Warning! Spoilers ahead for Young Sheldon season 6, episode 12.
In Young Sheldon season 6, episode 12, George pokes fun at Meemaw, but his comment inadvertently makes his The Big Bang Theory absence more tragic. Since reclaiming his old job as Medford High School's football coach, Sheldon's father has returned to his usual jolly self. Couple that with his significantly improved marriage with Mary, and George has understandably been very relaxed. In fact, he is back to cracking jokes again, including ones geared toward his mother-in-law. Not knowing his future, his latest funny comment about Meemaw in "A Baby Shower and a Testosterone-Rich Banter" actually makes his impending death much sadder.
There have been some disruptions in George's life during Young Sheldon, including when Missy confronted him about his possible affair, which was the biggest Big Bang Theory regret Sheldon had. For the most part, however, the Cooper patriarch is trying to live peacefully, confident that his secret meet-ups with Brenda will never get out in the open. Aside from the threat of his possible affair being revealed to the public, George is also facing another tragedy - one that is far bigger and totally unexpected, as proven by his Young Sheldon season 6, episode 12 joke about Meemaw.
Meemaw Eventually Outlives George & Sees Sheldon Win The Nobel
In "A Baby Shower and a Testosterone-Rich Banter," Mary comes home complaining and George immediately assumes that it is her mother, saying "she ain't gonna live forever." The quip sounds like a fun jab at Meemaw, and is in line with the relationship she has with her son-in-law. In this instance, however, the joke is on George, since Connie will go on to outlive him - he just doesn't know it yet. Given the prequel's timeline, the Young Sheldon George death storyline is close. While Meemaw is significantly older than him, she will continue to live for the next couple of decades, even making an appearance in The Big Bang Theory.
This is something that George was never able to do. Unlike the rest of the Cooper family, he was unable to visit Sheldon in Pasadena because, by the time the socially-inept genius was settled in California, George was already long gone. In fact, at the end of his life, George's relationship with his genius son was at its worst after Sheldon caught his dad in the act of cheating. Although Meemaw only physically appeared in The Big Bang Theory once, she was at least still alive to see Sheldon get married and fulfill his lifelong dream of winning the Nobel Prize in Physics.
Why Meemaw (& The Coopers) Didn’t Attend Sheldon’s Nobel Ceremony
The Coopers' absence during Sheldon's Nobel Prize win has been dubbed a The Big Bang Theory finale plot hole. It still does not make sense that the boy genius' family were not physically present during the ceremony, although Young Sheldon season 6 has tried justifying it by showing how uninvolved the Coopers were with his academic pursuits. Not including Sheldon's biological family in The Big Bang Theory finale was deliberate, however.
The Big Bang Theory sought to focus its send-off on the Pasadena gang, since the nerd-centric sitcom was their show. Involving the Coopers would have arguably been too distracting. Instead of bringing Mary, Missy, Georgie, and Meemaw, therefore, they were only referenced in the episode. While the Coopers at least got to see the day Sheldon achieved his dream, George "ain't gonna live" to see the end of Young Sheldon.
Young Sheldon season 6 airs Thursdays on CBS.