Top 30 Saddest The Big Bang Theory Moments

#30: Amy in the Bathroom

“The Change Constant”

We’ve all been there, you see a photo of yourself and your heart sinks. Not because you’re not beautiful, but because it holds up a mirror to every so-called flaw society’s ever sold you. We were gutted for Amy, who, instead of celebrating this momentous occasion, is heartbroken over how she looks in some pictures. Amy always prided herself on valuing her mind above all else, but moments like this prove that even the most seemingly unbothered among us can be wrecked by things we never thought we cared about. Also, watching Amy’s excitement evaporate after Sheldon reacts poorly to her makeover stings that much more.

#29: Raj Ends His Friendship with Howard

“The Confidence Erosion” & “The Celebration Reverberation”

This one was a long time coming. Howard’s love language was apparently verbal jabs and emotional neglect, and it’s kind of tragic that Raj needed his dad to explain that this friendship was a toxic mess. Even so, we can’t say that watching these besties part ways wasn’t at all sad. At first, Howard laughs Raj off, because of course he does, but he soon seems to realize what he’s lost. He lashes out in anger rather than admitting the truth, he misses his bestie, and he’s gutted that Raj has turned his back on the friendship. It’s only once Howard gets vulnerable and real that their friendship can bounce back.

#28: Raj All Alone

Various

Many of you were pretty gutted that Raj, the hopeless romantic of the group, ended the series solo, and we hear you. Now, don’t get us wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being single, but Raj wanted love so badly, we felt his heartbreak like a punch to the chest. From Lucy to Emily, and even Anu, Raj’s fairytale love always felt just out of reach. While we love how they flipped the classic rom-com trope with Howard stopping Raj at the airport, as they walk off together, we can’t help but feel for Raj and wonder if he’ll ever find the right girl to stand in front of this boy.

#27: Sheldon Realizes the Sacrifices His Family Made for Him

“The Sibling Realignment”

Now that Young Sheldon is officially part of the “TBBT” canon, we know just how much Sheldon’s family, even his siblings, did to accommodate him. But of course, all of that went completely over his head. That is, until Georgie, his long-estranged big brother, finally lays it out for him and he doesn’t sugar-coat it. It’s a long-overdue reality check that hits Sheldon hard. We already knew Georgie and Missy were often overlooked growing up, but watching that truth finally land for Sheldon makes us feel even more for his siblings. Despite everything, Georgie still cares for his baby brother a lot, and that has us welling up every time.

#26: Sheldon Can’t Handle Conflict

“The Guitarist Amplification”

In “Young Sheldon,” we don’t see Mary and George argue nearly as much as adult Sheldon remembers, but the moments they did clearly left a mark. It’s no secret we’re shaped by our childhoods, but in this episode, we see just how deeply Sheldon was wounded by his parents’ conflicts. These moments are often played for laughs, but under the laugh track, we’re really watching his younger self jump into self-defence. The more people around him fight, the stronger his walls become. Moments like this remind us that while we grow up, we rarely leave our inner child behind. Sheldon’s not usually one for hugs, but a toy robot will do.

#25: “Please Don’t Hurt My Friend”

“The Decoupling Fluctuation”

None of us want to see our friends hurting, not even Sheldon Cooper. So when he hears through the grapevine that Penny is considering breaking up with Leonard again, he can’t just sit around and wait for her to break his heart. Of course, he goes about it in the most Sheldon-esque way, so his genuine concern goes mostly unnoticed. We may not have even noticed it on our first watch, but now we can see how his obsessive behavior is actually just a manifestation of his inner turmoil. Of course, it’s the moment he finally says out loud what’s been eating him up inside that makes our hearts ache for him.

#24: Sheldon vs. Emotions

“The Emotion Detection Automation”

Sheldon rarely picks up on emotional cues, and it often gets him in trouble. But this time, he learns that being aware of people’s unfiltered emotions isn’t exactly easy either. When Howard gives him a prototype emotion detector, Sheldon’s eager to try it, but clearly misses the memo about not announcing everything it picks up. He soon realizes that having the ability to sense emotions without knowing what to do with them is just as hard as not sensing them at all. All he wants is to understand others, but he still falls short. For once, it’s not apathy; it’s that he simply doesn’t know how. It’s a rare, deeply human moment for Sheldon.

