'Tears, Laughs and a Great Ending!' Big Bang Theory Fans React to Series Finale

Dave Quinn
Updated
'Tears, Laughs and a Great Ending!' Big Bang Theory Fans React to Series Finale

After 12 seasons, The Big Bang Theory came to a close on Thursday night, with back-to-back episodes that wrapped up several long-running storylines for America’s favorite geeks.

The CBS sitcom — which, at 279 episodes, is the longest-running multi-camera series in TV history — aired a funny, yet emotional goodbye.

Series regulars Leonard Holfstadter (Johnny Galecki), Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), Penny (Kaley Cuoco), Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg), Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik), Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz (Melissa Rauch), Rajesh “Raj” Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar), and Stuart Bloom (Kevin Sussman) were all there, each getting their own versions of their happily ever afters.

In addition, recurring characters such as Beverly Hofstadter (Christine Baranski), Bertram “Bert” Kimbler (Brian Posehn), and V.M. Koothrappali (Brian George) made their final appearances in the episodes.

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The night started with an episode titled “The Change Constant,” before moving to the final episode, “The Stockholm Syndrome.”

Filming for the episode happened on April 30. The last scene of the whole series was pre-taped, and hidden not just from the studio audience, but also from the entire cast.

“It seemed like a nice thing for us to hold back one piece of the finale, so there’s at least one thing that couldn’t be spoiled,” showrunner Steve Holland previously said. “That way it will also make the night extra special for those who were at the taping because there’s an extra piece.”

The cast of The Big Bang Theory | Monty Brinton/CBS
The cast of The Big Bang Theory | Monty Brinton/CBS

Fans, of course, didn’t hold back their reactions to the finale online.

While the majority of fans expressed their sadness that the series had come to an end, audiences also appeared to be happy overall with the show’s ending.

“#BigBangTheory had the perfect ending- tears, laughs and a great ending! #BBT,” wrote on Twitter user.

“WHAT A HEART FELT, GENUINE, TEAR JERKER OF AN ENDING @bigbangtheory I loved every minute of this episode. I will miss this show more than you know. THANK YOU for the last 12 years,” tweeted another.

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Still, there were some viewers that had critiques of the episode.

“OK, I’ll say it. The last @bigbangtheory wasn’t that good. Then again, series finales usually aren’t. #BigBangTheoryFinale,” wrote one Twitter account holder.

Said another user: “A little disappointed that Raj didn’t find love like the others, but other than that I’m very happy with the #BigBangTheory finale.”

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Chuck Lorre, The Big Bang Theory‘s co-creator, announced in August alongside CBS and Warner Bros. Television that the show would be coming to an end.

“We are forever grateful to our fans for their support of The Big Bang Theory during the past twelve seasons,” he said in a joint statement. “We, along with the cast, writers and crew, are extremely appreciative of the show’s success and aim to deliver a final season, and series finale, that will bring The Big Bang Theory to an epic creative close.”

Speaking to PeopleTV on the Paleyfest red carpet last March, the cast admitted they couldn’t really picture their life after the series finale.

“I actually can’t, to be honest,” said Cuoco, 33. “I can’t really picture it. And I don’t think there really will be my life without it — I think it’ll always be there, I think it’ll always be running, I think we’ll always have those fans. It’s always going to be a part of me.”

Nayyar, 38, said the ending would be “very sad.”

“I grew up on this show — I was a kid out of grad school,” he said. “I don’t even know how to comprehend that.”