The Big Picture

  • George's death occurs off-camera, delivering a significant emotional impact for Young Sheldon's cast of characters.
  • The decision for an off-camera death was deliberate choice.
  • The final episode of Young Sheldon will offer "a moment of hope" for the Coopers.

For the majority of the final season of Young Sheldon, it had been hanging over the emotional final season of the beloved comedy series like a heavy, dark rain cloud, referring to the inevitable death of George Cooper Snr. (Lance Barber). Finally, and sadly, the moment came in Thursday’s episode of Young Sheldon. Titled A New Home and a Traditional Texas Torture, the episode showed the title character, Sheldon Cooper (Iain Armitage) and his family, face a major tragedy before he departs for Pasadena. For fans of The Big Bang Theory, the scene shouldn’t have come as a huge surprise, but it certainly didn't hurt less. The show's executive producer, Steve Holland, discussed George's death, its timing, and the importance of keeping it out of the final episode of the series.

George's death occurs off camera, and the terrible news is delivered to his family by his two best friends, Principal Tom Petersen (Rex Linn) and Coach Wilkins (Doc Farrow), the assistant football coach at Medford High. In a conversation with Deadline, Holland reveals that the decision for George's death to occur off camera was a conscious one, saying "we never thought about seeing it on camera." The challenge was the timing of it, and when quizzed about having George pass after landing his dream job, Holland explains:

"Because we’re mean! For a couple reasons. We wanted to give George a win after all these years. Because there’s a segment of the audience that is expecting the death to happen, and they assumed it would be this season, we thought, ‘well, maybe if we put it in episode 12, not even the penultimate episode, maybe that’ll be more of a surprise.’ And so then it’s about figuring out, well, what that episode is. And it felt like it’s a nice way, even though slightly mean way, to give George a little bit of a win and to have an episode feel like it was about something that wasn’t just about treading water until you get to this last moment. I think it makes that last moment even more surprising and impactful."

The perception of George for the entirety of The Big Bang Theory's run isn't a positive one. However, for Young Sheldon, Barber reveals there were concerted efforts to change the character and make him appeal to audiences. Given how the scene in Thursday's episode played out, it's fair to say those efforts paid off. Also, given that George will not be appearing in the upcoming Georgie (Montana Jordan) and Mandy (Emily Osment) spin-off, going out as a beloved Cooper seems like a nice touch.

'Young Sheldon' Will End With "A Moment of Hope"

Young Sheldon will wrap up its run with a one-hour finale on May 16 that will feature an appearance from the older version of Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and his wife Amy (Mayim Bialik). Holland revealed that the team didn't want to leave the Coopers "wallowing in grief" by putting the death and funeral in the final episode, but opted for "a moment of hope" as the series signed off. His comments read:

"We talked about it. I think early on our thought was probably that it would be the final episode or that the funeral would be the final episode. As we were talking about it, I think Chuck Lorre said the show has been such a positive, loving family show. Let’s not leave the audience wallowing in grief. Maybe there’s a way to do that and then move past it and show the family starting to put itself back together and end on a little bit more of a moment of hope."

The final episode of Young Sheldon airs on May 16.

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