While the heroes of were deeply flawed, the sitcom secretly proved they could have been a lot worse without Penny. ’s central gang of friends all had pretty major character flaws. Like most sitcom characters, they were initially defined by their most notable trait, only to gain more humanity as the show progressed. However, even by the final season of the series, the quartet had shades of their older, less mature selves. Howard could still be creepy, Raj was sometimes self-centered, Leonard could be conniving, and Sheldon was as blunt as ever.
However, still leaned into their self-improvement.
Sheldon learned tact and humility, allowing him to make a heartfelt speech where he credited his professional success to his loved ones and not his own genius. Despite his initial sleaziness, Howard became a devoted husband and a doting father, while Leonard proved that he had matured throughout his relationship with Penny. Even Raj, who was once too shy to talk to women, brought Sarah Michelle Gellar to Sheldon’s acceptance ceremony as his guest. Things could have turned out much worse without Penny's influence, however, as evidenced by one earlier episode.
In season 8, episode 7, “The Misinterpretation Agitation,” Billy Bob Thornton played against type as the unsettling Dr. Lorvis. This character became obsessed with Penny after she flirted with him on a sales call, tracking down her address and attempting to woo her with flowers. In the process, he reflected the worst traits of . Since Lorvis was met by Leonard and the gang instead of Penny when he knocked on the wrong door, the conversation that followed allowed him to prove just how much worse Howard, Leonard, Sheldon, and Raj could have become.
The older Dr. Lorvis combined Sheldon’s clinical lack of social graces, Howard’s creepiness, Leonard’s entitlement, and Raj’s childish crushes to terrifying effect. He saw nothing wrong with locking the gang in his basement so he could win over Penny, only to then change his mind and fall in love with both Amy and Bernadette in rapid succession. While Lorvis amassed an impressive collection of pop culture memorabilia, he did so at the expense of learning to connect with others. If it weren’t for Penny’s presence, it would be easy to imagine the wealthy, successful, but socially maladroit heroes doing the same.
While ’s heroes had their low moments, they never trapped someone in their basement to steal their fiancée. Although was centered on Leonard trying to win over Penny romantically, Kaley Cuoco’s heroine ended up having a major impact on all the main friend group’s characters. In season 2, episode 12, “The Killer Robot Instability,” she told Howard that his creepy behavior was lecherous and unacceptable, prompting him to change his ways.
As late as season 11, episode 21, “The Comet Polarisation,” she called out Raj for stealing credit for her discovery.
Throughout their relationship, Penny proved to Leonard that he was entitled in the way he approached her despite his self-pitying nice guy image, and condescending in the way he spoke to her. Perhaps most memorably, Penny’s endless fights with Sheldon always came back to his lack of consideration for the feelings of others, something that resulted in him gradually becoming a kinder, more thoughtful character as the show progressed. While made his coldness understandable, it was still his relationship with Penny rather than the companionship of his older friends that changed him.
By the end of the series, Howard was happily married, Leonard was a better partner, Raj could talk to women, and even Sheldon was willing to acknowledge his loved ones and their importance to him. In contrast, Dr. Lorvis’s lone appearance in made it look like the troubled character devoted a lot of his life to effectively stalking any woman he found attractive.
Although his behavior was comically extreme and Thornton played the character for awkward laughs instead of drama, it was still hard to ignore the similarities between Lorvis and the show’s ostensible heroes before Penny.
The only thing that stopped y’s heroes from ending up just like Lorvis was Penny’s friendship. While Penny didn’t actively set out to make the gang better, she did expose them to their flaws and convince them that they could improve if they tried. All of , Howard’s marriage to Bernadette, and Sheldon’s moving tribute to his friends in the finale found their roots in their relationships with Penny.
Lorvis acted as living proof that the group needed ’s heroine to grow and change.
