The article contains spoilers for Young Sheldon season 7, episode 12, "A New Home and a Traditional Texas Torture."

Summary

• Chuck Lorre explains Sheldon's regret over his last interaction with his father in the emotional Young Sheldon cliffhanger scene.
• Young Sheldon rewrites the narrative of Sheldon's relationship with his father in The Big Bang Theory, addressing past inconsistencies in George's depiction.
• Sheldon's memoir in the Young Sheldon finale will likely showcase a more positive portrayal of George, fully rehabilitating the character's image.

Sheldon's cliffhanger reaction to George's death in Young Sheldon is explained by co-creator Chuck Lorre. After seven seasons, the prequel finally executes the Coopers' biggest tragedy with the loss of their patriarch. In the closing moments of Young Sheldon season 7, episode 12, "A New Home and a Traditional Texas Torture," Mary and the whole family receive the news that George suffered from a heart attack at school, and unfortunately, he didn't survive it. The rest of the family's reaction is straightforward, but Sheldon's response is vague.

In a new interview with USA Today, Lorre explains Sheldon's cliffhanger reaction to the news that his father is dead in Young Sheldon season 7. The boy genius' expression is meant to convey regret over a lot of things about his relationship with George. That includes not even saying goodbye to him when he left for work that same morning. Read his full quote below:

"It was purposely a banal nothing moment in Sheldon's life that he will struggle with. Because he learns it's the last time he'll ever see his father. He will live to regret that moment in his life where he'll say, 'I could have done that better.'"

How George’s Death Changes Sheldon’s TBBT Story

Sheldon Had A Complicated Relationship With George's Memory In The Big Bang Theory.

George was one of the most complicated characters in the Lorre-created franchise. Young Sheldon recently fixed its casting plot hole concerning Lance Barber previously playing a different character in The Big Bang Theory before becoming George. Earlier than that, the prequel also retconned George's cheating story from Sheldon in the nerd-centric sitcom. Much has been said about Sheldon's constant badmouthing of George in The Big Bang Theory, especially since it doesn't fit with his relationship with his dad in the spinoff. However, Young Sheldon is reframing that, with adult Sheldon's candid comments about his love for George.

While Young Sheldon can't fully make amends for The Big Bang Theory's bad treatment of George, it can acknowledge its inaccurate depiction of him.

With the Young Sheldon character now dead, Sheldon has to come to terms with his regrets over his treatment of the Cooper patriarch. It's curious if the finale still has time to tackle this, but the appearance of Jim Parsons' adult Sheldon allows the franchise to finally set the record straight concerning their relationship. As previously established, Sheldon is an unreliable narrator, despite his eidetic memory. While the prequel can't fully make amends for The Big Bang Theory's bad treatment of George, it can acknowledge its inaccurate depiction of him.

The Young Sheldon finale is confirmed to reveal that Sheldon is working on his memoir, hence why he has been narrating the events of his childhood. Parsons' iteration correcting his previous description of his father can solidify the idea that George was actually a good family man. An admission from Laurie Metcalf's Mary in the future about her own lies about her late husband would also be great to have.

Young Sheldon finale airs on May 16, 8 pm ET on CBS.

Source: USA Today