Top 10 The Big Bang Theory Unanswered Questions

In the final season of “The Big Bang Theory”, both Sheldon & Amy are nominated for a Nobel Prize. After an early morning phone call, they learn they have won and the gang celebrates. Since the episode ends with Amy & Sheldon receiving their award, we’re not given any clues as to the direction their careers take. What exactly comes next after you’ve won a Nobel Prize in the world of science? Given Sheldon’s lifelong obsession with the Nobel, it leaves the door open to a lot of possibilities once he’s crossed that item off his list. The best we can hope for is a hint in a future episode of “Young Sheldon”.

One of the ongoing story elements of “The Big Bang Theory” was how Howard dealt with his father’s departure. In numerous episodes throughout the show's run, we learned that Howard’s dad left him and his mom when he was a kid. He never saw his father nor heard from him at any point afterwards. During a season six episode, Sheldon uncovers a letter to Howard detailing what happened, but Howard doesn’t want to know. The gang opts to give him six different stories about his dad, with one being true. It provides the audience and Howard their own Schrödinger’s cat. We all both know and don’t know the answer at the same time.

Over the course of the entire show, Howard’s mom was a bit of a running gag. Like Vera’s unseen face on “Cheers”, Debbie Wolowitz was a character we never saw, but certainly heard. Portrayed as an overprotective and obnoxious mother, Debbie Wolowitz was in the show up until season 8. The character was retired after her voice actress, Carol Ann Susi, tragically passed away. With the character now absent from the show, the mystery of what she looked like would always be there. Keen observers have noted that a photo of Susi can be seen on the side of the fridge in the boy's apartment. It’s a close hint at what she could have looked like, while still not being an outright confirmation.

Early on we learned that Howard received his masters degree from MIT, but did not get his doctorate. As much as he has accomplished as an engineer, it’s never stopped his friends and colleagues from poking fun at his lack of a PhD. For a moment in season 8, we thought he might get there with help from Sheldon. But that didn’t pan out. We wonder if Sheldon and & Amy’s Nobel win may have given Howard a bit of a push to earn his last degree. If so, he could finally be called “Doctor Wolowitz”. It would certainly be an improvement over “Wolowizard”.

For six years of the show’s run, Raj suffered through selective mutism whenever he was around women. This certainly caused his fair share of relationship issues. Even when he faced the issue head-on, his inability to maintain a long term, stable relationship followed him until the series ended. It always seemed that Raj’s biggest hurdle was his inner battle of wanting to be happy, versus wanting to make someone else happy. When the show wrapped, Raj was still single but content amongst his friends. Does he ever manage to find a girl who knows what “Notting Hill” was really about?

In the final episodes of the show, we learned that Leonard and Penny were expecting their first child. This came as a shock to viewers, as Penny didn’t seem enthusiastic about the idea. [”What if we didn’t have kids”]. After hearing her go back and forth on the idea several times, learning that she would definitely become a mom was certainly a huge surprise. That just leaves the mystery of how they’d be as parents. Neither of them had conventional upbringings. Both Leonard’s relationship with his mom, and Penny’s relationship with her dad certainly had their ups and downs. However, given the love between the couple, and what they learned from their own pasts, we’re confident they became fantastic parents.

Speaking of Leonard’s mom, she was introduced as a high-achieving academic with little regard for any accomplishment her son ever made. He spent his whole life trying to please his mother, while she ignored him. She thought this would all bring him strength, but instead, this parenting method merely created an emotional wall between the two. As the show comes to an end, Leonard finally decides he’s had enough and forgives her. It’s there we see her give him his first real piece of affection: something he yearned for all along. Could this have been a sign of better things to come?

Can you imagine someone like Sheldon as a dad? Through the events of “Young Sheldon”, we learn that Sheldon & Amy have a son named Leonard. Given Sheldon’s precarious history with his own father, fans became worried he might repeat some of those parenting patterns. When it comes to Sheldon however, we know that he can change his world views. For the 12 years we saw him on television, he came to grow far beyond his original struggles. We’d like to think that, as a father, he’d give his son everything he didn’t get as a young child.

Unlike many of the entries on this list, this one is one many may have overlooked. Throughout the run of the show, Howard was seen sporting many turtlenecks. But have you ever noticed the little alien pin? In virtually every episode, Howard can be seen with one of these pins on his turtleneck. They change shapes, sizes, and colors from episode to episode. But nothing in-show ever gives us a clue as to their meaning. In a behind-the-scenes clip, costume designer Mary T. Quigley did say there was a reason for them, but we never did learn what it was.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

What Happened With Howard’s Half-Brother?
We Never Saw Him Again

Will We See Any Cameos In “Young Sheldon”?
We Already Got a Hint

After 279 episodes, you might have thought we’d know the full names of all the major characters. Since we’ve already memorized Koothrappali and Rostenkowski, you’d think the writers would have given us Penny’s original last name. Alas, this appears to be a question that they never really intended to answer. In fact, as time went on, it became a bit of a superstition to not give her a last name at all. Fans have theorized about her name, and come up with several creative possibilities. However, the producers and writers have stood firm that this was a question they never really intended to answer.