Cringeworthy Plot Twist That Had Even Big Bang Theory Creator Squirming
We all know and love The Big Bang Theory for its quirky characters, clever dialogue, and captivating plotlines.
But did you know there's one particular storyline that even the show's creator, Chuck Lorre, couldn't stomach?
That was most painfully awkward and out-of-character moment in the show's history, so awkward, in fact, that it had fans cringing on their couches.
The dreaded debacle took place at the end of Season 4, leaving viewers with a massive cliffhanger. The scene? Penny, drowning her sorrows in copious amounts of wine, pours her heart out to Raj about her heartbreak over Leonard. What follows is a heart-to-heart between the two, and the next morning, they wake up in the same bed.
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Steve Molaro, one of the head writers, could not get behind this cringeworthy twist, which was introduced by Lorre to "shake up the group dynamic." In fact, Molaro was so disturbed by it that he spent the entire hiatus between seasons obsessing over the scene, trying to figure out how to undo the damage.
Once the opportunity arose, Molaro marched into Lorre's office and said, "This is really bothering me. I think I have a way that we can… get out of it and preserve the characters as they are." Thankfully, Lorre understood the gravity of the situation and agreed to find a resolution that would maintain the group's dynamic.
But how could they possibly remedy such a bombshell? As the first episode of Season 5 rolled around, Raj musters the courage to ask Penny out on a date. However, Penny firmly shuts him down, stating that their "hookup" was a massive mistake. This is when Raj drops the ultimate truth bomb: there was no hookup!
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According to Raj, while attempting to put on a condom, they both drifted off to sleep, and nothing actually happened. Talk about a sigh of relief for Penny, Molaro, and, most importantly, the viewers!
The show's creators quickly realized that this bizarre twist was not just awkward but completely out of character for both Penny and Raj, but the damage was done nonetheless. Even after all these years, some TBBT fans admit that the whole Penny-Raj storyline was such a bad decision, they can't actually watch the episode and can't help but skip it when it comes on.