12 Best Sheldon Cooper Episodes Of The Big Bang Theory

Several episodes of The Big Bang Theory showcase Jim Parsons' Sheldon Cooper at his best, funniest, or most annoying. Although Sheldon often annoys the rest of the friend group, he is a popular character who was later featured in the prequel series, Young Sheldon, as a boy genius growing up in Texas with a family to whom he couldn't relate. Both the young and adult Sheldons are popular enough characters that there is a perpetual discussion about a potential The Big Bang Theory revival.

Meanwhile, many episodes of the original series revolved around his idiosyncrasies. While Sheldon is often perceived as self-centered and unfeeling, many of The Big Bang Theory's best episodes demonstrate that this is not always the case. Sheldon is sometimes there for his friends in surprising ways, and by the end of the series, he is married to Amy (Mayim Bialik), who is truly his soulmate and knows how to handle his negative traits well.

12 "The Maternal Capacitance"

Season 2, Episode 15

Beverly Hofstadter (Christine Baranski) was simultaneously obnoxious and entertaining. Baranski is a brilliant actress who captured Beverly's overly critical personality perfectly, and her friendship with Sheldon during "The Maternal Capacitance" makes this episode one of the best Sheldon-centered stories. Nobody expects Sheldon, who normally dislikes strangers in his space, to hit it off with Beverly. The fact that he does so while Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Penny (Kaley Cuoco) are driven to drink by her presence makes Sheldon's friendship with Beverly even funnier.

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While "The Maternal Capacitance" has many hilarious moments, there is also a poignancy to Sheldon's interest in Beverly, as he feels that Leonard had the kind of childhood he wished he had. This is doubly moving now that the Young Sheldon finale has aired, as Sheldon's longing for a childhood like Leonard's underscores the depth of his evolution when he concludes that his family did the best they could for him even though they didn't understand him.

11 "The Adhesive Duck Deficiency"

Season 3, Episode 8

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When Penny dislocates her shoulder, Sheldon does his best to help her, despite his difficulty doing so in ways that fit her expectations. Granted, Sheldon is the only one home, and a lot of the humor comes from his lack of understanding of what's important — for example, going off on a tangent about the adhesive ducks in his bathtub. However, Sheldon is determined to come through for Penny, leading to hilarious sequences such as his attempt to help her dress with his eyes closed or trying to drive her to the emergency room.

In addition to being amusing, this situation demonstrates that it's not so much that Sheldon is completely self-centered as it is that he doesn't know how to help. One especially meaningful moment is when Penny wants him to be more comforting. Although Sheldon's body language as he struggles with this idea is funny, his comment "There, there. Sheldon is here" underscores that he has no real idea of what to do, adding an emotional layer to the scenario he finds himself in. Later, a doped-up Penny acknowledges that Sheldon's not the emotionless robot everyone thinks he is.

10 "The Excelsior Acquisition"

Season 3, Episode 16

This episode contains the famous courtroom sequence in which Sheldon gets himself locked up by insulting a judge. The incident occurs because of the events leading to Sheldon and Penny's first bonding sequence in The Big Bang Theory, as Sheldon receives a summons for running a red light when he took Penny to the hospital. This episode doesn't show Sheldon at his best, but it is one of the funniest installments in the long-running series.

The episode doesn't address the fact that Sheldon didn't have a full license when he ran the red light.

Sheldon's predicament occurs because he's convinced he's right and insults the judge when he doesn't get his way. While he deserves the punishment he gets for his attitude that he's more important than the judge, it's hard not to be sympathetic, as Sheldon says things that many people have probably wished they could say when dealing with an unfair traffic ticket. Furthermore, Sheldon misses his chance to meet Stan Lee as a result of this problem, leading to an ironic ending where Penny's attempt to cheer him up leads to Lee filing a restraining order against Sheldon.

9 "The Agreement Dissection"

Season 4, Episode 21

This hilarious episode focuses on how much Sheldon hates Leonard's then-girlfriend Priya's (Aarti Mann) interference with the way he usually does things, but the best part of it is that he socializes with a drunk Penny and Amy. Sheldon's usual tricks aren't working, as Priya can use her legal skills to nullify Sheldon's complaints about the roommate agreement being broken. Yet the bigger issue is that she is turning everything upside down as far as Sheldon is concerned, and he can't deal with the lack of control he has over things in the apartment.

Sheldon's leaving for the night leads to a sequence of Penny and Amy getting drunk while Sheldon drinks milk. Sheldon handles this situation better than expected, considering how upset he is about Priya, demonstrating that he can handle social situations when he wants to. Furthermore, Amy's drunkenly kissing Sheldon for the first time and telling him to fight dirty is an important precursor to their eventual relationship, making this episode even more important now that The Big Bang Theory ends with Sheldon and Amy happily married.

8 "The Meemaw Materialization"

Season 9, Episode 14

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Sheldon's famous Meemaw's introduction to the franchise is also one of the best episodes of The Big Bang Theory. Sheldon is excited when Meemaw comes to visit, while Leonard is thrilled that she is the only person who can get Sheldon to apologize for rude statements. However, things soon get tense when Meemaw has choice words for Amy, at whom she is angry for breaking Sheldon's heart. This episode is another significant event in Amy and Sheldon's relationship, especially when it ends with Meemaw accidentally telling Amy that Sheldon had an engagement ring for her.

Meemaw is played by June Squibb; in Young Sheldon, she is played by Annie Potts.

