'The Big Bang Theory': Penny Sees a New Side of Leonard in Thursday's Episode

In this week's episode of The Big Bang Theory, Penny sees a new side of Leonard after he is given an important job at the university.

In "The Grant Allocation Derivation," Leonard (Johnny Galecki) is given sole discretion to hand out extra grant money. At first, Raj (Kunal Nayyar), Howard (Simon Helberg) and Sheldon (Jim Parsons) think they might get some of the money, but Leonard insists he goes through the traditional process.

In a second preview scene, Leonard is hard at work denying grant money. This shows off a new decisive side of Leonard, which excites Penny (Kaley Cuoco).

"Wow, I really like this side of you," Penny tells him in the scene.

"Really?"

"Yeah! So decisive," Penny replies.

Leonard then slams his "denied" stamp on an application for a standing desk.

"If you want to stand, stand on your own time!" Leonard emphatically says. "I'm the boss!"

"Yeah, you are!" Penny excitedly replies.

Elsewhere in the episode, Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) turns her kids' playpen into a hideout from her Howard.

"The Grant Allocation Derivation" is the seventh episode of The Big Bang Theory's twelfth and final season.

It follows last week's "The Imitation Perturbation," in which Howard dressed up as Sheldon for Halloween. Amy confronted Bernadette about it, suggesting her husband was bullying Sheldon. Bernadette told Amy it was just a joke, but she did not take it that way. In the end, Sheldon and Amy got back at Bernadette and Howard by dressing up as them at Leonard's Halloween party.

This season picked up after Amy and Sheldon's wedding and their honeymoon in New York. Raj is on his own road to marriage after finally asking his father to help arrange a marriage. He will get married to Anu (Rati Gupta), who proposed to him earlier this season.

CBS, Warner Bros. TV and executive producer Chuck Lorre announced that The Big Bang Theory will be ending after this season. Parsons chose not to renew his contract, so rather than continue the show, it will end.

Showrunner Steve Holland told The Hollywood Reporter in September that the writers still have not figured out the end, but do not plan to kill anyone off.

"We haven't gotten to the ending yet. We've dealt with the death of Wolowitz's mother," Holland said. "So, sure, those things are possibilities, but when we get down to the finale — and nothing is set in stone since we haven't written it yet — but the DNA of the show is a happy, positive, loving show and I don't think it would feel right to leave this show on a downer note."

The Big Bang Theory airs at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

Photo credit: CBS