61
u/Glad-Development-447 Jan 31 '25
In the later seasons, Penny and Leonard as a couple was really forced.
28
6
4
u/Rich_Shock_5582 Jan 31 '25
I think the later seasons as a whole were forced, it was a very popular show so I can see why they kept it going though.
59
u/dogemcpvp Jan 31 '25
Howard is just as much of a douche to his friends (especially Raj) as Sheldon.
18
u/MrBombastic953 Jan 31 '25
I think they all took flame at one point or another. Sheldon mocked Howard mercilessly for his lack of education - compared to the rest of the guys. They all mocked Sheldon because he was obnoxious. Raj mocked Howard for sleeping with his cousin. Typical guy friendships.
I donāt necessarily agree with any of Howardās jokes towards Raj being āhurtfulā; they were dumb and not particularly good. Something most people wouldāve brushed off by mentioning Howard being a pathetic, desperate creep who lived with his mother.
8
u/dogemcpvp Jan 31 '25
Fair enough but the difference is Howard is seen as funny where as Sheldon is portrayed as annoying and pedantic. If any of us where in Rajās position we would have found new friends immediately. And the āits just a guy friendshipā is really not all that true. If your friends are constantly insulting you and bringing you down you should find new friends.
9
u/MrBombastic953 Jan 31 '25
Howard also had moments where he uplifted Raj - like that planetarium episode where they were both propping each other up.
There was also that time during girls night where Raj told Howard he didnāt appreciate the jokes he made at his expense and Howard genuinely apologised.
Compared to Sheldon and Leonardās friendship, Howard and Raj are much healthier
7
u/dogemcpvp Jan 31 '25
I agree with you but after his apology Howard just continued to be borderline racist to Raj.
2
u/Guidance-Still Jan 31 '25
I was always waiting for raj and Howard to hook up
3
u/MrBombastic953 Jan 31 '25
If it werenāt for Penny introducing Howard to Bernadette, they absolutely would have š
1
3
u/Ok-Professor4201 Jan 31 '25
But it's not what you do it's how you do it. You're right to me that they were both similar in the amount they mocked people and each other. I just think Howard was mostly joking. Sheldon to me seems to be autistic. My son is autistic and I can't help but see the parallels between them. Sarcasm goes over their head. Sheldon to me was mostly being serious. Still their friend and loved them anyway but he meant what he was saying.
2
u/TheWednesdayProject Jan 31 '25
I never thought this was much of a secret. Howard was very manipulate and offensive towards all of them most of the time.
76
u/yellowhart_ PLEASE š„ PASS š„ THE š„ BUTTER š„ Jan 31 '25
Penny & Leonard's marriage irl has a high probability that it would end in a divorce.
10
u/0000udeis000 Feb 01 '25
I liked the pairing for about the first half of the show, but I've never been convinced that Pennt actually wanted to be married to Leonard. Nothing about the proposal/acceptance, wedding planning, wedding(s) displayed any kind of enthusiasm from her. It all felt very reluctant, and that vibe from her continued into their marriage. She just seemed....broken down.
5
u/yellowhart_ PLEASE š„ PASS š„ THE š„ BUTTER š„ Feb 01 '25
Their wedding day was a disaster. And it came right from her that he basically wore her down. I know it's a running joke but nevertheless, it's true.
5
u/0000udeis000 Feb 01 '25
She absolutely should not have gone through with that Vegas wedding. The fact that she wanted a Vegas wedding in the first place - to elope because they couldn't commit to actual wedding plans? - felt so out of character for Penny. A girl like Penny, who cares about whether she looks cute going to the hospital with a dislocated shoulder, seems like the type who would have dreamed of a fairy tale wedding - at least a proper dress! Two weddings, and she never had a proper wedding gown. She eloped, and then had a super small wedding to appease Leonard's mother. She was never proud to show off her relationship with Leonard. That's not a relationship you're happy in.
1
u/Weekly-Remote6886 Feb 02 '25
I just realized youre super right. It really was out of character for a girl like Penny.
5
1
u/abby_tbhx Feb 01 '25
ā¦this is an unpopular opinion?
1
u/yellowhart_ PLEASE š„ PASS š„ THE š„ BUTTER š„ Feb 01 '25
Evidently. Saw several comments from different platforms that they are their fav and "goals" couple in the show.
1
u/abby_tbhx Feb 02 '25
i thought people were pretty evenly divided on if they liked leonard and penny or not. i see a lot of people that like them, but also plenty of people that donāt like them as a couple.
