Even though Leonard and Penny are no longer a couple, we got to see them hang out in "The Ornithophobia Diffusion ."

Their non-date was comedic gold because the little things they secretly did while dating came out and were discussed. the biggest of which was Leonard's submissiveness to Penny. He would do whatever she wanted in order to make sure he got sex.

Looking back on their relationship, he was so happy to be dating her that he did what she wanted for fear that she would realize she was too good for him and break it off. It was an unequal partnership that was doomed from the beginning.

For the first time, Leonard was himself with Penny. Given her continual mooching off the guys, the look on her face when he demanded $11 for her own movie ticket was hilarious. That was the moment that they began their path back to each other.

During their non-date, they were actually honest about their feelings because they had nothing to lose. It came across as two exes outing the other's quirks, especially at the bar, but really it was setting up the framework for a healthy and equal relationship. Whether that ends up being a friendship or a romance, we will have to wait and see.

While Penny and Leonard were working out their dirty laundry, Sheldon was getting over his fear of birds. The combination of these two stories made this one of my favorite episodes this season.

Unlike some of Sheldon's quirks, this fear was based on real traumas growing up. Though, in Sheldon-style, he handled the situation in all the wrong ways. It was nice to see he enlisted Amy's help instead of 911 when the bird got in the house. Bernadette and Amy's kind but forceful method with Sheldon surprisingly worked.

I didn't think it would at first, but as is Sheldon's nature, he lives in the extremes: from hating and being fearful of the blue bird to falling in love with his lovey-dovey animal. It was too good to last. The question is: will the egg be back next week or is that a storyline that will just disappear like so many others on this show?

I'd like to see the egg return. The bird brought out Sheldon's humanity and, for Amy's sake, perhaps a baby bird is what he needs to help him mature regarding their relationship. I don't see her sticking around indefinitely waiting for him to advance beyond the cuddle stages.

Do you want to see Penny and Leonard back together? How about Sheldon and his baby bird egg? Ponder those questions and then check out the best Big Bang Theory quotes from this week!

Concluding side note: For those of you interested in the bird, Bill Prady tweeted that Sheldon's blue jay was really a black-throated magpie jay. So there you go.

Carla Day is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter and on Google+.