Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) and Penny (Kaley Cuoco) are the endgame couple on “The Big Bang Theory” — but that doesn’t mean the two didn’t explore relationships with other (temporary) characters. Enter Dr. Stephanie Barnett, a surgical resident played by Sara Rue.
After Stephanie very nearly dates one of Leonard’s best friends, Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg), the two strike up a relationship. However, the pairing is ultimately doomed — and not just because Penny and Leonard are destined to be together. Sure, the two have solid chemistry at first, but the tryst goes sour pretty quickly, especially when Stephanie crosses some serious boundaries by essentially moving all of her belongings into Leonard’s apartment without asking him. Not only that, but Leonard finds that he has trouble having real discussions with Stephanie because she’s so sensitive. Whenever he points out something about their relationship that’s bothering him, she starts crying, and then the two have sex.
The character’s short tenure isn’t Rue’s fault; she does an excellent job as Stephanie. It’s the show’s fault. Stephanie is a brilliant, skilled, and confident future surgeon who suddenly transforms into a needy, pathetic stereotype over Leonard Hofstadter. She had real potential to pose an actual threat to Penny and Leonard’s obviously telegraphed future, but instead, she got relegated to the graveyard of “Big Bang Theory” relationships past. Even her exit was a disservice to both Rue and Stephanie, as she disappeared from the show without Leonard even dumping her on-screen.
Who is Sara Rue’s Stephanie & how many Big Bang Theory episodes did she appear in?
So, how does Dr. Stephanie Barnett even get involved with any of the guys on “The Big Bang Theory”? At first, she’s pretty aggressively wooed by Howard Wolowitz, who tells her in a Season 2 episode that he can “drive a car on Mars,” meaning the Mars Rover, if she hangs out with him. She does, and he promptly gets the Mars Rover stuck in a ditch. When Leonard ends up driving Stephanie home, she admits that she likes him and not Howard, which definitely causes an issue between Leonard and Howard for just a bit … until Stephanie sets Howard up with one of her friends.
Incredibly, Sara Rue’s character only sticks around for three episodes in the 2nd season of “The Big Bang Theory.” After her initial appearance on that ill-fated date with Howard in “The Lizard Spock Expansion,” they settle into a real relationship — which is even Facebook official — in “The White Asparagus Triangulation.” Things fall apart in the very next episode, “The Vartabedian Conundrum,” where Penny points out that Stephanie has quietly moved all of her stuff into Leonard’s room. After that, they apparently split, and Stephanie never returns to the show.
Fans think both Stephanie and Leonard deserved better from The Big Bang Theory
Despite her short tenure as Dr. Stephanie Barnett on “The Big Bang Theory,” it seems like fans think Sara Rue got a pretty raw deal and they don’t blame the actress for her lackluster storyline. On a Reddit thread asking fans of “The Big Bang Theory” what they thought of Sara Rue’s Dr. Stephanie Barnett, u/daven1985 wrote, “Only thing that bugged me was how quickly they made her crazy!” Redditor u/SteelReservePilot had a similar yet slightly different take: “She was doing too well with Leonard so they got rid of her. She had more depth and character than anybody Penny had dated.”
Some fans think the character was just irredeemable, like u/Gauge117, who wrote, “What?? She was completely clingy and insecure! violated his personal space, manipulated him with sex to stop him from talking about how he felt. She was a nightmare! good acting but the character was a mess.” Others agreed, with u/mamabear5053 even going so far as to say they can’t even watch her: “I skip these episodes when I rewatch. The actress is fine but not the character and I hated the storyline.”
Meanwhile, u/PrinceTrexus addressed Rue and Stephanie’s bizarrely hasty exit, writing, “I wish they would’ve given an explanation for why she suddenly just disappeared when she was actually in a relationship with Leonard.” In the end, it’s clear that “The Big Bang Theory” failed Rue and Stephanie alike.
