Younger Sheldon was actually narrated by older Sheldon, one of many many extra dramatic departures that the spin off constituted of The Big Bang Theory. Nevertheless, there has lengthy been a fan principle floating on-line that whereas there isn’t a literal narrator in TBBT, the sitcom makes extra sense if considered via the lens of 1 particular character: Leonard.
The Massive Bang Principle is constructed round Leonard and Penny’s relationship, from their assembly within the pilot to their controversial being pregnant arc in season 12. Leonard never changes in TBBT, seeing himself because the everyman surrounded by greater personalities – so that’s how the viewers sees him, too. He’s the quintessential viewers surrogate.
On nearer rewatch, many storylines make much more sense if the sequence is Leonard’s biased retelling. The season 2 arc with Dr. Stephanie Barnett is the clearest instance—Leonard is framed because the lovable underdog, however his actions edge nearer to manipulative and even villainous. That mismatch is precisely why he looks like TBBT’s hidden narrator.
Dr. Stephanie’s Arc In Season 2 Has To Be Informed From Leonard’s Level Of View – In any other case, He’d Be The Villain
Leonard Steals Stephanie From Howard, Then Makes Up A Cause To Dump Her
In The Massive Bang Principle season 2, episode 8, Howard Wolowitz invitations Dr. Stephanie Barnett to drive the Mars rover, however when she crashes it, Wolowitz desperately asks Leonard to take Stephanie dwelling. We don’t see how Leonard wins her over, however they’re already making out after one quick automotive experience.
The episode frames Stephanie and Leonard as equally culpable for betraying Howard – nonetheless, Stephanie had simply met him that evening, whereas Leonard is allegedly one in all Howard’s greatest associates. The present implies it’s okay that Leonard is mendacity by omission to his buddy as a result of Howard was a real creep in the early TBBT seasons.
Leonard is doing a nasty factor, however he isn’t the unhealthy man. This solely is sensible if this story is being framed from Leonard’s perspective.
Stephanie seems to be an ideal girlfriend – not solely Sheldon-approved, however capable of greatest Sheldon. In TBBT season 2, episode 10, Sheldon abuses Stephanie’s medical information till she actually shuts him up with a faux larynx irritation – or a “Sheldonectomy.”
Nevertheless, even when Leonard can’t admit it to himself, Stephanie can’t be the right girlfriend as a result of he’s nonetheless holding out hope of being with Penny. That’s why Leonard manufactures a purpose to panic concerning the relationship, realizing it’s transferring too shortly when Penny and Sheldon level out that Stephanie has successfully moved in.
Leonard was prepared to threat his friendship with Howard over Stephanie, solely to unceremoniously break up along with her off-screen after season 2, episode 10. Even the truth that the breakup goes unexplained—because it doesn’t play into Leonard’s bigger narrative about his love story with Penny—reinforces the sense that this story is being advised from Leonard’s POV.
Truthfully, Every part From The Massive Bang Principle Makes Extra Sense If It’s From Leonard’s Level Of View
Sheldon & Howard’s Exaggerated Quirks & Collection Inconsistencies Are Extra Forgivable
Should you view The Massive Bang Principle via Leonard’s perspective, the sequence’ exaggerated quirks instantly make extra sense. Sheldon’s inconceivable conduct feels much less like realism and extra like how an exhausted roommate perceives him—amplified and relentless. Howard’s crudeness additionally makes extra sense when seen as Leonard’s sexual rival, who conveniently mellows as soon as each males settle into long-term relationships.
Even Penny and Bernadette’s sudden switches about pregnancy really feel softer when filtered via Leonard’s perspective. He doesn’t perceive girls, which is why they at all times felt underwritten or archetypal on the present. Leonard, a considerably anxious and self-centered narrator, would naturally body occasions round how they affected him relatively than sustaining strict continuity.
The inconsistencies throughout twelve seasons—members of the family launched after which forgotten, shifting arcs that don’t at all times add up—are additionally simpler to forgive if TBBT is much less about good continuity and extra about Leonard’s selective reminiscence. It’s a extra pleasant rewatch if The Massive Bang Principle is considered via the filter of Leonard’s biased, typically unreliable model of occasions.
- Launch Date
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2007 – 2019-00-00
- Showrunner
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Mark Cendrowski
- Administrators
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Mark Cendrowski
- Writers
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Chuck Lorre, Invoice Prady
