Top 20 Saddest The Big Bang Theory Moments
#20: Stuart Showed Up “The Mommy Observation”
Top 10 Times Stuart Deserved Better on The Big Bang Theory
As much as Stuart was part of the group - and at one point, he and Raj became really good friends - he often felt like he was on the outside looking in. And while we’d like to tell you that he was wrong and was just projecting his own fears and neuroses onto the group - we can’t. Sure, we understand that a lot can happen in two decades. But when the gang all agreed to reunite for a meal 20 years in the future, Stuart was the only one who followed through. We can only assume that the rest of them were sitting around some futuristic coffee table eating dinner, and totally forgot about their former friend.
#19: Green Lantern Had to Watch Wonder Woman & Superman “The Justice League Recombination”
Winning the New Year's Eve costume contest at the comic book store should have been a really happy moment for Leonard. And it was… at first. The guys’ decision to get Penny to be Wonder Woman and her then-boyfriend Zack to be Superman had paid off in victory. But then the countdown happened, midnight struck and Leonard had to stand there and watch Penny and Zack kiss. What made it even sadder was that Penny had her eyes on Leonard throughout. This gesture felt like her acknowledging she still had feelings for him, even though she was embracing Zack.
#18: “I Wish You Weren’t Going” “The Monopolar Expedition”
Top 10 Saddest The Big Bang Theory Moments
In the season 2 finale, Sheldon and the guys prepared to head off to the North Pole for a few months. After Penny found out Leonard was leaving, she notably got him a gift and gave him an extra lengthy hug. This act confused Leonard, who had major feelings for his neighbor. However, when he questioned her about her motives, she denied that her gestures and words meant anything. Yet when he left and she was alone in her apartment, she finally privately voiced her true feelings, breaking us. If she had just told Leonard the truth, we could have all had a happy cry - but instead the moment was just a tragic one.
#17: Sheldon Feeling Left Out “The Fortification Implementation”
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We may not all be geniuses, but that doesn’t mean we can’t relate to a lot of what the guys, Amy, and Bernadette go through. In this case, it was Sheldon’s feelings that hit us right in our hearts. When Dr. Cooper didn’t get invited to an exclusive physics symposium, his feelings were hurt. No one ever likes to be left out, especially when the thing you’re being left out of involves your peer group. Sure, many of us can’t relate to the whole physics symposium thing, but being excluded is something we’ve all dealt with at one time or another. It’s this relatability that really made the ordeal difficult to watch - until Sheldon and Amy built Fort Cozy McBlanket of course.
#16: Priya Cheated on Leonard “The Good Guy Fluctuation”
Allow us to start by saying that yes, we know Leonard also cheated on Priya when he repeatedly made out with Alice, the girl from the comic book store. However, with that being said, we also recognize that he ultimately stopped it from going farther than that, walking away because he felt bad about what he was doing. So when he found out that Priya did a whole lot more than just make out with someone, he was blindsided. And his pain over the dissolution of their relationship was real. Regardless of how you felt about Leonard and Priya as a couple, there’s no doubt that they cared for each other, and seeing it end like that was unfortunate.
#15: Penny Cut From “NCIS” “The Hesitation Ramification”
Top 10 Penny & Leonard Moments on The Big Bang Theory
To call Penny a struggling actress is almost an understatement. Before she switched career paths, her only noteworthy gigs, besides some small stage productions, were a hemorrhoid commercial and the low-budget, low-quality “Serial Ape-ist” movies. So when she got a small part on an episode of the big network television show “NCIS” in season 7, we couldn’t have been happier for her. That also meant that when she found out her scene was removed from the episode, we felt her pain and devastation. It was even worse because she was watching with all her friends in excited anticipation. We still haven’t fully recovered from this one.
