'The Big Bang Theory' Recap: 'The Scavenger Vortex'

On this week’s Big Bang Theory ,“The Scavenger Vortex,” Raj sets up a scavenger hunt for the gang after he expresses his anger that they all missed his murder mystery party. He tells them there is a golden coin hidden somewhere and they must complete ten puzzles and find clues to get to it.

There is a dispute over who will be on what team, as no one wanted to be paired with Penny. They end up picking their teams from a hat. Howard with Amy, Leonard with Bernadette, and to Sheldon’s dismay, he is paired with Penny.
Bernadette gets impatient with Leonard’s lack of competitiveness. She yells at him for driving to slow and for slowing down a bird saying, “you know they fly, right!”

Amy is in the car with Howard and they realize it is the first time they have been alone together. Amy says it is probably because they don’t have a lot in common and Penny also warned her not to get in a car alone with him. The two find that they both love Neil Diamond and they end up bonding and singing “Sweet Caroline.”

The first puzzle takes everyone to the comic book store. Sheldon quickly solves the puzzle and they head to the geology lab. Penny asks how he came up with the answer and he gives a complicated scientific response.

Amy and Howard figure it out next, and Leonard last, leading Bernadette to rag on him some more.

Penny solves the next puzzle in the lab and they find map coordinates. Amy and Howard and back in the car jamming out to “Coming to America.”

Bernadette decides to take over the wheel for Leonard. Leonard is upset that Penny isn’t answering him back, thinking that she is upset that he didn’t want to be on her team. Bernadette then tells Leonard that Penny calls him a name that “usually applies to a lady part, or a cat, or a willow.”

Penny and Leonard arrive at the bowling alley to look for their next clue and Howard and Amy are in the geology lab, still singing. Leonard is back at the apartment building, himself down the broken elevator shaft looking for their clue while Bernadette yells at him. He is then unable to pull himself back up and tells Bernadette that maybe Penny is on to something about what she calls him.

Back in the car, Leonard and Bernadette are headed towards the tar pits while Penny and Sheldon are going to the planetarium. Instead of talking about the game, Amy and Howard find out that there is a Neil Diamond concert next month and express their interest in going.

Penny and Sheldon arrive in the laundry room and Bernadette and Leonard are right behind them. Bernadette is upset that they got there second because Leonard made her slow down for a blind guy.

Penny and Leonard have a confrontation, with Penny expressing her anger that she didn’t want her on his team. Leonard snaps back saying why do you want me on your team and he begins to say what she call him, but realizes he can’t say it in front of Sheldon.

Penny doesn’t understand what he means, so Bernadette tells Leonard that she made it up because he was about to quit. She goes to call him the name and asks Sheldon to cover his ears. Upset, he tells them that he is not a child, he knows the word “ninny.”

Still going through the laundry, which appears to be all pants, they find two of Sheldon’s shirts. They notice that both the shirts have spots on them and realize the last place in Sheldon’s spot in the apartment.

Penny, Leonard and Bernadette rush upstairs while Sheldon stays behind to pre-soak his shirts.

The three of them reach the apartment, but do not find the coin in Sheldon’s spot.

Raj walks out with a robe and a glass of wine and tells them all to look in their pockets. All of them find a gold coin had been slipped into their pocket by Raj. He explains to them that he did it to show them that when they are all together, they are already winners.

They are not happy with Raj for this. Raj tries to explain that he didn’t want anyone to feel bad and the clues were hard and he didn’t know who was going to get stuck with Penny. Insulted, Penny tells him to run and run to India.

Raj starts running down the steps as Sheldon comes up and shows the coin he found in his pocket to the group saying, “Look, I won.”

The episode ends with Amy and Howard blowing off the hunt and singing karaoke at the Cheesecake Factory.