Why the Brooklyn 99 (B99) and The Big Bang Theory (TBBT) finales make sense for the themes, humour and messages of the shows and why this doesn’t lead to the most satisfying endings

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 Obviously, I prefer everything about B99 as I think it’s a great example of what to do and how to do almost everything right in a show. For instance, I think the show often deals with complicated issues better than most other sitcoms, because of the progressive values, heart and healthy relationships that are so key to the show. For instance, the show remains smart and funny while dealing with serious issues such as racism, feminism and LGBTQ + issues. However, I think that TBBT is an example of what not to do in a sitcom, including the finale, as while it's obviously fine if you liked Sheldon's final speech in TBBT, Jake's B99 finale speech was so amazing and blew it out of the water, imo. In fact, it was so much better as that's how you write a lead character's final speech (that is, if you have a lead like Jake who super selflessly does great things for others and has a beautiful, kind heart along with basically an entire main cast of wonderful characters, as opposed to TBBT which has entitled douches as the male leads, including Sheldon, who's very toxic and tends to only really care about himself.) As a result, Jake's speech was super moving and heartfelt (as was the last Holt and Jake moment) and effectively relates to the finale in a genuinely poignant, touching, bittersweet way.

There’s a lot that I really like about the B99 finale and I appreciate why it ended the way that it did. However, I think there are a few factors that may not ruin it but do prevent it from being a perfect, totally satisfying finale (imo). For instance, Jake’s altruistic sacrifice to quit his job is very moving, heartfelt and beautiful and makes a lot of sense but also feels quite unfair given that the other B99 parents get to have careers (even promotions) and families and how disrespected and unappreciated stay at home parents are and how many lose confidence and identity. This is especially the case as being a cop is the only thing he’s ever wanted to do or the only thing he thinks he could do or that people have valued him for (and sometimes not even then.) It’s also far from the first time that he’s made a sacrifice or lost out on something and while I get that he doesn’t care about others respecting him as he feels it's more important to be there for Mac 24/7 but as he’s already sacrificed, given up and been through a lot, I was more than ready for him to get a completely happy ending and he more than deserved it as he was already the lovely, present Dad that his Dad wasn't for him. For instance, he certainly didn’t need to learn to put others first or prioritise family or Amy’s dreams and career as he already did those things and as he’s the one who has to make virtually all the sacrifices in the relationship (which I love him for and they obviously have a very healthy relationship), it doesn’t feel as satisfying as it could, as he’s going from often being underestimated to being in a role where parents are typically not taken seriously or valued at all. Factors such as Amy questioning if he’ll be happy at home full-time, his boredom during his suspension, Casecation, Amy beating him up and shooting him*, the fake therapist and coma tricks from the heists while he always remained so loving also contribute to the ending not being perfect. This is because he would never mess with Amy or hurt her like that and especially as he got the most perfect gift for Amy and their family, which she almost immediately pointed out something to correct, it feels extra unfair and way too cruel that she did the coma trick and got Teddy involved!? How is that a fair, satisfying or enjoyable thing to happen in the finale!? (I get that they wanted to go all out for the last heist and that she planned to throw him a party but I don’t feel that the cruel trick was necessary and the party didn’t even really happen so it falls a little flat as he has the mean trick done to him but doesn’t get the nice thing.) I get why they saved it for the end but it's arguably worse that it’s in the finale because of how their arcs ended and because it's one of their last scenes together, which really doesn't feel right. Also, while we know that she loves him, it almost makes some of Amy’s loving, nice moments fall a little flat as this happened right at the end and I just wanted Jake to be happy and have something great happen to him. ‘Balancing’ felt fairer than the finale for the most part as there was something that both Jake and Amy missed out on (even though it isn't quite the same as Jake won't get another chance to catch Franzia but Amy will get to see Mac stand and perhaps some other firsts) but they didn’t want the other to stop working and were loving and supportive and even though it’s a shame Jake had to miss out on Franzia when they didn’t want either of them to sacrifice their careers, he wouldn’t have wanted to miss Mac standing up for anything. However, in the finale, it’s less equal. For instance, Jake is his usual incredibly selfless, loving self as he’s giving up a lot (as Amy recognises) even after they’d talked about how they wouldn’t want the other to give up their career and while I fully appreciate how important Amy’s work is, it feels a bit uneven for her to get such a big promotion while Jake gives up his career while not really getting anything in return and with no recognition for his time at the 99 or key milestones/moments with Mac or references to him returning to the world of work. The fact that he’s going to see less of the 99 while Boyle has a new partner, Terry’s been promoted and Amy and Holt are going to work together all the time also feel kinda unfair as the 99 are Jake’s family too and most of them get to have careers and families. I know that Jake won’t ever regret his decision, it just feels a shame that the other parents get to have happy endings in every respect as promotions can boost/increase confidence and make you feel important, whereas being at home full-time might have the opposite effect. It also seems like Jake had to give up a lot but Amy got an almost perfect, happy ending as she got a big promotion and has the cutest son and the most supportive and loving husband ever who would do and sacrifice anything for her and would be so sweet if she had a bad day but if Jake has a bad day, he might feel isolated or that he can’t talk to the others from the squad in the same way as he’s not working there anymore and it was his decision to leave. (it could be seen as unfair to Rosa too but she’s still part of the family and is fine being single.) While it is super important and amazing that Amy got such a happy ending with the world's best husband, a promotion and a loving family, it just makes things feel a bit unfair for practically every other sitcom woman and for Jake in comparison.