#14: Why Sheldon Knocks 3 Times “The Hot Tub Contamination”
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Throughout the series, Sheldon’s compulsion to always knock three times was a source of many very funny moments. However, the origin of the obsession and the reason why he did it was anything but funny - as he explained to Penny in season 10. During a heart to heart with her, he opened up about how, as a teen, he had walked in on his dad with a woman – who was not his mom. That’s something no kid should never have to see. He told the story in order to explain why he was being difficult when it came to compromising with Amy. But in doing so, he also mentioned that it fueled the reasoning behind his triple knocks, tugging at our heartstrings in the process.
#13: Sheldon & Amy's Theory Debunked “The Citation Negation”
Top 20 Sheldon & Amy Moments on The Big Bang Theory
One of the happiest moments on the show was when Sheldon and Amy won the Nobel Prize. However, in the lead up to that happiest of moments, their story took a few major detours into sadness. One such detour was the apparent disproving of their theory by a Russian paper from the 1970s. Seeing the shock in their eyes was sad enough, and Sheldon demolishing the whiteboard just added to it. But the primal scream he let out after is when the devastation of the moment really hit the highest and most gutting of notes. Although, it did make the joy that much greater when their theory was ultimately proved right.
#12: Howard Refuses to Read the Letter From His Father “The Closet Reconfiguration”
Two of the defining aspects of Howard’s character were the fact that he lived with his mother and that his father abandoned the family when he was young. While he was often ragged on for the former, it was the latter that was sad. We always knew it had affected him. But it wasn’t until Sheldon uncovered a letter from his dad, sent for his 18th birthday, that we fully appreciated the hurt Howard was carrying. He never opened it, actually opting to burn it in this episode. The group eventually came up with a clever way to share its message with him. But his not wanting to definitively know what it said showed the depth of the agony he felt - we felt it too.
#11: Sheldon's Pop-Pop “The Santa Simulation"
The Big Bang Theory VS Young Sheldon
What started off as a fun Christmas-themed game of Dungeons & Dragons ends with one of the saddest moments of the series. In this scene, we learn why Sheldon has such disdain for the Christmas season, and more specifically, jolly old St. Nick. Sheldon reveals that his grandfather was the only person in his family that encouraged him to pursue science when he was a kid. And that, when his Pop Pop passed away, he asked Santa to bring him back - which of course didn’t happen. It’s a funny scene, but it’s underlaid with real emotional sadness.
#10: Lucy Breaks Up with Raj "The Bon Voyage Reaction"
Top 20 Classic I Love Lucy Moments
Although Raj seemed to fall in love with pretty much any girl that looked his way, Lucy was the first girl he was probably truly in love with. Given her intense social anxiety, Raj had to work extra hard to get her to trust him and keep her from climbing out of the nearest bathroom window. And he did. He was very understanding of her issues, he set up super romantic texting dates and he was quick to apologize when he would push her too far out of her comfort zone. But it wasn’t enough. In the season six finale, Lucy agreed to meet the gang, but in the end it was too much for her and she broke up with Raj... through text!
#9: Sheldon Says No to Amy "The Platonic Permutation"
Top 10 Times Sheldon Was a Savage on The Big Bang Theory
From the moment that Amy ended her relationship with Sheldon, fans were waiting for Shamy to get back together. Needing a break from Sheldon was understandable, but these two were meant to be together. And most of us probably assumed that when Amy was ready to get back together, Sheldon would be too. But alas no. And it wasn’t just the “no” that was sad. His honest reasoning about how hard it was for him to get over her is something that so many of us can relate to from both perspectives.
#8: The Last Supper “The Leftover Thermalization”
Top 20 The Big Bang Theory Moments That Made Us Happy Cry
As anyone who's ever lost someone knows, it isn’t just sad when it happens. There are also moments that come along afterwards that bring back memories, and in so doing bring the grief back up to the surface. That’s exactly what happened to Howard after his mom died when the power went out at her house. Stuart was residing there at the time, and told Howard it had been out since the middle of the night. On the surface, this might not sound like a big deal. But it was to Howard, since all the food his mother had left in the freezer was going to go bad. This, and his choice to organize a dinner, was portrayed in a heart-wrenchingly real way.
