The Young Sheldon series finale trailer is finally here, revealing the aftermath of George’s death. Admittedly, the Big Bang Theory prequel series has historically not been the best at preserving the continuity of the hit sitcom. Over the years, it created countless plot inconsistencies while also rewriting history. That happened when George’s cheating scandal was retconned earlier in the show’s final year, which was part of overall efforts to improve the character’s image. However, the writers couldn’t write themselves out of the Cooper patriarch’s death without breaking the canon.
On the heels of George’s devastating death, CBS (via TV Promos) has released the official trailer for the Young Sheldon series finale. See it below:
The clip is a mix of scenes from the special one-hour Young Sheldon finale, and as expected, the majority of the scenes revolve around the Coopers struggling in the wake of George’s death. That includes Mary breaking down during her husband’s funeral service. The clip also includes a look at Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik’s cameos as adult Sheldon and Amy.
Aside from George, all members of the extended Cooper clan appeared in The Big Bang Theory. But while Sheldon and Mary talked about the late family man, they never really discussed the manner of his death or the aftermath of it. Meanwhile, Missy and Meemaw never even mentioned it. Losing George will have massive ramifications for Sheldon and the rest of the Coopers, however, as revealed by adult Georgie when he made his The Big Bang Theory debut ahead of Sheldon and Amy’s wedding. They all dealt with it differently, but everyone had a difficult time.
Per Georgie, Mary was too grief-stricken. Missy, on the other hand, continued to act out despite her Young Sheldon season 6 finale promise to George about finally behaving following a particularly rebellious year. There was no word on how Meemaw coped, but it’s safe to assume she also struggled. While she and George had their differences, it has become clear from the last few seasons that they finally found a good dynamic with one another. It was likely extra difficult for her because she had to watch Mary grapple with the loss, as seen in the trailer.
Meanwhile, Sheldon pushed forward with his move to Pasadena to start his post-grad studies at Caltech. This kept him occupied, but since he was far from the family, Georgie didn’t know how his younger brother processed grief — something that may be revealed in the Young Sheldon finale. Finally, Georgie took care of the family, although it’s curious how that’s going to happen. This is considering that none of the Coopers will be series regulars in the impending spinoff, Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage.
Given this trailer, it seems obvious that the majority of the storyline of the Young Sheldon finale will be centered on the fallout of George’s death. However, as a sitcom, the show will need to find a balance to continue bringing the laughs expected by the audience alongside the somber reflection on the late patriarch. This will present a great challenge, but perhaps even greater when considered under the light that viewers familiar with The Big Bang Theory may have been anticipating this moment for many years.
However, there is a longstanding precedent for Young Sheldon being able to pull off such a feat. The finales of beloved sitcoms inherently contain heartfelt goodbyes to long-running characters, so it is not uncommon for the tenor of the humor to feel more restrained or bittersweet. Major dramatic moments in series finales over the years have included Monica and Chandler moving out of the iconic Friends apartment and many The Office staffers leaving Dunder Mifflin behind.
George’s death and its aftermath will provide a natural endpoint for the ongoing storylineof Young Sheldon, which was predominantly a family sitcom despite the title’s focus on one particular Big Bang Theory character. As such, it makes sense that much of the bittersweet goodbye to the show itself will be folded into the characters’ reactions to their in-universe loss. However, the scenes featuring the adult Sheldon have the opportunity to provide strong comic relief, as they take place at a time when the character is much further removed from the incident.
Source: CBS (via TV Promos)