Pretty touching. And the bit with Stewart and the kids was pretty funny. (note: I don’t have kids – parents may not find that as funny(
I think SMG was a fine guest star.
Brian
Minor spoilery question if I may
Was that Jim Parsons singing the theme and playing guitar at the end?
Not sure why this is in a spoiler box but I think it was a bare naked lady.
Some people get a little nutty about spoilers. Thanks for the reply though.
I’m so glad the Wolowitz kids didn’t become a precocious fixture in the show, but it was kind of nice to see them briefly. I’m also glad the gussied up Amy a bit. She deserves it.
All in all, not a bad finale.
What I liked about it, apart from it providing a high percentage of actual laughs, which is not a guarantee with this show, was that everything tied up relatively neatly, but not definitively, and it was about things that had been hinted at throughout the whole season.
It didn’t have a few things I expected, like a leap into the far future, or the reveal of Penny’s surname, or an unlikely cavalcade of guest appearances. And that’s good, it made it a simple, straightforward, and satisfying finale.
And it also didn’t have Anu in it, so that was a bonus.
I think they stuck the landing. Great way to show the elevator working. A nice Penny-Sheldon scene. The slap was great. Seeing the kids for a moment was good. Penny’s pregnancy handled well and Sheldon’s reactions on the plane were funny. Minus points for having Kripke in even for a moment.
I liked it - my personal favorite part was Amy’s description of the Swedes during the pre-flight briefing, and all the handshakes afterwards.
And Penny was right - pickled herring is awesome.
I have been critical of this show for the past two seasons; it felt tired, and the actors just seemed to be going through the motions much of the time.
The two-part finale, and the episode just prior to it, were a breath of fresh air. I’m glad they were able to bring back some of the magic from earlier seasons. Nice way to wrap up.
I liked it quite a bit, even if it didn’t include some elements we speculated might be there (such as a flash forward showing where everyone ended up). And I particularly liked Leonard’s explanation why he’s always wearing a hoodie and why that DNA sculpture is there.
But at the same time, it also wasn’t one of those finales where everything changes (despite Sheldon’s change-related freakout). Nobody is moving away, nobody got a new job, the general status quo of the series didn’t really change. Once they get back from Sweden, their lives are going to continue pretty much as they always have. I like that. I’ve never been huge fan of the Friends-style “Everyone Goes Their Separate Ways” ending.
As someone who has admitted before to having a crush on Mayim Bialik since the days of Blossom, I appreciated her makeover, and was glad that she got a chance to appear all glammed up. Boo to Sheldon for reacting so badly to it. Sometimes he seems to have progressed in his social skills, but then he fails at something so basic as “Don’t insult your wife’s appearance.”
While Sheldon’s speech at the Nobel ceremony was very good, and Parsons delivered it beautifully (I loved “Astronaut Howard Wolowitz”), you have to wonder how much it will stick. Sheldon’s been called on his bullshit before, and had moments where he seemed to realize that he’s behaved badly. But before long he regresses back to his old ways. It would be nice to think that he finally “gets it,” but I have my doubts.
Sarah Michelle Gellar was a weird final guest star. Or rather, the way they involved her in the story was weird. Some random guy she’s sitting next to on a plane invites her to the Nobel Prize ceremony, so she says yes? Okay, whatever. But I did chuckle at, in the middle of Sheldon’s heartfelt tribute to his friends, “Is that Buffy the Vampire Slayer?”
I liked the slapping of Sheldon, but they totally stole that from How I Met Your Mother.
It’s definitely for the best that the show is ending. It hasn’t been its best for several years now, and has often been tired and unfunny recently. But they pulled off a good finale.
Loved a lot of little things, like the DNA sculpture and Amy getting to wear her tiara again… and I could have killed Sheldon for shooting down her fabulous new look. And funny to see Penny and Bernadette competing over who’d be Amy’s best friend. Too bad about the lack of Sheldon & Leonard’s moms.
Sheldon’s speech was inspiring… showed how much he’s evolved.
And I loved the end of Young Sheldon, showing them all as kids.
And best of all: NO ANU!!! Thank you, writers!
I guess you’re not very good with CHANGE.
Oh yeah, that was great. Loved it!
It was a very touching finale. Sheldon’s acceptance speech showed how fond he was of all his friends (and his wife!), even though his natural tendency is to take them for granted. Nice!
Best moments were the Sheldon slap, Penny discovering the elevator works, and the DNA model.
In Young Sheldon, the announcement of the award of the Nobel Prize in Physics to Jerome I. Friedman, Henry W. Kendall and Richard E. Taylor for “quarks” dates that show to 1990. Sheldon was betting on Frederick Reines to win for discovering neutrinos; he won in 1995.
This was my thought exactly. While the speech was stirring and heartfelt and maybe even a bit tear-inducing, it also seemed pretty much out of the blue. Given the fact that there wasn’t much of an arc showing a transformation in Sheldon, it is hard to think it will be a permanent change. Maybe that was the point?
I loved seeing her wearing it! I can never hear the word “tiara” without remembering the original episode! 
Sheldon has shown he cannot handle too much change at once. That’s why he ran away to go ride trains. Also, since Sheldon doesn’t care too much about money, I think the Nobel Prize cash award won’t change him too much.
I wish Mary could have been there.
I liked how they dialed down the laugh track some. When Amy was telling Sheldon she tolerates him too sometimes, because she knows he doesn’t mean it, I think that may have pinged to Sheldon.
All in all, farewell. I’ve watched since the beginning and it was a nice wrap-up.
I agree with this. As I had hoped, the writing was much better than it has been, and the story felt organic and not forced.
For those who like speeches, like Sheldon’s, that show the main character having a huge change of heart under life-changing circumstances, I recommend an old British movie called “The Browning Version,” available occasionally on TMC. It will break your heart.
Sheldon’s evolution seems to have been two steps forward, 1.5 steps backward. What’s important is that he’s moving forward, at half-step intervals.
Love that movie, and the original play. Big Terence Rattigan fan.