Young Sheldon season 4 failed to show a particular moment with George Sr. (Lance Barber) hinting at the possibility that Sheldon (Jim Parsons) lied in The Big Bang Theory. CBS' spin-off prequel is currently on hiatus following the cliffhanging finale that could ultimately be the beginning of the end of Mary's (Zoe Perry) marriage. But as the wait continues for Young Sheldon season 5, one particular detail from the show's latest year could reveal a shocking twist regarding the Cooper patriarch.
Debuting in 2017, The Big Bang Theory's prequel spin-off has been standing on its own for two years now since the long-running sitcom wrapped up in 2019. Since then, a lot has already happened in Young Sheldon including the character officially graduating high school at age 11 as previously revealed. There was a brief commotion regarding whether or not he should immediately begin college, with Mary having to worry about the socially inept genius going out on his own. In the end, she did agree under the condition that instead of going to faraway colleges like Harvard or Princeton — as both offered Sheldon scholarships, he goes to a nearby school instead. That landed the show's titular character at East Texas Tech.
This all culminated in Young Sheldon season 4 premiere, which was supposed to be the season 3 finale but was delayed due to the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Nevertheless, it was still a great episode, especially since it featured the surprise voice cameo from Amy Farrah-Fowler (Mayim Bialik) from the future. She and narrator Sheldon revealed that they have a kid named Leonard Cooper in their timeline. But, as heartwarming as it was seeing the whole Cooper clan celebrate Sheldon's graduation from high school, it failed to include one key moment. In The Big Bang Theory season 7, episode 9 titled "The Thanksgiving Decoupling," Sheldon bonds with Bernadette's (Melissa Rauch) father as they all gather at the Wolowitzes for the holiday. Surprisingly knowledgeable when it comes to football, the genius reveals that he never got to share a beer with his dad, although he tried to offer him one when he graduated from high school but Mary caught them. This bit was never showed in Young Sheldon; it wasn't even alluded to in the season 4 opener.
Does this mean that Sheldon lied about this particular moment to Bernie's father? It's not outside the realm of possibility. After all, he has an eidetic memory. Aside from that, it's not like it's something that he forgot, instead, he may have come up with this particular narrative during that Thanksgiving episode in The Big Bang Theory. While this detail seems mundane in the bigger scheme of things, it was meant to further emphasize how bad of a dad George was. Not only was he supposed to be a drunkard, but he also tried introducing bad habits to his young kid who was just 11 when this incident supposedly took place. Assuming that Sheldon made this narrative up, he effectively becomes a dubious source of information with regard to his father, in particular. Now, there's a chance that he also faked George's cheating narrative, allowing Young Sheldon to ignore the entire plotline.
It's no secret that Young Sheldon has a lot of inconsistencies with The Big Bang Theory. One reason for this is the spin-off's relaxed approach to preserving continuity. But it's mandatory that it tackles George's cheating narrative since it's pivotal in Sheldon's development. Given the possibility of the titular character lying about his dad, however, the spin-off may have the opportunity to skip it entirely.