Warning! Spoilers ahead for Young Sheldon season 5 finale.
After five seasons, Young Sheldon finally shows The Big Bang Theory's version of George. Sheldon's father didn't physically appear in The Big Bang Theory, but thanks to his childhood stories, his friends know a lot about him. Most of Sheldon's anecdotes about the Cooper patriarch were unflattering, painting him as a bad father — something that Young Sheldon has been contradicting for years but is now correcting.
Despite existing in the same reality, there are several plot inconsistencies between The Big Bang Theory and its prequel. Young Sheldon has addressed some plot holes, but its biggest one remains a problem: its depiction of George (Lance Barber). In the CBS spinoff, George is a committed family man — far from the lazy drunk that older Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Mary (Laurie Metcalf) described in the original sitcom. Even the adult Sheldon narration in Young Sheldon has acknowledged this. Amidst all of this, it seems like the prequel is finally ready to tackle the bad side of George and reconcile its version with The Big Bang Theory's take on the character.
In Young Sheldon season 5, episode 22, "A Clogged Pore, a Little Spanish and the Future," the Coopers' problems continue. After Mary (Zoe Perry) is fired, George decides to quit on his own before Medford High School boots him out of his job. This makes him extremely worried about their finances, especially since they haven't finished paying for their house. Motivated by this in the Young Sheldon season 5 finale, Mary decides to pick herself up and find new employment for both of them while George wallows in his misery. She proposes that they work at the local grocery, but George shoots her suggestion down, saying that it will be embarrassing for him. So, while Mary scours for a new means of income, George decides to stay at home, lounge around, watch TV, and drink — exactly how his son and wife described him in The Big Bang Theory.
Whether or not Young Sheldon will continue this depiction of George is unknown. The season 5 finale doesn't give enough of an indication that this will be the norm for the Cooper patriarch, as the episode also tackles other plotlines including Sheldon's fear of the future. Meanwhile, Georgie (Montana Jordan) and Meemaw (Annie Potts) get arrested at the border. For what it's worth, however, the show also revisits George and Brenda's potential Young Sheldon affair as Mary scores a job at the local bowling center where she will be working with her husband's possible mistress. This supports the idea that the Big Bang Theory prequel may be starting to set up George's fall from grace leading to his cheating scandal and tragic death. If that's the case, it's safe to say that the Coopers' turbulent days are only going to get worse moving forward.
For years, Young Sheldon attempted to dance around this storytelling issue to preserve the show's lighthearted nature. As it progresses in the established The Big Bang Theory timeline, it doesn't really have that much choice but to finally tackle this dark side of George. Otherwise, it will be too late to do something about this clear plot hole.
Young Sheldon will return in season 6 on CBS.