The Big Bang Theorynecessarily changed moments and character arcs thatYoung Sheldonestablished. Different phases of Sheldon’s life being recounted inYoung SheldonandThe Big Bang Theoryinevitably created plot holes that made retcons necessary in the prequel series, especially considering how the perspective of one sitcom sometimes diverged from that of the other. Indeed,Young Sheldonfocusing on Sheldon’s early years recounted from an older Sheldon’s perspective in light of a memoir inherently makes the story’s point of view Sheldon’s, contrasting withThe Big Bang Theory’s, which was external thus more objective despiteTBBT’s focus on Sheldon.
Sheldon’s point of view gave harsher depictions of his past in bothYoung SheldonandThe Big Bang Theory, even if the prequel’s timing well after the end of the parent series made it possible for some ofYoung Sheldon’sdetails to solveThe Big Bang Theory’s plot holes. However,existing in two different timings of Sheldon’s life made changes of key characters asYoung Sheldonestablished themalso unavoidable, making sure thatThe Big Bang Theory’s events would also forever change someYoung Sheldonmoments, even with the parent series coming years before its prequel.
12Mandy & Georgie’s Romance
TBBT Never Even Mentions Georgie’s First Wife By Name
Despite the rocky start of their relationship guaranteed by Georgie’s lies about his age, Georgie eventually owned up to his behavior inYoung Sheldon, winning Mandy back, which properly kickstarted their romance. With their marriage being explored inGeorgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, it’s undeniable how their sweet connection inYoung Sheldonbuilt its foundation, painting a picture of a loving couplealbeit one whose relationship began with the two facing difficulties, because of the pregnancy and Georgie’s lies.
George Cooper Sr.’s 10 Best Moments In Young Sheldon
Young Sheldon painted a very different portrait of George Cooper Sr., a family man with good intentions very different from his counterpart in TBBT.
However, that’s not howThe Big Bang Theorydepicted Georgie and Mandy. While Sheldon mentioned how Georgie’s first wife remembered him and congratulated him after he and Amy won the Nobel Prize, Sheldon still saw Georgie’s various marriages as a failure and depicted them as such the rare times he discussed his older brother inTBBT. With Mandy’s name not even appearing inThe Big Bang Theory,the parent series essentially refused to acknowledge the good of Georgie and Mandy’s relationship, rewriting theirYoung Sheldonheartwarming story.
11Sheldon Suffering His First Real Failure
Sheldon Never Acknowledges His Grant Database Failure In TBBT
Sheldon’s grant database story inYoung Sheldonseason 6easily established itself as Sheldon’s biggest failure in the prequel series, both for the obstacles Sheldon and Dr. Sturgis faced with creating it due to fights with East Texas Tech and its resounding failure when nobody signed up for it.The database not only failed but Sheldon was left alone by his family as he processed his first failure, as they all focused on Cece’s birthand they had never really cared about the database that much to begin with, despite Sheldon’s interest in it.
Sheldon’s abandonment of String Theory inThe Big Bang Theoryseason 7 and his and Amy’s last impediment when they found a Russian paper deeming Super Asymmetry not worth pursuing.
Yet,The Big Bang Theorynever even mentioned Sheldon’s grant database failure. In addition, it showed major roadblocks Sheldon encountered, including his struggle to grasp how electrons moved through graphene, Sheldon’s abandonment of String Theory inThe Big Bang Theoryseason 7 and his and Amy’s last impediment when they found a Russian paper deeming Super Asymmetry not worth pursuing.These obstacles were all considered byThe Big Bang Theoryas Sheldon’s first failures every time, effectively undermining what his grant database failure meantfor Sheldon inYoung Sheldon.
10Missy’s Personal Story
Missy’s Story Ending In TBBT Negates Her Young Sheldon’s Promises
Even beforeMissy’s rebellion inYoung Sheldonseason 6, Missy’s wishes were often taken for granted in the prequel show, resulting in Missy feeling ignored.Young Sheldonseason 6’s finale eventually includedGeorge Sr. and Missy finally talking about Missy’s rebellion, leading to a heart-to-heart that prompted Missy’s promise not to entertain such behaviors again.
