03-04-2016, 08:47 PM
It’s a hot topic! 
Sheldon Lee Cooper has had sex for the first time and only time (so far) and I thought I’d open this thread to discuss the way it was handled and for members to talk about how they feel about this development.
Here’s my take:
Shamy sex was shown as quite sacrificial. Sheldon proved his affection by offering a sexual experience as a gift, because he knew what it meant to her. It was not portrayed as mutual attraction and was very in keeping with the history of the character. I was interested to see what they would do next with that. Would they make Sheldon change is mind about sex and feel more desires towards her? It seems not so far. They writers have already gone back to the old “Amy hints, Sheldon avoids” gag. At the end of the day, this is a comedy show and there has to be a laughs. Each couple has to have their ‘funny’. With Lenny it’s Leonard’s insecurity. With Howardette it’s the mother-child dynamic. And Amy wanting sex is Shamys current main punchline.
This seems to be dividing the canon fandom though. I understand that shippers want a true and loving union between their pair but any relationship involving Sheldon has to be funny. It can’t be all Sheldon ‘learns a lesson today’ or ‘Sheldon shows he can change’ scenes. The same would apply if the writers had chosen Shenny as canon. Sheldon and Penny would have to generate laughs and these would have to come from their differences and conflict. If Penny were dating him she would fight a lot harder over the sex issue and it would also be a lot funnier. Humour lightens the mood and softens the subject, which is actually quite serious. The reason Shamy don’t work for me is that Amy isn’t funny when she’s throwing shade at Sheldon. She’s a pity machine. You can’t pity the person Sheldon dates because he's such an arrogant git and pity unbalances the dynamic and takes away the comedy. It means the show has to drop in some overly sentimental scenes as damage control. And great comedy is not meant to be overly sentimental. That’s why Shenny would work because Sheldon and Penny meet on equal terms, they both have big enough egos to take each other on. They are both funnier and sexier.
Sheldon Lee Cooper has had sex for the first time and only time (so far) and I thought I’d open this thread to discuss the way it was handled and for members to talk about how they feel about this development. Here’s my take:
Shamy sex was shown as quite sacrificial. Sheldon proved his affection by offering a sexual experience as a gift, because he knew what it meant to her. It was not portrayed as mutual attraction and was very in keeping with the history of the character. I was interested to see what they would do next with that. Would they make Sheldon change is mind about sex and feel more desires towards her? It seems not so far. They writers have already gone back to the old “Amy hints, Sheldon avoids” gag. At the end of the day, this is a comedy show and there has to be a laughs. Each couple has to have their ‘funny’. With Lenny it’s Leonard’s insecurity. With Howardette it’s the mother-child dynamic. And Amy wanting sex is Shamys current main punchline.
This seems to be dividing the canon fandom though. I understand that shippers want a true and loving union between their pair but any relationship involving Sheldon has to be funny. It can’t be all Sheldon ‘learns a lesson today’ or ‘Sheldon shows he can change’ scenes. The same would apply if the writers had chosen Shenny as canon. Sheldon and Penny would have to generate laughs and these would have to come from their differences and conflict. If Penny were dating him she would fight a lot harder over the sex issue and it would also be a lot funnier. Humour lightens the mood and softens the subject, which is actually quite serious. The reason Shamy don’t work for me is that Amy isn’t funny when she’s throwing shade at Sheldon. She’s a pity machine. You can’t pity the person Sheldon dates because he's such an arrogant git and pity unbalances the dynamic and takes away the comedy. It means the show has to drop in some overly sentimental scenes as damage control. And great comedy is not meant to be overly sentimental. That’s why Shenny would work because Sheldon and Penny meet on equal terms, they both have big enough egos to take each other on. They are both funnier and sexier.