S12.E23: The Change Constant; S12.E24: The Stockholm Syndrome

[ams1001]

1 minute ago, zillabreeze said:

Didn't wanna go there, but Kaley made me stabby!  When did she become BBT spokesmodel?   No one else got a word in edgewise (except Parsons).

Yeah, I noticed that, too. Also, all the guys except Jim needed to shave.

[cmpbl]

I would have loved a time jump in the end to see them in the future.  I also wished it was Amy who was pregnant instead of Penny.

[zillabreeze]

I tuned into Colbert hoping to hear what was in the cards for everyone, but Kaley would not STFU. 

Mayim was just lovely, being all polite and modest.  I recently bought her book for a tween friend; read it and wished I had it back in the Mesosoic era, when I was a teenager.

Edited May 18, 2019 by zillabreeze

[zillabreeze]

17 minutes ago, cmpbl said:

I would have loved a time jump in the end to see them in the future.  I also wished it was Amy who was pregnant instead of Penny.

Someone way funny/smarter than me once said a great TV show would be Mayim & Simon driving around singing Neil Diamond songs....

I would be so down with that!

[SpiritSong]

1 hour ago, Dani said:

I would have liked it if Amy’s makeover came earlier in the show but I don’t think she was really ready for that from a character standpoint.

It doesn’t get focused on much but Amy’s mother really messed with her head. The “sin closet” and the clavicle being the "the bosom's welcome mat" plus her previously acknowledging that she protects Sheldon from things that might upset him. 

That's a good point about her mother; I had forgotten that. But I still think after her wedding-the start of a new phase of her life-would have been just as realistic a time to change her look. And I really don't think Sheldon would have cared all that much. He was just upset in this episode because everything (according to him) was changing and it felt like a pile on.

Wanted to add: in the previously section, I loved that they showed Howard trying to knock down the bathroom door. That is one of my all time favorite scenes in the series. Simon Helberg is such a gifted comedic actor.

[zillabreeze]

4 minutes ago, SpiritSong said:

loved that they showed Howard trying to knock down the bathroom door.

At Debbie's house, where he flies way up on it, then crashes!!!  I don't do slapstick, but that was a hoot!

[mammaM]

6 hours ago, HouseofBeck said:

I was a little torn at Raj leaping to change Amy's look. Instead of assuring her that everybody has angles they perceive as unflattering and it's just one photograph, he starts in on her glasses/hair/wardrobe/makeup. He was nice about it, but she's no stranger to not conforming; why now? All her achievements and she still didn't feel completely viable. Thanks, society /rant. But then she did seem so happy and she's probably my favorite character, so I don't know.

I don't think he was (or I'd rant with you). He told Amy she just won the Nobel and what other people thought didn't matter and she was a beautiful woman. It wasn't until Amy said that she "knows she shouldn't care what people think and she never did and it's silly but she does now", that Raj said if she's not happy with the pictures of herself make some changes. 

And as someone upthread said, that's a shopping montage I'd love to have seen😂

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, zillabreeze said:

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

They were all on Colbert last night

Didn't wanna go there, but Kaley made me stabby!  When did she become BBT spokesmodel?   No one else got a word in edgewise (except Parsons).

Kaley Cuoco's over-talking made me stabby too--at least at first--but really all except Mayim did get a word in.
Then when I re-watched parts of it on YouTube and realized they all seemed incredibly nervous to be there except Parsons (who has done a lot of talk shows), and grasped that Kaley was doing nervous jabbering--of which I have been guilty on more than one occasion.
Of course, nobody pays me thou$ands to do it.
OTOH, Kunal had obviously prepared some appropriate, brief anecdotes to share, but then he nervously repeated himself, at which point Kaley did jump in, so---.

[2727]

Remember the early episode when the friends all agree to meet in front of the apartment building in 20 years for dinner? They can probably just take the elevator down!

Leonard and Penny already have an extra room and I like to think that Sheldon and Amy buy the apartment next door when the place goes condo and punch through the wall for their kids.