Still,The Big Bang Theorynot only revealed how Missy’s “dumb teenage” phase continued well after George Sr.’s death but also eventually gave adult Missy’s story a sad ending, asthe Coopers’ trip to Pasadena for Amy and Sheldon’s wedding highlighted her unhappiness and Mary’s inclination to dismiss her. Indeed, despiteYoung Sheldonhinting at Missy changing her ways or trying hard to do so,The Big Bang Theorystill gave her story an unhappy turn, unlike Sheldon’s or Georgie’s.
9Sheldon’s Friendship With Paige
Paige Is Never Mentioned In The Big Bang Theory
Paige’s introduction toYoung Sheldonand her friendship with Sheldon showed how he could find people uncommonly intelligent like him even before he found the gang inThe Big Bang Theory. Despite her story developing tragically inYoung Sheldon’s later seasons,Paige and Sheldon’s friendship was still an important step in his life.
Why Sheldon Never Mentioned Paige In The Big Bang Theory
Paige from Young Sheldon is never mentioned in The Big Bang Theory, but why did Sheldon Cooper keep his childhood crush secret?
Paige’s arc inYoung Sheldonwas always supposed to act as a cautionary tale of what could have happened to Sheldon had he not found his people. However,The Big Bang Theorynever mentioning her essentially deleted Paige from Sheldon’s past, not sharing the good that came from their connection, hinting even more at Paige’s tragic ending if Sheldon refused to mention her or discuss her.
8Meemaw Not Being Harsh
Meemaw In Young Sheldon Greatly Differs From Her TBBT Version
Meemaw had always been an important part of Sheldon’s life, butYoung SheldonandThe Big Bang Theoryportrayed her in very different ways. Indeed,Meemaw’s behavior and approach inYoung Sheldonalways appeared as freer, especially when compared to Mary, who tended to be stricter. Her arrest could have prompted the change intoThe Big Bang Theory’s version of the character, butYoung Sheldonseason 7 didn’t hint at that.
While Sheldon always spoke of Meemaw with affection inThe Big Bang Theory, the character who appeared inThe Big Bang Theoryseason 9 differed greatly from Meemaw inYoung Sheldon. From her opposition to Amy to her willingness to speak frankly with Amy only once Sheldon disappeared into his room,Meemaw proved much more uncompromising inThe Big Bang Theory. It’s unclear what brought forth the change but theYoung SheldonspinoffGeorge & Mandy’s First Marriagecould potentially continue to shine a light on Meemaw’s change.
7Dr. Sturgis' Relationship With Sheldon
Sheldon Does Not Acknowledge Dr. Sturgis In His Nobel Prize Win Speech
Ever since their first meeting, Sheldon and Dr. Sturgis hit it off, with the latter effectively becoming Sheldon’s mentor inYoung Sheldon. Paige’s introduction brought some conflict between the two because of Sheldon’s jealousy, and Sheldon’s fight with Dr. Sturgis over the help he gave his paper also stirred up some trouble, butDr. Sturgis nevertheless was a constant in Sheldon’s life, even taking into considerationYoung Sheldonseason 7’s Dr. Sturgis problem.
Not only did Sheldon ever mention Dr. Sturgis inThe Big Bang Theory, but who Sheldon viewed as his mentor was Arthur Jeffries aka Professor Proton. While Professor Proton appeared inYoung Sheldontoo,Sheldon had a much closer mentor in Dr. Sturgis in the prequel series, as the professor essentially introduced Sheldon to theoretical physics. With Sheldon not even mentioning him in his thanks duringThe Big Bang Theory’s series finale,Sheldon effectively erases Dr. Sturgis’s contribution to kickstarting his passion as shown inYoung SheldonfromThe Big Bang Theory’s story.
