- After arguing with Sheldon, Howard tries to make amends by taking him to NASA headquarters in Houston. Penny has second thoughts about quitting her waitressing job when her car dies. Amy gets involved in trying to find Raj a date.
- Bernadette is tired of Sheldon always putting Howard down. Sheldon, in response, says that Howard started it ten years ago when they first met, those insults which still haunt him to this day in tangible ways. As such, Howard decides to try and bury the hatchet with Sheldon by extending a peace offering. Howard has to go to NASA in Houston, and invites Sheldon along as his guest. Sheldon ultimately accepts. However, Howard may regret doing so when Sheldon continues to degrade Howard in ways he isn't even aware he is doing. Is there any way that Sheldon and Howard can truly stop their insulting the other? Meanwhile, Penny has decided to decline a movie role that she believes is beneath her, a move with which Leonard does not agree, as he believes Penny's first priority should be to make money. Penny comes to a crossroads in the decision of her current career path, with which Leonard tries to be supportive in any way he can. And Raj returns to the online dating world, with a little help from Amy. Her efforts end up with unexpected results.—Huggo
- While having dinner in Apartment 4A, Bernadette tucks Raj's label into the back of his shirt. This action is the closest that Raj has had to sex in two years. Sheldon brings up the topic of Penny's depressing acting career. Penny did turn down a part in the sequel to Serial Apeist (Serial Apeist 2: Monkey See, Monkey Kill), her earlier movie where she appeared topless. She would have been the cross clone of her previous character and the gorilla, running around the film with huge gorilla hands and feet. Per Penny, "total crap". Leonard wants to know why she won't take this part since a lot of successful actors start out in bad movies. Discussing failed careers, Sheldon brings up Howard's work as just an engineer. Bernie then wants to know why Sheldon is also so mean to her husband. Leonard then adds that he is excited that Penny got offered a part and only surprised that she would rather stay home and do nothing. Penny now leaves. Sheldon then gives Bernadette details of ten years of his torture by Howard. When they first met, he said that Sheldon looked like a cross between C3P0 and Pee-Wee Herman, C3-Pee Wee Herman. Since then, he has also messed up his lecture slide presentations and subscribed Sheldon to inappropriate magazines.
Amy has Raj walk her to her car. Amy wonders about his on-line dating site which Raj has given up checking. Amy had also lost heart over her web profile, but eventually she did find Sheldon even though they have only kissed once in three years as points out by Raj.
Howard visits Sheldon's office and wants them to be better friends. Howard really wants to move their friendship forward and first suggests that they stop insulting each other. Also, NASA is flying Howard down to Houston to give a talk and he has two plane tickets. Since Bernadette can't go, he is asking Sheldon and will give him a tour of NASA and take him to see his mother.
Raj visits Amy and shows him a girl's profile who had responded to Raj's dating site. Emily (Laura Spencer) is both cute and smart and has no large Adam's apple according to Raj. Raj runs his fancy poetic response by Amy who thinks that he should just simply ask her out for coffee and not sound desperate and creepy. Raj then asks Amy to be his wing-man and respond to Emily and even talk to her on Raj's behalf..
Penny returning with Sheldon from the pharmacy with some medicine for his trip. Penny's engine starts to make rattling noises and smoking. Sheldon reminds her of the check engine light again. The check engine light finally goes off.
In the apartment the guys are playing a board game and Sheldon keeps referring to "his good friend Howard". Raj is jealous and tries to show everyone that they are such good friends that they finish each other's sentences.
Penny reports that her car is not worth repairing. She tries to get the role in "Serial Apeist 2", but it was given to someone else. Penny says that now someone is going to go on David Letterman and tell how she got her break in a dumb gorilla movie because of an actress who thought it was beneath her. She has to get her old job back at The Cheesecake Factory though Leonard does offer to take her to auditions.
Amy responds to Emily who doesn't think she is right for Raj since he is too shy to talk to her directly. Raj is offended by this suggestion and wants Amy to fix it. Amy is going to try and talk him up again when she meets her for coffee because she has a lot in common with Amy.
Bernadette and Howard pick Sheldon up. Sheldon shows up and is excited about the trip. Howard remarks that it isn't everyday he gets to tour NASA with a real astronaut. Sheldon wonders who that astronaut is forgetting that Howard went into outer space.
On the plane Sheldon needs to visit the little physicists' room. Howard gets a bit irritated because despite his attempts to be a better friend, Sheldon still constantly says irritating things. Howard mentions that he is an astronaut, but Sheldon didn't acknowledge it. When Sheldon was a child astronauts were his heroes and Howard going into space was hard for him. Then he adds that it made him realize that they will send anyone up there which causes Howard not to let him out of his seat. They start to feel some turbulence which Sheldon first denies it bothers him. Howard experienced worse returning from space plummeting through the atmosphere. As the bumping gets worse, they both acknowledged their fears.
Leonard is picking up Penny so she can get her old job back. She is thrilled since she left telling the ladies goodbye and that she'll see them at the Oscars. He opens the door of a strange car that Penny mentions is not his. He pulls out a key and tells her that he thought they would take her car. The car is nothing fancy, but she can use it to go to auditions and doesn't have to return to her old job. Penny is both shocked and touched; she kisses and hugs Leonard tightly.
Emily and Amy are having coffee and she still tries to match the two of them together. She calls Raj a sweet and regular guy who then shows up uninvited. Raj tells her that a passive guy would not barge in; however he still comes across creepy. She calls him a weird guy with no boundaries and leaves. She also ditches Amy for a something they were going to do. Raj ruined any chance for friendship for either of them.
On the airplane, the turbulence is very bad as both Howard and Sheldon apologize for everything they ever did to each other. Sheldon feels that if Howard wasn't in his life, he would have a big hole in it. Finally, the plane flight settles down and they are still holding hands together. Sheldon doesn't want to let go, and neither does Howard.
Title reference: The emotional turbulence of Howard's and Sheldon's friendship and the physical turbulence they experience together on the plane.
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