mhg83

What a sweet and sad episode. Not many laughs but great performance from Simon Helberg.

astrochimp

Always had good laughs from the show but this one had more than that

Joe Schmoe

I was hoping for more when I read what it was about... like an explanation for why Howard's dad left or maybe a reunion (whether it was a happy one or not) between him and Howard. I was hoping for more laughs too. Oh well.

Charlie Goose

I hope the father never shows up, that would ruin it.

Joe Schmoe

So far I've liked all of the regular characters' parents they've shown us. I have faith the writers could come up with a good character for Howard's dad (and probably another famous guest star to play him).

madcougar

I'm shocked that BBT could pull off such a heartfelt episode (ok scene).

fumanstan

Really enjoyable episode, I liked the ending quite a bit. For everyone that has mentioned Penny's facial expressions, I thought she was great again when Sheldon was explaining the California law thing in the laundry room. Loved the Goonies thing with Sheldon too.

Double_Oh_7

Meh, it was OK. Pretty thin story-wise, not many laughs.

Josh-da-man

Sheldon finding Penny's battery operated chew toy was the best part.

Would it be wrong to assume that Bernie was the one who told the truth about the contents of the letter?

SpanishTechno

I'd prefer if BBT stuck to the lighter stuff but they didn't let it drag the whole episode down. The exchange in the laundry room was great and of course Sheldon's discovery at the end.

This season started kind of weak but things have really picked up recently.

Terminal

The show's central theme has always been about how screwed up these people are thanks to their parents. Penny's dad wanted a son, Amy's mom was over protective, Bernie's mom and dad are racist and dysfunctional, Leonard's mom views him as the black sheep, Raj's mom and dad are overbearing, and Sheldon's mom is a religious fanatic and a bit smothering in her ways.

Howard's whole life has been mainly about his mother, due to his dad abandoning them, so I loved how this episode kind of focused on Howard's past and kind of gave insight in to why he's so distraught and so attached to his mom.

Also I always thought Howard was obnoxious, so this made me kind of sympathize for him greatly.

It's one of the best episodes of the series so far.

Evan Meadow

I think they all said at least one thing that was actually in the letter.

Well, maybe not Sheldon.

dex14

Agreed.

Double_Oh_7

I've seen every episode at least three times, and I don't remember a lot of talk about Howard's dad and him abandoning them. This ep would have resonated so much more if they had made a bigger deal about it in the past. This letter seemed to come out of nowhere.

Terminal

There have been many episodes where they've mentioned it in passing as a trait of Howard's life. He's mentioned it numerous times as well. He cites it as the reason he and his mom are so bonded in the episode where Bernie urges him to move out.

madcougar

Nope. They all gave one possibility for what was in the letter. So only one thing that was said was true... probably not Sheldon's.

dex14

That's what they said... but the letter could've said ALL of that stuff.

Raul3

First, Penny looked so hot on that outfit. I felt like a teenager getting excited looking at a piece of her bra.

And well, yeah, I almost cried in that scene where everyone revealed their part of the letter. They really delivered there. Other way it would have been a kind of bad episode.

Draven

As has already been said, he's mentioned it before. And this episode started with cleaning out the closet and finding this letter, so it's not like it was sitting out in the open for years not being referenced. How often do you talk about and look at things buried in storage?

I really liked this one. A nice mix of the group dynamic, along with some good moments for the actors while still being funny.

fumanstan

Yeah, especially since each person only had a sentence or two to say. It would be funny if the far side comic was really there

General Zod

Howard Stern?

Mr. Salty

That's the literal interpretation of what happened. But the looks on the actors' faces indicated that Evan could be on to something.

madcougar

Certainly one way to interpret things.

The fact that Sheldon didn't "correct" the group by telling them only one of them should reveal a true fact and Sheldon wanting to change his answer as in a competition to see who could come up with the best bit of made up information, leads me to believe only one of those people was telling the truth.

I would deduce that either Penny or Bernadette were telling the truth. Penny because perhapsthe group would not allow her to come up with her own bit fearing she wouldn't come up with something good, or Bernadette since she's Howard's wife.

stopgap

That's the way I took it too (although I wasn't paying complete attention at the time). They left it up to Howard to decide in his mind on what was said in the letter.

He burned the letter so it's obvious he never really wants to know. This way he gets to pick the resolve.

I also might not have any idea of what I'm talking about.

Mr. Salty

For now. But people can change their minds.