Speaking of, I never thought I'd be okay with Sheldon having sex, but his confession to Penny that he'd done it twice more than she thought was very wholesome.

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, ams1001 said:

11 hours ago, AriAu said:

That was a wonderful homage in Young Sheldon...worth waiting until the last 90 seconds of the episode

Someone posted that bit in the Young Sheldon episode thread, if anyone just wants to watch that. (I caught a couple things that I missed on first viewing, so that was cool.)

The Young Sheldon ending video montage of our TBBT characters as kids is embedded in this Young Sheldon tweet: https://twitter.com/YoungSheldon/status/1129242901689511938

[Mystery]

2 hours ago, zillabreeze said:

Didn't wanna go there, but Kaley made me stabby!  

Her appearance on the Colbert show reminded me that as dumb as the TBBT writers sometimes (but inconsistently) made her sound, their writing was still smarter than anything that I've heard her say outside the show. Whereas the rest of the actors sounded at least as smart as they did on TBBT. 

I *loved* Mayim's short hair. I thought she looked great. 

[Katy M]

10 hours ago, buckboard said:

Leonard didn't.  The writers did.

Well, then, she's not real.  It doesn't matter.  She doesn't care.

9 hours ago, Mystery said:

Things happen in real life, but this was a scripted show. So it was someone's deliberate choice to override years of character development. 

Years of character development? The last season is the only one where she mentioned she didn't want kids.  So, months of character development, maybe.

8 hours ago, wonderwoman said:

so did i have to hand wave the conceit that amy and sheldon, however significant their very recent discovery, would have been waiting by the phone expecting to win.

Whatever happens in real life, on the show, they have been shown to be in the running.  For this year.  So, of course, they were waiting to find out.

5 hours ago, cmpbl said:

I would have loved a time jump in the end to see them in the future.  I also wished it was Amy who was pregnant instead of Penny.

I don't think I would want Sheldon as a father.  Honestly.

[Friendly kitty]

15 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I don't think I would want Sheldon as a father.  Honestly.

Agree. It is too early for him to become a father. He doesn’t have the character that will make him a good dad, because Sheldon himself sometimes reminds a child. So if Sheldon becomes the father, then in 3-5 years, when he will mature even more and morally prepare for the new change. He was shocked by the elevator ... if Amy got pregnant, then Sheldon would not have been able to stand that way.

Edited May 18, 2019 by Friendly kitty

[Homily]

Well It was good enough that I've now seen it 3 times.  Once alone, once when my husband wanted to watch it and then again last night with my daughter.  Considering how hit or miss this last season was I'm going to say that BBT went out on a high note and that makes this fan happy 😊.

[Jediknight]

17 hours ago, anna0852 said:

 I'd like to think that Georgie is so proud of his younger brother that he was all over social media and maybe the Ex-Wives found out that way.

We also know that Sheldon and Georgie made peace last year, when Sheldon found out just how much Georgie did to keep the family together and protect Sheldon.

And it's established that Missy is proud of Sheldon, and always brags about him.  So she would have been all over her Twitter talking about Sheldon and Amy winning the Nobel.  She could have a good relationship with Georgie's ex-wives.

Edited May 18, 2019 by Jediknight

[Chit Chat]

You know how the writers liked to leave Easter eggs on the white boards for the fans?  I wonder if there was anything significant on the white board that's seen in the last scene.  There's one to the left of Bernadette's head.  There are some equations, and some written in red.  I can't read it, but even if I could see it clearly, I have no clue what it means.  Do any of the math whizzes on here know what was on there and if it meant anything other than math equations?  

[ProfCrash]

10 hours ago, wonderwoman said:

have to  confess i teared up at the end.

i did have one quibble: historically, a noble is awarded years, if not decades, after the discovery has been published.  so did i have to hand wave the conceit that amy and sheldon, however significant their very recent discovery, would have been waiting by the phone expecting to win.

would have love to have seen how that scenario would have played out as a finale, starting with sheldon’s deluded expectation, then disappointment. 

