The Big Bang Theory: 10 Times We Felt Bad For Mrs. Wolowitz
Knowing Mrs. Wolowitz's untimely fate in The Big Bang Theory, these 10 moments make fans feel badly for the character.
Debbie Wolowitz (aka Mrs. Wolowitz) is Howard Wolowitz’s mom in The Big Bang Theory. Unlike every other character on The Big Bang Theory, Mrs. Wolowitz is the only one to never be seen. Her loud, slow, obnoxious voice can be heard in the background of most conversations with Howard. And sadly, Mrs. Wolowitz’s overbearing nature is too much for Howard, resulting in plenty of disagreements between the two.
In the eighth season, Mrs. Wolowitz quietly died in her sleep while visiting her sister in Florida. Howard took it hard but he had his friends surrounding him to honor her memory. Knowing her untimely fate, it makes these certain moments even more upsetting. If Howard appreciated his mother and their time together more, maybe he wouldn’t have had so much guilt.
Howard Was All She Had
Howard despised the fact that his mother was so hands-on and needy. He wanted to go out with his friends and move in with his fiancé without feeling like he was killing his mother. However, when fans take a step back to think about it, Howard was all Mrs. Wolowitz had. Without Howard, she had nothing. And with her list of health issues, she probably lived in fear most days. Howard gave her purpose (as underrated or overrated as he may have been on the show).
She Couldn’t Celebrate Thanksgiving With Everyone
Considering Mrs. Wolowitz loves to cook and spoil her son and his “little friends,” it makes sense that she wanted to make holidays special for everyone. In “The Thanksgiving Decoupling,” Mrs. Wolowitz invites everyone over for Thanksgiving dinner.
Sheldon refused to go at first; saying “I’d love to but that sounds awful.” But as always, he was forced. Once at the house, Mrs. Wolowitz’s holiday goes down in the gutter when she realizes she has gout and can’t walk. Raj, Bernadette, and Howard were left to finish her cooking while Penny argued with Leonard over her Las Vegas wedding with Zack.
Howard Wasn’t Honest With Her About Bernadette
Mose people introduce their potential partners to their parents before popping the question, but Howard decided to do it after he already proposed to Bernadette. After he proposed, he got Bernadette and his mom to meet for lunch. When Howard came home to talk to his mom about the meeting, Mrs. Wolowitz was held up in the bathroom but said she was a lovely girl. Howard then decided to tell her that they’re engaged, which resulted in Mrs. Wolowitz collapsing and going to the hospital. While it was suspected that she had a heart attack, it was really food poisoning. Regardless of the reasoning, it’s a shame Howard waited so long in the first place.
Whenever Howard Loses His Temper With Her
It’s safe to say that Howard and his mother communicate through arguing. They’re constantly screaming at each other throughout the house. And as funny as Howard’s one-liners are to his mother, there’s no doubt that his comments chip away at her as time goes on.
As a controlling, Jewish mother, Mrs. Wolowitz wants her son around her all the time. Howard doesn’t feel the same way, which inevitably causes arguments and cruel words thrown between the two.
Howard Lies To Her About Moving In With Bernadette
Before Howard goes into space, he and Bernadette get married in a quickie wedding on the rooftop. Thankfully, Mrs. Wolowitz was in attendance but there’s one thing he forgot to mention to his mother before he left earth: he and Bernadette would be living together once he finished his space expedition. It’s most likely implied that a newly married couple would be moving in together but Mrs. Wolowitz never got the memo. Instead of breaking it to her gently, Howard lied about it and then got mad with her over it. Howard’s delivery only caused more heartache for his mother.
Did Howard Really Want Her Happy?
In “The Re-Entry Minimization,” Howard comes home from space to find his mother entangled with the family dentist. Howard is both disgusted and confused but Sheldon was able to comfort him. Sheldon noted that he should want his mother happy after years of being lonely. But it’s clear those words fell on Howard when he wasn’t listening because he despised the thought of Stuart shaking up with his mother — even though he’s the one who hired Stuart to take care of her. Ultimately, it appears Howard wants her to be alone forever if he’s not the only man in her life (which he claims he hates).
He Was Ashamed Of Her
When Howard gets his robot’s hand stuck on his…privates…he has Leonard and Raj come over to help him. As close as they are (especially the relationship between him and Raj), there’s nothing they could have done to release the arm. Just then, Mrs. Wolowitz screams that she made cookies for him and his “little friends.” Howard tells her to stay downstairs and she says “Why? Are you ashamed of your mother?” Howard quickly responds with “Yes, but that’s not the point!”
Howard Joked About Her Death For Years Until She Eventually Did Die
The most upsetting part about Howard’s sarcasm towards his mother is that he would openly joke about her death. In a shocking twist, she did end up passing away, which inevitably made Howard upset. For example, in the episode “The Cooper Extraction,” Howard was thinking about what his life would look like without Bernadette. He assumed he’d have her skeleton somewhere in the house. When Amy asks him how she would have died, Howard coldly says “the important thing is she’s dead.”
She Didn’t Want Raj Leaving Because She Would Be Alone
Raj truly would do anything for Howard. With his own family in India, Howard found comfort in Mrs. Wolowitz (as overbearing as she was).
In one episode, Howard asks Raj to check on his mother. Raj ends up staying for dinner and finds it hard to leave. He’s about to leave when Mrs. Wolowitz can be heard crying. “Don’t mind me. I just cry when I’m lonely and have nothing to live for,” she says tearfully. Howard is lucky to have someone as sweet as Raj to check-in on his mother.
She Felt Embarrassed By Her Figure
When Sheldon promises to do Howard’s list of things he doesn’t want to do, he’s forced to go shopping with Mrs. Wolowitz. In the scene, Mrs. Wolowitz is in the dressing room screaming for help. Embarrassed, Sheldon doesn’t exactly want to enter the dressing room but he does out of the kindness of his heart. When things don’t go her way, she tearfully says “Who am I kidding? You should have seen me when I was young, Sheldon. The fellas used to line up and bring me boxes of candy…” Sheldon isn’t necessarily the best person to help her at this moment but he handled it pretty well considering her tears.
