The moral of this story is NOT Nice Guys Finish Last, but Know Thyself. The world is filled with human jellies who don't know who they are or what they want, who allow their actions to be directed by the wishes of others. Hence, Howard crumbles while Christine, well-grounded in her personality, apparently bounces back.<br /><br />If you've come this far, you already know the essence of the plot. What most viewers miss is that Howard has a chance to live on his own terms and goofs because of a misguided need for male bonding. As a "nerd", he just has to "carry Chad's sweater". At one point he's at a fork in the road: he is given the benefit of an outsider's perspective, but he takes the wrong path. A colleague, who, not coincidentally, is black, says, on learning that Howard is dating the deaf girl, "You're a bigger man than I am." He explains that such a bold variation is dangerous in their corporate culture! Howard is taken aback at the man's admiration of his daring; this new perspective astonishes him. It doesn't sink in, though. He has a chance to be a real man, and he misses it through his own brand of deafness to the "invisible man" (who has just paid him the compliment of confiding in him and assuming that he's not a shark).<br /><br />There is a subtle implication at the end that Chad may indeed get what's coming to him. His live-in girlfriend has the upper hand emotionally; he explicitly asks her for love.