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Of all of The Big Bang Theory's missteps, the Season 9 Mandy Chow subplot is perhaps most well described as baffling. The Big Bang Theory has been guilty of its selection of stupid and implausible moments throughout the years, but introducing Mandy Chow, a character who exists in absentia and kisses another character in absentia, was the one thing that felt especially out of tune with the tone of the show.
On a show that had success with character-driven comedy, science puns, and long-term couple relationships, this episode was contrived, half-baked, and ultimately unnecessary. It starts when Leonard, on a detour to Las Vegas to marry Penny, irresponsibly decides to tell her that he kissed a co-worker by the name of Mandy Chow on a research trip on the North Sea. cue the cringe-worthy moment of silence, the anguished stares, and the incredulity, not just from Penny, but from home viewers as well.
The problem wasn't that the kiss happened so much as that it happened so uncharacteristically, so awkwardly, and that it really didn't lead to all that much in the end. And yet, in an instant, that one kiss nearly destroyed one of The Big Bang Theory's most tender and core couples.
The Big Bang Theory - An out-of-nowhere confession
The Big Bang Theory had spent eight seasons developing Penny and Leonard's relationship, makeups and breakups, commitment issues, and ultimately, a proposal. Their chemistry and emotional buildup took their sweet time in developing, so then, adding a cheating plot twist was like a gut punch. Mandy Chow was not a prior mention of a character, and there was no foreseen possibility that Leonard had something to hide from her.
Rather, we were presented with a derisive revelation in the Season 9 premiere ("The Matrimonial Momentum") that was unexpected and by its unfavourable timing. The premiere also disrupted the timing of what had been set up as a wedding episode to be savored. The viewers had waited years to see Penny and Leonard get married.
And after providing them with an emotional or comedic wedding episode, The Big Bang Theory opened Season 9 with Penny angry, Leonard sad, and the viewers in confusion. It was not bad timing; it was a surprise twist that did not work in the show's tone.
Who is Mandy Chow, anyway?
Maybe the strangest part of the entire subplot is how little we learn about Mandy Chow. She doesn't show up on screen until Season 9's second episode, "The Separation Oscillation," and even then only for an extremely brief period of time. She has a couple of lines amid an exchange with Leonard in a hallway. She whines about the ambiguity about why Leonard kissed Penny, and then she's just completely removed from the series.
That's it. No bigger story arc, no confrontation, and no resolution. On a show like The Big Bang Theory, where even the central secondary characters had huge storylines surrounding them (look at Leslie Winkle or Barry Kripke, for example), it was odd that a woman so deeply involved in facilitating the breakup of the central couple did not receive more screen time or character development.
Mandy Chow was neither a love interest nor a recurring character, and her very existence seemed to serve purely as a source of drama.
A betrayal that didn't fit
Leonard was insecure and loyal. His absolute loyalty to Penny ruled his personality for the whole duration of The Big Bang Theory. Having had a one time kiss scenario and never even truly working it out was contrary to all we had established about Leonard up to that point. It, if anything, made Leonard selfish and dishonest overnight, traits that weren't consistent with the rest of what he did on the show.
What made the Mandy Chow scene more intolerable was the way Leonard acted out. It wasn't remorseful or genuine; the man was almost blasé. Penny's reaction, as to be expected, was disregarded by the situation. The entire scene was hardly even brought up throughout a string of episodes.
In real life, this kind of betrayal would be taken seriously. But in The Big Bang Theory universe, it hardly raised an eyebrow after the initial episodes of the season.
Undermining the wedding arc
The Big Bang Theory spent multiple seasons getting Penny and Leonard to the point where they were ready to tie the knot. Their journey was not without its rough patches. Penny was commitment-phobic, Leonard was controlling, but since that made their eventual wedding so hard-earned, it was ruined. The Mandy Chow storyline crushed all that momentum with a sledgehammer.
Where instead of leaping into the insanity, euphoria, or even comedy of a Vegas wedding, the show defaulted to a cringeworthy acknowledgement and what it did to the situation. And when Penny and Leonard finally did go off and get married, the experience was emotionally lacking. The Mandy Chow scandal cast a cloud over the event.
No gushy sweet nothings, no happy ever after, just an open fight and a ceremony conducted out of obligation as opposed to desire.
Fans were not impressed
Audience reaction towards the Mandy Chow subplot was frosty at best. The fans did not like the subplot as they felt that it was awkward, unnecessary, and handled poorly. On the fan forums and on the Reddit forums, individuals went so far as to believe that the kiss was inserted as a last-ditch effort to get individuals hyped for the next season premiere rather than as part of a well-thought-out plot.
Even the most devoted fans of The Big Bang Theory had a hard time justifying the subplot, labeling it as one of the weakest aspects of the show. The Big Bang Theory was never a show that did drama to begin with, but they did do emotional arcs, Sheldon's growth, Howard's daddy problems, Raj's low self-esteem, stunningly subtly. But the Mandy Chow plot twist was lazy. It insulted the characters and the audience. And most egregiously, it went nowhere.
A narrative dead-end
Following "The Separation Oscillation," Mandy Chow is never mentioned again on The Big Bang Theory. Penny and Leonard's ineptitude is avoided. They do not go to a counselor, they do not waste hard and long sitting around trying to figure out what is happening, and they do not seem to be long-term psychologically scarred by it. A few episodes on, as if nothing had occurred.
This type of storytelling, creating drama just to leave it there hanging, trashed The Big Bang Theory's emotional integrity. For a series that thrived on its multi-episode storylines and continuity of character, Mandy Chow was the episode everyone remembered all wrong. It didn't build character depth. It didn't advance the story. It just made everything complex for no reason.
In the grand scheme of things in The Big Bang Theory, Leonard and Penny's relationship is occasionally a blip. But when it comes to romance, Mandy Chow was about to commit a disastrous mistake. With no emotional reward, no happy ending, and no actual point, it is one of the most baffling and lowest works of the series.
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The Big Bang Theory cemented its place in history on smart writing, lovable characters, and complicated relationships. The Mandy Chow subplot was none of that; rather, it was a Below-Gary-Ambrose brawl that didn't belong on a show that usually had its act together.
Also read: How many Seasons of The Big Bang Theory are there?
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