The latest episode of Young Sheldon starts to explain why Sheldon remembers George Sr. none too fondly in The Big Bang Theory. While the CBS shows technically take place in the same continuity, it's no secret that there are several plot inconsistencies between them. With the parent series now done, it falls on the prequel spin-off to reconcile these differences, and it appears that Young Sheldon is finally starting to do that now.
Since The Big Bang Theory wrapped up its 12-season run in 2019, Young Sheldon has featured several references to the original sitcom. At the beginning of season 4, Amy Farrah-Fowler even made a cameo, joining adult Sheldon during the narration to explain how they ended up naming their son Leonard Cooper. After that, there are a few more references to the popular CBS sitcom, albeit in more subtle ways. That includes a new plot reveal that suggests Young Sheldon is ready to explain why Sheldon had such bad memories of his father.
In The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon was never one to shy away from his Texan roots, often sharing stories of his years with his family before moving to Pasadena. Since he lived with his family, he usually mentioned them; while he was fond of his mother and grandmother, he usually had horrible stories about his dad, usually depicting him as a drunkard and irresponsible. But that's obviously not the case in Young Sheldon, where George Sr. is depicted as a devoted family man. This has raised questions for years, but it appears as if the spin-off is finally addressing it. In Young Sheldon season 4, episode 8, "An Existential Crisis and a Bear That Makes Bubbles," George Sr. admitted that he's not really happy anywhere. He didn't elaborate on this, considering that no big conflict really went down at home or work. Regardless of the reason why he's feeling this way, this could be the beginning of his downward spiral and Sheldon's less-than-happy memories of him.
Since the admission happened late in the Young Sheldon episode, there's not much focus on it, but it could play a bigger role in the Coopers' life moving forward. For starters, George Sr.'s insistence that Georgie played football despite him not liking, let alone excelling in the sport, was already an unreasonable demand. Granted, the father and son have had their differences over the years, but George Sr.'s stance has always been justified. This time, however, it seems like this decision was nothing but an attempt to control Georgie's life. This bad behavior could ultimately spill into other aspects of his life as a father and perhaps, even a husband. Earlier this season, when Mary was forced to compliment her husband, George Sr. was choked up with tears, hinting at a bigger internal problem for the Cooper patriarch.
This Young Sheldon development came at a time when George Sr. has really been stepping it up as a father. He's been nothing but supportive to his twins lately. When Missy first got her period, he was there to provide support for her as she grappled with having to play a big baseball game on the same day. He was also instrumental in Mary finally letting Sheldon go to college — something that she was adamant about before she was convinced that it's time to let him go. It's grim to think that George Sr. will live up to Sheldon's bad stories about him, but that's the only way to resolve this pressing plot hole from The Big Bang Theory.