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/lists/nobel-laureates-by-age

I was saying the same thing about the age and was surprised to see a decent noble of Noble prize winners in the Science fields in their 30’s and 40’s. The winner of the Physics Noble in 2010 was 36. So it is more feasible then I had thought.

[Homily]

I was interested to see how many Nobel prize winners have or had a connection to Caltech.  It's easier to understand why Sheldon would have chosen to grace Caltech with his presence!

[Chaos Theory]

I commented alot on this so this is my last one.  (Probably) 

I like dramas ALOT more then comedies.   I never watched Friends or Seinfeld or even Cheers.  The last mainstream comedy I watched with any regularity was How I Met Your Mother and we all know how that one ended.   Of course there are comedies I do like.   I like The Good Place  I am bitter that The Kids Are Alright didn't get a second season,  Malcom in the Middle to me was one of the best family sitcoms ever made.    

So the fact that I stuck with Big Bang Theory for 12 years is saying something.  I really did think it was incredibly funny.  It had its problems especially in the last few seasons when Sheldon became the star and the rest of the cast became second fiddle.  But that is a minor nitpick.  Also I utterly disagree about people complaining about Penny's pregnancy.  That was a late series issue that was only added to complicate things.  Penny had never said she didn't want kids until like season 11 or 12.  And i think it was like one episode she said it.  She also kept pregancy tests in a box that she took because they were Leonards.   This was a dumb late series complication that made no sense for the character or the pairing.   Don't get me wrong yes there are couples who can go their whole lives and marriages without having children.  I am single and have no kids.  I happy with both.  

But I am not living in a romantic comedy.  

Leonard and Penny have always been a romantic comedy that was going to end with them having the family Leonard always wanted.  The only thing that surprised me is that it didn't happen sooner.  That season 12 didn't start with Penny being pregnant.  That would have been an awesome season.  Penny pregnant coinciding with Sheldon and Amy's Pulitzer.   Penny goes into early labor while Sheldon and Amy are at the airport and Amy immediately wants to go to her friend and Sheldon doesn't understand because this is HIS BIG MOMENT.    Then you see Penny having her baby and she looks up to see Sheldon outside her room because of course he choses his friends in the end.  

That is actually my writing of the season but then I am not a hollywood writer.  

Edited May 18, 2019 by Chaos Theory

[k2p2]

My one "gasp with surprise" moment was President Siebert. Quirky. 🙂 One of my office mates and I use that word often. (Also Zazzy.)

Amy's new look was spot on, stylish, but still true to Amy/Mayim's modest/conservative bent. The writing handled the situation deftly, by letting Amy discover her frumpiness in a very natural way, and by letting Raj help her just because he wanted his friend to be happy.

I don't have a problem with Penny being pregnant after saying she didn't want children. There have been other things she didn't want to do - say "I love you" and get married, for example - that she eventually came to terms with. I also remember that Bernadette was once vehement about not wanting children, yet here we are.

Sheldon's speech didn't ring true for me, but I give it a pass because he said "Astronaut Howard Wolowitz." After he had introduced two doctors, I fretted about what he might say next, and that was perfect.

Special shout out to YS for letting us hear Carol Ann Susi one more time.

[Driad]

Hoping Mayim Bialik and Simon Helberg will do a show together.

A woman who really does not want to get pregnant can find methods of contraception more dependable than hoping her man remembers a condom.

[k2p2]

3 minutes ago, Driad said:

Hoping Mayim Bialik and Simon Helberg will do a show together.

One of the best things this show did was giving these two a chance to show their acting chops. I hope they both are able to build on that exposure.

[shapeshifter]

50 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

I commented alot on this so this is my last one.  (Probably) 

You might want to wean yourself with the newly minted The All-Episode, All-Topic Continuum thread. 😉  
  
  
  
  

17 minutes ago, Driad said:

A woman who really does not want to get pregnant can find methods of contraception more dependable than hoping her man remembers a condom.

