While The Big Bang Theory often followed the sitcom playbook, the show’s Howard and Bernadette relationship offered a clever subversion of one tired trope. In many ways, The Big Bang Theory’s cast of characters wasn’t so different from most sitcom lineups. They may have shared nerdy interests, but Leonard, Penny, Sheldon, Amy, Bernadette, Howard, and Raj had a lot in common with the lead characters of How I Met Your Mother, Friends, and New Girl. There was the perpetually single male character, the happily married couple with children, and the central couple who constantly got together and broke up repeatedly.
By The Big Bang Theory’s finale, the show had followed many of the same formulae that made those hang-out shows successful. The popular but blatantly flawed breakout character, Sheldon, became a humbler, more palatable version of himself, much like Schmidt and Barney Stinson. However, not all The Big Bang Theory’s relationships were so predictable. One couple managed to buck a sitcom trend with their frank conversations about kids. Surprisingly, it was The Big Bang Theory’s most otherwise-stable pairing that starred in this storyline. Howard and Bernadette’s courtship was traditional, but their marriage strayed far from sitcom norms.
Bernadette’s Dislike Of Children Was A Sitcom Subversion
Howard Assumed His Love Interest Was Eager For Children
In most sitcoms, the male partner continued to work after the couple had children, while the female partner became a homemaker. Some more progressive shows depicted both parents working, but the female partner almost invariably wanted children and was happy to do the lion’s share of domestic labor. As surprising as it sounds, The Big Bang Theory subverted sitcom gender norms when Bernadette and Howard discussed children and Howard learned that Bernadette didn’t fit this confined bill. In their first serious conversation about kids from season 5, episode 12, “The Shiny Trinket Maneuver,” Bernadette revealed that she couldn’t stand children.
Howard’s love interest softened on the idea of children as time passed, and the couple eventually became parents. However, where The Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon fixed his self-centered character flaws as the show went on, Bernadette’s investment in herself wasn’t portrayed as a fault. She remained adamant that she didn’t want to have children unless Howard intended to quit his job and become a homemaker, since she refused to give up career opportunities that he didn’t need to sacrifice. This was an atypically bold stance for the sitcom character and one that was a welcome change from sitcom norms.
Howard and Bernadette’s The Big Bang Theory Setup Shifted Sitcom Norms
Bernadette Told Howard He Could Be A Stay-At-Home Parent
Bernadette went against the standard setup seen in traditional family sitcoms when she told Howard that he could quit his job and become a stay-at-home father if he wanted children so badly. Since Howard was primarily motivated by a vague fantasy of family life and his mother’s desire for grandchildren, he had never considered this prospect. While The Big Bang Theory wasted some supporting characters, Bernadette’s defiant viewpoint proves the show’s character writing could be sharp and perceptive. Clever, canny, and undaunted in every other respect, Bernadette wasn’t a character who would give up her ambitions for others.
