[Spoilers] Season 12 Discussion Thread

[Itwasdestined]

Sheldons speech ...where he told all his friends/Amy how much he loved them ...that got me

Yep I cried. Brilliant ending for this fab of every character.

Loved it all. Loved the call backs, especially Raj stirring Leonard about his hoodies. Don’t care if it was an accident, Penny looked so happy about being pregnant when it was revealed I can believe it. Loved that they all had the guts to finally call out Sheldons behaviour and his speech was brilliant. Just a great finale.


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[April]

There was a lot to love in this finale I just wish it was backed up by a better season.

For all that people were complaining about the Nobel at least they got it in the end and that speech really stuck the landing.

But wasting so much time on exploring Penny not wanting kids only to have her accidentally get pregnant like no big deal was just so... ughh.. They could have actually given Lenny meaningful plots instead of wasting them on something that doesn't matter in the end (and seemingly never mattered to begin with if the writers kinda always wanted to go back to the S&B Babies anyway). ugh

I had the same issue with Raj last week - a season wasted on what could have been an interesting idea that just got dropped like a hot potato. And nothing much for the finale either.

Howardette were the most consistently written couple as ever. No complaints here and it was nice to see the kids as a parting gift to those who were worried they were just imaginary. lol

Overall a few things were hit and miss, but all in all, a warm and fuzzy conclusion to this show with a good measure of fan service thrown in.

[bfm]

6 hours ago, Sah said:

Very happy for Leonard and Penny, although confused why the wasted donation episodes and I don't want kids if she really did want them. I would have liked more information on what suddenly changed her mind. I wish they would have done a full episode exploring that before the pregnancy announcement. I can think of several other episodes they could have scrapped this season to do that. I think they probably owed that much to Lenny fans. And divided the two final episodes between Nobel and pregnancy of Lenny. 

I agree with you on this. What was the biggest miss for me in the finale is the lack of a big Penny moment. How I wish they had her talk about changing her mind, maybe explaining it's not really that she didn't want kids but it was more out of anxiety/insecurities/feelings of inadequacy. They could've crafted a very touching Lenny scene out of this and give Penny her well-deserved deeper, emotional moment. I would have liked it better if they had her initiate that (maybe in 12X23 or in a previous episode instead of another Nobel fight) instead of it being an accident, but even as an accident I think the finale would've benefitted greatly from taking a moment to center on Penny's feelings. 

Relatedly:

2 hours ago, mirs1 said:

You know, this interview baffles me...the writers said they wanted to acknowledge the "smart and beautiful babies" line and this is very right, some of us have been saying for ages it is  iconic in the show and it deserved to be remembered in the finale. But, if that is the case, why having Penny say so explicitly she didn't want children? It makes little sense. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced this was a very very good finale for a not so good season...

The no-kids plot is to me their biggest mistake ever, or at least top 3. It didn't fit the character and previous episodes, it was out of the blue and poorly executed, it greatly upset so many fans and was followed by the very silly, even disrespectful, donation plot. Maybe they did it to buy time, thinking they might have another season, but 1) It was taped after the announcement, they could've made changes 2) As I said, it didn't fit the character and previous episodes and was poorly executed, "buying time" isn't worth that. Instead they could've just have her ponder the timing, worrying she's not ready, perhaps even have her say again that she's not ready closer to the end of the season, and then have her pregnant in the finale. There was really no need at all for that terrible 12X03, and all the upset feelings that followed it for many of us... 

2 hours ago, MookiStar said:

did anyone else notice those balls from the model were stuck to sheldons butt? lol only caught it the second time i watched it through

I did! haha It was a nice touch

 

[hokie3457]

7 hours ago, Tensor said:

Jessica Radloff's recap

https://www.glamour.com/story/the-big-bang-theory-season-12-series-finale-recap?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=onsite-share&utm_brand=glamour&utm_social-type=earned

...and I’m crying again (really. I am...). A lovely, well written article. Thank you for sharing @Tensor . And thank you tomJessica for always being supportive of TBBT and always writing the hard truth. 

