The Weekend Vortex

"The Weekend Vortex" is the nineteenth episode of the fifth season of the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory. This episode first aired on March 8, 2012.^[1]

Summary

The guys have an all-weekend gaming marathon that interferes with Amy's plans for her and Sheldon to visit her family.

Extended Plot

Twv- Leonard and Penny — Kissing the stallion.

The weekend vortex amy and sheldon — Discussing the weekend game play with Amy.

Raj suggests the guys spend an entire weekend together with a marathon of the new Star Wars online game, Star Wars: The Old Republic. However, Sheldon already promised Amy that he would attend her aunt's 93rd birthday party and meet her family. He tries to buy Amy's aunt a gift at the comic book store. Later, Sheldon unsuccessfully asks Penny to get Amy to change her mind. Sheldon agrees to go with Amy, but when they get in her car, he brings out his laptop to play along remotely. Amy is peeved and tells him that if the game means more than his commitment to her, he should go. Sheldon says "thanks" and leaves the car, not realizing that Amy was being sarcastic.

Twv- Bernadette 2 — Bernadette shooting Sheldon.

Howard, on the other hand, ends up getting roped in by Bernadette to invite her to join their marathon, having no choice but to buy her a copy and a laptop. After she returns from the party, Amy visits Penny and confides to her that she wanted to prove to her family that she had a real boyfriend and not a pretend one like she had done in the past. Penny suggests a couple of female responses. They decide to go to 4A and make a scene. Amy starts a rant, but is not good at it. Penny takes over for her and berates Sheldon for being a bad boyfriend. However, they are all silenced by Raj, who gets upset and complains that none of them are taking him into account. He had hoped to have the guys get together like they used to before everyone got girlfriends. Penny tells Amy that that is the way a girl makes a scene. All the women leave and the guys get back to their game.

The next morning, Howard's mother is outside yelling at them wondering where Howard is and he heads home, ending their marathon.

Critics

The TV Critic: "This was very simple and perfectly watchable. It would be harder to find a more believable plot than four geeks wanting to play video games. It was especially pleasant to see Sheldon excited by someone else's plan for once...Sheldon didn't really learn his lesson but maybe he took a step toward understanding Amy's position. Otherwise this was pretty basic."^[2]
The A.V. Club gave this episode an A-^[3]
IMDb user reviews

Notes

Title Reference: The title is derived from the conflict Sheldon faces regarding how to spend his weekend, since he wants to join the Star Wars online game marathon with the guys yet he had promised Amy that he would attend her aunt's birthday party and meet her family, causing a vortex-like tension.
Chuck Lorre's vanity card.
This episode was watched by 15.04 million people with a rating of 5.1 (adults 18-49).^[4]
This episode aired in Canada on March 8, 2012 with 3.648 million viewers and a weekly ranking of #1.^[5]
In Australia, it aired on March 8, 2012 with 1.311 million viewers.^[6]

Trivia

First episode to air after the show's mini-hiatus. The previous episode, "The Werewolf Transformation" aired on February 23, 2012.
The poster behind Stuart in the comic book store is the poster for the game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.
The online game referenced in this episode is Star Wars: The Old Republic. (See this article.)
Bernadette's character class can be determined. Sheldon informs the players, "the game offers us a choice between playing for the Republic and the light side, or the Sith Empire and the dark side." Leonard declares, "Well, we’re always the good guys." Among the group, Bernadette is the healer. Further, the purple robes worn by her character are the same as those worn by the Master of Questions in the Noetikon of Secrets during the "Shadows" mission on Coruscant (refer to time index 20:52 in this video and compare to this image). Thus, she is a Jedi Consular.
Leonard declares they play as "the good guys." Yet, in "The Zazzy Substitution", Sheldon said, "Oh, I never identified with the Rebel Alliance. Despite their tendency to build Death Stars, I’ve always been more of an Empire man."
Penny doesn't see any difference between Star Trek and Star Wars, despite knowing that the guys get mad when the two are mixed up. She will invariably guess Star Wars for anything, as seen in "The Vegas Renormalization", "The Bozeman Reaction", and "The Excelsior Acquisition'. Yet, she quoted Yoda from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back in "The Wheaton Recurrence". Also, Penny has mentioned, "in Star Trek, when you’re in battle and you raise the shields" in "The Dead Hooker Juxtaposition" and "The Love Car Displacement", recalled a scene from the 2009 Star Trek film in "The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation", and knew Kirk cheated in "The Apology Insufficiency".
Howard has a print of Darth Maul that originally appeared in The Art of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
A couple years ago, the boys had a World of Warcraft party and the neighbors called the cops on them because of the smell and they thought they were dead.
In "The Russian Rocket Reaction", Leonard asks Sheldon, "Well, they don’t have an Excalibur [sword] here, so what do you want to do?" Since then, Stuart has Excalibur at the comic book store.
Leonard states he got a nosebleed over thinking Leonard and Penny's Relationship. In "The Speckerman Recurrence", Penny reveals that when Leonard jogs blood pours out of his nose.
Penny compares Sheldon to a giraffe. She says he looks like a giant praying mantis in "The Cooper-Nowitzki Theorem" when she first meets his date Ramona Nowitzki.
Amy referred to Sheldon's pale skin, just as Penny said the physicists she knows are indoorsy and pale in "The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis".
Howard's mom uses the Yiddish word "ferkakta" for the second time, with the first being in "The Cohabitation Formulation".
Amy is from Glendale.
Raj causes a bigger scene than Amy, another of his feminine characteristics.
Raj may complain about getting a girlfriend after Sheldon, however he was the one who originally suggested that they sign him up for on-line dating and found Amy.
Continuity: Leonard mentions "yogurt that helps women poop". This may be a callback to "The Plimpton Stimulation", where Sheldon purchased a supply of yogurt for his guest Elizabeth Plimpton.

