Big Bang Theory Recap with Spoilers - “The Perspiration Implementation”

The episode opens with Howard putting the finishing touches on a new piece of machinery in his lab as the guys walk in for lunch. It's not for an experiment, though, it's a tool to trick his new Fitbit (which Bernadette bought him) into thinking he's working out. After Leonard mentions that working out might not be the worst thing in the world, Howard responds by turning his machine to high, causing him to joke he's getting a runner's high.

Later that day, Leonard checks out some of the many organized sports and physical activities the university offers. Penny applauds him for wanting to get healthy, but questions if he really should be pursuing sports, considering he once twisted his ankle playing Scrabble. Leonard notices Kripke has started a fencing club, which meets all their criteria for a "safe" sport (it's indoors, there's no gym shorts, no throwing, catching or running).

Over at the comic book store, Stuart asks the girls to help make his store more appealing, as more women are buying comics these days. He's stocked more female friendly titles, folded the corners of the toilet paper in the bathroom, and even set up an "official breastfeeding area" (the reading area) with a camera installed in the ceiling to make sure guys aren't being pervs, but he's still not attracting more female customers. Amy suggests taking down some of the artwork that objectifies women, pointing to a framed picture of a woman on a leash, but Stuart immediately defends the piece, saying she doesn't know the backstory behind the art. (Fun side note: Harley Quinn co-writer Amanda Conner made that artwork specifically for this week's episode of the show.)

Leonard and the rest of the guys decide to give the fencing club a shot. Kripke reminds them fencing is a serious sport and not something out of the movies or TV shows. Kripke teaches the guys some basic positions. Although they appear to be quick studies, as soon as Kripke turns his back, the guys start goofing off and getting into fake sword fights.

Meanwhile, Amy suggests that Stuart try advertising directly to women. Stuart, of course, manages to come up with the world's creepiest pitch slogan for the sign. Meanwhile, Penny looks at the online reviews for the store and realizes that the problem might not be the store, but Stuart instead. She reads off several negative reviews from female customers, all of whom complain about some of the creepy things Stuart did while they were shopping.

Back at fencing club, the guys advance to some light sparring against each other. Sheldon warns Leonard to prepare for a rigorous touching while Raj and Howard trade dueling Inigo Montoya impressions. During one sparring session, Leonard lets it slip Sheldon and Amy broke up, which seems to peak Kripke's interest. Sheldon gets upset, but Leonard reminds him he doesn't have much of a choice in the matter and that Amy deserves to be happy. That bit of common sense earns Leonard a slap to the face with a glove.

After the commercial break, Leonard tries to warn Kripke that asking Amy out might not be a good idea, but he's interrupted by Sheldon challenging Kripke to a duel (in three years, after Kripke teaches him to fence).

Meanwhile, Stuart finally admits that he might be the reason women don't frequent the store, but that he doesn't know how to fix the problem because he doesn't know how to talk to women. When Penny points out that he's talking to them just fine, Stuart says it's because he's imagining them all naked (to help calm his nerves, of course). After Amy calls him out for being a creep, Stuart tries to explain away his behavior as desperation because he's been alone for so long, since he's never had a steady relationship, roommate or even a pet that didn't try to kill itself. After Amy says she can relate to that, having experienced a similar level of loneliness before she met Sheldon and his friends, Stuart immediately misreads the situation and thinks she's asking him out.

Sheldon and the guys end up at a sports bar after fencing class (because they're athletes now, whether they like it or not) so Sheldon can drink away his frustrations over Amy. The guys suggest that maybe Sheldon should try dating again, but Sheldon says that all the girls he knows are either married (Penny and Bernadette) or reminds him of a clown (Raj's girlfriend). Sheldon decides to pick up a random girl at the bar with a Pokemon pick up line, but it backfires when the girl doesn't know what Pokemon is.

When the girls get back to Penny's apartment, Amy gets a task from Kripke, formally asking her out. Amy's unsure if she should say yes, since she had hoped the next person she dated wouldn't be so much like Sheldon (i.e. not a weirdo). Penny asks Amy if she's attracted to Kripke and says to try imagining him naked. Amy says she doesn't need to imagin, since Kripke sent her a dick pic as an incentive for going out with him.

Leonard and Sheldon head back to their apartment and run into Bernadette and Amy as they leave the building. Leonard and Bernadette quickly flee, leaving Amy and Sheldon to have their first real conversation post-break up. After some awkward small talk, Amy says that she turned down Kripke and Sheldon likewise reveals that he was rejected by two women at the bar. Amy is taken aback, especially as Sheldon says that he's trying to move on from their relationship.

The episode ends with Bernadette finally checking the FitBit app and noticing that Howard's allegedly run over 100 miles in a day. Looks like he went a bit overboard on his FitBit faker machine.

So what did you think of this week's episode? Let us know in the comments below!