Warning! SPOILERS for Young Sheldon season 6, episode 6.Young Sheldon continuously delaying George's cheating arc is only worsening the scandal. Established on The Big Bang Theory, the Cooper patriarch's infidelity narrative is one of the most anticipated plot lines on Young Sheldon. For years, CBS has been dancing around it, and understandably so since addressing it will have a significant impact on the comedy's tone. While Young Sheldon has been taking liberties when it comes to handling canon, resulting in several The Big Bang Theory plot holes, George's cheating storyline is something that it can't avoid without totally breaking the flagship's continuity. It was able to get away with delaying the inevitable before, but Young Sheldon further pushing George's affair down the road is only causing the show more harm.
The break-up of Wayne and Darlene in Young Sheldon season 6 episode 6 is the comedy's latest attempt to delay George's infidelity narrative. The Big Bang Theory prequel has dealt with several breakups already. Yet, George and Mary are still going strong despite the fact that their relationship already has a pre-determined death thanks to what was revealed on the nerd-centric sitcom. Given this, there's really no point in continuously dancing around the idea, especially now that the spin-off is moving forward with the established timeline. The Coopers seeing plenty marriages fall apart around them makes George's affair all the more despicable. He saw how broken and miserable Wayne has become after Darlene cheated on him, he should have known better and not done the same thing to Mary.
Why Young Sheldon Is Delaying George’s Cheating Plotline
As Young Sheldon breaks away from TBBT, it continues to transform itself into more of a family comedy than a straight-up sitcom. There has been a considerable amount of focus on all members of the Cooper clan, including George, whose depiction in the prequel is significantly different from how he was described on The Big Bang Theory. Because he is a big part of Young Sheldon's continued popularity, drastically changing the character from a flawed, but committed family man to an adulterer comes with a big risk. Once George's affair happens, it will be difficult to redeem the character, as there's virtually no way his actions could be justified. Finally tackling the aforementioned plot line effectively starts the last year of George's life; as revealed on The Big Bang Theory, the Cooper patriarch died a year after Sheldon caught him cheating.
When Will George’s Cheating Arc Begin On Young Sheldon?
At this point, CBS cannot further delay George's cheating arc on Young Sheldon. According to Sheldon, he caught his dad in bed with another woman when he was 14 years old — that's just around a year in terms of the show's current timeline as the Cooper twins are roughly 12 or 13. The socially-inept genius' story doesn't even consider the possibility that George may have already been engaging in an extramarital relationship earlier than that. Between this and the sensitivity of the matter, CBS needs to already start setting the affair up as soon as possible. Initially, George's attraction to Brenda Sparks seemed like the beginning of the said plot line, but at this point, Young Sheldon doesn't appear to have any plans to move their relationship forward. In fact, it has barely impacted the Coopers in season 6. This means that George cheating in Young Sheldon must be set up in another way.
Mary and George's marriage may appear to be on the mend right now, but their blissful days aren't meant to last. Eventually, Mary will shed her fun persona and return to her old judgmental ways, while George will finally give in to his cheating tendencies. Given these, it's best that Young Sheldon makes the most of this peaceful time at the Cooper household because tragedy is looming on the horizon for Sheldon and his family.
Young Sheldon season 6 airs Thursdays on CBS.