#23: Amy’s Left Out of Bridesmaid Dress Shopping

“The Isolation Permutation”

Much like Sheldon, Amy’s social etiquette could occasionally use some fine-tuning, especially earlier on. She’s just so excited to have girl friends that she tends to get a little carried away. Unfortunately, rather than being gently honest, Penny and Bernadette leave her out of wedding prep entirely. This hits on a feeling many of us know: the pain of finally feeling like you fit in, only to fear you might lose it all. For someone who spent most of her life feeling like an outsider, this felt like being rejected all over again. It’s that gut punch of going from feeling included to suddenly left out. Of course, it’s going to hurt.

#22: Sheldon’s Broken Heart Goes on the Record

“The Spock Resonance”

For someone who hates secrets, Sheldon sure held onto this one for a while. It’s totally by accident that Penny and Leonard even learn that Sheldon had been planning to propose. While he insists he’s fine about it all, his outbursts say otherwise. Even someone like Sheldon Cooper, who idolizes Spock in every sense, can’t escape heartache. We get it, sometimes when the pain is too much to bear, it’s easier to pretend it doesn’t exist than face it head-on. But it’s even more crushing when he goes to find Amy to patch things up, only to see she’s already moved on. That hurt us like it was happening to us.

#21: George’s Final Words of Wisdom

“The VCR Illumination”

After Sheldon and Amy’s asymmetry theory is disproven, Sheldon sinks into despair, with only one person who can help. Unfortunately, it’s not to be, leaving Sheldon free-falling even further down the rabbit hole. Luckily, someone else comes through for him in the nick of time. This will hit home for anyone who’s lost a loved one. Few of us get a chance to receive a much-needed pep talk from someone we miss greatly. It’s a touching moment, but also heartbreaking, knowing this might be the last time George really shows up for his son when he needs him most, and that Sheldon didn't know how to appreciate what he had until it was gone.

#20: Stuart Showed Up

“The Mommy Observation”

As much as Stuart was part of the group - and at one point, he and Raj became really good friends - he often felt like he was on the outside looking in. And while we’d like to tell you that he was wrong and was just projecting his own fears and neuroses onto the group - we can’t. Sure, we understand that a lot can happen in two decades. But when the gang all agreed to reunite for a meal 20 years in the future, Stuart was the only one who followed through. We can only assume that the rest of them were sitting around some futuristic coffee table eating dinner, and totally forgot about their former friend.

#19: Green Lantern Had to Watch Wonder Woman & Superman

“The Justice League Recombination”

Winning the New Year's Eve costume contest at the comic book store should have been a really happy moment for Leonard. And it was… at first. The guys’ decision to get Penny to be Wonder Woman and her then-boyfriend Zack to be Superman had paid off in victory. But then the countdown happened, midnight struck and Leonard had to stand there and watch Penny and Zack kiss. What made it even sadder was that Penny had her eyes on Leonard throughout. This gesture felt like her acknowledging she still had feelings for him, even though she was embracing Zack.

#18: “I Wish You Weren’t Going”

“The Monopolar Expedition”

In the season 2 finale, Sheldon and the guys prepared to head off to the North Pole for a few months. After Penny found out Leonard was leaving, she notably got him a gift and gave him an extra lengthy hug. This act confused Leonard, who had major feelings for his neighbor. However, when he questioned her about her motives, she denied that her gestures and words meant anything. Yet when he left and she was alone in her apartment, she finally privately voiced her true feelings, breaking us. If she had just told Leonard the truth, we could have all had a happy cry - but instead the moment was just a tragic one.

#17: Sheldon Feeling Left Out

“The Fortification Implementation”

We may not all be geniuses, but that doesn’t mean we can’t relate to a lot of what the guys, Amy, and Bernadette go through. In this case, it was Sheldon’s feelings that hit us right in our hearts. When Dr. Cooper didn’t get invited to an exclusive physics symposium, his feelings were hurt. No one ever likes to be left out, especially when the thing you’re being left out of involves your peer group. Sure, many of us can’t relate to the whole physics symposium thing, but being excluded is something we’ve all dealt with at one time or another. It’s this relatability that really made the ordeal difficult to watch - until Sheldon and Amy built Fort Cozy McBlanket of course.

#16: Priya Cheated on Leonard

“The Good Guy Fluctuation”

Allow us to start by saying that yes, we know Leonard also cheated on Priya when he repeatedly made out with Alice, the girl from the comic book store. However, with that being said, we also recognize that he ultimately stopped it from going further than that, walking away because he felt bad about what he was doing. So when he found out that Priya did a whole lot more than just make out with someone, he was blindsided. And his pain over the dissolution of their relationship was real. Regardless of how you felt about Leonard and Priya as a couple, there’s no doubt that they cared for each other, and seeing it end like that was unfortunate.

