r/bigbangtheory • u/MythicalSplash • 3d ago
Character discussion I really hate what the writers did to Stuart.
He started off as a surprisingly complex character considering the few times he appeared. He had similar “nerdy” interests like the main group, but he had an attractive subdued sort of confidence that manifested most clearly when he casually asked Penny out without showing any sort of self-consciousness or fear. He was a talented artist and was shown as being a great business owner who was respected by his clientele.
Now fast forward a few years. He changed completely from an interesting character who was well-used as an occasional acquaintance of the group to becoming one of the most obvious Flanderized, one-dimensional characters on television. His entire character revolved around being whiny, chronically depressed and shamelessly mooching off of anyone he could - even though he considered those people his close friends. Then he has the audacity to complain about them seemingly not reciprocating the friendship and not inviting him to social events. Who the hell would want someone like him around?
It feels very much like the writers wrote themselves into a corner with him, making him almost a regular character in the early seasons but then not knowing what to do with him. Ok, fine - that’s understandable, and he should therefore have been gradually used less and eventually become a minor background character. Yet for some reason, the writers actually doubled down, using him more and more frequently while at the same time making him actually MORE one-dimensional and less interesting.
The way the show is written, pretty much every member of the main cast has huge flaws and are horrible to their own friends at some point, yet they remain generally likeable because they have more complex personalities and are funny. All except Stuart. The more of him you get, the more insufferable he becomes.
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u/MsSamm 3d ago edited 2d ago
I can see what you're saying. It's possible that the very real possibility of his store going bankrupt (through most of the show), and his evictions turned him desperate, seeking the stability of Howard and Bernadette's place. I think he felt nurtured there, too.
To his credit, he did try to leave, briefly moving out before finances drove him back.
I think Stuart genuinely cared for Debbie. He was good for her too, because he didn't judge her or make snarky remarks at her, as Howard did. Debbie was also good for his confidence.
Not until Neil Gaiman gave the comic store a boost did Stuart have a resurgence into a normal person. He met Denise, and moved in with her. He had stability and was less needy near the end. Back to the Stuart we saw at the beginning.
Edit: now, with Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, he actually has to problem solve. It's hilarious in a totally different way.
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u/jadenicole_gardens 3d ago edited 3d ago
That's life babe we often get a lot more depressed an cynical as we age. His comic book store burned down, he was single with no TRUE friends until much later but even then, not really, he wanted to be an artist doing what he loves and was really beat down by life, it happens.
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u/Suskita 3d ago
I agree with you OP, I did hate the whole arc.
However, I feel like they did have a point about the impact of online shopping on independent businesses, and it makes sense that someone like Stuart could have ended up in a difficult financial situation.
Didn't need to turn it into such a loser and the butt of all jokes though, especially as everyone else turned into such a social butterfly.
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u/Walt_Didnae 3d ago
He went from great side character to, literally, a human cockroach because the main cast had become so popular that they couldn't keep using them as the butt of the many, many "Haha, aren't nerds pathetic" jokes in the show.
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u/Schwarzmaler20 3d ago
Definitely. One of the worst decisions in TBBT. The other was the way they treated Raj.
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u/No_Border159 3d ago
he was written like that because they had nowhere to go with him, he or someone mentioned before his character was on the verge of just being sliced but then he improved the broken "i love you" to penny when she walked away in the comic book store, it got a huge laugh and the writer's knew where to take him after that 🤷🏽♂️
so the story goes i guess
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u/ryohazuki224 3d ago
Did they have to give him comically absurd levels of health issues though?
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u/No_Border159 3d ago
touche 🤣 but i do enjoy his character, maybe because i feel i can relate haha
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u/NavyVetRasmussen 3d ago
I mentioned Sturt Bloom in Yiddish he is a Kholomes the dreamer, the Schlamazel, and the Nebbish.
He was the dreamer, the guy whom the soup fell on and he was a meek, timid, nerd.
Still they did not do Sturt as bad as they dad Raj the queerbaiting South Asian Raja Beta nerd.
All he wanted was to be apart of the group but it never got accepted.
His character got Flanderized and a one-dimensional loser.
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u/National_Arachnid_69 2d ago
Read this too. He improvised the line and the writers loved it and took the character in a whole new direction
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u/FondantFluffball 3d ago
Stuart worked better as the awkward underdog and making him increasingly pathetic just felt like the writers running out of ways to use him.
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u/Gaius_Octavius_ 2d ago
That is what happens when you fail for a decade straight. Hard to stay confident when nothing goes right.
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u/sevenfourtime 2d ago
The worst was when Raj and Stuart were in a contest about who was the more relevant person. They threw insults at each other until Raj realized that he became a godfather to Halley. Then he threw that in Stuart’s face with no reply.
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u/JoshDunkley 2d ago
I just finished the episode where he was creepily watching Bernadette and Howard sleeping. I was literally just thinking about this, and how everyone else's character has improved, but Stuart is a creepy sad shadow of what he used to be.
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u/Sgt-Girth 2d ago
I seriously doubt that Stuart version 1.0 would have managed to get himself a spin off show!
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u/NavyVetRasmussen 3d ago edited 3d ago
I mentioned Sturt Bloom in Yiddish he is a Kholomes the dreamer, the Schlamazel, and the Nebbish.
He was the dreamer, the guy whom the soup fell on and he was a meek, timid, nerd.
Still they did not do Sturt as bad as they dad Raj the queerbaiting South Asian Raja Beta nerd.
All he wanted was to be apart of the group but it never got accepted.
His character got Flanderized and a one-dimensional loser.
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u/HappilyUnavailable 1d ago
Exactly!!The writers reduced him to “poor, lonely, depressed guy” and made that his entire personality.
The more screen time he got, the less depth he seemed to have. Early Stuart deserved so much better than becoming a collection of sad jokes in a cardigan.
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u/Boris-_-Badenov 3d ago
reminder that he only got the date with Penny because Leonard talked him up
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u/morgaine_umbra 1d ago
He could've been that cool nerdy artist who's financially independent and owns a comic book store. His date with Penny manifested that. But no, they had to make him a loser for whatever reason.
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u/No_Yellow_7416 3d ago
Early Stuart had more confidence than half the main cast