they weren't likable, just that there was lots of growth) - but for now I just don't see it working.

*luminous*

I agree.

ennaxor

Another thought - I kind of hope they don't go the surprise pregnancy route with Penny. I'd rather see something different than a rehash of Bernadette's storyline.

meka3000

Another problem I had with this episode was Leonard begrudgingly coming around within the span of a day just didn't feel earned to me the same way Penny's reversal was.
This is the same guy that sat on the name Elliot for their child shortly after meeting her. I don't buy that THAT same guy came around in the span of a day. Also during Leonard's conversation with Sheldon he brought up furthering his bloodline. It didn't make sense to me that he never brought up his genes combining with her genes in that conversation and the implications that could have.

Stones being left unturned & a rushed conclusion that didn't exactly feel genuine character wise really marred this episode for me.

The difference b/w Amy & Bernadette and Anu, is Anu has no chemistry with Raj at all. While the other 2 did with not only Sheldon & Howard respectively, they did with the entire group(as they worked out the kinks in the characters).

ennaxor

My biggest issue with whether or not Leonard was being genuine in the end was how he reacted to Wyatt's call. No attempt to support Penny, no apology, just "yeah, he's not cool with it, bye." It definitely took away from his supposed heartfelt words from the minute before.

WeBuiltThePyramids

Agreed. I get into my issues with this in depth a lot on our podcast if anyone wants to hear me rant ruther.

soundsgood

Well, I had mixed feelings about this episode, but reading all your comments made me nervous and angry. I had to stop reading several times.

For Raj, I don't believe in this storyline, the proposal was ridiculous. It's not that I don't like Anu, I really don't care about her she has no depth.

There were some sweet moments for Leonard and Penny and I love that Penny rented the Batmobile for an entire day for Leonard, but the pregnancy storyline wasn't well handled by the writers IMO. I don't think they're going to break up. First like Roxanne said because they don't want to write an unhappy ending for them and because Leonard loves Penny more than anything. Seriously, their couple being in danger never crossed my mind a second.
If I remember well Holland said that the pregnancy talk was going to be an arch for Leonard and Penny this season, so I think (and I hope!) it's not finished. I like to see Penny's reaction as another commitment issue. In fact she's a little like Sheldon, she doesn't really like change, and mostly she doesn't like to think about changes, it makes her unsure and she prefers to ignore the situation. It happened for the first "I love you" even if she felt the same at this time, it happened for the engagement proposals, for the wedding, and it's happening again.
I was disappointed by Wyatt's appearance, it was so short! I really want to have more from him and hopefully a talk with her parents will help Penny realize that maybe she's not ready to have kids yet, but that she's also not against the idea of having a family.
So I really hope there's going to be more about this and that the writers will write an evolution of Penny's feelings about kids for the end of the season. For now, I just feel that Leonard and Penny are with Raj the worst writing on the show with no consistency and lame jokes.

BlackWhiteRose

I watched it on DVD today. Nice episode I loved the end with the batmobile So cool!
The Raj storyline oh man...no comment.