The Big Bang Theory’s creator’s comment on Penny’s botched portrayal in season 1 makes onePenny story inThe Big Bang Theoryseason 12all the more puzzling. Penny has indubitably been a central character inThe Big Bang Theorysince its inception,with her presence setting the sitcom apart from others because of the value Penny added to the main group’s story. WhileThe Big Bang Theory’s premise initially relied a lot on the conflicting expectations of having someone like Penny interact with characters like Leonard and Sheldon, the sitcom eventually let them all grow into their own characters.
Indeed,Penny got Sheldon and Leonard to try things that they would have never done before, and the same was true for Penny, who inevitably became more interested in their world by being closer to them. The dissimilarities between their worlds made for great comedy, while also pushing them to achieve unexpected feats, likeSheldon and Penny’s friendship becomingThe Big Bang Theory’s best relationshipproved. However, this would have never been possible had a shift not occurred afterThe Big Bang Theoryseason 1, when the sitcom’s treatment of Penny often relegated her to nothing more than a stereotype.
The Big Bang Theory’s Creator Acknowledges Penny Was Poorly Written At The Start
Chuck Lorre Admitted Penny Was “Sadly One-Dimensional” In Big Bang Theory Season 1
The Big Bang Theoryseason 1 did a good job of establishing Sheldon and Leonard’s core characteristics and differences, making them feel like fully fleshed out characters, and the same could be said even about Howard and Raj, albeit not to the extent of Sheldon and Leonard.However, that wasn’t the case for Penny:The Big Bang Theoryseason 1 heavily relied on the clichés of contraposing the stereotype of the “dumb blonde” to a group of geeks, with such a portrayal not treating Penny fairly nor highlighting her best qualities, instead stopping her from growing like the other characters.
The problem of Penny’s portrayal in season 1 remains, and Lorre at least acknowledging it in retrospect partially helps.
The Big Bang Theory’s creatorChuck Lorre finally admitted so inThe Official Big Bang Theory Podcastin those words, referencing howthey treated Penny as a clichéd character without understanding “that there was a brilliance to Penny’s character” that they left unexplored. Instead, they wrote Penny as “sadly one-dimensional in many ways.”The Big Bang Theory’s twelve seasons prove that they learned from their mistakes, as Penny’s emotional intelligence was highlighted almost as often as the gang’s analytical one, but the problem of Penny’s portrayal in season 1 remains, and Lorre at least acknowledging it in retrospect partially helps.
The Big Bang Theory’s Ending Did Penny Another Disservice With Its Pregnancy Storyline
Penny Was Against Having Children Throughout Season 12 Only To Change Her Mind In The Finale
Penny becoming a multidimensional character with friends besides Leonard and Sheldon, aspirations and struggles madeThe Big Bang Theorybetter, with her bonds with the group showing different sides of Penny, just like her friendship helped them unearth different sides of them. Penny’s tortuous path from waitressing, to acting but never succeeding like she wanted, to working for the same pharmaceutical company Bernadette worked for, gave her character a development that could only be dreamed about initially. Indeed, Penny’s story brought her to a point that couldn’t have been predicted looking at Penny inThe Big Bang Theoryseason 1.
Lorre admitting that mistakes were made with Penny in season 1 nevertheless makes her complete pivot on an important topic inThe Big Bang Theoryseason 12 not make sense. Penny’s change throughoutBig Bang Theory’s twelve seasons was motivated and based on all the steps that brought her where she was. Contrarily,Penny’s happiness at learning she was pregnant with Leonard’s baby made no sense afterBig Bang Theoryseason 12’s longest fights had been about her wish to be childfree, which greatly clashed with Leonard’s idea of what their future would look like, as it included their children.
The Big Bang Theoryseason 12 focusing on the road that brought Penny to be excited about her pregnancy and change her mind about being childfree would have made her ending storyline less painful, as it would have at least preserved her agency. Instead, it gave Penny and Leonard’s conflict much more screen time than its resolution.
Generally having no complaints about and cherishing the time of her career she spent playing Penny,Kaley Cuoco opposed Penny’s ending storyline inThe Big Bang Theory, admitting she was “voting for her not to” get pregnant, wishing the writers respected Penny’s wishes to remain childfree. Instead,Penny’s happily ever after included a surprise pregnancy she was never shown changing her mind about, with the quick development resembling more a loss of agency for theBig Bang Theorykey character in favor of what Leonard had always wanted than a happy ending for both, effectively doing Penny yet another disservice.
Which The Big Bang Theory Seasons Is Penny Shown At Her Best?
Various Seasons Showcased Penny As A Multidimensional & Interesting Character
IfThe Big Bang Theoryseasons 1 and 12 were particularly unfair to Penny’s character development, the same couldn’t be said for the seasons in between. Penny shone bright both when she wasn’t with Leonard and when she was. In particular,the focus ofThe Big Bang Theory’s later seasons on Penny’s ambition and friendship with Amy and Bernadette highlighted some of Penny’s best sideswithout skimping on the comedy.
Penny’s friendship with Sheldon really taking off inThe Big Bang Theoryseason 2 highlighted the character’s centrality, fully showcasing her emotional intelligence in contrast to the gang’s social ineptitude.
However,The Big Bang Theoryseason 2 could easily be considered the best for Penny’s development: she was multidimensional enough to be seen as a fully-fledged character, while also having become an integral part of the group of friends, even without considering Leonard’s feelings for her. Penny’s friendship with Sheldon really taking off inThe Big Bang Theoryseason 2 highlighted the character’s centrality, fully showcasing her emotional intelligence in contrast to the gang’s social ineptitude, making season 2 one of the best for Penny’s portrayal at a time the social dynamics within the group hadn’t changed too much.
