
The episode opens with a short montage of clips from the series' twelve seasons, then segues to Sheldon and Amy, who are up late waiting for a call from the Nobel Committee. Following a prank call from Kripke, they are told they've won the Nobel Prize in Physics for their super-asymmetry work. The attention from the media and the university bothers Sheldon. Amy is saddened by an unflattering picture of her in a news report, so Raj convinces her to get a makeover. She loves her new look but Sheldon demands she change it back. Leonard calls him out for being rude, but Sheldon flees when he sees Penny emerge from the newly repaired elevator. Sheldon and Penny go to the Cheesecake Factory and Penny tells Sheldon that change is the only constant thing in life. On a TV, they see Bernadette and Howard take credit as Sheldon and Amy's best friends. Raj and Leonard defend Amy, with Leonard accidentally breaking Sheldon's DNA molecule model in Apartment 4A. Penny convinces Sheldon to ride in the elevator.
One of the recurring plot lines is the relationship between Leonard and Penny. Leonard becomes attracted to Penny in the pilot episode and his need to do favors for her is a frequent point of humor in the first season. Meanwhile, Penny dates a series of muscular, attractive, unintelligent, and insensitive jocks. Their first long-term relationship begins when Leonard returns from a three-month expedition to the North Pole in the season 3 premiere. However, when Leonard tells Penny that he loves her, she realizes she cannot say it back. Both Leonard and Penny go on to date other people; most notably with Leonard dating Raj's sister Priya for much of season 4. This relationship is jeopardized when Leonard comes to falsely believe that Raj has slept with Penny, and ultimately ends when Priya sleeps with a former boyfriend in "The Good Guy Fluctuation".
In the show, the song "Soft Kitty" was described by Sheldon as a song sung by his mother when he was ill. Its repeated use in the series popularized the song.[83] A scene depicting the origin of the song in Sheldon's childhood is depicted in an episode of Young Sheldon, which aired on February 1, 2018. It shows Sheldon's mother Mary singing the song to her son, who is suffering with the flu.[84]

After Neil Gaiman tweets about Stuart's comic book store, it becomes very popular, and the crowds upset Sheldon. Stuart hires an assistant manager named Denise and she impresses Sheldon with her comic recommendations. Amy goes to her for information on comics to connect to Sheldon but when she tries to tell him, he says he's talked enough about comics with Denise. The store's popularity causes Stuart to be unable to babysit for Howard and Bernadette's date night. They try to have another at home, but Stuart shows up so they hurriedly go out. Meanwhile, as Raj sets up a telescope, Penny sees a new comet. Raj takes sole credit for the discovery, angering Penny. Leonard tries to defend her but feels sorry for hurting Raj's career. Penny confronts Raj herself and he agrees to share credit after Penny doesn't give in like Leonard.
I’m sure someone will start a petition to redo the finale because Sheldon’s speech was “out of character” for him, like Game of Thrones, lol. Seriously, they really did wrap up the show perfectly. Even though they had the Nobel Prize win and pregnancy and the Buffy cameo, they really didn’t rely on a bunch of craziness or twists or a ton of cameos or the things many series finales attempt to do. Instead, they just leaned into the strengths of the show and let the actors do their thing. That Sheldon speech was a great way to end things.