In the past couple of years, The Big Bang Theory has put a lot of its storytelling focus on the three central couples at the head of the comedy. Unfortunately, Sheldon and Amy have had a much rougher go at romance than their friends, and it doesn't sound like Season 10 will end things on a particularly blissful note for the pair, either. The hit sitcom will bring back a certain someone from Sheldon's past to spice things up (or down): Dr. Ramona Nowitzki.
This will indeed be a blast from the distant past, as The Big Bang Theory saw Ramona Nowitzi, played by the always hilarious comedian Riki Lindhome, arrive for the first and last time back in the Season 2 episode "The Cooper-Nowitzki Theorem." She was something of an oddball to everyone, in that she was infatuated by Sheldon and his non-wily ways of making smart things happen. Their partnership, for lack of a more uncomfortable word, was strained by Ramona's insistence that research come before all else, and Sheldon cuts ties with his sorta-girlfriend and sorta-assistant. For one of Sheldon's old flames to return after nearly a decade, and in a season finale, you know something or someone is going to burn.
You see, Ramona showed up in Sheldon's life at a time before Amy had ever entered the picture, since Mayim Bialik didn't show up until Season 3, so you might think that we would get an episode worth of uncomfortable encounters between the three of them. But no, Amy will be away at Princeton for the finale, which means Sheldon will be by his lonesome in dealing with such a domineering woman. Well, he'll also have the rest of the gang on his side, and according to the official synopsis for the episode, they're all quite concerned about the situation. I'm hoping for only the most ridiculous outcome.
Last season of The Big Bang Theory ended on Sheldon and Leonard's respective elders getting chummy with one another in a romantic cliffhanger, and it sounds like we might get to see a slightly similar emotional thrust with this episode, which is set to air on May 11. Riki Lindhome is currently killing it as part of the ensemble cast of Comedy Central's Another Period and as Poison Ivy in The LEGO Batman Movie, as well as being one-half of the musical comedy duo Garfunkel and Oates alongside Kate Micucci. As such, the actress will be a welcome presence back on network primetime, even if her character puts everyone on edge. (Fun fact, the last weird primetime romance Lindhome had on a big network show was being Fozzie Bear's girlfriend on The Muppets.)
The Big Bang Theory is locked in for another two seasons, and though ratings have been on a downslide, it's still TV's top comedy. Catch it Thursday nights on CBS at 8:00 p.m. ET. Head to our midseason premiere schedule and our summer TV guide to see all the new and returning shows hitting the small screen in the coming months.