#15: Penny Cut From “NCIS”

“The Hesitation Ramification”

To call Penny a struggling actress is almost an understatement. Before she switched career paths, her only noteworthy gigs, besides some small stage productions, were a hemorrhoid commercial and the low-budget, low-quality “Serial Ape-ist” movies. So when she got a small part on an episode of the big network television show “NCIS” in season 7, we couldn’t have been happier for her. That also meant that when she found out her scene was removed from the episode, we felt her pain and devastation. It was even worse because she was watching with all her friends in excited anticipation. We still haven’t fully recovered from this one.

#14: Why Sheldon Knocks 3 Times

“The Hot Tub Contamination”

Throughout the series, Sheldon’s compulsion to always knock three times was a source of many very funny moments. However, the origin of the obsession and the reason why he did it was anything but funny - as he explained to Penny in season 10. During a heart to heart with her, he opened up about how, as a teen, he had walked in on his dad with a woman – who was not his mom. Of course, we now know that’s not actually what happened, but we digress. He told the story in order to explain why he was being difficult when it came to compromising with Amy. But in doing so, he also mentioned that it fueled the reasoning behind his triple knocks, tugging at our heartstrings in the process.

#13: Sheldon & Amy's Theory Debunked

“The Citation Negation”

One of the happiest moments on the show was when Sheldon and Amy won the Nobel Prize. However, in the lead up to that happiest of moments, their story took a few major detours into sadness. One such detour was the apparent disproving of their theory by a Russian paper from the 1970s. Seeing the shock in their eyes was sad enough, and Sheldon demolishing the whiteboard just added to it. But the primal scream he let out after is when the devastation of the moment really hit the highest and most gutting of notes. Although, it did make the joy that much greater when their theory was ultimately proved right.

#12: Howard Refuses to Read the Letter From His Father

“The Closet Reconfiguration”

Two of the defining aspects of Howard’s character were the fact that he lived with his mother and that his father abandoned the family when he was young. While he was often ragged on for the former, it was the latter that was sad. We always knew it had affected him. But it wasn’t until Sheldon uncovered a letter from his dad, sent for his 18th birthday, that we fully appreciated the hurt Howard was carrying. He never opened it, actually opting to burn it in this episode. The group eventually came up with a clever way to share its message with him. But his not wanting to definitively know what it said showed the depth of the agony he felt - we felt it too.

#11: Sheldon's Pop-Pop

“The Santa Simulation"

What started off as a fun Christmas-themed game of Dungeons & Dragons ends with one of the saddest moments of the series. In this scene, we learn why Sheldon has such disdain for the Christmas season, and more specifically, jolly old St. Nick. Sheldon reveals that his grandfather was the only person in his family that encouraged him to pursue science when he was a kid. And that, when his Pop Pop passed away, he asked Santa to bring him back - which of course didn’t happen. It’s a funny scene, but it’s underlaid with real emotional sadness.

#10: Lucy Breaks Up with Raj

“The Bon Voyage Reaction”

Although Raj seemed to fall in love with pretty much any girl that looked his way, Lucy was the first girl he was probably truly in love with. Given her intense social anxiety, Raj had to work extra hard to get her to trust him and keep her from climbing out of the nearest bathroom window. And he did. He was very understanding of her issues, he set up super romantic texting dates and he was quick to apologize when he would push her too far out of her comfort zone. But it wasn’t enough. In the season six finale, Lucy agreed to meet the gang, but in the end it was too much for her and she broke up with Raj... through text!

#9: Sheldon Says No to Amy

“The Platonic Permutation”

From the moment that Amy ended her relationship with Sheldon, fans were waiting for Shamy to get back together. Needing a break from Sheldon was understandable, but these two were meant to be together. And most of us probably assumed that when Amy was ready to get back together, Sheldon would be too. But alas no. And it wasn’t just the “no” that was sad. His honest reasoning about how hard it was for him to get over her is something that so many of us can relate to from both perspectives.

