Penny Hofstader was one of the main characters and the lead female protagonist of the hit CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory. Penny was literally the only relatable one in a gang of geeky nerds and helped keep them grounded. It is also her company that gradually made the highly intellectual but socially handicapped group of friends less awkward.
Penny was a strong character, albeit heavily flawed, and often projected as the real boss within the gang. However, feisty although she might be, there were things about her that actually made very little sense.
Sending Neighbors She Just Met To Deal With Her Ex
In the pilot itself, Penny was introduced as the newly moved in, beautiful neighbor of a couple of science geeks.
And the very next thing viewers know about her is that she had asked Leonard, who had made it clear that he would do anything for her, to go and fetch her television set from her ex-boyfriend. Now, seriously, who sends a couple of guys they've literally just met to interact with an ex, especially one they know could be a disrespectful jerk?
Bleeding Sheldon & Leonard Dry
This wasn't just during the pilot though, because Penny's streak of taking advantage of Leonard, who by now was smitten by her, and of Sheldon in lieu of that, continued throughout the early seasons.
From using their WiFi connection to eating their food, Penny practically lived off the guys, something Sheldon had no qualms in reminding her about repeatedly. Now, seeing that she was projected as a smart, independent woman, Penny's behavior towards the boys made no sense, as she seemed to forget her dignity and let the guys pay for her every time even though she had a job.
Her Disappearing Sloppiness
Within the very first episodes, it was established that Penny was the height of disorganized and untidy and would simply throw stuff all over the place instead of putting them in order. Sheldon nearly had a stroke when he saw it and broke into her apartment in the middle of the night to organize the place.
However, after that one episode, Penny's apartment was never shown to be out of order at all. It wasn't as neat as that of Sheldon and Leonard perhaps, but it was more than adequately organized all the time. It's strange that her sloppiness, that was one of her character's quirks, should simply disappear.
Her Behavior Towards Amy
Amy Farrah Fowler was pretty much infatuated by Penny, the latter the quintessentially popular, hot girl of the gang, and the former the shy, bespectacled geek.
But Penny was hardly very forthcoming in her friendship with Amy, at least at first, the implication being that Amy wasn't cool enough to be her friend, which wasn't really very cool at all.
Dating Stuart Who Wasn't Her Type At All
Now Stuart Bloom was one of the most adorable supporting characters in the series, and never got treated right by the gang. However, Penny dating Stuart made no sense since the goofy comic book store owner, a perfectly good guy though he was, was so obviously not her type.
Penny had been shown dating a series of brawny, muscular guys in shiny jackets, so she clearly had a type before she moved on to Leonard. There was no way she could have really seen herself with Stuart, making her date with him meaningless.
Taking Leonard For Granted
Penny's relationship with Leonard saw a lot of ups and downs, being one of the primary underlining storylines of the series.
But even when the two finally got together and got married, Penny's behavior towards Leonard was somewhat odd. She loved him, no doubt, but although she had herself benefitted enormously from Leonard's presence in her life, she never seemed to acknowledge it and pretended as though she herself had granted Leonard a huge favor by marrying him.
Stealing From Donation Bin
When it dawned on Penny that she had been the mean girl in school, bullying others who weren't able to stand up for themselves, Amy and Bernadette suggested that she could make up for her past behavior by donating clothes to those who need them.
The three girls found a donation bin to give away clothes, but Penny actually went and started picking out boots and sweaters she found cute. Even for someone like Penny who could be selfish at times, this was a new low and made no sense at all.
Ruining Raj's Chances
In season 12, Penny and Bernadette were seen getting friendly with Raj's girlfriend Anu without his knowledge.
The idea, to give the girls their due, was to help Raj by checking out the girl he had decided to marry overnight. However, the gesture soon went awry as Penny and Bernie ended up giving away information about Raj that wasn't theirs to divulge. Now, seeing how close Penny was to Raj, it made no sense that she should be so irresponsible as to speak to his prospective fiancée behind his back and tell her things that could very well have ruined Raj's chances.
Sitting Around Drinking All Day
Penny was said to be doing very well at her job as a sales rep of a pharmaceutical firm. Her career and change of profession was in fact a major plot point in season 8.
But for the better part of the remaining seasons, Penny was seen hanging around the apartment, drinking wine, and eating endlessly with the others. If she really was such a hotshot sales rep, it made no sense that she should spend most of her time lounging around the apartment.
Flipping With The Pregnancy
Penny was depicted as a headstrong woman with a mind of her own. Towards the beginning of season 12, the final season, Penny told Leonard about her decision to not have children.
It was good to see the lead character of a popular television make an unconventional choice. But at the last minute, in the final episode, Leonard simply informed the others that Penny had conceived and wanted to be a mother. The whole storyline with the abrupt flip in the end made no sense.