Big Bang Theory fans convinced this character was ‘assassinated’

The Big Bang Theory might have wrapped up five years ago, but for one side character, the future really wasn’t looking too rosy.

Now that the Young Sheldon Season 7 finale has left everyone bereft, fans are turning their attention back to The Big Bang Theory — and it’s not good news for one minor character.

Joyce Kim, who was introduced in Season 3 of the show, was likely killed according to fans, after it was assumed that she was a North Korean spy.

“Given that North Korea’s regime has an infamously low tolerance for failure, I’m pretty sure Joyce Kim is dead,” one fan posted on Reddit.

“If she’s a North Korean spy, many defectors, who were once in that military ranging from soldiers to higher ranks, openly admit to this in YouTube interviews,” a second explained. “She would have gone back as it was her duty as an honorable soldier of their God Leader and she was very well aware of her fate and her family’s if she failed or didn’t come back.

A third agreed: “They probably had all of her family in ‘protective’ custody. If she didn’t come back they’d pay the price.”

Interestingly, Joyce Kim is only mentioned in the pilot, ‘The Codpiece Topology,’ and ‘The White Asparagus Triangulation.’ She also appears in flashbacks in ‘The Staircase Implementation.’

In these TBBT episodes, Joyce was a North Korean spy attempting to obtain info on Leonard‘s DARPA contract work by seducing him and reporting it back to the North Korean regime. Weirdly, it was Sheldon who stopped her from being successful, intruding on them while claiming Leonard had broken their roommate agreement.

Sheldon later mentions her during a meeting with the FBI, and she’s never spoken of again.

One fan disagreed: “What the hell? One, that’s an insane take. And two, she successfully obtained high-level state secrets for rocket propulsion. She’s going to be a star.”

“If Sheldon hadn’t interrupted and scared her off, she would’ve succeeded. At most, Leonard bragged about it when she showed interest and seemed like he was gonna score,” another clarified.

It’s never clarified what happened to Joyce after Season 3, but it doesn’t affect Leonard or Sheldon’s time at Caltech.

If you want more Big Bang Theory, you can check out how Young Sheldon paid homage to the series. Also, check out details about the Georgie and Mandy spinoff and new series to stream this month.