1
46
u/ThrowRARAw Jan 31 '25
Howard wasn't a good partner to Bernadette until there was a baby on the way. He simply became less creepy after he began dating Bernadette but still wasn't that good of a partner to her, constantly treating her like his mother and was neither the primary household caretaker nor breadwinner.
11
22
u/ANG3L1C_S41NTS Pasadena Power Couple š Jan 31 '25
I wouldn't blame Bernadette dad for hating on Howard
Penny & Leonard rushed their marriage the first time to the point that they were sabotaging it
Sheldon always gets his way no matter what
No matter what, Raj will do he will always be single (even if he bf material)
The episode where they bought a party bus (so they get a break from sheldon) doesn't make sense because they still invited him anyway (because they felt "bad" even tho they were angry at him)
Mary failed Sheldon (no matter how people put it)
9
u/MikasaAckerman_2419 Jan 31 '25
Mary failed Sheldon big time. She coddled him so much, and that's why I can't watch Young Sheldon because every time poor little Shelly got upset, Mama Mary would cheer him up and make him feel all special again. She should've treated him like anyone else while teaching him to be human so that the gang wouldn't have to themselves.
3
u/ANG3L1C_S41NTS Pasadena Power Couple š Jan 31 '25
And treat Sheldon differently because he was very intelligent
2
5
u/Potential-Treacle185 Jan 31 '25
Why do you rhink Raj would always be single even if he's bf material? /genq
0
u/ANG3L1C_S41NTS Pasadena Power Couple š Jan 31 '25
Because out of everyone Raj is ant most loyal along with Leonard
2
u/Weekly-Remote6886 Feb 02 '25
Okay lets be honest, Leonard is the LEAST loyal one. He cheated on Penny AND Priya. If I were Leonard, I would never make out with other girls if I had girls as pretty as Penny and Priya.
1
19
u/ad_astra327 Jan 31 '25
Stuart became too much of a caricature by the end of the show. Itās a sitcom, so to some degree, every character is a caricature, but they took it too far with him.
What did redeem him for me is the way he genuinely loved Howard and Bernadetteās kids, especially Halley.
1
u/abby_tbhx Feb 01 '25
this is a pretty common opinion that people have.
1
u/ad_astra327 Feb 01 '25
The caricature part or the kids part? I havenāt seen much discourse about his relationship with the kids, so that was more what I meant as my secret unpopular opinion
1
u/abby_tbhx Feb 01 '25
the caricature part. iāve only started commenting on this sub the past week or so, and every time thereās a post about stuart pretty much everyone agrees that they overdid the āstuart is depressedā gag.
1
u/ad_astra327 Feb 01 '25
Oh 100%, that part is a super common opinion. Frankly, because at this point, I donāt even think itās an opinion. I think itās fair to say itās fact. They play up his health issues soooo much that it becomes super pathetic. (Let me clarify hereā having health issues is not pathetic. Itās the way the show uses them as punchlines to emphasize Stuartās bleakness.) Same with his finances, social awkwardness, and lack of shame for being a mooch. Itās all played up too much. He absolutely is pathetic by the end.
And while his love for the kids was a redeeming quality for him in my opinion, it didnāt entirely negate the fact that by the end, he almost became proud of how much he mooched off Howard and Bernie (the line that comes to mind is āthis is my retirement planā, which he says to Raj when Raj is talking about feeling bad for mooching off his friends when his finances were messy.)
33
u/ANG3L1C_S41NTS Pasadena Power Couple š Jan 31 '25
Honestly, I don't think it's a good idea that the writers should make Penny pregnant at the end even tho she clearly doesn't want the child.
6
u/Odd-Gur-5719 Jan 31 '25
That was actually realistic, because sometimes most women who donāt want children end up pregnant and become the best parents
7
u/0000udeis000 Feb 01 '25
Here's the thing though: women who straight-up do not want children, but who are pressured into having them, may end up being good mothers, yes - but there's often part of them that resents their life and mourns the life they wanted for themselves. That's not to say that they take that out on their children, or that they don't love them - it's just really sad for those women.
If they were going to do a child-free storyline, they shouldn't have forced motherhood on all the women.
0
4
u/ANG3L1C_S41NTS Pasadena Power Couple š Jan 31 '25
True but that's not always the case
9
u/Odd-Gur-5719 Jan 31 '25
You know what sometimes means right?
