Finale Forecast: How can ‘The Big Bang Theory’ season 9 come up with satisfying end?

When you are a comedy like “The Big Bang Theory,” there are some problems that are at least fairly easy to detect … and much of them start from the very fact that this is a show that is nine years into its run at this point. You already have Leonard and Penny married; while, Sheldon and Amy are seemingly on the road to an engagement, and Howard and Bernadette are expecting a child. When it comes to relationships, which was in part a key component of the pilot, many of the main characters have what they want.

So is there something more, and is that something exciting? We’d argue so, but we’re not sure if the show will fully explore it or not this season. Nonetheless, it makes for a ripe topic of conversation in the latest chapter of our ongoing Finale Forecast series.

What could happen – CBS has already released a short teaser for the May 12 finale, and it reads as follows: “Judd Hirsch is introduced as Leonard’s (Johnny Galecki) father. Also, Leonard’s mother, Beverly Hofstadter (Christine Baranski), and Sheldon’s mother, Mary Cooper (Laurie Metcalf), return.” There’s not a whole lot to speculate about here, since with this many guest stars we imagine that most of the final episode is going to be very family-based.

What should happen – We know that what we would love to see in the finale is actually something much more career-based. For example, we know that Penny is unhappy in her job and wants to change, so why not explore that? Also, why not have either Sheldon or Leonard make a huge career advancement where they become something closer to scientific superstars? We know that there is a certain logistical problem in that in order to keep the characters at the same apartment, they cannot be too successful; yet, we are in season 9. A change could be good to show that these people are starting to make their dreams come true.

If you are going to focus on romance, why not have Raj make some sort of decision? We don’t really know where he and Emily are after they slept together recently. Another idea would be to give Stuart a love interest for a change, or at least some reason to actually be happy when he spends most of his time being anything but.