The Big Bang Theory enjoyed major success, however, like other sitcoms, there were regrettable storylines along the way. Not only did the cast admit to faulty episodes, but the showrunners behind the scenes also revealed that certain episodes should have been handled differently.
In the following, we're going to take a look back at the finale, and what the cast thought. Although Jim Parsons was pleased with the conclusion, Johnny Galecki felt indifferent. We'll reveal why Galecki felt conflicted over the finale, and why the showrunners actually agreed with him.
We'll also take a look at a regrettable storyline Jim Parsons took part in, and one that he didn't find was a fit for Sheldon's character.
Jim Parsons Was 'Deeply Satisfied' With The Way Big Bang Theory Ended
It was an emotional end to The Big Bang Theory and one that sees Sheldon finally realize his dream of winning a Nobel Prize. The finale episode takes a twist when Sheldon thanks his friends during the speech, finally acknowledging the impact they made on his life.
For the most part, fans loved this conclusion to Sheldon's character. Speaking alongside The Hollywood Reporter, Parsons agreed that it was the perfect way to end the show, especially seeing Sheldon's character development along the way.
“Chuck Lorre once said that watching these characters change will be like watching paint dry — you wouldn’t even notice it was happening. That turned out to be both true and not true. We got to play long enough that they were allowed to change and you did notice it because at some point they were writing enough episodes, like, well we have to. They have to morph a little bit. And that made it really fun. I’m deeply satisfied with how it ended.”
Although Jim Parsons enjoyed Sheldon's final storyline, Johnny Galecki felt differently after he read the script and what was in store for Penny and Leonard.
Johnny Galecki Didn't Understand The Finale, And The Showrunners Agreed It Was Rushed
Both Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki had mixed reactions to Penny and Leonard's finale. Penny announces that she's pregnant, although it seemed as though that wasn't in the works for the two throughout the series, and Cuoco was onboard with this decision.
Reading the script, Galecki revealed he didn't quite understand it at first.
“The pregnancy shocked me. I didn’t get it at first. Molaro and I talked about them maybe not [being pregnant]. The main takeaway is that these friendships will continue; the writers didn’t want someone to move away. We wanted to leave the audience with the idea that these friendships and the love that they have continues.”
Steve Holland, a showrunner on The Big Bang Theory seemed to agree with Leonard, stating that the storyline was very abrupt, and that there as no proper build to it. He admitted that it could have been handled differently in the final episodes leading to the finale.
“We talked about whether there were other ways to do it, like what if she had a pregnancy scare that turned out to be false and she was disappointed. We talked about ways to get her to that moment that didn’t feel quite so abrupt,” he recalls.
“I wish we had Penny take one more step before we got to the finale. The way the last episodes broke out, we just didn’t get there. But with that said, I do think it was a great landing place for [Penny and Leonard]. We really wanted to honor that relationship, as well as the ‘Our babies will be smart and beautiful’ line from the pilot as a way to tie it back together.”
Ultimately, it wasn't necessarily the wrong the decision, but one that could have been handled better.
Jim Parsons Didn't Agree With Every Storyline On The Big Bang Theory
Although Jim Parsons enjoyed his storyline on the finale, he wasn't onboard with everything related to his character. One storyline in particular didn't make much sense for him, and it featured Sheldon moving out of his apartment with Leonard. Parsons felt as though it was going against everything Sheldon believed in.
“They made it work… but I mostly had to ignore my own feelings, which was, ‘This is out of whack!'” Parsons recalls.
“At the very least, I couldn’t believe it wasn’t a two-part very special episode where [Sheldon] ties himself to the kitchen island and won’t leave! But that wasn’t what they wanted to do."
“Looking back, I’m still not at peace with it, but when we did it, I basically just chose not to think about it,” Parsons continues. “This is about making bold, creative choices that some people are going to be unhappy with. And I wasn’t unhappy with the result. I loved living over there, actually! I thought Penny’s apartment was cute.”
Given the volume of episodes during its 12 season run, it makes sense that the cast had particular storylines they weren't into.
