Spoilers below for The Big Bang Theory's midseason finale.
The Big Bang Theory's ensemble has been "+1" in Season 10, with Bernadette carrying a tiny human around in her belly that has Howard's DNA in it. The focus of tonight's midseason finale, "The Birthday Synchronicity," was half on everyone getting ready for the birth and half on Sheldon and Amy's lovemaking, or lack thereof. And by the end of the episode, when the room's ice chips were all gone, there was indeed a baby Wolowitz there...somewhere...but we're never going to actually see her face or anything. Oh, and her name is Halley.
Somewhat confusingly, Halley's birth came and went without audiences getting a look at her lil' squealing face, although we did hear her cries in the nursery, which sounded remarkably like Howard's late mother. That's no coincidence, either, as showrunner Steve Molaro revealed the touching reason why audiences will never get to lay eyes on Bernadette and Howard's daughter.
She is a loving tribute to her grandmother --- this is a nice way for us to keep [Mrs. Wolowitz] alive. It also means we don't have to have a baby on the set, so it solved lots of problems.
Much as it was hinted at by showrunner Steve Molaro, The Big Bang Theory didn't make a big thing of the actual delivery. Not that we'd have to worry about things getting gross; just really, really loud. It was really weird that Bernadette didn't get any kind of a last moment, with the episode ending on Shamy's wizarding libidos, which had been disrupted twice already during the night. Weirder still, though, that the episode made a point of not bringing the kiddo to the forefront. It all makes sense now, though.
As bonkers of a decision as it is to largely eliminate Halley's on-screen presence, there couldn't be a more gratifying reason for it; not having a baby on the set is extremely smart, but I'm talking about the other part. As Steve Molaro put it, Halley will serve to honor both the character of Debbie, who also never showed her face on the show, and her portrayer Carol Ann Susi, who passed away in 2014. It's a lovely and practical way to do it, and it'll be amusing to see how the show works Halley's warbling wails into situations.
Howard's big announcement to the group contained the joke that Halley was named after Halley's Comet in part because Bernadette said she wouldn't have sex with him again for another 75 years. But in his interview with TVLine, Molardo had this to say about why they chose that particular name.
They're all scientists and we decided to stay in the science and space arena. And since Howard was an astronaut and had been to space, we all just really liked [Halley].
Now that we'll have one baby around, it might not be long before another one enters the picture. Or maybe not. In any case, The Big Bang Theory will return to CBS on Thursday, February 2. To see what else is hitting the small screen in the near future, check out our midseason premiere schedule.
