The Big Bang Theory’s Most Emotional Moment Is Part of a Massive Mystery

The whole gang in The Big Bang Theory has a lot going for them. Most of them are successful scientists, and even the two people who are not, Penny and Howard, have successful careers of their own by the end of the show. However, Howard is the butt of most of the jokes in the series, with the other characters making fun of the fact that he lives with his mom for a long time and the way he dresses. Howard can dish it as well as he can take it, but there’s an underlying sadness to his character because of his rough childhood.

Howard had a great life until he was around 11, which is when his dad left him and his mom. He struggled with abandonment issues for years, and when it came time for him to have children, he worried about being a bad parent. What Howard didn’t know until The Big Bang Theory Season 6, though, was that his dad still had plenty of love for him.

Howard Sort of Learns How His Father Feels About Him in The Big Bang Theory

In the Season 6 episode “The Closet Reconfiguration,” Howard and his wife, Bernadette, host their friends for a dinner party. They try to clean up ahead of time, which involves Howard throwing all of their junk into their bedroom closet. Everyone arrives soon after, and everything’s going great until Sheldon insults Bernadette’s efforts to make him Thai food. To get back at him, she shows him the messy closet, which she knows he’ll spend hours tidying up. Sheldon does just that, and as he’s finishing up, he comes across a letter Howard’s father, Sam, sent years earlier.

In order to put the envelope in the right place, Sheldon reads its contents, upsetting Howard, who doesn’t want to know what his father has to say. Bernadette lets her curiosity get the better of her and makes Sheldon tell her what the letter says. Everyone finds out but Howard, who decides to leave a dinner party at Leonard and Sheldon’s because he’s so upset. He returns home to reminisce about a time when his dad was still in his life, but Bernadette doesn’t let him sulk for long.

Sheldon comes up with the idea to have all of Howard’s friends tell a story that could be from the letter. Only one is true, and Howard can do with that information what he wants. Raj kicks things off by saying it’s a gag birthday card with a message about how much Sam loves his son, before Sheldon ruins the mood by describing the plot of The Goonies. Amy gets things back on track by claiming that Howard’s dad was at his high school graduation, while Penny drops the bomb that Sam had a double life that caught up to him. Finally, Leonard and Bernadette round things out by saying that Sam regretted throwing away his family and thought Howard was his greatest gift, respectively.

Howard accepts all the answers and feels better, being happy knowing that his dad still thinks about him in a positive way. However, in typical The Big Bang Theory fashion, the show leaves the audience in the dark as well. But that didn’t stop fans from creating a theory that ties the different explanations together.

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The Big Bang Theory Fans Think They Know What Sam Sent Howard

With Sheldon’s story obviously being a joke, that leaves five possible winners. Fans take that fact and run with it, claiming that the letter contains all of the other explanations. After all, if someone is going to send their child a card on their eighteenth birthday after abandoning them, they might as well say everything they have to say. The theory also allows Howard’s friends not to have to keep secrets, since every bit of the truth is out there.

The only problem is that The Big Bang Theory never mentions the letter again, so there’s no way to confirm the idea. Howard learns in Season 10 that he has a half-brother, Josh, but he doesn’t really ask him anything about their father. Howard just wants to move on with his life, and his friends are more than enough for him.

The Big Bang Theory is streaming on HBO Max.

Which story do you think was in the letter in The Big Bang Theory? Are you glad the show didn’t reveal the truth? Let us know in the comments below!