Warning! Spoilers ahead for Young Sheldon season 5, episode 10.
CBS' Young Sheldon created a brand new plot hole with The Big Bang Theory, but fortunately, the series quickly solved it. The spin-off sitcom returned with a fresh outing that saw Sheldon (Iain Armitage) becoming popular at East Texas Tech. Unfortunately, it wasn't because he was suddenly personable; instead, it was because he got his own part-time dorm room.
As mentioned in The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon graduated high school early and started college at a very young age. But what the original series didn't reveal is that the socially-inept genius didn't actually go to a prestigious school for his bachelor's degree Striking a deal with his parents, Sheldon had to settle going to East Texas Tech so he didn't need to move out of his family home. For the most part, things had been going well for him. But lately, he's experienced some academic issues including struggling with his engineering class, not to mention recently blanking out on an exam.
Sheldon's latest college-related issue, however, doesn't have anything to do with academics but with his schedule. Unlike being in grade school and high school, he suddenly found himself having a four-hour break in between classes, which proved to be a problem as he had nowhere to go and no one to hang out with. So in Young Sheldon season 5, episode 10, "An Expensive Glitch and a Goof-Off Room," East Texas Tech's president gave him a temporary dorm room where he could nap in the middle of the day. When his only college buddy, Sam (Taylor Spreitler), complained about the school giving him preferential treatment, Sheldon simply explained that he deserved it because he's better than everyone else. This was where Sam flatly pointed out that the reason nobody wants to be friends with Sheldon is because he's an egotistical jerk. For some reason, this bothered Sheldon, which was uncharacteristic and totally contradictory to his indifferent nature in The Big Bang Theory, creating a potential character plot hole.
For a while, Sheldon attempted to be more agreeable to his peers. He offered his dorm room to Sam and everyone else who needed or wanted to use it to study. Quickly, people started to reach out to him in the hopes of getting access to the private space. Sheldon enjoyed the feeling of being liked and even considered offering his co-students other things they might need so they would continue being nice to him. It only lasted until he realized that the majority of the people who requested to use his room weren't using it to study, however. Instead, they were there to goof off. This made him feel betrayed, and while Young Sheldon didn't follow up on what he did after finding out the truth, it's safe to say that he stopped giving people access to it. This would've also turned him off from trying to be friendly with other people. He figured they can't be trusted, which effectively makes him more like his older self in The Big Bang Theory — anti-social and unconcerned about other people's businesses.
Typically, Young Sheldon is criticized for its lax approach to preserving previously established continuity. In its five-year run, it has created several The Big Bang Theory plot holes. But this is a nifty way to honor the franchise's canon but still be able to tell an entirely fresh story for viewers.
Young Sheldon season 5 airs Thursdays on CBS.