Young Sheldon Season 7 Just Ended 1 Great George Sr & Mary Storyline Way Too Early

Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Young Sheldon season 7, episode 5.

Although Young Sheldon season 7 was always bound to bring back George Sr. and Mary’s bickering, The Big Bang Theory’s spinoff jumped to this change too soon. Young Sheldon isn’t wedded to The Big Bang Theory‘s canon, but the spinoff’s willingness to change the earlier show’s story is not always a positive trait. For example, The Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon claimed that he walked in on his father cheating on his mother, but Young Sheldon season 7 revealed that he simply misunderstood some role-play between his parents. This retcon inadvertently made light of what was a formative trauma for Sheldon.

Similarly, even though Young Sheldon‘s season 6 finale left Meemaw’s house destroyed, this still didn’t turn the feckless grandparent into the stoic, reserved person she was in The Big Bang Theory. Meemaw losing her house to a natural disaster would have been a convenient way to justify how much more traditional and cautious she was in The Big Bang Theory, but Young Sheldon season 7 instead made the character more rebellious than ever. This sort of canon alternation results in Young Sheldon feeling like it takes place in an alternate universe instead of setting up The Big Bang Theory’s timeline.

Young Sheldon Pitted Mary Against George Sr. Too Soon

Mary’s donations to a new ministry ruined her romance with George Sr.

It is understandable that Young Sheldon changes The Big Bang Theory’s story, since the earlier show’s canon sometimes gets in the way of the spinoff. In season 7, episode 5, “A Frankenstein’s Monster and a Crazy Church Guy,” George Sr. and Mary went back to feuding only a week after Mary returned from Germany despite how much they missed each other earlier in the season. While Young Sheldon’s entire cast of characters is constantly bickering and feuding, it was particularly important that George Sr. and Mary couldn’t stay on such romantic terms as the spinoff’s final outing continued.

After all, Mary rarely spoke kindly of George Sr. in The Big Bang Theory. As such, it made sense that she and her husband would be bickering shortly before his sudden demise. Unfortunately, George Sr. and Mary’s romantic reunion needed to be cut short since the sudden death of Sheldon’s father would have been even more tragic if his parents had been in a perfect place before the event. The revelation that George Sr. never cheated on Mary already made his impending canonically confirmed death sadder. George Sr. and Mary continuing to live in blissful harmony would have made this even worse.

Mary and George Sr.’s Bickering Sets Up The Big Bang Theory’s Backstory

Sheldon’s parents should be too close before season 7’s tragic death

The tragedy of George Sr.’s Young Sheldon season 7 death is unavoidable, since the event is too central to Sheldon’s backstory for the show to simply dismiss it. As a result, Mary and George Sr.’s fight over Mary’s megachurch donation was necessary. The duo returned to their usual status quo after season 7 proved that they still had chemistry and remained in love after decades of marriage. This will make Young Sheldon season 7’s George Sr. death more palatable, as The Big Bang Theory’s canon event would have been worse if it occurred after they resolved all their problems.