The Controversial Season 4 Finale

The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast

Host Jessica Radloff sits down with executive producer Steve Molaro to dissect the controversial Season 4 finale of The Big Bang Theory. The

Key takeaways

• Steve Molar Molaro expressed discomfort with the Penny/Raj bed scene, feeling it was potentially gratuitous for shock value.
• The writers utilized a 'condom loophole' to provide a comedic way to undo the Season 4 cliffhanger in subsequent episodes.
• The introduction of Priya was a divisive moment for fans, though Molaro praised the actress's performance.
• Molaro describes the combination of Penny, Amy, and Bernadette as a 'three-headed comedy monster.'
• Chuck Lorre reportedly still faces fan feedback regarding the controversial Season 4 finale storyline.

Main topics

• Season 4 Finale Controversy
• Writing and Retconning Techniques
• Character Dynamics: Priya, Amy, and Bernadette

Notable quotes

It felt to me a little out of character.

Conclusion

An insightful look into the difficult balance between creating shockin

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:07) Hey, everybody, I'm Jessica Radloff, and welcome back to the official Big Bang Theory podcast as we wrap up an epic season four. I couldn't think of anybody better than to bring back the executive producer and showrunner and the guy who made me so flustered when he was here for season three because he brought out a snowflake and then we had to edit out a whole part you didn't see because I was just like, oh, my God. There's the penny in Leonard Snowflake here. Anyway, the man in question is none other than Steve Malaro, who I just adore. And I am so happy to have you back with us for the season four finale, which was a very divisive one. Okay. Well, thank you for having me back. Right? You remember it was a divisive finale. I Speaker 2 (0:49) don't read about these things, so you'll have to tell me and then I'll respond. Okay. Okay. We will talk Speaker 3 (0:55) about it all. I loved this finale in particular. When's the last time you saw the finale? Did you watch it before we... I watched it this morning. But before that, Speaker 2 (1:06) I don't know. 15 years. Okay. Speaker 3 (1:09) We're gonna get to the very end of it by the end of this podcast and how it ended. But I loved this episode. I just thought so many things came colliding together in a way that was so fun to watch for all the characters. How did you feel about it overall? I Speaker 2 (1:24) thought it played... Great. You know, everybody's got fun stuff to do. Yeah. It was a good one. Speaker 3 (1:32) We're going to rewind for a second because in season four, Leonard starts stating Rajah's sister, Priya. And that was a very divisive character. I mean, if we thought how things end in season four was like, whoa, then fans had a lot of thoughts with Priya. And now I know that you're not on all the message boards and social media and stuff, but what do you remember about that introduction of that character? And especially because this was the first real relationship Leonard had outside of Speaker 2 (2:02) Penny. Post-Penny, yeah. I understand that the audience is protective. of Leonard. So it's not surprising to me that not everybody loved what the character of Priya brought to the table. And I think that relationship was sort of, I don't want to say by design, but had baked into it Leonard trying to make something work, even if it was clear it wasn't working, because he either didn't want to be alone or... was so upset about Penny that at least this was filling something inside of him. And he was gonna hang in there even if it was clear that Priya might not be the best for him. So for people to have a negative reaction to a character that wasn't necessarily designed to be lovable, Speaker 3 (2:59) not Speaker 2 (2:59) surprising, but I don't think that has anything to do with the job that Artie... the actress did. I thought she did a beautiful job. Speaker 3 (3:08) Yeah, same here. Did you ever think about bringing Artie back for another appearance later on in the run? Since obviously Penny's ex-boyfriend showed back up again, like Zack. Did you ever think like, this might be fun to bring Priya back? I Speaker 2 (3:21) don't remember a specific, but you know, if a story got us excited, we were always open to bring anybody back. Speaker 3 (3:29) One of the things I love so much in season four is that now that we had Amy and Bernadette... in place. We finally got this trio with Penny, Amy, and Bernadette, and the three of them just... That's a powerful trio. It's Speaker 2 (3:43) a Speaker 3 (3:43) powerful trio. And I don't Speaker 2 (3:45) know Speaker 3 (3:45) in any other world... Speaker 2 (3:46) Three-headed Speaker 3 (3:46) comedy monster. Yes, and I don't know in any other world if these three would have really hung out, but it worked here. Right, they wouldn't have. That was part of the beauty of Speaker 2 (3:56) it. Speaker 3 (3:56) Yeah, Speaker 2 (3:56) and Speaker 3 (3:56) it made sense and it was so much fun. And it was especially interesting when Priya was in the picture because Penny had a very hard time with it. And that's when she realized, I think, oh, wait a minute, I made a mistake. breaking up with Leonard because in Penny's mind, she was kind of the starter girlfriend since she felt like she taught Leonard everything he needed to know. And then he goes and he's doing things with Priya that Penny wishes he already had known when he was Speaker 2 (4:27) with her. She made, I guess she was feeling, I made him who he is, I made him cooler. Yeah. And now he's off in the world and other people are getting to take advantage of that. Speaker 3 (4:36) Yes. So before we get to the finale episode, I want to play a clip from episode 419, the Czarnecki incursion, which is this great scene with this powerful trio and how they are dealing with, uh, with Priya and Leonard and that whole relationship. And make sure you go watch the whole episode on HBO Max. Speaker 4 (4:55) Last weekend, Priya took Leonard rollerblading at the beach. Can you believe that? I feel like I'm supposed to say that bitch, but I don't have enough information. I am the one who spent two years trying to get him to even go to the beach in the first place. He was so phobic about stepping on medical waste, I had Speaker 2 (5:13) to Speaker 4 (5:13) carry him to the water. I took Howard to the beach once. He almost burst into flames like a vampire. I get for turning Leonard into quality boyfriend material, I have to tiptoe around his new girlfriend. Speaker 1 (5:29) I think you're on. Speaker 4 (5:31) Oh, bitch. Speaker 4 (5:36) coffee liqueur on your ice cream? Ah, here's the alcohol and drug peer pressure mother warned me about. I was starting to think it was never going to happen. Yes, please. You guys should have seen Leonard when I first met him. I mean, there was no eye contact. He was either looking up at the ceiling or down at his shoes. I'm drunk. You know, for the first couple months, whenever I would take off my bra, he would giggle and say, oh boy, my breast friends. Speaker 3 (6:07) I could keep watching the clip. It's so good. I just love when Amy is like, I'm drunk. That's me. I mean, I don't really drink. So if I have one sip of something, I'm like, okay, Speaker 2 (6:17) I'm drunk. This friendship with Bernadette and Penny, and particularly Penny, opened up a whole new world for Amy that she had never gotten exposed to. And that was always fun. to explore. Speaker 3 (6:30) It was so great. I saw so much of myself in the character of Amy because I went through that where I did not have that friend group growing up. So it was like seeing that come alive as an adult was so fun because it was just like, there's so many of us that feel that way. And then we don't get those experiences until we're a little bit older. So it's like living vicariously through these characters, which is why they're so beloved. Do you remember anything about writing that scene and just the fun of Bernadette saying that? Speaker 2 (6:58) Bitch. Boy, it's really funny. I remember I knew I'm Drunk was coming. Like I was having flashbacks of that. But just a great. Yeah, it stopped. I wanted to keep watching Speaker 4 (7:12) it. Speaker 2 (7:12) I Speaker 4 (7:12) know, Speaker 2 (7:12) we Speaker 4 (7:12) were Speaker 2 (7:12) like, Speaker 3 (7:13) wait, where's more? We have to go to