Kunal Nayyar's Take on Raj's Ending is Almost Better Than The Ending Itself
Throughout the run of The Big Bang Theory, we watched the lives of a group of lovable nerds.
Over the series, they progressed in their careers, formed new relationships, and even got married and had kids. However, one notable character in the group ultimately still found themselves single by the end of the series.
And the actor who played him has an enlightening opinion as to why.
How Raj's never ended up with a long-term girlfriend
In TBBT, Raj (played by Kunal Nayyar) is known for being unlucky in love. Throughout the series often he had crushes but could never bring himself to take the risk of expressing his feelings and asking someone out.
This was mostly because of his shyness, insecurities, and selective mutism. A disorder that prevented him from speaking to women without alcohol for the first six seasons. Eventually, Raj does learn to take steps to become more comfortable with the opposite sex.
He dated several different women throughout the later period of the show, yet many of their relationships do not last very long. By the final season, Raj got the closest to settling down in an arranged marriage with Anu. Although the pair seemed to get along very well, the nature of their slightly forced romance ultimately led to their break up.
When Anu had the opportunity to move to London, Raj at first wanted to follow. Yet his best friend Howard talked him out of it, as he was emotionally doing it for the wrong reasons.
What Kunal Nayyar thinks of Raj's ending
During a discussion at the Oxford Union in 2020, Nayyar took questions from the audience about his career and time on Big Bang. Including answering one question concerning how he felt personally about Raj's time on the show ending without a relationship.
Calling his character's ending poignant, he states, "It could have been easy that he found someone, but I think it's poignant that the one character that believed so much in true love was the one that never found it".
Nayyar's interesting perspective on the character's fate demonstrates that for Raj, maybe being in a relationship at the moment when the series ended was still not the best time for him.
He goes on to say how the writers ended the series with the story very much ongoing for the characters, and it's instead the viewer who says goodbye to the world of Big Bang.
Nayyar points out that maybe at a time beyond the written series, Raj does eventually find lasting love.
It's not surprising that for someone who played the character for over ten years, he would have such a deep insight into his identity. He likes that the ending was left open, as clearly to Nayyar, Raj never went away.
He exists still in the TBBT world with the others, still looking for love. Or maybe he finally found it in the end.