Top 10 Worst Things That Were Done to Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory

After Apartment 4A gets robbed, fear takes an overwhelming hold of Sheldon. Unfortunately, his friends aren’t all that sympathetic, especially when he turns up in their room late at night. So, he turns to Howard to help install a security system, which ends up backfiring. With no logical alternative, Sheldon concludes that the only reasonable step is to leave Pasadena forever. And his vetting system for choosing his new home is comprehensive. Ultimately he settles on Bozeman, Montana, but when he doesn’t receive the warm welcome he imagined, he comes running home. Yes, most of the mishaps are his own doing, but he was truly terrified, so we can’t help but feel bad for him.

No one loves the sound of their own voice more than Sheldon Cooper. And thanks to his colleague Barry Kripke, for a short while, everyone else also enjoys hearing his jibber-jabber. First, Kripke spoils Sheldon’s exciting announcement. Then he plays a mean prank on him, on national radio, no less. Sure, Sheldon can be arrogant and obnoxious, but was it really necessary to disrupt his fifteen minutes of fame? It certainly lifted everyone else’s spirits. But poor Shelly’s left humiliated and distraught, and once again, his friends aren’t all that supportive. Although, they do encourage him to get revenge. Of course, things don’t go to plan. But at least he takes everyone down with him.

There’s nothing Sheldon loves more than a contract. But the roommate agreement holds a special place in his heart. So when Priya dissects his beloved contract and turns it against him, he’s rather distressed. Worse still, his friends use her skills and savvy to unsettle their friend deliberately. We all know Sheldon can be inflexible and controlling. But wouldn’t it have been better to use Priya’s lawyerly expertise to rewrite a fairer agreement rather than torment Sheldon? The Greek food situation was just plain mean. Watching Sheldon try and be adaptable as his friends watch on in glee is surprisingly heartbreaking. Luckily it’s nothing that a night out with the ladies and a “Stark Trek” reenactment can’t fix.

There’s been a lot of speculation over whether Sheldon has autism and/or OCD. Although the creators refuted the former, there’s no denying this physicist likes things a certain way and has extremely rigid boundaries. Sadly, that’s not always respected by his nearest and dearest. For instance, Amy often tries to push their relationship beyond his comfort zone. And in Season 2, Penny isn’t very considerate when Sheldon calls her for help after forgetting his flash drive. He provides strict instructions, all of which she ignores. Penny upsets him further by insisting on calling him “Moon Pie.” Meanwhile, poor Sheldon’s stuck on the train feeling flustered, inflamed, and helpless.

We’ve talked a lot about Sheldon’s struggles with change. But with so much changing around him, he decides to jump on board. His train station tour of America gets cut short when he’s robbed of all his possessions, including his pants. Sheldon in pants can be a lot. But Sheldon ranting to strangers in underwear and one sock is a whole new level. Still, we can’t help but feel sorry for him as he desperately seeks help from alarmed passersby. We also feel for him when even the cops don’t show him much sympathy. Again, being robbed is an awful enough experience. And although he doesn’t make it easy, we wish someone had offered him some compassion.

Aw, Sheldon. His friends get him with their Halloween prank. And they get him good. However, this fuels his desire for vengeance. So he spends most of the episode trying to get them back. After failed attempts at scaring Leonard and Raj, Sheldon sets his sights on Howard. His plan: to surprise his buddy with a joy buzzer handshake. Only Howard, assisted by Bernadette, is one step ahead of him. You must admit that tricking someone into believing they’ve caused their friend severe harm is pretty cruel. Even if it results in an epic gotcha moment. To add insult to injury, Sheldon forgets about the buzzer in his hand, resulting in his second shock that night.

No one would call Sheldon an exemplary friend. But one of the rare occasions we see him help someone else backfires later on. While his friends head off to get autographs from Stan Lee, Sheldon has to go to traffic court. It seems pretty inconsiderate of Penny to land him in trouble after he came to her aid, don’t you think? We certainly feel for him when his friends recount their exciting day out with the Marvel comic book writer. Penny tries to make it up to him, but he lands in hot water again. Although, this time it was kinda his fault. Well, at least he got a nice addition to his ever-growing restraining order collection.

Sheldon’s often disrespectful and disparaging of Howard’s career. So, when Howard’s asked to work with one of Sheldon’s idols, he has the perfect leverage to get back at him. And he doesn’t hold back. Yes, we all laugh when Sheldon enters the university’s cafeteria wearing that maid’s outfit. But Howard does take things a little far when he tasks Sheldon with cleaning his entire collection of belt buckles. And we feel a twinge of sympathy for him when Bernadette jumps on the bandwagon to get out of spending time with Howard’s mom. We wonder if Howard would have gone to all that trouble had he known that Sheldon would end up embarrassing himself in front of Hawking anyway.

We imagine growing up with a brother like Sheldon wasn’t easy. But it sounds like Georgie and Missy Cooper often left Sheldon feeling isolated. While the fort story is definitely sad, there’s another incident from Sheldon’s childhood that leaves us all choked up. He divulges why he hates celebrating his birthday, and his story makes our hearts sink. We can’t help but picture little Sheldon Cooper, all dressed up in a cute bowtie waiting for Batman to show up while his sister and her friends watched and laughed. Just thinking about it is gut-wrenching. We’re glad he has a group of friends who come through and finally make his childhood dream come true.

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

Sheldon Interrupted, “The Friendship Algorithm”
We Certainly Wouldn’t Want His Head to Explode

Wil Wheaton Tricks Sheldon Into Throwing the Game, “The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary”
This Marks the Start of a Schrödinger’s Cat-Style Friendship

Whose Water Is It Anyway? “The Engagement Reaction”
Sheldon’s Germophobia Is No Joke

The Story Behind His Three Knocks, “The Hot Tub Contamination”
Who Knew the Origin of This Quirk Would Be So Heartbreaking?

Sheldon’s Stage Fright Goes Viral, “The Pants Alternative”
No One Wants Their Embarrassing Drunken Antics Shared Online

One evening with Sheldon can drive you mad. Yet, the others agree to join him on a three-month expedition to the North Pole. And to no one’s surprise, we learn that Sheldon was insufferable the entire time. Still, tampering with his data seems quite an extreme way to handle the inconvenience. Especially as it could’ve left a huge mark on his credibility in the science world. In fact, he feels so humiliated and betrayed that he runs home to Texas. None of his friends seem particularly remorseful, especially Leonard, who’s more concerned with hooking up with Penny. It’s no secret that Sheldon can be infuriating, yet they still agreed to go, so that’s on them. This was just cruel.