6 hours ago, MookiStar said:

did anyone watch the special on afterwards, it seems i can't access it and it won't be shown here in australia

 

is it worth seeking out to watch?

Yes!

[joyceraye]

5 hours ago, Sah said:

That I loved ❤️

Yes. Raj got the shaft. Again.

I read somewhere that the Buffy lady phoned Raj and agreed to go with him to the Nobel ceremony. Sounds like the start of something. She's  already putting her foot down that Raj is not to get 'over enthusiastic' ( euphemism for how he normally behaves ) too soon. So, she's got the measure of him.Good for her. This could work out.  

[April]

7 minutes ago, joyceraye said:

I read somewhere that the Buffy lady phoned Raj and agreed to go with him to the Nobel ceremony. Sounds like the start of something. She's  already putting her foot down that Raj is not to get 'over enthusiastic' ( euphemism for how he normally behaves ) too soon. So, she's got the measure of him.Good for her. This could work out.  

Sarah Michelle Gellar is a married woman there's nothing to work out. lol

[luminous]

Link: The Big Bang Theory showrunner Steve Holland answers burning questions about the series finale

 

 

[chucky]

1 hour ago, luminous said:

Link: The Big Bang Theory showrunner Steve Holland answers burning questions about the series finale

 

 

Thanks for sharing. Nice Holland interview!

[Die Zimtzicke]

8 hours ago, ShamyScience said:

But I guess they needed a reason for Penny to get hammered and end up pregnant . God, I hate how they did this.

I don't even care for Penny, but her character deserved better.

That is how I feel. This was a meh ending to a disappointing season.

Just as this final season was not outstanding, neither was the finale. It was good but it didn't touch some of the great finales of all time, like MASH, Newhart or Mary Tyler Moore. It was a laundry list of answered questions, just to answer them. Nobel prize, elevator fixed, finally make Amy look decent, show Stuart is still a loser, show the Wolowitz kids, who were kind of big for two cribs, Lenny is pregnant because she got drunk with Sheldon, explain Leonard's hoodies...yeah we got it. Throw in a guest star that was incredibly underwhelming and prove Sheldon loves his friends and they love him and you're done.

I was just not overly impressed with this. I rated it as good solely on the cast's performances, which were great but this season has just been a disappointment for me from start to finish. I hung in for the end of Young Sheldon though, and I loved it, although I was hoping against hope they would find some old Blossom footage to use of Mayim that would fit. But this finale didn't move me much.

5 hours ago, mirs1 said:

You know, this interview baffles me...the writers said they wanted to acknowledge the "smart and beautiful babies" line and this is very right, some of us have been saying for ages it is  iconic in the show and it deserved to be remembered in the finale. But, if that is the case, why having Penny say so explicitly she didn't want children? It makes little sense. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced this was a very very good finale for a not so good season...

I also agree with this.

1 hour ago, joyceraye said:

read somewhere that the Buffy lady phoned Raj and agreed to go with him to the Nobel ceremony. Sounds like the start of something. She's  already putting her foot down that Raj is not to get 'over enthusiastic' ( euphemism for how he normally behaves ) too soon. So, she's got the measure of him.Good for her. This could work out.  

Explain that to her husband of many years. No one was going to suspend their disbelief enough for that.

Edited May 17, 2019 by Die Zimtzicke

[luminous]

 

[chucky]

15 minutes ago, Die Zimtzicke said:

That is how I feel. This was a meh ending to a disappointing season.

To each their own. Personally I loved the Penny pregnancy. I'm pretty positive 99 percent of Lenny's did as well. I also believe that Penny was happy about being pregnant as well.

Edited May 17, 2019 by chucky

[joyceraye]

8 minutes ago, Die Zimtzicke said:

1 hour ago, joyceraye said:

I read somewhere that the Buffy lady phoned Raj and agreed to go with him to the Nobel ceremony. Sounds like the start of something. She's  already putting her foot down that Raj is not to get 'over enthusiastic' ( euphemism for how he normally behaves ) too soon. So, she's got the measure of him.Good for her. This could work out.  

