Young Sheldon Brings Back Mary’s Worst Traits (Before She Becomes TBBT’s Villain)

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Young Sheldon season 7, episode 6.

Mary’s worst traits are back in Young Sheldon season 7 ahead of her villainous arc in The Big Bang Theory. Sheldon’s mother spent the summer in Germany with the boy genius, and since her return, she has been focused on her family and taking care of her kids, even though all of them don’t need her nearly as much anymore. Georgie is now a working father and has Mandy; Missy seems to finally be back on the right path after a difficult year, and Sheldon is more than happy to take care of himself at East Texas Tech.

This has left Mary restless, although that may not necessarily be a bad thing. As Young Sheldon retconned George’s cheating scandal story from The Big Bang Theory, the Cooper matriarch’s relationship with her husband is at an all-time high. Still, the prequel needed to find her something to do. Just before she got scammed into joining a mega-church, Pastor Jeff sought her out in the hopes that she would return to his church, although it involved a little motivation from George. Not long after she re-establishes her ties to the congregation, Mary’s worst tendencies are back on full display.

Mary’s Worst Traits Are Back In Young Sheldon Season 7

Sheldon’s Mother Has Returned To Her Old Ways.

All members of the Cooper family were somehow worse in The Big Bang Theory, but that doesn’t mean that they are not without flaws in Young Sheldon. It’s just that the prequel spends more time with them, which allows it to delve further into each of their psyches, explaining their preferences, oddities, and behaviors. The hallmarks of Mary’s character in The Big Bang Theory are present in the prequel, but some of her more negative tendencies disappeared when she was forced to leave her church in the Young Sheldon season 5 finale.

Now that she has returned to the congregation, those bad traits are also back. In Young Sheldon season 7, episode 6, “Baptists, Catholics and an Attempted Drowning.” She meddles in Georgie and Mandy’s affairs by pressuring them to tie the knot — something that she hasn’t really done before. Somehow, coming back to her faith resurrects Mary’s need to be self-righteous, which affects the people around her. Things only escalate from there after she becomes petrified that Baby Cece will not be a Baptist. She calls Pastor Jeff behind everyone’s back and has her granddaughter baptized in their kitchen sink.

Before being forced out of the church, Mary already exhibited these traits. Being self-righteous and self-centered was even at the core of her and George’s heartbreaking argument in the Young Sheldon season 4 finale, where the Cooper patriarch confessed that he was unhappy with how his life turned out. Somehow, Mary became more aware of her surroundings and less insistent that she be followed when she was separated from Pastor Jeff. That period of her life is now over, sadly.

How Young Sheldon Season 7 Starts Mary’s The Big Bang Theory Villain Arc

Mary Returning To Church Starts Her Dark Path.

Now that Mary has returned to being a practicing Christian, these bad traits have also resurfaced in Young Sheldon. Unfortunately, things are only going to get worse from this point forward. In The Big Bang Theory, Mary was more devout to her religion than ever. Worse, she used her faith to excuse her bad attitude and behavior towards Sheldon’s closest friends. Mary was racist to Raj, anti-Semitic to Howard, and misogynistic to Penny, despite all of them being great at taking care of her son.

Considering the impending death of George, it’s likely that Mary will be more devoted to her church after the tragedy. As someone who reads heartbreak as punishment from the Lord, it may further motivate her to be more committed than ever to Pastor Jeff’s congregation, and as repeatedly proven, this doesn’t have the best effect on her. Being back in her church in Young Sheldon season 7, surprisingly thanks to George’s help, is the beginning of Mary’s villainous arc in The Big Bang Theory.

Can Young Sheldon Still Redeem Mary (Despite The Big Bang Theory)

There’s Still A Way To Fix Mary’s Image.

While the events of The Big Bang Theory are still about to happen in the timeline, Young Sheldon can only do so much when reframing the canon. Luckily, the prequel has a way to soften Mary’s image in the nerd-centric sitcom, and that’s by offering context on how she became that way. Aside from her return to church, Young Sheldon highlighting her grief over George’s death can explain why she became much more committed to her church — to the point of blindly following it. Her actions are still deplorable, but at least, it isn’t because she was just mean-spirited.