I can't believe that it took over 270 comments on the finale for someone to point this out.
Admittedly, it didn't occur to me, but I went through menopause over a decade ago.
What's all y'all's excuse?
So. That's settled. (Yeah, right.)
Anyway, there's also:

26 minutes ago, k2p2 said:

I don't have a problem with Penny being pregnant after saying she didn't want children. There have been other things she didn't want to do - say "I love you" and get married, for example - that she eventually came to terms with.

[wonderwoman]

3 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

13 hours ago, wonderwoman said:

have to  confess i teared up at the end.

i did have one quibble: historically, a noble is awarded years, if not decades, after the discovery has been published.  so did i have to hand wave the conceit that amy and sheldon, however significant their very recent discovery, would have been waiting by the phone expecting to win.

would have love to have seen how that scenario would have played out as a finale, starting with sheldon’s deluded expectation, then disappointment. 

Read more  

 https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/lists/nobel-laureates-by-age

I was saying the same thing about the age and was surprised to see a decent noble of Noble prize winners in the Science fields in their 30’s and 40’s. The winner of the Physics Noble in 2010 was 36. So it is more feasible then I had thought.

you’re more industrious than me; i only went back 5 years:) but doubt scientists who won relatively early in the careers did so barely a years after their discovery was published. 

of course, since sheldon is more than self-absorbed enough to expect an immediate win, it would have been nice to see amy, as the voice of reason, point out that his expectation was unrealistic, then be proved wrong when they did win. 

[Elinor Carlisle]

I cried during the whole episode. Cried more at Sheldon's speech. WOW! 12 years... I was a 19 year old college student when I started to watch this show. Ok, I have to stop before I cry again 😄

And btw, it was a wonderful finale. The writers of other shows should watch it. 

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/lists/nobel-laureates-by-age

I was saying the same thing about the age and was surprised to see a decent noble of Noble prize winners in the Science fields in their 30’s and 40’s. The winner of the Physics Noble in 2010 was 36. So it is more feasible then I had thought.

26 minutes ago, wonderwoman said:

you’re more industrious than me; i only went back 5 years:) but doubt scientists who won relatively early in the careers did so barely a years after their discovery was published. 

Maybe the Shamy Nobel was based on Bednorz's experience (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Bednorz#Life_and_work😞

Quote

 . . . in 1986 they succeeded in inducing superconductivity in a lanthanum barium copper oxide (LaBaCuO, also known as LBCO). The oxide's critical temperature (Tc) was 35 K, a full 12 K higher than the previous record. This discovery stimulated a great deal of additional research in high-temperature superconductivity on cuprate materials with structures similar to LBCO, soon leading to the discovery of compounds such as BSCCO (Tc 107K) and YBCO (Tc 92K).

In 1987, Bednorz and Müller were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics "for their important break-through in the discovery of superconductivity in ceramic materials".[4]

I just picked Bednorz at random from the link @ProfCrash posted because his was the first I noticed for a Noble won in physics in the second half of the 20th century.

So. Now y'all can rest assured that the Nobel plot was realistic. More or less.

[green]

3 hours ago, k2p2 said:

Special shout out to YS for letting us hear Carol Ann Susi one more time.

In the post-show special with the actors that played Penny and Leonard giving the back stage tour etc, they showed a small, postage stamp sized fake magnet on the frig on the main apt set.  It was a small picture of this actress who was the voice of Howard's mother that they had made and put up there just days after they heard about her death.  She has been, via that tribute, "on set" for the rest of the show's run they said.

Edited May 18, 2019 by green

[Chit Chat]

24 minutes ago, green said:

She has been, via that tribute, "on set" for the rest of the show's run they said.

I read about that after her death.  I have looked for it with every episode, and yes, it was there!  It was a nice tribute to her. 

