The Big Bang Theory: The Most Shocking Moment of Every Season
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Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the The Most Shocking Moment from Every Season of “The Big Bang Theory.” For this list, we’ll be looking at the good, the bad and the bizarrely shocking moments from each of the “Big Bang’s” twelve awesome seasons. If you haven’t finished the show, there will be spoilers. Which of these shocking moments has stuck with you all these years later? Let us know in the comments.
Penny has been at the heart of each of Raj’s surprising show moments in regard to his communications with women. Not only is she the first woman he talks to while completely sober, she’s the first non-family woman he talks to at all. For the first seven episodes of the series, Raj’s major character trait is his inability to talk directly to a woman. But in Episode 8, that all changes as he, while sipping on a grasshopper, utters these six words “Where did my life go Penny?” It’s in this shocking moment that we all discover (along with Raj himself) that alcohol is the magic elixir for his selective mutism.
They say that “It’s more blessed to give than to receive,” and that’s definitely the case when the reaction of the person you’re giving to is as amazing as Sheldon’s in the Season 2 Christmas episode. Not known for his emotional outbursts or his enjoyment of physical contact with other human beings, both those tendencies go out the window when Penny gives him a napkin. Okay, it isn’t just a napkin, it’s a napkin used and signed by Leonard Nimoy. We’re not sure what’s more shocking, the amazingly perfect gift Penny gets for her friend or the rare Sheldon hug that he bestows upon her in an attempt to thank her.
In Season 3’s “The Excelsior Acquisition,” Sheldon misses out on a Stan Lee signing at the comic book store because he’s in court fighting a ticket that he got while driving Penny to the hospital. Feeling bad about her role in Sheldon missing the event, Penny gets Lee’s address from Stuart and takes Sheldon to the great man’s house. However, we hadn’t seen Lee at any point in the episode thus far, so one would be forgiven for not assuming he’d show up in this moment either. But there he is opening the door. Whether you thought he’d be there or not, seeing the icon standing there in his robe is definitely a thrill.
At the end of this season finale, Penny is shocked to wake up naked in bed with Raj. When we had last seen them, these two were in the midst of a fun bonding night of drinking, laughing and talking. While we can’t speak for everyone, we certainly didn’t expect Penny and Raj’s night to end in coitus. Now, we should point out that - as we come to learn - there wasn’t actually any coitus that night. But that certainly doesn’t take any shock value away from the morning after reveal.
The jump scare has been a pretty standard trope in horror movies for decades now. And while critics might call it overused and a lazy scare technique, there’s no doubt it works. In season 5’s “The Good Guy Fluctuation,” after spending the entire episode trying to get revenge on his friends for scaring him at work, Sheldon goes all in on the jump scare. And it most definitely lives up to its name. When he bursts out of the couch, a scared Leonard literally jumps off his seat. We’re thinking a few of you did as well.
What’s so great about this one is that we, as the audience, don’t realize what’s happening at first. Normally the show would make a point of showing Raj taking a sip of an alcoholic beverage - or at least have a visible bottle nearby - when he’d be talking to women. But in this case, we’re so caught up in his sadness over being dumped by Lucy that most of us probably didn’t even think about whether or not he’d been drinking when Penny shows up to see how he’s doing. When he says he hasn’t had a drink all day, the shocking revelation really hits perfectly.
Not many good things happen to Stuart. Yes, he makes out with Penny, but she says Leonard’s name while doing so. Sure, he owns his own comic book store, but according to him it’s the very opposite of a lucrative business. While there seem to be very few “best of times” for Stuart Bloom, none of us would’ve imagined his “worst of times” would get as bad as they are at the end of Season 7.When Sheldon walks into the comic book store, his shock at seeing the fiery destruction is matched only by the sad gasp from the studio audience, and probably most of us at home as well.
As with many television shows, writers try to end seasons with big, often shocking revelations, and “The Big Bang Theory” was no exception. They did it in Season 8 when Leonard reveals to Penny - on their way to get married in Vegas - that he kissed a girl when he was away at sea (xref). In another season that might’ve been the biggest surprise, but in Season 8 nothing shocked and saddened fans more than the death of Howard’s mom. We barely saw her, but Mrs. Wolowitz - voiced by Carol Ann Susi - was a major part of the series for eight years. But then, in November of 2014, Susi passed away, and a few months later, so did her character on the show.