6George Sr.’s Bond With Sheldon
Sheldon Did Not Have Kind Words For George In TBBT
Young Sheldonnever shied away from showing how much George Sr. struggled to connect with Sheldon, and this was especially true in the prequel series’ first seasons.Young Sheldonnevertheless portrayed George Cooper Sr. as a family man who might get it wrong sometimes, but always tried, thus making him a positive figurein all of the Coopers’ lives, with Sheldon not being an exception.
Sheldon inThe Big Bang Theoryinstead painted an entirely different picture of George Sr. Indeed, Sheldon’s stories about George Sr. inThe Big Bang Theoryremembered him either as sharing profoundly offensive comments or as a good-for-nothing.
George Sr.’s depiction inThe Big Bang Theoryentirely contradicts George as viewers got to know him inYoung Sheldon, making the parent series taint George’s reputation that he built inYoung Sheldon, where his heart was always in the right place.
5Sheldon’s Friendship With Tam
What Happened Between Tam & Sheldon In Young Sheldon Differs From TBBT
ThroughoutYoung Sheldon, Tam appeared as one of Sheldon’s first friends, essentially negating Sheldon’sThe Big Bang Theorystories about being an aloof kid. While Tam and Sheldon grew apart through the seasons,Sheldon still considered Tam an important part of his life, as proved by his wish to have lunch with him on his goodbye tour of his life in Medford inYoung Sheldonseason 7, episode 12.
However,The Big Bang Theoryseason 12 oddly introduced Tam as one of Sheldon’s enemies, despiteYoung Sheldonseason 7 showing Tam more upset at Sheldon’s disregard of his storiesthan the other way around.The Big Bang Theoryseason 12, episode 4 eventually got Sheldon and Tam to reconcile, but it still never explained why Tam and Sheldon’s perspectives of their last meeting changed so much betweenYoung SheldonandThe Big Bang Theory.
4Mary’s Relationship With Her Faith
Mary’s Faith Didn’t Waver In The Big Bang Theory
Mary’s faith inYoung Sheldonalways proved a confusingTBBTplot holeconsidering how different the characters were in the two TV shows. Indeed,Mary’s faith was always an important part ofYoung Sheldon, but it also wavered. Mary struggled with her faith after a neighbor’s daughter died in a car accident, and she did so even after Pastor Jeff ostracized her from his church.
Mary’s faith inThe Big Bang Theorywas steadfast. Not only did Mary and Sheldon often bicker about their difference in beliefs, with the first only accepting religion and the second espousing science, but she was also described as unrelenting in her faith.Mary never had any doubts about her faith inThe Big Bang Theory,only coming close to it when she started dating a fellow parishioner, but even then, she expressed unease because of the discrepancy between her actions and beliefs, not a lack of faith as she did sometimes inYoung Sheldon.
3Sheldon’s Relative Adaptability With Beliefs He Didn’t Share
TBBT Never Revealed That Sheldon Went Through With His Baptism For Mary
Sheldon never had trouble defining himself as an atheist inYoung Sheldon, giving Pastor Jeff a headache whenever he challenged his sermons, despite coming from a devout family. While his firm belief in science never wavered,Young Sheldonseason 7 also proved Sheldon willing to adapt to beliefs he didn’t share, like his mother’s faith, only for someone else’s peace of mind. Indeed, despite being an atheist, Sheldon chose to go through with his baptism to help Mary cope with George’s death, proving an adaptability rarely seen inThe Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon.
While Sheldon inThe Big Bang Theoryseason 12 greatly differed from the one in season 1, he still tended to refuse to adapt. Up to a point he managed to, but Sheldon was nevertheless steadfast in his atheism, even as he accepted to compromise on some things for the benefit of his chosen family’s members.This massive change never posed a problem inThe Big Bang Theoryas it was only established byYoung Sheldon,but it still was a major one based on how the parent series presented Sheldon.