#8: The Last Supper

“The Leftover Thermalization”

As anyone who's ever lost someone knows, it isn’t just sad when it happens. There are also moments that come along afterwards that bring back memories, and in so doing bring the grief back up to the surface. That’s exactly what happened to Howard after his mom died when the power went out at her house. Stuart was residing there at the time, and told Howard it had been out since the middle of the night. On the surface, this might not sound like a big deal. But it was to Howard, since all the food his mother had left in the freezer was going to go bad. This, and his choice to organize a dinner, was portrayed in a heart-wrenchingly real way.

#7: Penny Breaks Up with Leonard

“The Wheaton Recurrence”

Yes, they’ve had their ups and downs, almost breakups and so on, and they were sad every time. But this is the one that hurt the most. It all began when Leonard told Penny he loved her for the first time and Penny didn’t return the sentiment. This is a tipping point moment in any relationship and it was in this one as well. Leonard tried to play it cool and understanding about them being at different places in the relationship. But he wasn’t, and he couldn’t stop pressuring Penny about the unreturned “L” bomb. Finally, with a little evil-genius coaxing from Wil Wheaton, she dropped the break-up bomb on Leonard, breaking his heart, and ours.

#6: Stuart's Comic Book Store Burns Down

“The Status Quo Combustion”

At the beginning of the series, Stuart went on a couple dates with Penny and in the final season he falls in love with a great girl and they move in together. But in between those high points, Stuart had a whole lot of lows. And no moment was lower or sadder than when his comic book store burned down. For a guy who already seemed to be having a tough time with life, seeing his business destroyed felt like life really was picking on him. The studio audience's shocked and saddened reaction to the destruction is the perfect sonic representation of what we all felt in that moment.

#5: Sheldon Is a Selfish Jerk

“The Stockholm Syndrome”

Sheldon being selfish and inconsiderate was the source of much of the comedy on the show, but his selfishness hit a high point in the series finale. And it wasn’t funny. The gang all went to Sweden to celebrate Sheldon and Amy winning the Nobel Prize. But before they got to the ceremony, Sheldon managed to selfishly piss off every one of his friends. So much so that they all considered leaving. The saddest moment came when Amy had to call him out and tell him that the reason their friends were “abandoning” them was because he “broke their hearts.”

#4: Professor Proton Dies

“The Proton Transmogrification”

Professor Proton was the host of a science show for kids back when Sheldon and Leonard were growing up. His importance to Sheldon during his younger, friendless years can’t be overstated. The guys become somewhat friendly with him at the end of season 6, but near the end of the 7th season Professor Proton passed away. At first Sheldon acts like it doesn’t affect him, not going to the funeral and focusing instead on Star Wars Day. But when Leonard returns from the funeral, Sheldon can’t deny it anymore. The pain and sadness he has been trying to ignore comes out in a moment of heartache that anyone who has lost someone important to them can relate to.

#3: Leonard Forgives His Mother

“The Maternal Conclusion”

Leonard’s relationship, or lack thereof, with his mother was a source of many jokes throughout the run of the series. He’s constantly looking for love, approval and an emotional connection from his mother that never comes. Although, in one of the final episodes things seem to have changed - until Leonard realizes she was just doing it to gather information for a new book. And that’s when he, instead of trying to change his mother, decides to forgive her. It’s a truly powerful moment, and as he speaks you can see an emotional weight being lifted off his shoulders. The scene ends with his mother giving him a hug. A real hug. Quite possibly for the first time ever.

#2: Amy Breaks Up with Sheldon

“The Commitment Determination”

As patient and understanding as Raj was with Lucy, Amy was ten times that when it came to her relationship with Sheldon. And there was no doubting that they both truly did love each other - which made their break up that much sadder. This wasn’t something Amy wanted to do or was happy to do. It was something that she needed to do, even though it was hurting her as much as Sheldon. And as if that wasn’t sad enough, this moment turns the sadness meter up to eleven when we find out that Sheldon had a ring and was planning on proposing to Amy before she ended things.

#1: Howard’s Mother Dies

“The Comic Book Store Regeneration”

For eight seasons, Howard’s mother was just a loud, screeching voice coming from off-screen. We never saw her face, but she was as important as almost anyone on the show. After his father left when he was a young boy, Howard and his mom only had each other. Howard would make jokes about her dying, but there was never any doubt about how much he loved her. And so did we. Which made Howard’s shocking announcement that she had passed away such a truly sad moment. If you didn’t shed a tear at any of the other moments on this list, there is no way your eyes stayed dry this episode.

Which TBBT moment made your heart break? Let us know in the comments