Warning: There are spoilers ahead. Proceed with caution!
Earlier this season, the Big Bang Theory’s Penny, played by Kaley Cuoco, swore off her dream job of becoming an actress after landing a pharmaceutical job that paid her big bucks. But now it looks like her character may get a second chance to rekindle that dream, leaving her with the toughest decision of her life.
According to the Christian Post , the next episode of The Big Bang Theory , titled “Communication Deterioration,” finds Penny with the opportunity to audition for the new Kevin Smith film, Clerks 3 . The official CBS summary for the upcoming episode reads as follows:
“When Raj is asked to create a message in case a NASA mission discovers alien life, the guys fight over what he should do. Also, Penny is torn between auditioning for a movie or keeping her successful pharmaceutical sales job.”
It all started in the previous episode of The Big Bang Theory , titled the “Fortification Implementation,” where guest star Wil Wheaton invites Penny, his co-star in Serial Ape-ist 2: Monkey See, Monkey Kill, , to appear on his popular podcast. After setting up in Penny’s apartment, Wheaton gets an unexpected call-in from special guest director Kevin Smith. Smith explains that he’s a fan of Penny’s work in Serial Ape-ist and offers her an audition for his upcoming film, Clerks 3 .
At that point, Cuoco’s Penny and her onscreen squeeze Leonard get into an argument over the decision facing Kaley: to audition or not audition. In his mind, it would be foolish for Penny to ditch her steady job in case her audition for Clerks 3 goes the way many of her previous attempts at becoming an actress have gone. The big reveal from this skirmish is that Penny actually makes more money than Leonard does working as a pharmaceutical sales rep.
As interesting as that conflict sounds however, not all reviews of the episode found the argument very compelling. The AV Club called the entire Big Bang Theory episode “haphazardly structured” and “terribly rushed,” It also centered on the illogical reason behind Leonard and Penny getting into a fight considering Leonard is a huge Kevin Smith fan on the show.
“He says he’s protecting her after having seen her disappointed at a number of auditions — which is ridiculous because if he’s a huge Smith fan, which he admits to being, then he’d be thrilled that Penny might land the role–but that logic rings false.”
Regardless of whether you agree, one thing is for certain: Kaley Cuoco’s Penny will have a tough decision ahead when The Big Bang Theory airs this Thursday on CBS.
[Kaley Cuoco photo credit: Christopher Polk / Getty Images]