Explain that to her husband of many years. No one was going to suspend their disbelief enough for that.

I wonder why they chose somebody who was married to play herself ? Surely Raj would have known she was married if he knew who she was? I've changed my mind : it's another ughh Raj moment, holding her hand. He's still not ready.

[bfm]

7 minutes ago, joyceraye said:

I wonder why they chose somebody who was married to play herself ? Surely Raj would have known she was married if he knew who she was? I've changed my mind : it's another ughh Raj moment, holding her hand. He's still not ready.

I don't think they were trying to hint there will be something romantic between them. It would've been nice if we saw him having a nice conversation with someone* on the plane or somewhere else, implying there might be some potential there...

*Maybe a daughter of poor Indian immigrants who works to get what she wants and is connected to her Indian roots but finds ways around them to fit her needs?   The dates are obviously off but in the story he did meet her when Penny was pregnant...

Edited May 17, 2019 by bfm

[veejay]

The long-awaited sneak peek behind the scenes...🙂

[Die Zimtzicke]

1 hour ago, chucky said:

To each their own. Personally I loved the Penny pregnancy. I'm pretty positive 99 percent of Lenny's did as well. I also believe that Penny was happy about being pregnant as well.

Not everyone watched for Lenny.

[KripkeRules]

1 hour ago, Die Zimtzicke said:

It was a laundry list of answered questions, just to answer them. Nobel prize, elevator fixed, finally make Amy look decent, show Stuart is still a loser, show the Wolowitz kids, who were kind of big for two cribs, Lenny is pregnant because she got drunk with Sheldon, explain Leonard's hoodies...yeah we got it. Throw in a guest star that was incredibly underwhelming and prove Sheldon loves his friends and they love him and you're done.

laundry list - Spot on!!!   

I'd like to add something: Sheldon finally admits Howard's achievement - Astronaut Howard Wolowitz.

And to tell the audience one last time: We don't care about Raj or why some things happen, just take your clean clothes and be happy about it. LOL. 

[veejay]

3 hours ago, bfm said:

...

The no-kids plot is to me their biggest mistake ever, or at least top 3. It didn't fit the character and previous episodes, it was out of the blue and poorly executed, it greatly upset so many fans and was followed by the very silly, even disrespectful, donation plot. Maybe they did it to buy time, thinking they might have another season, but 1) It was taped after the announcement, they could've made changes 2) As I said, it didn't fit the character and previous episodes and was poorly executed, "buying time" isn't worth that. Instead they could've just have her ponder the timing, worrying she's not ready, perhaps even have her say again that she's not ready closer to the end of the season, and then have her pregnant in the finale. There was really no need at all for that terrible 12X03, and all the upset feelings that followed it for many of us... 

...

 

So we've finally got an answer. 🙄

EW: "When did you change your mind about having Penny want kids?"
Steve Holland: "We had talked a lot earlier this season about honoring the pilot, how “our babies will be smart and beautiful.” It was a special moment to us. To bring that back around in the finale felt important. It also felt a little bit like people were expecting it, so to write against it all season felt like a way to make that moment play as more of a surprise."

EW

Edited May 17, 2019 by veejay
typo

[April]

1 minute ago, veejay said:

So we've finaly got an answer. 🙄

EW: "When did you change your mind about having Penny want kids?"
Steve Holland: "We had talked a lot earlier this season about honoring the pilot, how “our babies will be smart and beautiful.” It was a special moment to us. To bring that back around in the finale felt important. It also felt a little bit like people were expecting it, so to write against it all season felt like a way to make that moment play as more of a surprise."

EW

Yeah, this whole season long subplot was so unnecessary and those interviews during the season where they were all "not every woman has to have a baby bla bla bla" are just so hollow now. ugh

[bfm]

1 minute ago, veejay said:

So we've finaly got an answer. 🙄

EW: "When did you change your mind about having Penny want kids?"
Steve Holland: "We had talked a lot earlier this season about honoring the pilot, how “our babies will be smart and beautiful.” It was a special moment to us. To bring that back around in the finale felt important. It also felt a little bit like people were expecting it, so to write against it all season felt like a way to make that moment play as more of a surprise."

