A TBBT Hot Take: The Show's Most Toxic Couple Stayed Together for a Reason
It's a mystery why their marriage lasted for decades.
Summary
- TBBT had a lot of difficult relationships, but one was particularly ugly.
- It was the one that made you wonder why people got together in the first place.
- Their children repeated this relationship pattern in their adult lives.
What makes you laugh? Apparently, most people find other people arguing pretty amusing. Perhaps that is why sitcoms so often depict conflict – the more absurd, the funnier. And in that sense, CBS' hit comedy show The Big Bang Theory is no exception.
Throughout its impressive twelve-year run, TBBT has featured plenty of conflict and arguing between its main characters. In fact, their constant bickering was one of the sitcom's most prominent features. Interestingly enough, no fan of the CBS comedy will find this surprising, because with Sheldon in the picture, conflicts are a prerequisite of the plot. But while his fights with the rest of the gang were pretty fun to follow, there were characters whose skirmishes were painful to watch.
Leonard's parents, Dr. Beverly Hofstadter and Dr. Alfred Hofstadter, were arguably the most toxic couple on TBBT. Their loveless marriage had a detrimental effect on Leonard's psychological development. And it was always uncomfortable to watch them interact. Naturally, everyone on and off screen was relieved when they divorced. But why did they stay together for so long in the first place?
The Relationship That Shouldn't Have Been
Beverly Hofstadter was the worst mother on The Big Bang Theory. A brilliant psychiatrist and researcher, she wasn't a very nice mom to her children whom she treated as subjects of an experiment rather than her own offspring. She didn't show any affection to her children (she never hugged Leonard when he was a little boy), and never told them that she loved them.
Sounds terrible, right? But even more importantly, Beverly was robot-like with her husband as well. Yet, Alfred put up with it for years and years instead of calling it quits and finding a person who would give him and his children love. This may only have one explanation – he either enjoyed or needed Beverly's coldness.
Birds of Feather Flock Together
On TBBT, Leonard and Sheldon have a similar but friendly relationship. Sheldon is always criticizing Leonard and bossing him around. Dr. Cooper never listens to his roommate and doesn't care about his feelings. But Leonard doesn't move and continues to live with him.
Needless to say, this raises many questions, the most important of which is asked by Professor Proton in Episode 7 of Season 7. When the beloved fictional science TV host asked Dr. Hofstadter why he stayed friends with Sheldon even though the latter was totally insufferable, Leonard said that he couldn't leave Sheldon, who was 'a little broken,' and that he himself was 'broken' and needed Sheldon too. And it seems that the same could be said of Leonard's parents. After all, we take after our parents in many ways…
Long story short, Beverly and Alfred were both dysfunctional and gravitated towards each other. Unfortunately, their resulting toxic relationship affected their children.