Warning! SPOILERS for Young Sheldon season 6.Young Sheldon season 6 just contradicted an important part of George Cooper's arc on the family comedy. Despite not physically appearing on The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon's father was already an established character in the TV franchise, thanks to his son's stories about him. Young Sheldon presents a different version of the character, however. Instead of the lazy, drunk father Sheldon used to describe him, the prequel's George is more of a flawed, but devoted family man. While CBS still figures out a way to reconcile the two different versions of George, Young Sheldon has just contradicted its own take on the Cooper patriarch.
George has had a tumultuous last few years on the CBS prequel. In the Young Sheldon season 4 finale, he admitted to Mary that he has been miserably unhappy. That issue was overshadowed by his almost affair with Brenda Sparks — something that no one else has yet figured out despite Meemaw's initial suspicions. In Young Sheldon season 5, George dealt with Georgie's pregnancy news followed by losing his job at Medford High School. Luckily for him, things are getting better for him and his family on Young Sheldon season 6.
George Lost His Interest In Money On Young Sheldon
George and Mary get involved with Sheldon's upcoming database grant invention, which would earn him a substantial amount of money in The Big Bang Theory spin-off. This could help the Coopers with their financial state as it could be a stream of passive income for them. Instead of George becoming invested in it, he shows very little interest in making sure that his son gets the appropriate compensation for the project in the Young Sheldon season 6 Fall finale, "Legalese And A Whole Hoo-Ha."
While speaking with East Texas Tech President Hagemeyer, George gets easily distracted when he was offered a beer. Had it not been for Mary, he would have accepted it and fallen into her trap of trying to manipulate his own family to accept an unfair deal. Later on, he was also less involved in convincing Sheldon to take the legal side of his invention more seriously when he would have been more insistent that his son properly takes a look at the contract offered to him by the school.
George being this lax about the matter is highly uncharacteristic of him. Throughout his arc on Young Sheldon has always been worried about providing for his family. In fact, money, or lack thereof, has usually been the primary source of stress for the Cooper patriarch. Despite George’s impending cheating scandal, not to mention his other flaws, this is something he’s deeply committed to. Young Sheldon is massively contradicting its own version of the character by showing him as almost indifferent to the possibility of Sheldon earning money through his database.
George’s New Stance On Money Makes His The Big Bang Theory Plot Hole Worse
Young Sheldon already features a different George from The Big Bang Theory, which is understandable considering that the character needs to be changed in order to fit the tone of the family sitcom. That being said, it doesn't make sense for the prequel to contradict its own take on the character by making him less interested in the prospect of Sheldon making money. Regardless if the socially-inept genius is going to share it with them, or if it will be saved for his future, George should have been more involved in the whole conversation. This makes Young Sheldon's The Big Bang Theory plot holes about George's depiction worse.
Young Sheldon season 6 airs Thursdays on CBS.