While learning that Stuart sometimes watches Howard and Bernadette sleep is both shocking and creepy (xref), there’s an even more surprising moment in Season 9. You see, as difficult as Sheldon and Amy’s breakup is, we all knew that the couple would eventually get back together. They just had to, right? In the ninth episode of the ninth season, it appeared like it was finally going to happen. Sheldon and Amy go to the aquarium together as friends on Thanksgiving and have a really nice time. Following the outing, Amy calls her ex and tells him that she’s ready to resume their romantic relationship. But then comes the big shocker…. Sheldon says no!
Before we get to his proposal, we can’t talk about Season 10 without mentioning the shocking reason why (xref) Sheldon always knocks three times. The revelation comes during a conversation between him and Penny when he confesses to her that, as a young child, he walked in on his dad with another woman. As shocking as that incident was for Sheldon, no moment in the tenth season surprised us more than his proposal to Amy. From the moment Dr. Ramona Nowitzki kisses him and he walks out of his office, we’re in a constant state of wondering where he’s going. Even when we hear him knock on Amy’s door, we still aren’t expecting to see him down on one knee when she opens it.
In “The Bitcoin Entanglement,” the guys remember that they’d mined a bunch of Bitcoin years earlier and set out on a quest to find it. Retracing their steps, they eventually find the laptop with the folder on it, only to learn that Sheldon - because they’d mined it without him - had moved it to the Batman flash drive on Leonard’s keychain. Smart move, except for the fact that Leonard lost the keychain. Then, in a funny, throwaway moment at the end of the episode, we see a flashback of Stuart sweeping up in his store, finding the keychain and deciding to erase the contents and sell it. It’s a funny coda, but think about it… Stuart could’ve been rich!
There’s no denying Sheldon’s brilliance. He’s a genius of the highest order and his ability to understand physics and the scientific world is second to none. However, if there was one other thing we thought we knew about him, it’s that the only thing bigger than his intelligence is probably his ego. For those reasons - and the fact that he’d basically said it on more than one occasion - the expectations for his Nobel Prize speech would be that it would be all about him. But it isn’t. After Amy calls him out on his selfishness, Sheldon seems to truly see the light. And in that light he sees the true value of his friends - and that’s what his speech is about.
Season 1: Raj Talks to Penny for the First Time
“The Grasshopper Experiment”Penny has been at the heart of each of Raj’s surprising show moments in regard to his communications with women. Not only is she the first woman he talks to while completely sober, she’s the first non-family woman he talks to at all. For the first seven episodes of the series, Raj’s major character trait is his inability to talk directly to a woman. But in Episode 8, that all changes as he, while sipping on a grasshopper, utters these six words “Where did my life go Penny?” It’s in this shocking moment that we all discover (along with Raj himself) that alcohol is the magic elixir for his selective mutism.
Season 2: The Napkin Gift & the Hug
“The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis”They say that “It’s more blessed to give than to receive,” and that’s definitely the case when the reaction of the person you’re giving to is as amazing as Sheldon’s in the Season 2 Christmas episode. Not known for his emotional outbursts or his enjoyment of physical contact with other human beings, both those tendencies go out the window when Penny gives him a napkin. Okay, it isn’t just a napkin, it’s a napkin used and signed by Leonard Nimoy. We’re not sure what’s more shocking, the amazingly perfect gift Penny gets for her friend or the rare Sheldon hug that he bestows upon her in an attempt to thank her.
Season 3: Stan Lee
“The Excelsior Acquisition”In Season 3’s “The Excelsior Acquisition,” Sheldon misses out on a Stan Lee signing at the comic book store because he’s in court fighting a ticket that he got while driving Penny to the hospital. Feeling bad about her role in Sheldon missing the event, Penny gets Lee’s address from Stuart and takes Sheldon to the great man’s house. However, we hadn’t seen Lee at any point in the episode thus far, so one would be forgiven for not assuming he’d show up in this moment either. But there he is opening the door. Whether you thought he’d be there or not, seeing the icon standing there in his robe is definitely a thrill.
Season 4: Raj & Penny Sleep Together
“The Roommate Transmogrification”At the end of this season finale, Penny is shocked to wake up naked in bed with Raj. When we had last seen them, these two were in the midst of a fun bonding night of drinking, laughing and talking. While we can’t speak for everyone, we certainly didn’t expect Penny and Raj’s night to end in coitus. Now, we should point out that - as we come to learn - there wasn’t actually any coitus that night. But that certainly doesn’t take any shock value away from the morning after reveal.
Season 5: Sheldon in the Couch
“The Good Guy Fluctuation”The jump scare has been a pretty standard trope in horror movies for decades now. And while critics might call it overused and a lazy scare technique, there’s no doubt it works. In season 5’s “The Good Guy Fluctuation,” after spending the entire episode trying to get revenge on his friends for scaring him at work, Sheldon goes all in on the jump scare. And it most definitely lives up to its name. When he bursts out of the couch, a scared Leonard literally jumps off his seat. We’re thinking a few of you did as well.
