Warning! Spoilers ahead for Young Sheldon season 5.
CBS' Young Sheldon suggests that George (Lance Barber) could have saved Missy's (Raegan Revord) misery in The Big Bang Theory. The Cooper family was already established before they fronted their own sitcom. So, as interesting as seeing them navigate their life in Texas is, The Big Bang Theory already revealed their future. For Missy, that includes a broken marriage with two kids.
Missy first appeared in The Big Bang Theory season 1 when she visited Sheldon (Jim Parsons) in Pasadena. Howard (Simon Helberg) immediately started hitting on her, but it didn't work. Knowing how that felt, Penny (Kaley Cuoco) took Missy in and helped her get away from Sheldon's over-eager friend. After that initial cameo, however, Missy didn't return to the nerd-centric sitcom until a whole decade later for The Big Bang Theory wedding of Sheldon and Amy (Mayim Bialik). By then, she had already had a kid and was pregnant with another. Unfortunately, she was also in the middle of separating from her husband.
The fate of Missy in The Big Bang Theory may have been prevented if George had been around, however. In the Young Sheldon season 5, episode 19, "A God-Fearin' Baptist and a Hot Trophy Husband," the Cooper parents deal with Georgie's (Montana Jordan) situation after he accidentally gets his girlfriend pregnant. Mary (Zoe Perry) demands that her son marry Mandy (Emily Osment) right away to make things right, but her husband disagrees. He doesn't want Georgie's pregnant girlfriend to marry him because his son is a mess. Had George Sr. been around longer, chances are that he would have given the same insight when dealing with Missy's love life. If that had happened, she may not have found herself in a marriage with an irresponsible husband.
While little is known about Missy's husband on The Big Bang Theory, it's clear that Mary didn't care that Missy was adamant about separating from her husband. The Cooper matriarch was in denial about her daughter's upcoming divorce and made it seem like their relationship was still salvageable. It's possible that Missy stayed far longer in the relationship because of the cajoling of her mother. Interestingly, being oblivious to the clear problems in a marriage is also Mary's M.O. in Young Sheldon. George has been miserable for a while now, but she doesn't seem to notice; even when he has started to speak up about it, she chooses to invalidate him. Now that Georgie's situation is forcing them to revisit the less-than-ideal beginnings of their relationship, Mary may finally have to face the true heartbreaking status of her marriage.
Among the three Cooper kids, Missy is the closest to George in Young Sheldon. As his cheating scandal and eventual death near, it's safe to assume that it will be the hardest on her. The true tragedy is that had George not died, perhaps Missy would have had a better life in The Big Bang Theory overall.
Young Sheldon season 5 airs Thursdays on CBS.