TadowScott — 4 years ago(August 02, 2021 01:23 PM)

Ironically, his character is the youngest, in the sense that Sheldon has child-like tendencies. But realistically, Jim is in fact the oldest, that is, if you exclude Kevin Sussman (Stuart) who is about 4.25 years older. Obviously, this is not up for debate, since although Kevin was credited as a series regular, he was never in the couch shot at the end of the theme song. On top of that, if it was Kevin who was leaving instead of Jim, I'm sure Chuck Lorre wouldn't have ended the series. With that said, Jim's decision leading to Chuck's decision, felt as if the father of TBBT was bidding farewell:
– oldest
– tallest (looks the oldest besides factually BEING the oldest, therefore everyone looked literally up at him like he was the patriarch/boss)

• the cash cow; the glue that held TBBT theory together, despite receiving second billing after Johnny Galecki.
  – was concerned about distancing himself from Sheldon, since he's almost 50 (the approximate age his dad died), therefore Jim's desire to pursue more roles before it's too late. The other cast members in essence don't have to worry about that… yet, just like when a child doesn't have the same worries as an adult or senior citizen.
  Thus, especially how sad it was when TBBT was over thanks to "oh wise one's" decision to leave the series. Their mentor was gone, so they can't go on without him.