Season 6: Raj Talks to Penny Sober
“The Bon Voyage Reaction”What’s so great about this one is that we, as the audience, don’t realize what’s happening at first. Normally the show would make a point of showing Raj taking a sip of an alcoholic beverage - or at least have a visible bottle nearby - when he’d be talking to women. But in this case, we’re so caught up in his sadness over being dumped by Lucy that most of us probably didn’t even think about whether or not he’d been drinking when Penny shows up to see how he’s doing. When he says he hasn’t had a drink all day, the shocking revelation really hits perfectly.
Season 7: The Comic Book Store Burns Down
“The Status Quo Combustion”Not many good things happen to Stuart. Yes, he makes out with Penny, but she says Leonard’s name while doing so. Sure, he owns his own comic book store, but according to him it’s the very opposite of a lucrative business. While there seem to be very few “best of times” for Stuart Bloom, none of us would’ve imagined his “worst of times” would get as bad as they are at the end of Season 7.When Sheldon walks into the comic book store, his shock at seeing the fiery destruction is matched only by the sad gasp from the studio audience, and probably most of us at home as well.
Season 8: Howard’s Mom Dies
“The Comic Book Store Regeneration”As with many television shows, writers try to end seasons with big, often shocking revelations, and “The Big Bang Theory” was no exception. They did it in Season 8 when Leonard reveals to Penny - on their way to get married in Vegas - that he kissed a girl when he was away at sea (xref). In another season that might’ve been the biggest surprise, but in Season 8 nothing shocked and saddened fans more than the death of Howard’s mom. We barely saw her, but Mrs. Wolowitz - voiced by Carol Ann Susi - was a major part of the series for eight years. But then, in November of 2014, Susi passed away, and a few months later, so did her character on the show.
Season 9: Sheldon Doesn’t Take Amy Back
“The Platonic Permutation”While learning that Stuart sometimes watches Howard and Bernadette sleep is both shocking and creepy (xref), there’s an even more surprising moment in Season 9. You see, as difficult as Sheldon and Amy’s breakup is, we all knew that the couple would eventually get back together. They just had to, right? In the ninth episode of the ninth season, it appeared like it was finally going to happen. Sheldon and Amy go to the aquarium together as friends on Thanksgiving and have a really nice time. Following the outing, Amy calls her ex and tells him that she’s ready to resume their romantic relationship. But then comes the big shocker…. Sheldon says no!
Season 10: Sheldon Proposes
“The Long Distance Dissonance”Before we get to his proposal, we can’t talk about Season 10 without mentioning the shocking reason why (xref) Sheldon always knocks three times. The revelation comes during a conversation between him and Penny when he confesses to her that, as a young child, he walked in on his dad with another woman. As shocking as that incident was for Sheldon, no moment in the tenth season surprised us more than his proposal to Amy. From the moment Dr. Ramona Nowitzki kisses him and he walks out of his office, we’re in a constant state of wondering where he’s going. Even when we hear him knock on Amy’s door, we still aren’t expecting to see him down on one knee when she opens it.
Season 11: Stuart Could’ve Been Rich
“The Bitcoin Entanglement”In “The Bitcoin Entanglement,” the guys remember that they’d mined a bunch of Bitcoin years earlier and set out on a quest to find it. Retracing their steps, they eventually find the laptop with the folder on it, only to learn that Sheldon - because they’d mined it without him - had moved it to the Batman flash drive on Leonard’s keychain. Smart move, except for the fact that Leonard lost the keychain. Then, in a funny, throwaway moment at the end of the episode, we see a flashback of Stuart sweeping up in his store, finding the keychain and deciding to erase the contents and sell it. It’s a funny coda, but think about it… Stuart could’ve been rich!
Season 12: Sheldon’s Nobel Prize Speech
“The Stockholm Syndrome”There’s no denying Sheldon’s brilliance. He’s a genius of the highest order and his ability to understand physics and the scientific world is second to none. However, if there was one other thing we thought we knew about him, it’s that the only thing bigger than his intelligence is probably his ego. For those reasons - and the fact that he’d basically said it on more than one occasion - the expectations for his Nobel Prize speech would be that it would be all about him. But it isn’t. After Amy calls him out on his selfishness, Sheldon seems to truly see the light. And in that light he sees the true value of his friends - and that’s what his speech is about.
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