[TexasTiffany]

On 5/16/2019 at 10:40 PM, Danielg342 said:

That's how you close a series folks. No big gimmicks, no big dramas, no convoluted storylines...just a simple, straightforward episode that allows me to enjoy the characters one last time.

Really, I don't think there's any more that I can say other than I appreciate that this was kept simple. Saying goodbye is hard enough, having to do so and follow along a story that takes too many turns asks too much.

I really think the Big Bang crew nailed the finale. Don't get to say that often. Thanks for 12 memorable years...I doubt we'll have a show quite like this one ever again.

This is how I feel. We've spent 12 years getting to know them. I don't want them to suddenly behave wildly different in the finale. 

I've seen too many disappointing show finales where characters have left their family, friends, home, livelihood, and all of the world they built for themselves. I don't want to see these characters broken up that way. I want them to be where I expect to find them when I sit down and watch reruns. This finale fit. They are who they are supposed to be. 

Liked Amy's makeover. The tiara!

Leonard slapping Sheldon. Finally!

I'm okay with Penny being pregnant. Leonard is so happy. 

I was kind of disappointed that Raj didn't end up in a more serious relationship. I want everyone to be happy.

[shapeshifter]

3 minutes ago, TexasTiffany said:

. . . We've spent 12 years getting to know them. I don't want them to suddenly behave wildly different in the finale. . . .

I was kind of disappointed that Raj didn't end up in a more serious relationship. I want everyone to be happy.

But Raj was never happy.
So he certainly isn't any different in the finale than he was before.
Personally, I'd prefer Sad Single Raj to Miserable Married Raj, but then one miserable marriage that ended nearly 30 years ago was more than enough for me, so my preferences are outside the norm.
I think Raj will ultimately find greater happiness with his long established friendships than he would have in Europe. 
The romantic moment with Howard in the airport was unrealistically depicted, but there's truth in what it portrayed.

[Homily]

On 5/16/2019 at 11:52 PM, Bronzedog said:

Raj had about as much air time as Stuart.  I thought that was kind of strange but I did like Sheldon’s speech.

Raj had a couple of good lines and was in a lot of scenes - we only saw Stuart once (but he was awesome).  

[Guest]

3 hours ago, wonderwoman said:

you’re more industrious than me; i only went back 5 years:) but doubt scientists who won relatively early in the careers did so barely a years after their discovery was published. 

of course, since sheldon is more than self-absorbed enough to expect an immediate win, it would have been nice to see amy, as the voice of reason, point out that his expectation was unrealistic, then be proved wrong when they did win. 

A very fast turn around between a theory being proven and the Nobel being award is rare but it’s not completely unheard of. I wouldn’t call the story realistic but the writers developed a situation where it’s possible. 

Even before the theory was proven super asymmetry was presented as ground breaking. Amy was called “The Neurobiologist Who Revolutionized Physics.” The show made this into a really huge deal that got a ton of good press and excitement in the scientific community. I could see a discovery like this leapfrogging over scientists who have been nominated for years. Also two woman winning back to back would be good press. 

I would have liked if they had thrown in a line at some point about a second team duplicating Pemberton and Campbell ‘s experiment. 

[SpiritSong]

8 hours ago, Friendly kitty said:

Agree. It is too early for him to become a father. He doesn’t have the character that will make him a good dad, because Sheldon himself sometimes reminds a child. So if Sheldon becomes the father, then in 3-5 years, when he will mature even more and morally prepare for the new change. He was shocked by the elevator ... if Amy got pregnant, then Sheldon would not have been able to stand that way.

Sheldon may be able to wait several years before having a child, but Amy can't. If she was 11 in 1990, that means she is at least 39 today. And while it's possible for women to have children in their 40s it can be much more difficult to conceive. Per YS, Sheldon has stated he has more than one child in the future, so they'd better get a move on. It might even entail (gasp!) having sex more than two or three times a year.

