Warning! Spoilers ahead for Young Sheldon season 5.
CBS' Young Sheldon just broke its biggest connection to The Big Bang Theory. Young Sheldon season 5 is currently in its final stretch and the sitcom is currently busy tackling Georgie's (Montana Jordan). But along the way, The Big Bang Theory spin-off has totally severed a significant link with its parent series.
Young Sheldon debuted in 2017 as supplementary viewing for The Big Bang Theory. As the title suggests, it focuses on Sheldon's (Jim Parsons) childhood years living in Texas. Given its prequel nature, it features the whole Cooper clan as they deal with individual and collective issues. With The Big Bang Theory ending in 2019, Young Sheldon has been standing on its own for three years. During that time, it has slowly built its own fanbase ad started differentiating itself from its parent series. However, they remain explicitly connected and CBS makes sure of that — until now.
In Young Sheldon season 5, episode 19 titled "A God-Fearin' Baptist and a Hot Trophy Husband," George (Lance Barber) and Mary (Zoe Perry) deal with Georgie's situation. The eldest Cooper kid accidentally got his girlfriend, Mandy (Emily Osment) pregnant. Much of the outing was devoted to the Cooper parents discussing how to move forward with this tricky circumstance. The whole predicament forces them to revisit their own accidental pregnancy leading to their marriage. George and Mary ultimately bring Meemaw (Annie Potts) into it for additional perspective and together, they have dinner with Mandy to get to know her. Meanwhile, Sheldon and Missy (Raegan Revord) are isolated from the conversations about their big brother. There was a lot going on with the episode, but, noticeably, there it didn't feature adult Sheldon's narration which traditionally bookends every outing. It also serves as an explicit reminder that Young Sheldon is linked to The Big Bang Theory.
No explanation was given as to why there was no adult Sheldon narration in Young Sheldon season 5, episode 19. But for what it's worth, CBS has also yet to offer any reason for the voice-overs. Off-screen, it was used to establish the sitcom as a The Big Bang Theory prequel, and the best they could do that was to bring Parsons, who also produces the spin-off, to do the narration. But in terms of narrative, it's uncertain why Sheldon is recapping his life in the future. There's a theory that this is his attempt at working on his autobiography. After winning the Nobel Prize in Physics for his and Amy's (Mayim Bialik) on Super Asymmetry, chances are that he gained notoriety in his field and he was offered this project. Otherwise, it could just be Sheldon feeding his ego by doing this project. But there being no narration in Young Sheldon season 5, episode 19 contradicts this claim.
Although Young Sheldon started as a The Big Bang Theory spin-off, at this point, it has already made a name for itself. It still isn't as popular as the nerd-centric sitcom, but it has its own appeal being a family dramedy rather than a straight-up comedy. Chances are that adult Sheldon's narration will return, but it's curious if its recent absence is an indication that Young Sheldon is starting to veer far away from its parent series.
Young Sheldon season 5 airs Thursdays on CBS.