EP Steve Holland explains George’s cheating story retcon in Young Sheldon. Ever since it was revealed in The Big Bang Theory season 10, episode 5 “Hot Tub Contamination,” the Cooper patriarch’s affair became one of the most anticipated plots in the prequel. Young Sheldon season 7’s attempt to stick to the established canon somehow forced it to tackle it before the show ends. That being said, instead of just showing it like Sheldon told the experience to Penny, Young Sheldon opted to retcon George’s affair narrative.
On the heels of Young Sheldon‘s end, Holland talks to TV Line to discuss arguably one of the biggest plots in the prequel. Instead of validating Sheldon’s narrative, the series revealed that it was all a misunderstanding, as he walked in on George with Mary, who was wearing a costume. Read the showrunner’s full explanation below:
Based on Holland’s quote, it means that adult Sheldon in the Young Sheldon finale flashforward is still clueless about what really happened when he caught his dad in an awkward position decades ago. Admittedly, the prequel isn’t good at preserving the continuity. Through the years, it has created countless plot holes of varying degrees. That being said, retconning George’s cheating scandal and finding a way out of implicating the Cooper patriarch without breaking canon was quite impressive. Unfortunately, not everyone was happy with it. Others were frustrated because of how it used Sheldon’s traumatic experience for laughs.
For context, when Sheldon shared the story about catching George’s infidelity, it was presented as something that truly changed him. It was one of his saddest childhood anecdotes, with the socially-inept genius seeming still affected by it in The Big Bang Theory. So retconning it for laughs had gained backlash. Additionally, some viewers also didn’t appreciate that Young Sheldon had been building up George’s affair with Brenda only for the prequel to drop it unceremoniously. There was no pay-off whatsoever about the matter, even though their burgeoning relationship was the primary source of tension in the series for at least two years.
Ultimately, however, Sheldon’s admission of his love for his father in the Young Sheldon finale recontextualizes George’s cheating scandal. This means that despite the Cooper patriarch’s transgressions in his eyes, Sheldon has been able to look past it and still acknowledge that George was a good man. If only The Big Bang Theory universe could also see Mary admit that she was wrong about George in the flagship series, then his image will be fully rehabilitated.
Source: TV Line