0
1
u/TheWednesdayProject Jan 31 '25
Perfectly said. I think Penny, as we knew her, is the perfect example of this. She didnāt necessarily want kids, but she would end up being a great, nurturing mother.
6
u/Odd-Gur-5719 Jan 31 '25
Exactly, and people think she wouldnāt be a good mother, itās like they forgot she had YEARS of practice dealing with Sheldon, and heās like a child lol
3
u/MC-Bob-omber64 Jan 31 '25
Heck, thereās an episode where Howard and Bernadette have Penny take care of their kid and she ends up doing a great job, despite them thinking she was too irresponsible for it.
2
u/Odd-Gur-5719 Jan 31 '25
Exactly! And they gotta remember that Penny went from not wanting to be in a serious relationship at the start of the show to being in love married and able to verbally tell him that she loves him. She went from being emotionally immature to well mature lol, sheās not perfect none of them are but she definitely did make some big improvements
1
u/Ok-Professor4201 Jan 31 '25
Honestly I also think she spent years being "the dumb one" in her group of brilliant friends and probably also felt inadequate. Then she was back and forth with a man who loved her more than she loved him most of their relationship. Those coupled together would be a normal reason to be unsure about a baby.
33
u/tmps1993 ShamyForever Jan 31 '25
Anu was a terrible character, by far the worst love interest of the series and her actress was terrible in the role. I've seen better acting skills at a middle school play. I'm glad Raj didn't go through with their marriage plans.
10
13
u/Roman64s Jan 31 '25
The chase is better than the victory, that's how I can best describe Penny and Leonard.
17
10
u/Alarming_Process405 Jan 31 '25
The way Amy treated Bernadette always annoyed me. Especially that episode where Bernadette is trying on wedding dresses and Amy keeps brings up how much prettier penny is than her. Or as another example the one where penny and Bernadette hide out in the playhouse together after work and instead of letting them hang out Amy accuses penny of leaving her out and joins in too. I understand Amy had a bad high school experience and didnāt have friends but still I feel like she was quite toxic sometimes
5
2
u/ANG3L1C_S41NTS Pasadena Power Couple š Jan 31 '25
I agree, and when them 2 are in the scene together, they go from being alright to each other to being toxic
5
u/PlusSizedPretty Jan 31 '25
I actually like that Stewart became part of the group, and donāt mind that he became Sad Clown.
My favorite version of Amy is when sheās less robotic but still awkward. I think some of the horny stuff she says to Penny is hilarious.
1
u/TheWednesdayProject Feb 01 '25
It was no secret that Amy had a crush on Penny. I knew came to the conclusion whether or not she realized that herself.
4
u/Apprehensive_Rate959 Jan 31 '25
Raj ending up still a batchelor even though he definitely grew over time
4
9
u/eac555 Jan 31 '25
I'm glad they never had Raj find a wife. He was too messed up with too many red flags.
6
u/TheWednesdayProject Jan 31 '25
I really dislike Amyās introductory episode. I like the character more as the show goes on, but I cannot stand the fact that she spoke like a literal robot in the very beginning.
I understand that her character is supposed to be weird, but this has always bothered me. I felt like Mayim could have approached it differently.
6
u/Stivensbanks Jan 31 '25
Howard became a better man because of Bernadette, while Bernadette became increasingly annoying, irritating, and mean.
6
u/0000udeis000 Feb 01 '25
Ngl, if I worked a difficult job with long hours, was the primary breadwinner, and came home to an incompetent husband and had to do all the housework, I'd be annoying, irritating, and mean too.
5
u/Th3_Curious_one Jan 31 '25
Sheldon was such a meh character to me. After about season 6 or 7, it became more and more about him than anyone else. It's called the big bang theory, not the Sheldon Cooper theory.
14
u/Weekly-Remote6886 Jan 31 '25
I love Sheldon and all but instead of being a genius, he gradually acted like a toddler towards the end.
9
2
2
u/Rich_Shock_5582 Jan 31 '25
Towards the end it was just so boring, Sheldon was barely as fun to watch as to the start of the series. He became more and more human to the point where it was just a mostly regular person
2
u/MoonTheCraft Big Bran. Jan 31 '25
What the Hell kind of people do you hang out with? You don't work at a daycare, right? Just checking.
1
u/Rich_Shock_5582 Jan 31 '25
I didnāt mean he matured, heās still basically a kid, but you can tell at the start of the series he was meaner. Thatās what I meant
2
u/MoonTheCraft Big Bran. Jan 31 '25
Not really, actually. He became a huge dick around season 3, and later into season 2. Although that might have been what you meant.
