Warning! Spoilers ahead for Young Sheldon season 6, episode 18. Four years since The Big Bang Theory finale, Young Sheldon season 6, episode 18 finally offers a great explanation for one of its most confusing plot holes. Despite its continued success, The Big Bang Theory ended after 12 years in 2019. CBS was interested in renewing the sitcom for a couple of more seasons, despite the cast's having massive salaries. The decision to wrap things up came from Jim Parsons, however, who didn't want to continue playing Sheldon beyond The Big Bang Theory season 12. Ultimately, the cast agreed that it was for the best to properly end the series with a complete ensemble.
The Big Bang Theory season 12 was plagued with many issues, including unbalanced storytelling that focused way too much on Sheldon and Amy. This left the rest of the cast mostly on the sidelines. Surprisingly, however, CBS was able to come up with an emotionally-satisfying finale that saw the boy genius achieve his lifelong dream of winning the Nobel Prize in Physics. Seeing him succeed was made extra special by Young Sheldon, which continues to tackle his childhood in Texas. As an origins story, the prequel reveals new information about the character, such as his close relationship with his first mentor, Dr. Sturgis.
Sheldon Replacing Sturgis Explains Why He Wasn’t Mentioned in TBBT Finale
Young Sheldon has been developing Sheldon's relationship with Dr. Sturgis for years now. He was the one to get the boy genius into theoretical physics — a path that he pursued throughout his adulthood, leading to his Nobel Prize. Professor Sturgis didn't appear on The Big Bang Theory. He was never even mentioned on the show, despite his big contribution to shaping Sheldon's childhood in Texas. This shouldn't be that big of a deal considering the separation between the shows. That being said it's still puzzling why Sheldon didn't mention Dr. Sturgis when he accepted the Nobel Prize in Physics in The Big Bang Theory finale.
CBS has now provided an explanation for this in Young Sheldon season 6, episode 18, "Little Green Men and A Fella's Marriage Proposal." In the episode, Sheldon officially "dismisses" Dr. Sturgis as his mentor after he refuses to help him search for life on other planets. While the pair appears to remain cordial after the boy genius' declaration, it isn't uncharacteristic of him to actually follows through with that statement. It means that as he grows older, he no longer views Dr. Sturgis to be a mentor, hence why he didn't mention him during his Nobel Prize acceptance speech.
Sheldon & Sturgis’ Time Together Is Coming To An End In Young Sheldon
While Young Sheldon season 6 isn't making a big deal about it, Sheldon is about to graduate from college. That means that sooner rather than later, he will be leaving East Texas Tech. The Young Sheldon season 6 finale details confirm that Sheldon will move abroad and spend the summer in Germany. Depending on how CBS wants to progress The Big Bang Theory prequel's narrative, he can still come back to Medford for a while until he fully relocates to California for his post-graduate studies at Caltech. By then, Sheldon would no longer have consistent interactions with Dr. Sturgis.
Young Sheldon season 6 airs Thursdays on CBS.