One Time TBBT's Sheldon Cooper Betrayed His Own Principles, And Fans Are Still Mad

There are some things in Big Bang Theory lore that are simply sacrosanct.

Just as we know that Penny does not have a canonical last name, we know that Sheldon has to sit in the same place on the couch and knock three times to get someone's attention.

These are the pillars upon which the fandom rests all its opinions, and they cannot be tampered with, no matter what.

However, to the surprise of viewers, the showrunners have not been consistent with their writing of the characters from the beginning.

And even those facts that are now considered classics could have been overlooked or skipped in the past. Especially in season 1, when all the characters were still in development.

The knocking habit is explained as being related to Sheldon's childhood, which wasn't all that fun.

A traumatic experience of catching his father cheating on his mother by walking in on them taught him to always knock three times to protect himself from seeing something he didn't like.

But if you start watching The Big Bang Theory from the beginning of season 1, you might be shocked by episode 12.

Even though it is still early, you would expect the writers to have already nailed down some of the characters' most prominent traits. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

As the story progresses, and Sheldon has to go to Penny's to apologize for cleaning her apartment (which is already very much in character for him), he only knocks on her door once.

And that moment, to this day, years later, still drives fans as crazy as it did Sheldon himself in later years.

Of course, like any other inconsistency in the early seasons of almost any long-running show, this one shouldn't be taken too seriously.

But it is a great example of how a character's strong principles make fans just as committed to him. If you want to revisit The Big Bang Theory yourself, you can stream it on Netflix or Max.