Why The Big Bang Theory Writers Brought Ramona Back In Season 10

Of all the side characters featured throughout "The Big Bang Theory," Ramona Nowitzki (Riki Lindhome) is undoubtedly one of the most intriguing. Introduced back in Season 2, Ramona doesn't hide her romantic feelings for Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) one bit — much to the chagrin of his friends. She becomes a bit clingy, to say the least, with him ultimately kicking her out of his life. However, she reemerges in Season 10 to continue her romantic pursuit of Sheldon, which presented the show's creative team with some interesting new story possibilities.

During a conversation with TV Guide, "The Big Bang Theory" showrunner Steve Molaro shared that Ramona's return was brought on by Sheldon and Amy Farah Fowler's (Mayim Bialik) temporary long-distance situation in Season 10. "One of the things we thought could be interesting based on that was what would happen if another woman came along while Amy was gone and what would that do to Sheldon as well as his group of friends," Molaro shared, so the team brainstormed who could fill that role. Lindhome's Ramona came up, and the rest is history.

Ramona's Season 10 return seemed like nothing more than a fun one-off to bring back a long-forgotten character, but her "Big Bang Theory" story doesn't end there.

Ramona's Season 10 return in the episode "The Long Distance Dissonance" makes some serious waves, to say the least. Upon reconnecting with Sheldon, she once again grows incredibly close to him and draws the ire of his friend group. Fully aware of her previous feelings for him, he inquires about whether or not they're still present. This leads Ramona to kiss him, and in response, he flies off to New Jersey to propose to Amy. While that may seem like the end of the line for her, she gets one more appearance in Season 11.

To kick off Season 11, Ramona pops up in the premiere episode, "The Proposal Proposal." With Sheldon and Amy now engaged, Raj Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar) attempts to ask Ramona out once again with no luck. While trying to mask her true feelings about the engagement, Ramona comes face-to-face with Amy, though the interaction doesn't go as one might expect. Amy hugs her, thanking her for the role she played in her engagement to Sheldon. With that, she awkwardly hugs Amy back before disappearing from "The Big Bang Theory" for good.

She's not quite a fan favorite, and she's far from a series regular, but it can be argued that Ramona is one of the most important "Big Bang Theory" characters out there for her role in Sheldon and Amy's relationship alone.