Mayim Bialik Talks Sheldon’s Rejection Of Amy On ‘The Big Bang Theory’
Audiences who tuned in to The Big Bang Theory on Thursday might have expected Sheldon and Amy would begin to reconcile after eight episodes broken up. The previous week, Amy had a less-than-thrilling date when her dinner companion Dave turned out to be a fanboy of Sheldon’s scientific work. The week before that, Sheldon attempted to propose to Amy, but stopped when he caught her getting a goodnight kiss from Dave.
So when Amy and Sheldon decided to spend a platonic day out at the aquarium, Shamy fans might have assumed a gushy makeup scene was on the way. Instead, the plot took an unexpected turn when Amy wanted to get back together and Sheldon said no, fearing further heartbreak. A.V. Club said the plot was handled with “real nuance and heart,” and Entertainment Weekly praised Mayim Bialik’s performance as she struggled with the rejection.
On her Instagram page, Bialik called the episode one of her “all-time favorites,” and blogged about the experience on her website, Grok Nation. She said what viewers saw as Amy’s sadness was in fact her own sadness as she was filming the scene.
“[I]n the final scene, we see Amy mistakenly assuming that since she was the one to throw the brakes on the relationship that Sheldon was simply waiting for her to hit the gas again.”
“I acted heartbroken because I felt it very deeply. I am not going to tell you what will happen next but I will tell you that when I filmed the episode that you just watched, I had no idea what was going to happen in the next episode, and that not-knowing-about-the-future was part of my process as well.”
It was revealed last week that Amy and Sheldon’s relationship will continue to evolve this season. After a five-year courtship, a months-long breakup, and some unpleasantness — Vulture wrote after the season’s previous episode that Sheldon has yet to apologize to Amy for his past insensitivity — the two will consummate their relationship.
That announcement came after it was revealed that Bob Newhart, a past Big Bang Theory guest star who plays Sheldon’s childhood hero Professor Proton, would have a role in the December 17 episode. Show producers revealed after the installment was taped that Sheldon and Amy have sex during that episode, a first for the couple who, mostly because of Sheldon’s reluctance, has largely stayed away from demonstrations of physical affection.
But, as Big Bang Theory producers want to retain the mystery of upcoming story lines — or as Vulture put it, “wring every last drop of story line out of the Shamy split” — show producers said that sex doesn’t necessarily mean reconciliation, at least not in Shamy’s case. Glamour blogger Jessica Radloff laid out a number of reasons why Sheldon and Amy having sex was shocking.
“[T]he fact that they’re hooking up possibly while broken up (or maybe having just reunited) is certainly out of character.”
As for what’s coming up, Bialik wrote on her blog that she appreciates the depth of these characters’ feelings and the fact that she gets to portray them. She also encouraged viewers to keep watching.
“As Amy, I get to act out a lot of emotions and feelings that many of us are conditioned to not express or talk about. For that, I am grateful to our writers for allowing those parts of themselves to be expressed through our characters.”
“It goes without saying that you should all stay tuned for next week’s episode…you will not be disappointed; I wasn’t!”
The Big Bang Theory airs Thursday nights on CBS. The, show, presently in Season 9, has been renewed through the end of season 10. Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik are both contracted to stay with the program.
[Main photo by Sonja Flemming/CBS via EW]
