While The Big Bang Theory‘s spinoff could potentially ignore depicting George Sr.’s impending death, Young Sheldon’s shorter season 7 should still address this major canon event. Sheldon’s father has been a problem for the prequel ever since the series began. In The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon and his mother both remembered George Sr. as a thoughtless, philandering drunk. As such, neither was particularly moved when they mentioned that he died in Sheldon’s early teens. However, since the show couldn’t focus on such an odious figure, Young Sheldon instead made George Sr. a sweet, relatable everyman.

This retconned the character’s history from The Big Bang Theory and ensured that Young Sheldon season 7’s story would have a hard time killing off George Sr. Now that Sheldon’s father has won over viewers and been changed into a likable, heroic figure, his death will be a tragedy. Young Sheldon has made this worse by rarely foreshadowing George Sr.’s demise throughout its first few seasons. George Sr. is set to die while Sheldon is still a young teen, but the sitcom hasn’t even hinted at his health troubles as of season 6’s finale. With season 7 being relatively short, Young Sheldon could even just avoid showing George Sr.’s death.

Young Sheldon Season 7 Could End Before George Sr’s Death

Young Sheldon’s Shorter Final Season Gives The Spinoff More Leeway

The news that the show’s seventh and final season will have only 14 episodes makes it much more likely that Young Sheldon might never mention George Sr.’s death at all. The spinoff couldn’t get away with ignoring George Sr.’s death much longer, but a 14-episode season 7 makes this viable since Young Sheldon might end before the event takes place. George Sr.’s death isn’t Young Sheldon season 7’s only canon problem, but it is the darkest moment that The Big Bang Theory set in stone before the prequel series began. However, just because Young Sheldon’s final season could avoid this plot doesn’t mean the show should steer clear of it.

George Sr.’s death is a devastating moment, but it is also an occurrence that helped shape Sheldon’s character in The Big Bang Theory. Sheldon’s emotional detachment, his close relationship with his mother, and his struggles with his older brother Georgie all stem from the sudden death of his father. Without these details, Sheldon wouldn’t be the character that fans grew to love. As such, avoiding George Sr.’s death would be a missed opportunity for Young Sheldon’s final season. Instead, Young Sheldon season 7 could set up Sheldon’s The Big Bang Theory persona by showing how his father’s death impacted him and his family.

Cutting George Sr’s TBBT Fate Might Backfire

Losing Young Sheldon’s Saddest Moment Could Hurt TBBT’s Spinoff

While Young Sheldon ending with season 7 does limit the number of storylines that the spinoff can follow, the show shouldn’t cut George Sr.’s fate. After all, this could make it look like the series is trying to divert attention from its saddest canon moment by ending before the event takes place. Viewers have grown to love George Sr. over Young Sheldon’s six seasons, so they deserve a chance to bid the character farewell. This doesn’t necessarily mean George Sr.’s death needs to be brutally sad, but the moment could match the emotional impact of The Big Bang Theory outings like season 7, episode 22, “The Proton Transmogrification.”

That episode saw Sheldon claim that he wasn’t fazed by the death of Professor Proton, only for him to eventually admit that he was affected both by this death and by the death of his father. While The Big Bang Theory proved Sheldon cared about George Sr. with this subtle tribute, Young Sheldon has not yet given the character a similar chance to acknowledge his love for his father. Young Sheldon season 7 has a perfect opportunity to do this by depicting both George Sr.’s death and Sheldon’s reaction to the news, which could be similar to his mixed feelings after Professor Proton died in the earlier show.

Young Sheldon Season 7 Should End with George Sr’s Death

George Sr’s Death Foreshadows Sheldon’s TBBT Persona

If Young Sheldon season 7 were to end with George Sr.’s death, this would be a poignant moment that could provide a perfect conclusion for the spinoff. Continuing after his death could be bleak and maudlin, as evidenced by The Goldbergs season 10’s failure to recapture the show’s warm tone after killing off the hero’s father in its premiere. In contrast, ending with George S.r’s death would show how much Sheldon’s father meant to him without making the spinoff feel too morbid.

It is always tricky for sitcoms to handle death well, but it will be even harder for Young Sheldon to pull off a perfect ending thanks to The Big Bang Theory’s contradictory version of Sheldon’s father. The earlier hit rarely treated Sheldon’s relationship with his father seriously, whereas Young Sheldon proved that he really cared about him. As such, Young Sheldon season 7 must do justice to George Sr.’s death to make up for The Big Bang Theory’s mishandling of the character.