At the start of “The Big Bang Theory,” viewers meet a group of four nerdy friends who share a mutual love for science and all things sci-fi. The group consists of Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki), Howard “Wolowizard” Wolowitz (Simon Helberg), and Rajesh Koothrappoli (Kunal Nayyar). They meet Kaley Cuoco’s Penny in the pilot episode and, through her eyes, viewers uncover each of their little quirks and defining personality traits. It’s always assumed that Leonard is the most “normal” of the four, as that’s who Penny has the easiest time connecting with. However, fans have been reassessing their definition of “normal,” as they claim that title should really go to Howard.
Vouching their theory on Reddit, u/telestills asked: “How is Wolowizard the most normal one? Howard is the one who progressed the most out of the four guys. He has his own house, he is married, has two kids, used to be an astronaut, and so on.” They went on to say that Howard thrives the most compared to Sheldon, Leonard and Raj, arguing the other three don’t mature the same way throughout the show’s 12 seasons.
When we look at what happened to Howard by the end of “The Big Bang Theory,” it’s evident that his character has developed considerably. He proves himself to be a kind and reliable friend to everyone in the group, a good husband to Bernadette (Melissa Rauch), and excels in his career. But while many fans agree that Howard’s character development is the strongest, does that make him the best or more “normal” character?
Howard has a complex character arc on Big Bang Theory — but is he the best character?
Howard has a really interesting arc throughout “The Big Bang Theory.” When viewers first meet him, his life revolves around work, his friends (and his mom), and objectifying women. His relationship with Bernadette really changes that last aspect of his character, as he matures and becomes a lot more family-oriented. “He had the best character arc out of everyone. He was a huge pervert that changed for the better,” Reddit user u/AletzRC2 observed. Others suggested that this is more impressive than Raj, who simply learns to talk to women, or Leonard, who literally remains in the same place (his apartment) for over a decade (albeit while also getting married).
It’s perhaps not fair to say that Howard has more character progression than Sheldon, though, given what the “Young Sheldon” finale reveals about his life with Amy (Mayim Bialik) after “Big Bang Theory.” The couple are living happily in a house with their son Leonard and an unnamed daughter. Unlike Howard, who always knew he eventually wanted to find a wife and have a traditional family, Sheldon was solely dedicated to science. He merely tolerated having his friends in his life and had no interest in having a romantic or sexual relationship with anyone until he met Amy. It may have taken longer for fans to see such dramatic development in Sheldon’s character, but he’s changed immensely from the person viewers meet in Season 1.
Additionally, Howard isn’t perfect. A lot of viewers find Howard to be the worst “Big Bang Theory” character because of his creepy and immature interactions with women. And some fans don’t think all his positive changes can cancel out his inappropriate behavior in the earlier seasons.