#7: Penny Breaks Up with Leonard "The Wheaton Recurrence"
Top 20 Penny & Leonard Moments on The Big Bang Theory
Yes, they’ve had their ups and downs, almost breakups and so on, and they were sad every time. But this is the one that hurt the most. It all began when Leonard told Penny he loved her for the first time and Penny didn’t return the sentiment. This is a tipping point moment in any relationship and it was in this one as well. Leonard tried to play it cool and understanding about them being at different places in the relationship. But he wasn’t, and he couldn’t stop pressuring Penny about the unreturned “L” bomb. Finally, with a little evil-genius coaxing from Wil Wheaton, she dropped the break-up bomb on Leonard, breaking his heart, and ours.
#6: Stuart's Comic Book Store Burns Down “The Status Quo Combustion”
At the beginning of the series, Stuart went on a couple dates with Penny and in the final season he falls in love with a great girl and they move in together. But in between those high points, Stuart had a whole lot of lows. And no moment was lower or sadder than when his comic book store burned down. For a guy who already seemed to be having a tough time with life, seeing his business destroyed felt like life really was picking on him. The studio audience's shocked and saddened reaction to the destruction is the perfect sonic representation of what we all felt in that moment.
#5: Sheldon Is a Selfish Jerk “The Stockholm Syndrome”
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Sheldon being selfish and inconsiderate was the source of much of the comedy on the show, but his selfishness hit a high point in the series finale. And it wasn’t funny. The gang all went to Sweden to celebrate Sheldon and Amy winning the Nobel Prize. But before they got to the ceremony, Sheldon managed to selfishly piss off every one of his friends. So much so that they all considered leaving. The saddest moment came when Amy had to call him out and tell him that the reason their friends were “abandoning” them was because he “broke their hearts.”
#4: Professor Proton Dies "The Proton Transmogrification"
Professor Proton was the host of a science show for kids back when Sheldon and Leonard were growing up. His importance to Sheldon during his younger, friendless years can’t be overstated. The guys become somewhat friendly with him at the end of season 6, but near the end of the 7th season Professor Proton passed away. At first Sheldon acts like it doesn’t affect him, not going to the funeral and focusing instead on Star Wars Day. But when Leonard returns from the funeral, Sheldon can’t deny it anymore. The pain and sadness he has been trying to ignore comes out in a moment of heartache that anyone who has lost someone important to them can relate to.
#3: Leonard Forgives His Mother "The Maternal Conclusion"
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Leonard’s relationship, or lack thereof, with his mother was a source of many jokes throughout the run of the series. He’s constantly looking for love, approval and an emotional connection from his mother that never comes. Although, in one of the final episodes things seem to have changed - until Leonard realizes she was just doing it to gather information for a new book. And that’s when he, instead of trying to change his mother, decides to forgive her. It’s a truly powerful moment, and as he speaks you can see an emotional weight being lifted off his shoulders. The scene ends with his mother giving him a hug. A real hug. Quite possibly for the first time ever.
#2: Amy Breaks Up with Sheldon "The Commitment Determination"
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As patient and understanding as Raj was with Lucy, Amy was ten times that when it came to her relationship with Sheldon. And there was no doubting that they both truly did love each other - which made their break up that much sadder. This wasn’t something Amy wanted to do or was happy to do. It was something that she needed to do, even though it was hurting her as much as Sheldon. And as if that wasn’t sad enough, this moment turns the sadness meter up to eleven when we find out that Sheldon had a ring and was planning on proposing to Amy before she ended things.
#1: Howard’s Mother Dies "The Comic Book Store Regeneration"
Top 10 Times Howard was the Best on The Big Bang Theory
For eight seasons, Howard’s mother was just a loud, screeching voice coming from off-screen. We never saw her face, but she was as important as almost anyone on the show. After his father left when he was a young boy, Howard and his mom only had each other. Howard would make jokes about her dying, but there was never any doubt about how much he loved her. And so did we. Which made Howard’s shocking announcement that she had passed away such a truly sad moment. If you didn’t shed a tear at any of the other moments on this list, there is no way your eyes stayed dry this episode.
