Warning! Spoilers ahead for Young Sheldon season 5, episode 13.
CBS' Young Sheldon just gave George (Lance Barber) a reason to become the bad dad that he was described as on The Big Bang Theory. Throughout its fifth season, the prequel series has been depicting the Cooper patriarch as an empathetic character who's a victim of his unhappy circumstance. This is part of its attempt to justify his eventual cheating scandal. But now, Young Sheldon has also paved a clear way for him to transform into the negligent father that adult Sheldon (Jim Parsons) described him in the original show.
Young Sheldon has created several major plot holes in relation to The Big Bang Theory. But arguably its biggest one is its portrayal of George. From the get-go, the prequel has presented him as a devoted father who is devoted to his family, contradicting Sheldon and Mary's (Laurie Metcalf) description of him as a no-good husband and dad. But while it's been able to sustain this for a few years now, Young Sheldon will eventually have to reconcile its version of the character with its parent series' iteration, and it has to do it sooner rather than later.
This seems to be why The Big Bang Theory spin-off has teased George’s potential affair with Brenda (Melissa Peterman). But whether or not something comes out of their mutual attraction to each other, the show could be introducing another big challenge for Cooper patriarch as he finds himself on the brink of being fired. As revealed in Young Sheldon season 5, episode 13, "A Lot of Band-Aids and the Cooper Surrender," George is being put under a lot of stress after Medford High School's football team's poor performance last season - and it doesn't help that the parents of the players do not respect him as the coach, making it clear that they'd rather have a different one. This makes George incredibly anxious, to the point that he ends up breaking down in front of Mary (Zoe Perry). Assuming that he gets booted out from his job, this could kick start the character's downfall, especially considering how important it is for him to support his family.
Sheldon and Mary used to describe George as a drunk, useless father. But while he often drinks in Young Sheldon, he only does it after work to unwind. If he loses his means of living, it isn't outside the realm of possibility that it exacerbates his depression and insecurity about his family usually disrespecting him at home. Despite working hard to financially support his wife and kids, they often chastise him, resulting in him confessing about feeling miserable with how his life turned out during Young Sheldon season 4 finale. Unfortunately, nothing has been done to address his personal issues, and the fact that he's currently harboring secret feelings for Brenda is making things difficult for him to open up to Mary. But now that he might lose his job, it could lead to him spiraling and acting up in an effort to cope with his situation.
How Young Sheldon handles George's narrative leading to his death in a few more years is currently uncertain. But it's clear that the current Young Sheldon storyline is putting a lot of pressure on the character, as if the show is trying to break him. This could all lead to him finally transforming into the bad dad that he was remembered in on The Big Bang Theory.
Young Sheldon airs every Thursday on CBS.