Ah, here we go. The season finale is here. Raj is exploring what might be his first real love, Penny and Leonard are...doing what Penny and Leonard have been doing for five seasons, and Sheldon and Amy have taken their relationship to the next level – through Dungeons and Dragons, nonetheless! What magic developments are going to finish out Season 6? Let’s take a look.

In the cafeteria, Raj tells the guys about his relationship with Lucy. Everything is going swimmingly. The guys want to meet her, but Lucy’s shy. Sheldon suggests that she try his trick – pretending everyone is a Star Trek character. Meanwhile, Howard jumps in to tell Leonard that he heard of a job opportunity. It’s some kind of experimental physics thing in the North Sea – with Stephen Hawking. Pretty freaking awesome. Leonard wants to apply, Sheldon is less convinced. On the way back in the car, Sheldon tries to scare him out of it with “factoids†about drowning and such. The truth is, he doesn’t want to lose his buddy/doormat. Sheldon switches to talking about sharks. Leonard is not fooled. He says there’s nothing that can stop him. Clever Sheldon moves to Penny. That one’s not so difficult to ignore. Uh-oh. Cue opening credits/singalong on my part.

Raj is showing Lucy the universe on his telescope, and telling her all about Howard. How romantic...sort of. He decides to broach the question of Lucy meeting his friends. He compares himself to Sinatra, which is adorable. As soon as she hears that there are six people, she balks. Raj compromises by suggesting she meet one, which scares her too. No progress.

Penny is talking to Leonard about her job when he decides to break the news about his. She’s thrilled to hear about the Hawking opportunity, but not so happy to hear about the North Sea. Penny can’t visit, so it’s four months apart. Can their relationship handle it? Can Leonard handle it? Is it just me, or is Penny bitchier than ever? She does concede that it’s an amazing opportunity, and lets him go. Still, she’s not happy to learn that she’ll have to look after Sheldon in his absence, reminding him what happened to his pet goldfish.

The guys decide to throw Leonard a going-away party just in case Leonard dies at sea (according to Sheldon, anyway). Raj comes in, silent as usual. Bernadette mentions how they totally got married before Howard left, which pisses off Penny. Amy suggests dissecting Raj’s brain someday as he drunkenly tells them about Lucy. He asks Leonard to meet her first, which angers Howard and relieves Sheldon. When Penny suggests that Lucy meet a girl, he picks Bernadette. This offends Penny because she’s too pretty and Bernadette because she’s not pretty enough, by Raj’s standards. Amy volunteers herself, telling them how wonderful she thinks the group is. Awww. It’s agreed that Amy will do.

Amy and Lucy seem to be getting along gangbusters, except for Raj’s interruptions. His arguments with Amy about social anxiety seem to be pushing Lucy further away, especially when Raj asks the “Are you my girlfriend?†question. Overwhelmed, Lucy runs to go to the bathroom, which of course means out the bathroom window. Sure hope that Raj doesn’t live on an upper floor.

Penny and Sheldon, always a winning combination in the field of commerce, go shopping for the going-away party. Sheldon suggests that Leonard will go gay overseas, and disparages Hawking. Penny deduces that he’s jealous. She tells a story of an actress friend of hers who got a part over her, including her fake “I am so happy for you†that she gave in the end just to show that she was the bigger person. Sheldon is unconvinced.

Raj calls Lucy to apologize for “Amy†behaving out of line, which renders Lucy speechless. Eventually, Raj admits he was the one in the wrong. He suggests that she come to the party instead, which terrifies Lucy, but they rationalize that it might be less intense than a one-on-one meeting. Lucy’s going. Oh, this is going to be good.

At the party, Howard tells Leonard how great an opportunity it is, except for space, of course. Lucy hasn’t shown up, and Raj pretends not to be worried. Sheldon proposes a toast to Leonard which seems really sincere, ending with “I couldn’t be happier†and the SHELDON SMILE. Yup, we love that. Everyone acknowledges that this is a Herculean effort on Sheldon’s part, Howard keeps bringing up space, and Raj gets a text. Unfortunately, it’s “I don’t think we should see each other anymore.†She’s too scared of the party and of the relationship. Raj leaves, and everyone is awkward. Sheldon protests that it didn’t kill him when Howard went to space. Point, Sheldon’s head, whoosh.

Leonard and Penny have a heartfelt goodbye at the airport, though Sheldon keeps trying to get them to move because they’re in a no-loading zone. They exchange some cute wishes despite Sheldon’s rants. He gives her a gift (a locket with a picture of him), they say “I love you,†Sheldon loudly protests that they’re not smuggling drugs. Par for the course, but still sweet.

On the way back from the airport, Penny leaves Sheldon in the car with the window open and goes to check on Raj. He’s in bad shape. On the verge of tears, he tells Penny how broken he is – without the help of alcohol. WHAT?! Raj thinks he’s unlovable and cries, excellent acting from Kunal Nayyar ensues –really, really fine, maybe his best scene in the series. When Penny learns that he’s sober, she’s thrilled. It’s one thing to celebrate, anyway. At least one breakthrough has happened. It’s terribly, terribly sad.

The end of Koothrappali’s selective mutism. Wow. It’s the end of an era, guys – and beautifully played out to boot. He has broken through and they are finally, finally moving Raj in a new direction. It’s about bleeping time.

In the closing tag, Raj goes on about how he and Lucy broke up in front of all three ladies. Now that he’s gotten past his mutism, he won’t ever shut up. Making up for lost time. Good for him, but the ladies are exasperated. His voice continues over the end credits and vanity plates – a nice touch. And so we finish Season 6.

Overall? This season had a lot of fun to offer, even if it wasn’t the best. New storylines brought some amusing diversions, and Amy and Sheldon’s relationship especially played out well. The Lenny-and-Peonard territory continued to be boring and annoying. MVPs were Simon Helberg and Jim Parsons, natch, and the best guest star was undoubtedly Bob Newhart. It all culminated in a terrific season finale, which made up for all the Raj inertia that went on this season. I hope Lucy returns, but if not, she has moved things forward enough that Raj has become a better character. Are we ready to rejoin the nerds for Season 7? I know I sure am.

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