Young Sheldon Star Confirms A Fan-Favorite Character’s Death
No one wanted to believe it was coming.
This article is more than 2 years old
When you think of CBS’ ratings bonanza The Big Bang Theory and its spinoff Young Sheldon, “sad” is usually not a word that comes to mind most days. Unfortunately, this isn’t one of those days as Raegan Revord, who plays Missy, has confirmed that George will die soon. The topic of Sheldon’s father’s passing has been a source of debate and angst for many fans ever since the series came out in 2017.
Revord frequently tows the company line and tweets teasers to watch episodes of Young Sheldon and enjoys the random engagement with fans. But last week, she dropped a doozie on her fans and, ultimately, the entire viewing audience via Twitter. Since that day, CBS has probably been watching the wildfire spread and appreciating the colors on the horizon.
That hurt. It has been one of those unspoken things throughout The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon – His dad died when young Sheldon was only 14. George Cooper (Lance Barber) was a good father, but when Sheldon was 13, he caught his father ‘in flagrante delicto’ with another woman. The following year, George died, and Sheldon never got closure about that situation now engraved in his medulla.
While George’s death has been the catalyst for some fun and yuks in The Big Bang Theory, the shadow of that incident has always loomed over the four seasons of Young Sheldon. It seems in Season 5, the elephant in the room will finally be noticed. TVLine spoke with series co-creator Steve Molaro about the timeline that will lead up to George’s death. In Episode 7 of Season 5, Sheldon will begin his second semester of college.
“[There will be] new classes, new professors and new situations [that] Sheldon is not prepared to handle.” As for Sheldon’s older brother Georgie, he’ll be thinking a lot about life after high school. “[He] is going to make a decision that will affect the entire family,” Molaro teases.
Chuck Lorre, show creator and executive producer has rarely touched upon gloom that followed fan-favorite Sheldon. On The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon’s entire family shows up in various episodes, and all of them offer glimpses into the M.C. Escher-type rat race of Sheldon’s brain. However, his father has never been seen. It wasn’t until Young Sheldon that fans could match a face with the name. So, when the show’s narrator (Adult Sheldon or Jim Parsons) shared some introspective thoughts during the penultimate episode of Season 4, social media began to bustle, and theories became rampant.
“We often regret the things we don’t say,” said the narrating voice in the sky. “There’s a lot of things I wish I had said to my dad while he was around — that I appreciated him, that I loved him — which is why I am grateful for the times I did tell him how I felt.” You know the heartstrings were plucked a little if you saw the episode. Shelly turns to his father and shares how much he enjoyed their chat at the dinner table. And then he and George exchanged smiles.
Chuck Lorre is a fabulous storyteller. Although his tales are full of laughs and cringeworthy moments, there is always a method to that madness and a destination from the direction. It seems Lorre is already pointing fans somewhere that is more tender than assumed and a little melancholy than people are accustomed to seeing on Young Sheldon.
After all, back in Season 10 of The Big Bang Theory, an episode called “The Hot Tub Contamination” showed us why Sheldon’s OCD proclivities deal with knocking on the door three times. Sheldon told Penny (Kaley Cuoco) the third knock is for someone to put their pants back on as much as the mouths of fans were open with that nugget, “mum” has been the word about why. Thanks to a simple tweet, we know Young Sheldon will bring everything together regarding Shelly and his father. The circle of life isn’t usually something fans would associate with a sitcom; however, George’s death is a situation that has a story. Regretfully, every level has an end, much like life itself. Young Sheldon is on CBS, Thursdays at 8/7c for live viewing and streaming, or on Paramount+ on demand.
