Warning! Spoilers ahead for Young Sheldon season 6, episode 15. Through baby Constance, Young Sheldon season 6 confirms Sheldon's callous lie about "Soft Kitty" when Penny got injured in The Big Bang Theory. Mandy and George's daughter has finally been born, and while everyone is thrilled about her arrival, her first few days haven't been the best. The show used this to reveal an unexpected ability that Sheldon has as he deals with his niece. However, the incident itself harkens back to the early years of The Big Bang Theory when he wasn't exactly thrilled with having to deal with Penny yet.
Despite being set in the same universe there have been several plot inconsistencies between the shows. Due to its prequel nature, Young Sheldon and TBBT only had one crossover episode which benefited the nerd-centric sitcom more than its offshoot. For its part, however, the CBS family comedy uses adult Sheldon's narration to provide updates about what the Pasadena gang is up to in the future. In other instances, however, it highlights some of his most atrocious behavior towards his friends, such as Penny, which is exactly the case in Young Sheldon season 6, episode 15.
Young Sheldon Confirms Sheldon Lied To Penny About Soft Kitty
In "Teen Angst and a Smart-Boy Walk of Shame," Sheldon soothes baby Constance after Mandy's efforts to calm her own daughter causes her to give up on it. Surprisingly, the usually socially-inept kid is able to pacify his niece by singing "Soft Kitty" to her. While this moment is arguably one of the sweetest in season 6, it also reinforces an existing Young Sheldon/TBBT plot hole about when it can be sung as Sheldon claimed that it is only during one is sick. This means that Sheldon callously lied to Penny when she got injured in The Big Bang Theory and requested for him to sing "Soft Kitty."
It was in The Big Bang Theory season 3, episode 8, titled "The Adhesive Duck Deficiency," that Penny asked for Sheldon to sing the infamous song as she was nursing her dislocated shoulder. Sheldon refused, however, claiming that "Soft Kitty" is only sung when one is sick. Clearly, baby Constance isn't sick in Young Sheldon; she has just been crying a lot and Mandy just hasn't figured out a way to pacify her. Sheldon's refusal to accommodate Penny's request highlight just how callous and indifferent he was to her during the early years of their friendship. Over time, however, he started trusting and caring for her.
Why Big Bang Theory’s Soft Kitty Song Is Controversial
TBBT's "Soft Kitty" is actually controversial. The contemporary "Warm Kitty," was written by Edith Newlin as it appeared in a book titled Songs for the Nursery School first published in 1937 by the Kentucky-based Willis Music. In 2015, Newlin estate sued Warner Bros., Chuck Lorre Productions, CBS, Turner Broadcasting, and Fox for the supposedly illegal use of "Soft Kitty." Ultimately, however, the case was dropped.
It was first used by the original sitcom in The Big Bang Theory season 1, "The Pancake Batter Anomaly, and according to Sheldon, it's a song that his mother sang when he was sick in Medford, Texas — something that Young Sheldon has shown before. Despite its association with The Big Bang Theory and Sheldon, the song's tune originally came from a 19th-century Polish lullaby called "Wlazł kotek na płotek" about a kitten on a fence that was written by Oskar Kolberg and composed by Stanisław Moniuszko.
Young Sheldon season 6 airs Thursdays on CBS.