@ArcticFox12 said:

Penny is still a pharmaceutical rep , right? What if she starts to experience so much success as a saleswoman that corporate offers her a position in the higher echelon of the company....she becomes Bernadette's boss. Bernadette takes her maternity leave and she starts to quietly resent Penny's success. She feels like if she wasn't preoccupied with two pregnancies she could have had the same success.

I think that can yield some interesting storylines in the future, especially the collateral damage to Leonard's ego that his once struggling and indebted wife is becoming a Rock star in her company and making bank.

Hi Arctic Fox! Mixing up the dynamic between Penny and Bernie could be interesting. I doubt, though, that Penny would become Bernie's boss since she's in sales and Bernie is in R&D- two different departments. I work in the pharmaceutical industry myself (though not for a big pharma company), and this is a situation I could see:

After receiving many questions from doctors about the side effects of the company's drugs, Penny begins to question the company's integrity, and confronts Bernie about this. Amy continues her own questioning of Bernie's integrity which actually (and conveniently) began on the last episode. After thinking on it a while, Bernie decides to quit big pharma and pursue something where her ethics are not questioned. This leads to a new career path for Bernie (and perhaps finally a real reason for Howard to freak about their finances...)

@Lemons said:

@ArcticFox12 said:

Penny is still a pharmaceutical rep , right? What if she starts to experience so much success as a saleswoman that corporate offers her a position in the higher echelon of the company....she becomes Bernadette's boss. Bernadette takes her maternity leave and she starts to quietly resent Penny's success. She feels like if she wasn't preoccupied with two pregnancies she could have had the same success.

I think that can yield some interesting storylines in the future, especially the collateral damage to Leonard's ego that his once struggling and indebted wife is becoming a Rock star in her company and making bank.

Hi Arctic Fox! Mixing up the dynamic between Penny and Bernie could be interesting. I doubt, though, that Penny would become Bernie's boss since she's in sales and Bernie is in R&D- two different departments. I work in the pharmaceutical industry myself (though not for a big pharma company), and this is a situation I could see:

After receiving many questions from doctors about the side effects of the company's drugs, Penny begins to question the company's integrity, and confronts Bernie about this. Amy continues her own questioning of Bernie's integrity which actually (and conveniently) began on the last episode. After thinking on it a while, Bernie decides to quit big pharma and pursue something where her ethics are not questioned. This leads to a new career path for Bernie (and perhaps finally a real reason for Howard to freak about their finances...)

Mrs. Lemons, thanks for pointing out their specific roles, that definitely changes the dynamic. Also, the ethics angle is another way they could explore the Bernadette character.

I think newfound motherhood might change her perspective on the ethics of what they sell ,could be something she grapples with in the new season. I've read that having children can effect personal empathy.

Maybe we get a scene of Bernie consulting Penny's therapist from last season. There's so many directions they can go in.

@ArcticFox12 said:

Mrs. Lemons, thanks for pointing out their specific roles, that definitely changes the dynamic. Also, the ethics angle is another way they could explore the Bernadette character.

I think newfound motherhood might change her perspective on the ethics of what they sell ,could be something she grapples with in the new season. I've read that having children can effect personal empathy.

Maybe we get a scene of Bernie consulting Penny's therapist from last season. There's so many directions they can go in.

That's a very good point that now as a mother and role model, she might question her job choices. Would she want her children knowing she was working for a company where they capitalized on nasty side effects of other drugs?

Penny and Bernadette could both quit and start some kind of business together. Maybe even something related to some of Amy's research, although not necessarily. They have enough money by now - or Bernadette should, anyway - to start something like an app development business, for things like the shoe-finding app. They could even market the guy's equation solver as some kind of sop to them.

But not Penny Blossoms, that was too labor intensive. Unless they outsource it to some of Raj's cousins back home.

@Knixon said:

Penny and Bernadette could both quit and start some kind of business together. Maybe even something related to some of Amy's research, although not necessarily. They have enough money by now - or Bernadette should, anyway - to start something like an app development business, for things like the shoe-finding app. They could even market the guy's equation solver as some kind of sop to them.

But not Penny Blossoms, that was too labor intensive. Unless they outsource it to some of Raj's cousins back home.

A shoe- finding app ? Like Tinder for shoes? Hold on I gotta call the patent office.......

Penny Blossoms could see Resurgance in the near future if Bernie keeps cranking out child labor....

Penny already thought of it, and Sheldon wrote the software. I've just been waiting for Penny to get a big check in the mail for royalties.

Season 4 episode 12 , The Bus Pants Utilization.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUDnAf1Av9k

_"After thinking on it a while, Bernie decides to quit big pharma and pursue something where her ethics are not questioned. This leads to a new career path for Bernie (and perhaps finally a real reason for Howard to freak about their finances...)"

_A "Breaking Bad" spin off?

@Tim-Buktu said:

_A "Breaking Bad" spin off?

That wouldn't lead to her ethics being questioned?

@Tim-Buktu said:

_"After thinking on it a while, Bernie decides to quit big pharma and pursue something where her ethics are not questioned. This leads to a new career path for Bernie (and perhaps finally a real reason for Howard to freak about their finances...)"

_A "Breaking Bad" spin off?

Not really anything like Breaking Bad , but Melissa Rauch and Bob Odenkirk in the same scenes would be amazing.

_"After thinking on it a while, Bernie decides to quit big pharma and pursue something where her ethics are not questioned.

I don't think drug dealers ever want their ethics questioned.

@Tim-Buktu said:

_"After thinking on it a while, Bernie decides to quit big pharma and pursue something where her ethics are not questioned. This leads to a new career path for Bernie (and perhaps finally a real reason for Howard to freak about their finances...)"

_A "Breaking Bad" spin off?

Now you're just bein' naughty. Bernie won't go makin' meth! If she leaves big pharma for something more ethical, they could write a spin-off called "Repairing Good"! "Fixing pleasant"? "Mending superb"? "Putting together that which is not bad"?

You can pick.

Yeah, sure Bernie would never do that.

You are so cute.