The Moment Bernadette's Character Went Off the Rails on TBBT (And Never Recovered)
When Bernadette was introduced as a character to TBBT as Howard's potential love interest, she seemed a little quirky but still was a very likeable personality.
At first, the pair seemed to show nothing in common. Yet they soon bonded over the difficulties of living with controlling mothers.
Over time Bernadette seemed like a great partner for Howard and equally an enjoyable addition to the show.
However, during the series' eighth season, Bernadette appeared to change for good, and unfortunately, it ruined the character completely.
Fans of the show on Reddit have discussed at great lengths how Bernadette grew evermore unlikeable as the series went on.
Identifying the time of the character's change in the show's eighth season, most agree it was after Bernadette finished her PhD and acquired a job at a fictional big pharmaceutical company named Zangen.
She remained her caring self on the show for a while, often proving committed to her recent marriage to Howard in season five.
However, right from the start of season eight, the business side of Bernadette rears its ugly head. And the perception of the good-natured character fans once loved is rarely seen again afterwards.
The mean side of Bernadette's personality is even discussed by the other characters in season eight's first episode, 'The Locomotion Interruption'.
To help Penny out, Bernadette offers to get her an interview for a sales role at her company. However, even though Penny disputes her experience for the job, Bernadette practically forces her to go along. Naturally, the interview does not go well.
But in one scene, the audience hears from the characters how Penny and her colleague find Bernadette intimidating and a bit of a bully.
It's as if the show's writers intentionally set up the character for a different persona and are telling the viewers straight, this is no longer the Bernadette you once knew.
Bernadette's harsher and frankly unlikable behavior continues well after that first episode. One fan writes on Reddit that it was in episode nineteen, 'The Skywalker Incursion', that they noticed just how manipulative and annoying she had become.
In the episode, the couple enlists the help of their friends in selling unwanted possessions from Howard's mother's house. Bernadette is determined to get rid of Howard's prized TARDIS, no matter how he feels about it.
Throughout the episode, Bernadette shows traits of dishonesty, manipulation, and rudeness to her husband. Very much a contrast to the love and respect she would previously show him in earlier seasons.
It's a real shame that Bernadette became so toxic by the end of the series.
A once great addition to the group, her overly negative behavior ended up corrupting what was a beautiful relationship with Howard on the show, and also one of the fan's favorite characters.