*She shot him to save him and as his boredom goes, I guess the idea is that he felt guilty about his suspension and as Mac was at daycare, he wasn’t at home as much whereas when he’s at home full-time, it’s his choice and he knows that it’s what’s best for Amy and Mac and therefore won't have any guilt or regrets as nothing would make him question his decision even if he had to give up a lot of his own dreams as he loves his family more than anything. Therefore, even if he gets bored or lonely, remembering why he did it will make him feel better and he won’t feel that it’s a punishment like the suspension was (you could argue that it partly is as it maybe contributed to him not getting a happier ending but it isn’t really a punishment) and even though it is a big sacrifice, he won’t want to talk about it as a sacrifice too much for Mac’s sake as even though I’m sure being a stay at home parent is thankless, tough and kinda sucks quite a lot of the time, Jake will be happy that Amy’s succeeding in her career and doing vital work and will feel good about not being in a corrupt system or in life-threatening situations and that he’s so present and involved in Mac’s life as he cares more about his son than his own dreams and happiness. Also as Mac won’t be in daycare anymore, Jake will be busy looking after him and cooking and cleaning etc.

While B99 is by far one of the most feminist shows I've ever seen as it prioritises the happiness of the women so much more than other shows, TBBT is almost the antithesis to it by being arguably the most sexist recent sitcom. Like with B99, the ending of TBBT makes sense given the type of messages, plots and humour prevalent in the show but makes for an unsatisfying finale for the opposite reasons. For instance, why did Sh*ldon have to get a nobel? Amy could have won it on her own. It’s super frustrating to watch him get the award he’s always wanted despite his horrible treatment of others and his misogyny and racism, especially as he still complains when they win (not even really in a careful what you wish for way or in a way that shows complexities in his character or emotions or an awareness of the extent of his narcissism or how ungrateful he is when amazing things happen to him) and tries to control Amy’s appearance (her makeover plot is kinda sexist in itself, especially as the show looks down on make up/fashion, and Sheldon’s reaction is awful). Then, in the finale, he’s his typical disrespectful, horrible self and is super rude and SO insulting about Penny’s pregnancy. (While I understand where people are coming from, I don’t think it’s fair to defend him by saying he was ‘respecting’ Penny’s wish to be childfree as the show didn’t even respect it and he’s SO thoughtless and rude that his reaction wouldn’t have been that different even if she’d wanted kids.) It also makes me so angry when he says ‘any idiot can have a baby’-like how hurtful can you be when so many deal with the pain of infertility?! It also sucks that he doesn’t have to even really apologise or do anything to make it right to get forgiveness as they all come back for the speech even though they didn’t know what he was going to say and he’d made virtually no effort to make it right and continued to be so disrespectful by calling it a big day ‘for me’ and not even listening to Amy’s Nobel speech. I like to think they came for Amy’s sake but given that it's TBBT, I can't say that with complete certainty. I get that they made him act like his usual extremely selfish jerk self to make the speech more impactful but I just found it frustrating to see the substantial lack of growth after 12 seasons. This was especially evident in the finale, I thought, given that even the parts that were meant to show growth felt unearned as he didn’t have to lose or go without anything as he won the prize and everyone was already in the audience before they knew what he’d say. In fact, he didn’t even really face any consequences as while what Amy said to him was tough to hear, it was still kinder than he deserved, especially as he was still selfishly trying to blame the others and refusing to take any responsibility up until the last scene even though it would be his fault if the others weren't there for Amy as it was just as much her accomplishment and that would be so unfair to her. It was therefore beyond annoying to see him get everything he wants without having to lose anything or go without anything and while his speech isn’t bad, it falls flat because he doesn’t deserve this happy ending at all and most of the speech is too little, too late and as all the men are jerks, I didn’t want them to get satisfying endings. For instance, even though Raj has his fair share of problematic moments, it feels a little unfair to make him the only one who ends up single. I also can’t imagine Sheldon genuinely changing and improving after the speech as his ego and extreme narcissism are likely to only get worse after winning a Nobel, which was demonstrated earlier in the finale. 

The Penny pregnancy plot was frustrating too as she’d established throughout s12 that she didn’t want kids but got pregnant anyway because Leonard wanted kids. The fact that he almost supported her decision to be childfree but went behind her back and told her Dad and she still got him the batmobile also really ‘grates my cheese’ (lil B99 reference). Also, how they conceived feels weird too as Leonard didn’t put on protection, despite being sober and knowing that she didn’t want kids, so Penny is in a job she doesn’t like after giving up her dreams, gets pregnant despite not wanting a baby because it’s what Leonard wants, whereas he gets to have a job he really likes, gets to be a Dad like he wanted and gets his ‘dream’ of marrying the ‘attractive neighbour’ despite cheating and insulting her intelligence.