Quotes

Raj: Hey, wanna spend some time playing the new Star Wars game this weekend?

Leonard: Uh, I don't know. I kind of promised myself I'd get off the computer, be more physically active, get some exercise.

Howard: You're about to walk up three flights of stairs.

Leonard: Good point. I'm in!

Raj: You know what would be great? Let's do it like the old days.

Leonard: You're talking gaming marathon?

Raj: Yeah! Starts Saturday morning, go 48 hours, sleeping bags, junk food...

Howard: Turn off our phones so our moms can't call...

Leonard: It'd be like that World of Warcraft party from a few years ago when the neighbors called the cops on us.

Howard: (Fondly) They called the cops because of the smell--they thought we were dead.

Raj: We were bad-ass back in the day.

Leonard: Alright, let's do it!

Howard: 48 hours of Star Wars gaming.

Raj: It's on, like Alderaan!

Sheldon: Movies or video games? Or board games, or trading card games, or LEGOs, or dress up, or comic books, or dramatic readings of novelizations? Yes to all!

Amy: (About Sheldon) He and I have other plans. We are attending my Aunt Flora's 93rd birthday party.

Howard: You're a grown man! Act like one. Tell Amy you wanna spend the weekend having a sleepover and playing video games with your friends.

Amy: All the food is incredibly soft. It's like a vacation for your teeth.

Sheldon: I always thought if I were enslaved, it would be by an advanced species from another planet. Not some hotsie-totsie from Glendale.

Sheldon: (Knocking) Penny...Penny...Penny...

Penny: (To Leonard) Sorry Stallion, your weird friend Giraffe is here!

Raj: None of you may realize it, but I was very much looking forward to this weekend. It was gonna be like the old days, the four of us hanging out, playing video games, before you guys all got girlfriends. Do you have any idea what its like to be the only one without a girlfriend? Even if I get one some day, I'll still be the guy who got a girl after Sheldon Cooper!

Mrs. Wolowitz: (Three loud knocks on door) HOWARD JOEL WOLOWITZ! I'VE BEEN WORRIED SICK FOR TWO DAYS AND I KNOW YOU'VE TURNED OFF YOUR PHONE! YOU OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I'VE HAD IT UP TO HERE! I'VE BEEN TO THE MORGUE AND THE HOSPITAL AND I'VE SPENT THE LAST HALF-HOUR WALKING UP THESE FERKAKTA STAIRS!

Howard: That's my ride. Gotta go!

Leonard: Hey, listen, I kind of made plans with the guys this weekend, but then I wondered, because we’re in this relationship-beta-test, if I should have asked you first. Then I thought if I did check with you first, you’d think that I was taking things to seriously. And then, then I got a nosebleed.

Penny: You don’t have to check with me. Do whatever you want.

Leonard: Oh. I guess I was hoping for a different reaction, but okay.

Penny: Really, what were you hoping for?

Leonard: I don’t know, maybe that you’d be a little upset, and then you’d realize that I’m a stallion that has to run free. And that would turn you on a little.

Penny: Okay, I’m an actress. Ask me again.

Leonard: Do you mind if I spend the weekend playing video games with the guys?

Penny: Whu… the entire weekend? You mean I wouldn’t see you at all? But I ju… No, no, I knew what I was getting into. You can’t put a saddle on Leonard Hofstadter. Oh, my, is it getting hot in here? Ay, papi.

Leonard: Ay papi? What is that?

Penny: An acting choice.

Leonard: Oh. So you chose that when you become turned on, you turn into Speedy Gonzalez?

Penny: Choo got a problem with that, papi?

Leonard: Uh-uh.