Now that would be a funny scene we'll never get to see. The OB/Gyn doc telling them to have sex every day that she is ovulating, for months on end until she gets pregnant.

[Sentient Meat]

People should never be bullied or pressured to having kids, but when I see two intelligent, decent people decide to have children, I look at it as one more potential voter who might offset the millions of stupid people who have kids who become easily manipulated by the media.

Not that educated people aren't manipulated as well... and that latchkey kids can't blossom into amazing people.  But it seems to me if conscientious, moral people continue to pass on having children while fools carelessly multiply... it's no wonder why sometimes our democracy seems doomed to failure.

I enjoyed the last season of the Big Bang Theory.  Unlike The Office, Modern Family, Game of Thrones (so far), some other great series that have had regrettable final runs... this season seemed to capture some of the magic of its early seasons.  Thanks to everyone involved in making this show.

[ams1001]

6 minutes ago, SpiritSong said:

Sheldon may be able to wait several years before having a child, but Amy can't. If she was 11 in 1990, that means she is at least 39 today. And while it's possible for women to have children in their 40s it can be much more difficult to conceive. Per YS, Sheldon has stated he has more than one child in the future, so they'd better get a move on. It might even entail (gasp!) having sex more than two or three times a year.

Maybe they'll do IVF and wind up with twins or triplets; one pregnancy and done. (And if I'm not mistaken, and a quick google suggests I'm not, older mothers are also more likely to have twins naturally.)

[Katy M]

8 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

Maybe they'll do IVF and wind up with twins or triplets; one pregnancy and done. (And if I'm not mistaken, and a quick google suggests I'm not, older mothers are also more likely to have twins naturally.)

They could also use a surrogate to carry the babies.  Older mothers are also more likely to have children with Down's syndrome.  I'm honestly curious as to how Sheldon would react to that.  They did originally pick each other in order to make supersmart babies.

[SpiritSong]

14 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

Maybe they'll do IVF and wind up with twins or triplets; one pregnancy and done. (And if I'm not mistaken, and a quick google suggests I'm not, older mothers are also more likely to have twins naturally.)

I suppose they could use their Nobel prize money for that. But somehow, I think Amy would prefer doing it the old fashioned way. 😉

[Homily]

Statistically women in their 40s do have more issues with pregnancy but that doesn't mean they have to have issues.  I've known lots of "elderly" mums - some of whom had what used to be called change of life babies.  On TV of course women who think they are pregnant at :gasp: 45 almost invariably are going through menopause instead.  

[Katy M]

Maybe they froze embryos way back when they made their business arrangement.

[Winston Wolfe]

18 hours ago, AnnA said:

I read that Jim Parsons decided not to do another season which is why the show had to come to an end.    

I find it interesting that the actor dictated how things would unfold IRL just as his character  called the shots on his show.

[Katy M]

14 minutes ago, Winston Wolfe said:

I find it interesting that the actor dictated how things would unfold IRL just as his character  called the shots on his show.

I don't really think he dictated how things would unfold.  He didn't want to do the show any more.  But, he didn't dictate it couldn't go on without him.  

[TexasTiffany]

On 5/17/2019 at 5:50 AM, springtime said:

All they had to do was put Pennys maiden name in when Sheldon introduced his friends in his speech Penny_______ Hofsteader. 

Something Sheldon would seem to do.

On 5/17/2019 at 5:52 AM, Katy M said:

I don't really care that they didn't, and I can understand why they didn't.  Whatever they came up with for a last name people would probably be a disappointment to a lot of people.

It would be funny if Penny's maiden name had been Spielberg. Especially since she had trouble getting acting jobs.

[Homily]

I was glad they showed the Wolotots!  And that they also gave Kripke, Stuart, Bert and Dr Siebert a moment or two in the finale.  Like some others I was expecting Mary to  be on and I don't recall now if they even give a reason why she wouldn't have gone to Sweden with Sheldon et al.  Oh one more thing 😊 I really liked that they had Amy be the one who got the phone call and also be the one who spoke first at the ceremony.  Amy and Sheldon were equals as far as getting the Nobel prize and I felt like that underlined it and that made me happy.

