The Big Bang Theory ended on a happy note.
A group of friends stayed friends and continued eating takeout.
Each couple's future looked rosy, and Raj?
Raj got the short end of the stick. On a show where every other main character, even Stuart, was in a romantic relationship, ending the series with Raj single seems like a glaring oversight.
Romantic happiness is not the only type of happiness. Just because someone is single doesn't mean they aren't living happily ever after. If Raj had gotten an "I choose me" moment or had some positive epiphany about singledom, then his remaining single at the end would have been okay because there was closure for the character.
Instead, The Big Bang Theory Season 12 had Raj asking his father to arrange a marriage for him (a plot that had already been done on The Big Bang Theory Season 5 Episode 20). He meets Anu, his bride-to-be, and they begin a relationship.
Said relationship ends on The Big Bang Theory Season 12 Episode 22 because Raj decides he doesn't love Anu enough to move to London, so he is once again single and waiting for true love. Since this was the last season, the Anu plotline felt like a shaggy dog story.
Neat as it was seeing Sarah Michelle Gellar a Raj's plus one at the Nobel Prize ceremony on The Big Bang Theory Season 12 Episode 24, it didn't make up for the fact the series did not give Raj a proper ending.
Thanks to Young Sheldon, this could change.
Although Young Sheldon's focus is on the past, the framing device has Sheldon narrating from some time after the events of The Big Bang Theory Season 12 Episode 24. This has allowed Young Sheldon to reveal details about Sheldon and Amy's future.
So far, Young Sheldon has been sparse with the reveals and hasn't mentioned anything about the futures of the other main characters from The Big Bang Theory, but the potential is there, especially if the destiny of a character on Young Sheldon is connected to a character from The Big Bang Theory.
Missy Cooper made her onscreen debut on The Big Theory Season 1 Episode 15. Leonard, Howard, and Raj fell for her, but Missy only had eyes for was Raj. Unfortunately, Raj's mutism prevented them from going out.
Afterward, Missy wasn't mentioned much until The Big Bang Theory Season 7 Episode 11. During the episode, it was revealed she had gotten married in the interim and was giving birth to her first child. Any hope of her and Raj having a relationship seemed to have sailed.
But then The Big Bang Theory Season 11 Episode 24 brought Missy back for Sheldon and Amy's wedding. She was pregnant with her second child. She was also separated from her husband, a fact visibly piquing Raj's interest.
Why didn't the writers pursue a Raj and Missy romance during The Big Bang Theory Season 12? The setup was there. Raj and Missy as a couple had a lot of potential and could fuel plotlines for themselves and other characters.
Raj has dated a recently separated woman before (The Big Bang Theory Season 11 Episode 14). Someone from the gang dating another member's sister had been when Leonard dated Raj's sister Priya during The Big Bang Theory Season 4 and The Big Bang Theory Season 5.
Raj and Missy's dating would have been reminiscent of those earlier storylines. However, as mentioned, the Anu storyline wasn't new territory for the show either.
Also, the differences, such as Raj dating Sheldon's sister instead of Leonard dating Raj's sister, would've been enough of a change-up to prevent it from being a complete retread.
For whatever reasons, The Big Bang Theory chose not to go in that direction, but Young Sheldon leaves the possibility open.
Young Sheldon Season 3 Episode 20 reveals Missy will go on to have four children. Does she reconcile with her husband, or does she find a second love with someone else?
If it's the latter, nothing is preventing it from being Raj.
It doesn't undermine the stories Young Sheldon is currently telling about Missy if she ultimately settles down with someone she doesn't meet until years later in the future.
Despite what TV and movies show us, most childhood romances don't last. Just because a relationship has an expiration date doesn't mean the relationship won't make an interesting story for a TV story.
Young Sheldon can give Missy childhood/teen romantic plots with other people, and if executed well, the reveal of Missy later ending up with Raj won't undermine those stories.
Telling the audience via narration about Raj and Missy's futures won't be as satisfying as actually seeing it play out onscreen.
However, unless Young Sheldon decides to depict post-The Big Bang Theory scenes or there's a revival, revealing it with an adult Sheldon voiceover is the only option.
It's not the perfect way to make Raj and Missy endgame, but it is a way to give two characters who have/will undergo romantic struggles a happy romantic ending.
Over to you, TV Fanatics!
Do you think Raj and Missy should be endgame?
Did The Big Bang Theory series finale provide enough closure for Raj?
Hit the comments below.
You can watch Young Sheldon online at TV Fanatic.
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