George died towards the end of Young Sheldon, but despite that, he can still return in Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, and The Big Bang Theory showed how. Long before Lance Barber debuted the Cooper family patriarch in the prequel, his destiny was already established in the nerd-centric sitcom. Sheldon’s dad was going to die around the time that he started post-graduate studies at Caltech. The lack of detail about how he exactly passed away helped Young Sheldon set up a still devastating loss in the recently-ended family comedy, although the tragedy had long been expected.
Perhaps it was the way Young Sheldon rehabilitated George’s image and how Barber played him, but although the incident was a long time coming, it was still heartbreaking. The fallout from George’s unexpected death dominated the prequel’s final two episodes, which included his emotional funeral service. Losing the family patriarch, especially just when things were starting to turn for the Coopers, was difficult for Mary and the kids. However, life goes on in the universe, with Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage keeping The Big Bang Theory franchise alive. Despite George’s fate, there’s still a way for Barber to return.
Although George’s death was long-established, there was still some glimmer of hope that Young Sheldon would keep him alive and give the family a happy send-off. His fate was long sealed in The Big Bang Theory, but as avid viewers of the family dramedy know, it wasn’t the best when upholding the established canon. Throughout its run, Young Sheldon created all kinds of plot inconsistencies with varying degrees of importance. Having precedent kept the door open that Chuck Lorre and his team could once again deviate from continuity to prioritize the ongoing series’ own storytelling.
Even Lorre admitted that he had regrets about their decision to kill George almost 20 years ago in The Big Bang Theory , which was a testament to how much the prequel did a great job of endearing George to the audience.
Young Sheldon retconning George’s cheating scandal in season 7 added fire to speculation that he would live. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. The writers opted to stay true to Sheldon’s story about his dad while he was an adolescent. Even Lorre admitted that he had regrets about their decision to kill George almost 20 years ago in The Big Bang Theory, which was a testament to how much the prequel did a great job of endearing George to the audience. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough for them to change his fate.
In any case, George’s demise led to some of the franchise’s best episodes, including his funeral outing. It was a masterclass in balancing comedy and drama, which was how Young Sheldon separated itself from its parent series. If anything, the consolation was that the prequel did such a great job executing a dark and emotional storyline.