[LoneHaranguer]

20 hours ago, SpiritSong said:

I agree with those who said why even bother introducing Anu if they were just going to drop it at the end?

I think the writers needed Raj to have another relationship fail so that they could do the "you don't have to feel lonely when you have friends!" scene.

5 hours ago, Driad said:

A woman who really does not want to get pregnant can find methods of contraception more dependable than hoping her man remembers a condom.

Especially when the woman in question is a borderline alcoholic who gets trampy (Amy's word) when she's had a few. I think the writers wanted to draw a parallel between having kids and the managerial job wrt Penny not feeling like it was something she could handle. 

[Guest]

17 minutes ago, Winston Wolfe said:

I find it interesting that the actor dictated how things would unfold IRL just as his character  called the shots on his show.

 Not really. The contracts of the main 5 cast members were all up at the end of season 12. There was no guarantee of a season 13 even if Jim Parsons had been open to renewing his contract. 

[TexasTiffany]

On 5/17/2019 at 9:15 AM, kariyaki said:

Yeah, that's my thing too. They could make drastic changes and all move away, but why would they? They made a big point through Sheldon's speech that they're family. They all live close, work close, are close. I just don't see them wanting to leave the lives they've spent 12 years building for themselves. Plus, they just got their elevator fixed! That's as good a reason as any to want to stay.

This is what I hoped, that they are together where I want them to be when I visit the reruns. 

I feared that they would do a Frasier ending (IMO that was AWFUL) Frasier left his family, friends, the home he always wanted, his livelihood, all of his favorite restaurants, theaters, etc. For what? He's so infatuated with Charlotte, who moved back to Chicago, that he takes the job in... San Francisco. WTF? 

I was worried Sheldon and Amy would announce their leaving for jobs across the country. Raj staying in England. Howard and Bernie moving away. Leonard and Penny making new friends which emotionally moves them away from their extended friends/family. I will not fear this episode as something I can't watch later.

[SpiritSong]

I rewatched this episode last night and liked it better the second time around. It was a decent finale, considering there is no way to please everyone. I would have been ok with Penny's pregnancy if they hadn't done the whole she doesn't want kids thing, and then of course be all happy when she gets knocked up.

But that's a fairly minor nitpick. They used the elevator for several gags, so I'm okay with that being fixed, but it made me wish the writers could have come up with one more variation on Sheldon knocking 3 times on doors. Over the years, they did a lot of funny stuff with that one joke.

[Chit Chat]

1 hour ago, Homily said:

I really liked that they had Amy be the one who got the phone call and also be the one who spoke first at the ceremony. 

That moment made me tear up.  I think it was the sincerity of Leonard and Penny's reactions to the good news that got me!  I've been so impressed with Mayim's acting abilities on this show.  Her facial expressions alone are priceless.  

[SosaLola]

I just finished watching the very last episode of the Big Bang Theory and cried big fat tears at Sheldon's speech. Especially when he said "Astronaut Howard Wolowitz." 

[Winston Wolfe]

2 hours ago, Dani said:

 Not really. The contracts of the main 5 cast members were all up at the end of season 12. There was no guarantee of a season 13 even if Jim Parsons had been open to renewing his contract. 

Yet he was the only star - that I know of - who publicly stated that he wasn't interested in returning and that the show had basically run its course.  Not trying to be argumentative here, but will we ever know if any of his co-stars were interested in continuing? We'll never know unless they say.  Kaley certainly didn't seem ready to go. IMO, it just looks like Parsons said "time to go" and CBS said, "well, that's it."

By contrast, it's well-known that most of the cast of HIMYM wanted to go at least one more season and CBS vetoed it, since it wasn't the cash cow TBBT is.  We won't ever know for sure, but I'd bet the ranch that CBS would have been fine with Season 13 if JP was onboard.