EW

Seriously?! They should've thought this through, wayyy longer than they did anyway, and realize that the damage they have done outweighed the surprise factor. At the very least they should have implied there's something behind Penny's flip of mind, meaning it wasn't really true that she did not want kids. And not have the donation plot or use it to imply Penny's no-kids stance wasn't genuine. Or at the very very least take a moment to discuss her feelings after she got pregnant (well, the better way to go IMO would've been to show her changing her mind and initiate pregnancy). 

[Chrismo]

58 minutes ago, joyceraye said:

I wonder why they chose somebody who was married to play herself ? Surely Raj would have known she was married if he knew who she was? I've changed my mind : it's another ughh Raj moment, holding her hand. He's still not ready.

I think you might be mixing reality with fiction. Not once was Sarah Michelle Gellar mentioned. Only Buffy the Vampire Slayer

 

1 minute ago, Die Zimtzicke said:

Not everyone watched for Lenny.

I don’t think his post ever suggested that. It seems to me the show had something for everyone to like. Shamy’s winning the Nobel Prize. Lenny’s pregnancy. Sheldon’s acceptance speech. Howdette’s scenes.

As to Raj his finale was last week. He made his choice.  I think where he ended up at the end of the finale was where he was meant to be. I know some wanted him to be married or be with someone but that’s not how things always work.

[bfm]

9 minutes ago, April said:

Yeah, this whole season long subplot was so unnecessary and those interviews during the season where they were all "not every woman has to have a baby bla bla bla" are just so hollow now. ugh

Kinda feels like trying to think of the things that go in the characters "mind" is (sometimes) a waste of time because it can be so arbitrary, with no real reason grounded in the way the character thinks and feels

Edited May 17, 2019 by bfm

[April]

Just now, bfm said:

Kinda feels like trying to think of the things that go in the characters "mind" is (sometimes) a waste of time because it can be so arbitrary

Yeah, totally. They throw random ideas onto a wall and see what sticks. For some inexplicable reason they ended up with "Penny doesn't want kids" this season without any intention to actually honour the decision in the end. Like I've said in our past discussions I thought they had enough wiggle room to actually sell this if they were committed to it and for a long while they seemed to be going by interviews and having multiple episodes that double down on Penny's decision. It still would have sucked for fans who wanted babies but you know, at least it would have been somewhat coherent. But actually admitting that they knew from early on that they wanted to go back to the S&B Babies line it just renders the whole thing complete BS. So much lip service was paid towards the idea of women not needing babies to be happy and now they're just "haha, jk, of course everyone gets a baby!!"

[mirs1]

16 minutes ago, veejay said:

So we've finaly got an answer. 🙄

EW: "When did you change your mind about having Penny want kids?"
Steve Holland: "We had talked a lot earlier this season about honoring the pilot, how “our babies will be smart and beautiful.” It was a special moment to us. To bring that back around in the finale felt important. It also felt a little bit like people were expecting it, so to write against it all season felt like a way to make that moment play as more of a surprise."

EW

Seriously??

[veejay]

19 minutes ago, April said:

Yeah, this whole season long subplot was so unnecessary and those interviews during the season where they were all "not every woman has to have a baby bla bla bla" are just so hollow now. ugh

 

10 minutes ago, bfm said:

Kinda feels like trying to think of the things that go in the characters "mind" is (sometimes) a waste of time because it can be so arbitrary, with no real reason grounded in the way the character thinks and feels

You really are persevering warriors...😀

[Itwasdestined]

Yeah I’m just gonna celebrate and enjoy. I’m gonna avoid overanalysing and nitpicking every mistake the writers made. They gave me great enjoyment over 12 seasons, despite a few howlers. I’m burying the hatchet and remembering all the good things about these characters I’ve grown to love. Nothing’s perfect in life, certainly not the writing of a sitcom. I finished today very content.


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