The Big Bang Theory started out as being a show about nerds, but then evolved into making friendship a focal point. Most of the show was carried on the backs of Leonard and Sheldon, whose friendship never fizzled out of interest over the course of the twelve years we saw them together.
While there were other memorable friend duos like Howard and Raj or Penny and Amy, there’s no doubt that Leonard and Sheldon made for the most popular friendship among the fans. With this in mind, here are 10 times — among hundreds of instances — that we felt reflected the #friendshipgoals the audience loved about these two characters.
When Sheldon Let Leonard Change The Temperature
One might wonder why letting the temperature of the room be changed is included as a friendship goal, but one also has to consider that it was the inflexible Sheldon Cooper who allowed for this to happen.
In a Season 4 episode of The Big Bang Theory, Leonard casually informed Sheldon he would be changing the room temperature, to which Sheldon imagined becoming the Flash and screaming in frustration. However, the fact that Leonard is the only person able to do this to Sheldon without the latter throwing an actual fit speaks volumes as to how much leniency he showed Leonard.
When They Both Cried Because Things Were Changing
No matter how many times either Sheldon or Leonard claim they would be better off without the other’s presence, we all know they can’t go on if they aren’t in each other’s lives. This was confirmed when Sheldon broke down once he found out Leonard planned to move in with Penny.
Watching Sheldon start crying when he admitted he wanted Leonard in his life made the latter begin to cry himself, and the two were reduced to puddles of tears before their love interests arrived. It was a sappy moment, but one that was long overdue.
When Leonard Let Sheldon Go On The Train
When Sheldon became overwhelmed by all the changes that were happening around him he decided to go off and put some distance between him and his friends. Even though he knew Sheldon was a grown man who needed to make his own decisions, Leonard tracked him down at the train station and asked him to return.
He even reasoned that Sheldon wasn’t a grown man to him, even if he looked like one; all this so Leonard could take Sheldon back home. But it was more noteworthy when Leonard did let Sheldon go, though, as it showed that he cared for his friend to figure out his feelings.
When Leonard Bought Thousands Of Schezwan Palace Containers
Leonard basically became Sheldon’s caretaker within the years he was roommates with him, but there was a definite affection attached to this. For instance, not wanting Sheldon’s feelings to be hurt when Leonard found out Schezwan Palace closed down, he bought thousands of food containers from them just so Sheldon would believe Leonard still brought dinner from there.
It would’ve been easier to have just dropped the news on Sheldon and made him deal with it, but we saw that Leonard was sensitive to Sheldon’s struggles with change. For his part, Sheldon was surprisingly understanding of Leonard’s gesture, as he didn’t complain about it in later episodes.
Every Time Sheldon Called Leonard His Best Friend
We saw the 2003 version of Sheldon as an absolute loner who didn’t even have his own furniture before Leonard moved in. The crazy thing was that Sheldon was perfectly fine being on his own and without friends.
This is why it’s such a big deal how Sheldon got around to calling Leonard his best friend, considering Sheldon had previously found the idea of having friends laughable and never even wanted to have a social group. Whenever Sheldon acknowledged Leonard as his bestie, it signified the impact they’d had on each other’s lives.
When Sheldon Credited Leonard In His Nobel Prize Speech
Sure, Sheldon did credit the rest of his friends in this speech from the finale, but he made special mention of Leonard in the end. After all, it was his preceding argument with Leonard that got Sheldon to realize what a selfish jerk he’d been.
In any case, it was the biggest honor Sheldon could have bestowed on anyone when he announced to the public that Leonard was instrumental in helping him reach that honor. It was an even greater deal that Sheldon made clear his happiness for Leonard having a child, an idea he had previously been apathetic toward.
When Leonard Was Sheldon’s Best Man
We’ve seen Sheldon and his brother interact on Young Sheldon enough to know that they did have a close relationship underneath all the annoyance they caused for one another, but it was still Leonard who ended up being Sheldon’s best man.
And for good reason too, as Leonard also had a hand in getting Sheldon to make up with his brother after over a decade of them not being in contact. For all the times Sheldon riled Leonard up with his antics, this was his way of thanking Leonard for always sticking by him.
When Sheldon Saved Leonard’s Life
Even you’d give a free pass to a person who insults you on a frequent basis when that same person happens to be the reason why you’re alive, and Sheldon will forever be known as Leonard’s savior.
When Leonard’s project started getting unstable and was on its way to blowing up, he stupidly thought of entering the building’s elevator to dispose of the explosive; it was here that Sheldon walked in. Pulling Leonard out of the elevator, Sheldon then placed the explosive in there, following which an explosion sounded. Leonard was grateful for this through the rest of their friendship, and Sheldon never lorded this fact over him either.
When Sheldon Got Bullied For Leonard
Sheldon grew up in a neighborhood where the children liked to pick on him, which led to him developing an avoidance for all kinds of bullies. And yet, he accompanied Leonard not once, but twice to confront Kurt, Penny’s bullish ex-boyfriend.
On the first occasion, both Leonard and Sheldon ended up without their trousers because of Kurt’s doing, but Sheldon held no resentment toward Leonard for this. He even admired Leonard for being a stand-up guy the second time, claiming he deserved to have a song written about how brave he was.
All The Times They Listened To Each Other’s Problems
It was quite obvious that both Sheldon and Leonard considered the problems of the other to be silly, with Leonard’s relationship trouble having no meaning to Sheldon while the latter’s problems were always about things that weren’t even an issue. However, they always did make time to listen to each othe.
Leonard understood most of the time that Sheldon’s problems, while not being a big deal, did matter to him and respected that. Sheldon, on the other hand, put aside his dislike of relationship issues and would turn out to be helpful without even realizing it. This is how they knew that they had each other’s backs.
