Fans of The Big Bang Theory were left shocked and worried at the end of season eight. The reason for such emotional reactions at the end of season seven? The answer to that is the number of cliffhangers that the creators added at the end of the season finale. These cliffhangers hinted at changes coming in the relationships that we’ve all known and loved for so long — causing a debate to erupt among avid viewers of the show. While some feared that the relationships would end, others still hoped for the best.

The topic of where those relationships stood before the season finale affected many viewers’ predictions. Leonard, the nerdy experimental physicist, never thought he was good enough for the beautiful Penny, who dreams of becoming an actress. On the other hand, Sheldon and Amy are more similar to each other. They’re both genius scientists, although after they met, Amy became more emotionally-driven — by love — while Sheldon remained the logic-obsessed person he had been. Lastly, Raj and Emily’s relationship was the newest of the group, since it was only recently that Raj learned to speak to women without the aid of alcohol.

The way in which these relationships took a turn for the worse was, in large part, based off of problems that had been sitting for long before the finale. Leonard told Penny about the girl he’d kissed on the voyage he took a few seasons ago, Raj felt like he didn’t know whether Emily’s interests fit into his comfort zone (though he didn’t have the heart to tell her) and Amy voiced her opinion on Sheldon’s inability to care for her. These three events left fans of the series baffled, surprised that Howard and Bernadette had the most stable relationship — due to Howard’s childishness — and anxious for the next steps in the characters’ relationships.

And now the wait is over. Season nine debuted on Sept. 21, 2015 with an episode titled “The Matrimonial Momentum.” In this, Penny continuously told Leonard that she was fine with the secret he had kept from her, since it was just a short kiss and he regretted it so much. Although, there were slight doubts emanating from Penny, which left viewers wondering, again, if she would end up going through with the marriage. Thankfully, the wedding does happen at a chapel in Las Vegas, while their friends watch from Sheldon and Leonard’s apartment on a television.

In terms of the other characters, though, things remained the way they had been left. Emily, Raj’s girlfriend of a few months, who has dabbled with dark humor and has darker interests (such as wanting to kiss Raj on a grave) has only appeared very briefly one time this season to help Raj with a song he was writing. Sheldon has been trying desperately, yet still annoyingly, to win Amy back. This has viewers pondering over the one question that television always has us asking: What will happen next?

Of course, there’s no straight answer to that question. Leonard and Penny have been on and off for years and years. However happy Penny seems to be with Leonard, she still can’t help but wonder about the girl who Leonard kissed, especially since she still works with him at Caltech. The fact that Penny didn’t tell her father about her marriage until the third episode of the season points to her inner doubts about the marriage.

If director and writer Bill Prady is heartless enough to break Leonard and Penny’s marriage up after eight years of Leonard pining for her, viewers will be left enraged and disappointed. Prady knows this, and therefore, it doesn’t seem likely that he will let that happen. Instead, he’ll probably give them a large relationship issue and have them work through that together, reinforcing the fact that they have a strong connection while giving the viewers a good bit of entertainment.  

That entertainment, though, can’t compare to what we get from Sheldon and Amy. Until Amy ended things, their relationship was a comedic compilation of Amy craving Sheldon’s affection, only to be disappointed when his thoughts fluttered to things such as the new show, The Flash, or other stereotypically nerdy things. Amy’s breakup with Sheldon seemingly came out of nowhere, and it was beyond sad when Sheldon pulled out the wedding ring seconds after Amy ended things with him.

However, in a way, Amy’s realization that Sheldon was treating her wrongly served as a relief to many viewers. It reassured them that Amy wouldn’t take Sheldon’s nonsense anymore, and that she demanded more from him. Of course, that left Sheldon to realize how much he truly loved what he had lost. So, Sheldon pulled a classic Sheldon move and gave her a few hours of space when she asked him to give her time to think about things, rather than giving her the socially acceptable amount of time —  a few weeks. There’s no telling what’s in store for those two, but considering Sheldon’s apparently undying love for Amy and Amy’s exaggerated passion for Sheldon, there is a good chance that, in time, they will get back together.

However, unlike the relationships of Leonard and Penny or Sheldon and Amy, Raj and Emily’s is a bit less known and harder to decipher. Although Raj and Emily stayed together, Raj did have his doubts about her. He was planning to tell her as they went to the graveyard to kiss that he was uncomfortable with her making him fulfill her dark fantasy, but ended up saying nothing. Since that point on the last episode of season eight, Emily has appeared only in the fourth episode of season nine, solely to help Raj write lyrics for a new song he was writing with Howard. Considering the fact that Raj has not discussed his issues with Emily as of yet, there is no telling where their relationship will end up. Of course, he cannot ask Emily to change her personality, so there will either need to be some sort of compromise between the two, or their relationship will simply have to end.

The multiple relationships in the show express the types of love that many different people can relate to. The Big Bang Theory expresses this love through comedy, obviously, but through it we can see the true colors of passion. And so, although we are left to ponder the unpredictability of these relationships, we also hold on to the hope that these beloved characters will end up resolving their issues.

Brian Savino
+ posts

brian.savino@emory.edu | Brian Savino is a College sophomore from Westchester, New York, majoring in chemistry and minoring in mathematics. He started his Wheel career as the gaming critic for the arts & entertainment section and most recently served as the arts & entertainment editor. When he is not listening to Radiohead, Brian can be found reading about astrochemistry, playing video games or organizing something. To cheer him up, all you need is a Conan Travels video and a chocolate chai from Kaldi’s.