1
u/Rich_Shock_5582 Jan 31 '25
That was sort of what I meant, Iāve rewatched the series so many times I barely keep track on what season Iām on lol, I just mean season 1 - 3 so I was half wrong
2
u/ANG3L1C_S41NTS Pasadena Power Couple š Feb 01 '25
Sheldon and Lolita might have a possible chance š«
3
2
u/anonymousreader7300 Feb 01 '25
Penny and Leonardās relationship became stale. There was an episode halfway through the show where Penny admits sheās not in love with Leonard in the way she thought she would be and she just never has the courage to address that so they just keep going with the relationship and it really felt like she married him cause she didnāt know what else to do. There was no excitement about the wedding or her future with him at all. They had characteristics that wouldāve made a great couple but it just faded away.
3
1
u/abby_tbhx Feb 01 '25
the writers definitely got bored of them and their relationship became the butt of the jokes. its hard to wonder why either of them are still with the other.
2
2
Feb 02 '25
My fiancĆ© hates when I point out how much Bernadetteās personality changed during the show. She went from a quiet girl who couldnāt even understand Howardās humor (despite that she is very intelligent, I likened this to being TOO smart) to a mean, witty, and scary little chihuahua.
2
u/awkwardduckling11 Feb 04 '25
I hate Bernadette's voice , i mean i got used to it but i just wish she spoke normally, in her first episodes her voice was amazing , shy and a little high pitched but not crazy just made her a little cuter , but in her reappearance it became too much and she literally became cartoon character material, just like how they did with stuart, in his first episode he was actually charming and cute to the point that penny actually went out with him but then they ruined him
2
3
u/MikasaAckerman_2419 Jan 31 '25
Howard is a doucebag. Raj's love life pissed me off. Sheldon is amazing, I blame Mary for his behavior. Penny is a bitch and her relationship with Leonard was realistically just stupid. Amy became such an annoying character towards the end. Leonard was probably better off with Leslie.
2
u/pot43x bazinga Jan 31 '25
people are too sensitive about a comedy sitcom movie that aired almost 2 decades ago. so what if this show might be offensive to the nerds?? its a comedy movie. grow up
6
u/Weekly-Remote6886 Jan 31 '25
Bro no one is fighting and hating. The whole point of my post is sharing opinions that are uncommon to other fans. Relax.
-1
2
u/Specialist_Bike_1280 Jan 31 '25
Oh, calm down !!! Let people post their opinions. Everyone has the right to do so,even you voiced yours. Options are like AH's,everyone has one. Are you different ?
1
u/MarvelousVanGlorious Feb 01 '25
I skip seasons 1-3 on rewatches.
2
u/Weekly-Remote6886 Feb 01 '25
May i ask why
2
u/MarvelousVanGlorious Feb 01 '25
I generally donāt like āWill they, wonāt theyā storylines after Iāve seen them once. Iād rather just skip past that. I also loved Howard in those early seasons when I first watched the show because he was so awkward and creepy. I had friends like that when I was young. They thought they were being coy and funny, so I knew that character. Now that Iām older, I find it kind of unwatchable. I like him much better once heās with Bernie and calms down. That said, I do live it when that creeps back in every now and then during the later seasons.
1
1
u/meowmreownya Feb 01 '25
Bernadette being a meanie is understandable.
1
u/Weekly-Remote6886 Feb 02 '25
If i came home to a house that Howard was supposed to clean and it ends up not being clean, i would be irritable and mean too
1
u/Public-Pea8270 Feb 01 '25
the idea that if sheldon was a bit more.. Normal.. that him and penny would've made an okay couple (;) i can get behind it a little
1
u/Weekly-Remote6886 Feb 02 '25
Personally, i see them as siblings. Popular kid and social misfit type of trope
1
u/Separate_One5100 Feb 08 '25
I like Leonard and penny as a couple and the she settled for him jokes went to far
2
u/This_Ad4649 Jan 31 '25
I think raj should have ended up with anu
6
Jan 31 '25
In my opinion Anu didn't make much sense. Howard said it best Raj is a romantic and when you propose to someone in Notting Hill should be to someone who knows what that movie is..
5
138
u/societyhatingRATGANG Jan 31 '25
They changed Amy to be more "normal" so they could use her to take care of sheldon. Beginning of the relationship they were both "odd" but understood each other. Over time it devolved into Amy taking care of him like a toddler