Penny and Aggie/Recap/Weights

"I like weights. If a weight is about to crush your heart, you can feel the pressure. You know it's coming. With people, you're never sure."

This arc, told mostly from Karen's viewpoint, flashes back to when she first met her boyfriend-to-be Marshall, during her transition from frumpy wallflower to popular, sassy beauty under Penny's and Aggie's tutelage. When Charisma assigns Marshall to her as a trainer at her gym, she falls for him immediately. However, she initially lacks the confidence to flirt with him, despite Penny's pep talks on the supposed immaturity and pliability of boys. Eventually Karen, taking inspiration from Aggie's boldness in her spats with Penny, musters the courage to ask Marshall if he'll jog with her, and he agrees. Inwardly ecstatic, she manages to play it cool, and they're soon dating.

The arc is bookended with two strips from Marshall's perspective, in which he compares lifting weights with opening his heart to another (see the page quote). The final strip illustrates his point by showing the newly confident and manipulative Karen keeping him at arm's length.

"Weights" features guest art by Amy Mebberson.

Tropes

 * Book Ends
 * I Can't Believe a Guy Like You Would Notice Me: When Marshall agrees to a jogging date with Karen, this is essentially her reaction both outwardly ("GREAT!") and inwardly (imagining herself as an angel singing "Alleluja").
 * Imagine Spot: Karen gets two.
 * Love At First Sight
 * Playing Hard to Get
 * Whole Episode Flashback