Equally importantly, "The Meemaw Materialization" sets the stage for Young Sheldon, establishing the relationship between Meemaw and Sheldon and mentioning that Sheldon can track Meemaw's location because Missy sneaked an iPhone into her luggage. Sadly, Meemaw and Sheldon's discussion of how Meemaw handled "Pop-Pop" didn't lead to any such story in Young Sheldon; however, this exchange shows that Sheldon has always been more observant and empathetic than anyone realizes, thus deepening his character.

7 "The Cooper Extraction"

Season 7, Episode 11

Ironically, one of the best Sheldon episodes doesn't feature much of Sheldon. The 2013 Big Bang Theory Christmas episode begins with Sheldon leaving for Texas to help his sister deliver her baby, and the rest of the gang spends time watching It's a Wonderful Life and discussing what their lives would be like if they hadn't met Sheldon, leading to hilarious alternate reality sequences in which things go hilariously wrong, starting with Leonard being unable to ask Penny out and peeing on himself.

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Sheldon's sporadic communications with the group remind them of everything they dislike about him. He is at his most self-centered while trying to help his family, foreshadowing how dysfunctional the Coopers are and how negatively they influence him. However, later Amy convinces him he needs to be a good role model for his new nephew. This heartwarming episode not only demonstrates how important Sheldon is to the group but also how important Amy is to him and vice versa, setting up additional progression of their relationship.

6 "The Thanksgiving Decoupling"

Season 7, Episode 9

The first half of "The Thanksgiving Decoupling" does not showcase Sheldon at his best. His continued insistence that having to spend Thanksgiving with Howard (Simon Helberg) and Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) is similar to slavery makes this a controversial episode of The Big Bang Theory, although Amy continually points out that that comparison is offensive. However, this is still one of the best Sheldon-centered episodes because Sheldon ultimately bonds with Howard's father-in-law over football, revealing that George Sr. used to make him watch it.

"The Thanksgiving Decoupling's" second act reveals more of Sheldon's backstory as well as demonstrating that he is capable of having a good time at a party, even if he does need to get drunk to do it. Sheldon's drunken antics are fun, and his lack of inhibitions leads to him complimenting Amy — and getting physical in a way he usually doesn't, which only pleases her.

5 "The Einstein Approximation"

Season 3, Episode 14

"The Einstein Approximation" contains a now-iconic scene of Sheldon being chased through a ball pit by Leonard, who can't catch him despite Sheldon popping up at random intervals and shouting, "Bazinga!" However, that is not the only reason this is one of Sheldon's best episodes. The entire installment is hilarious, with Sheldon trying various ridiculous methods of solving a scientific problem in an attempt to imitate Einstein. Refusing to sleep until the problem is solved causes Sheldon to engage in strange behavior. Thus, Jim Parsons has the opportunity to play a completely uninhibited version of Sheldon.

4 "The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis"

Season 2, Episode 11

The season 2 Christmas episode demonstrates once again that Sheldon finds social norms such as gift-giving challenging and also establishes the importance of Sheldon and Penny's friendship. Sheldon spends the entire episode trying to get Penny the right gift — in true Sheldon form, he is trying to make the gift he gives her equal to the gift she gives him. Although Sheldon claims that he hates gift-giving because he sees it as an obligation to get something equivalent for the other person, the fact that he tries so hard shows that he cares about Penny more than he admits.

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The ending of "The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis" also demonstrates Penny's importance to Sheldon. When he feels the gift baskets he bought aren't equivalent to the Leonard Nimoy-signed napkin Penny acquired for him, he gives her a hug — something he rarely does with anybody. The fact that Sheldon is willing to let Penny touch him speaks to the bond between them even at this early juncture.

3 "The Stockholm Syndrome"

Season 12, Episode 24

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"The Stockholm Syndrome" is bittersweet because it's the final episode of The Big Bang Theory, but it wraps up Sheldon's story perfectly. Throughout the episode, Sheldon is hyper-focused on accepting the Nobel Prize and he is rude to everybody, especially Penny and Leonard when they reveal they're having a baby. However, Amy helps him realize the error of his ways and he gives a beautiful acceptance speech stating: "In my own way, I love you all." This speech demonstrates how much Sheldon has grown over the last 12 years and how much everyone's friendship has meant to him.

2 The Sibling Realignment

Season 11, Episode 23

"The Sibling Realignment" introduces the adult Georgie Cooper (Jerry O'Connell), who goes by George now that his father is long gone. The episode deals with a 10-year feud between Georgie and Sheldon but ends with their reconciliation. It's especially interesting to rewatch now that Young Sheldon has concluded, as this show offers somewhat of a different perspective on Georgie and Sheldon's childhood relationship. However, Young Sheldon couldn't have been developed without this episode, which gives the brothers a backstory. Their reconciliation also takes a step toward Sheldon's changed view of his family at the end of Young Sheldon.

1 "The Spaghetti Catalyst"

Season 3, Episode 20

"The Spaghetti Catalyst" is an example of when Sheldon's lack of social understanding allows him to do the right thing despite ridiculous expectations. After The Big Bang Theory's Leonard and Penny break up, Sheldon ignores the conventional wisdom that he has to choose one or the other to remain friends with. This is the right move, as there is no reason for Sheldon to throw away either of his friendships because of this rule — and later Leonard decides he doesn't care about it.

While there are several silly moments in this episode of The Big Bang Theory, the plot also demonstrates that both Leonard and Penny are important to Sheldon, and thus he is unwilling to give either of them up, even if it means sneaking around to hang out with Penny so that he won't hurt Leonard's feelings. Furthermore, Sheldon's other friends turn out to be wrong when they insist Sheldon is breaking the social code by being friends with both Leonard and Penny. Sheldon's insistence on maintaining friendships with both halves of the former couple helps enable their eventual reunion.