The Worst Part Of Sheldon And Amy's Relationship On The Big Bang Theory
In Season 3 of CBS' "The Big Bang Theory," Caltech physicist Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) finds his perfect match in Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik). Not only is she well-educated with a Ph.D. in neurobiology from Harvard University, but she also has almost-identical quirks and mannerisms to Sheldon.
The pair reluctantly meet when Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) and Raj Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar) find Amy on a dating site and coordinate a meetup between her and Sheldon. A concerned Howard asks, "Good God, what have we done?" as the two bond over their "aversion to soiled hosiery" and agree that, as Amy puts it, "all forms of physical contact up to and including coitus are off the table."
Over the course of the 12-season series, their relationship is a roller coaster as they experience a brief breakup, navigate being roommates, and eventually tie the knot and win a Nobel Prize together. Despite things ending on a high note for Sheldon and Amy, many fans feel there's a glaring issue in their partnership.
Sheldon and Amy's relationship is too one-sided
Part of what makes the character of Sheldon so great is his blunt, sarcastic, and oftentimes neurotic personality. However, when it comes to his relationship with Amy, these tendencies aren't always funny. On many occasions, Sheldon is self-centered and rude to Amy and doesn't take her feelings into consideration. Despite her going above and beyond for him and constantly trying to move the relationship forward on both a physical and emotional level, he rarely gives the same energy back.
For example, in the Season 5 episode "The Shiny Trinket Maneuver," Amy excitedly tells Sheldon that one of her papers is going to be published in a prestigious journal, a major accomplishment for her. Preoccupied with his Twitter, Sheldon brushes her off, later telling Penny (Kaley Cuoco) that Amy's news isn't important because it's related to biology, which is "all about yucky, squishy things." Though Amy angrily leaves their date, Sheldon is oblivious to what he did wrong. Additionally, despite not wanting to make their relationship official for some time, he expresses jealousy when Amy shows interest in other men.
On Reddit, u/KushTheKitten said, "Sheldon's a horrid boyfriend to Amy. He's a complete jerk to her ... he demeans her, treats her like s*** and it's suppose [sic] to be funny? ... How poorly he treats her makes me cringe." Redditor u/tyburn_canon added, "I know the writers write Sheldon vastly different from week to week, but it's always annoyed me [how] he can love the Stan Lee but not Amy."