Barry Kripke

 The Big Bang Theory history

Barry Kripke is a scientist at Caltech who has worked in plasma physics and string theory. He first crossed paths with Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, and Raj when he challenged them to a robot “street fight,” beginning a long and often uneasy association with the group.

Kripke is abrasive and often inappropriate, and had a habit of antagonizing Sheldon in particular. He played pranks on Sheldon and mocked his failures. Despite his crude behavior, Kripke was shown to be a capable scientist and sometimes a professional match for Sheldon.

Despite that rivalry, Kripke was not always an enemy. Sheldon made more than one attempt to bring him into his social circle, and Kripke occasionally worked alongside the group. By the end of The Big Bang Theory, he remained part of the wider Caltech circle: still abrasive and still a foil for Sheldon. Kripke has rhotacism, a speech impediment that causes him to pronounce “r” and “l” sounds as “w.”

 Stuart Fails to Save the Universe history

When we meet Barry Kripke in 101 “Spoiler: Gary Dies”, he is the ruler of what was once Caltech in the post-apocalyptic ruins of Pasadena. Stuart, Denise and Bert have been captured trying to sneak into the university to find the vari-state quantum interference device, built by Sheldon, Leonard and Howard, which triggered the multiverse catastrophe. They are being held in what was once Bert’s geology lab, along with Raj, who has been imprisoned there for years by the man he calls “the Evil One”.

When Kripke visits his new prisoners, his guards introduce him as the Grand Caliph of South Pasadena, Flintridge and Monrovia, and the Supreme Ruler of the San Gabriel Valley. He gives his prisoners his backstory: after civilization collapsed, he filled the power vacuum at Caltech by seizing control of the university’s food, weapons and people. Unlike Stuart, Bert and Raj, Kripke has no interest in restoring the old reality. The broken universe has given him authority and status, and he wants to keep things just as they are.

After explaining that his position has given him “all the girls”, Kripke’s attention turns to Denise. Stuart attempts to protect her by claiming they are together, but Denise denies they are a couple. When she refuses Kripke’s advances, he has her taken away to be washed and killed.

Later, Kripke visits Denise to see if she has changed her mind. She has not. Kripke insists he is not a monster and is only looking for dinner and a movie, at first. He admits that ruling a post-apocalyptic fiefdom is lonely and that the women around him are only interested in the food, medicine and free childcare he provides. Denise tells him she has reconsidered and will have dinner with him, persuading him to untie her. When Kripke does so, she attacks him and escapes.

Kripke catches up with Stuart, Denise, Bert and Raj as Raj is trying to reconfigure the vari-state quantum interference device. Unwilling to lose his grip on power in this universe, Kripke shoots Raj before he can reset the machine. After Bert attacks Kripke, the two are still fighting when the machine opens a wormhole and pulls Stuart, Bert and Kripke into another reality.

Kripke arrives with Stuart and Bert in an apparently peaceful Pasadena. While Stuart and Bert are relieved by the scenes of normality, Kripke is saddened that his reign has ended. As the three men look out at ordinary life outside the comic book store, the camera pans behind them to reveal that they all have electronic devices implanted in their necks.

This page has been updated up to episode 101 Spoiler: Gary Dies