Warning! Spoilers ahead for Young Sheldon season 6, episode 20.Sheldon's Germany trip plot hole in Young Sheldon season 6 has been surprisingly fixed just before the year ends. The boy genius is off abroad to do a summer program in Europe. Despite being far ahead of everyone in his college class, Sheldon started to worry that he hasn't beefed up his post-grad studies application enough to be immediately accepted at Caltech. Just when he thought that he screwed up his future, Dr. Sturgis came through by connecting him to a school in Germany. Aside from a couple of more hurdles, Sheldon is now ready to fly out of the country for the opportunity.
As part of CBS' attempt to transform Young Sheldon into a family comedy, it started giving the rest of the Coopers the interest that they deserve. This means that while Sheldon remains its titular character, the show doesn't revolve around him anymore. The Big Bang Theory prequel has given him his own fair share of plot lines, but most of them were either boring or underwhelming compared to everything else happening in the show. His Germany storyline has been Young Sheldon season 6's last attempt to make him relevant again, albeit creating a plot hole in the process.
Young Sheldon Season 6’s Germany Plot Hole Explained
Sheldon's upcoming stint abroad in Young Sheldon was previously established in The Big Bang Theory season 1, episode 11, "The Pancake Batter Anomaly." In the outing, Penny's previous trip to Nebraska made her a viral carrier, which resulted in Sheldon getting sick. Despite trying to reach out, Leonard, Howard, and Raj dodged Sheldon's calls, knowing full well how difficult he can be when he gets sick. That saddled Penny with the socially-inept genius. During one of their funny interactions, Sheldon revealed that at 15, while he was a visiting professor at Heidelberg Institute, his mom had to come back home to Texas to help his father during tornado season.
While Young Sheldon season 6 is mining inspiration from this particular Sheldon story, CBS is significantly deviating from the established canon about the specifics of the trip. Firstly, Sheldon's move supposedly happened when he was 15 years old, but he's just 13 in Young Sheldon season 6. Secondly, Sheldon was purportedly a visiting professor at the Heidelberg Institute during the trip, but that's difficult to believe considering his current age.
Young Sheldon Is Going To The University of Heidelberg, Not Heidelberg Institute
Throughout the years, Young Sheldon has been criticized for its lax approach to continuity. Given this, the prequel regularly contradicting The Big Bang Theory is almost expected at this point. So it's surprising when Young Sheldon season 6, episode 20, "German for Beginners and the Crazy Old Man With A Bat," actually solved this plot hole. In the outing, Sheldon said that he's going to a "prestigious summer program at the University of Heidelberg," and not Heidelberg Institute like he mentioned in The Big Bang Theory. While there is a real-life renowned Heidelberg University, both versions of a Heidelberg academic organization in Germany are fictional.
This means that Sheldon's upcoming Germany trip in the Young Sheldon season 6 finale could very well be different from his time as a visiting professor at Heidelberg Institute when he was 15 years old. Perhaps, he just wasn't able to tell this summer program experience in The Big Bang Theory because he didn't want his friends to learn about how he got it in the first place. For what it's worth, Sheldon was pretty tightlipped about his college experience, so this explanation checks out.
Will Sheldon Still Return To Texas In Young Sheldon Season 7?
Young Sheldon is confirmed for at least one more year. If Sheldon's current plan pushes through, he will only be in Germany for the summer, which means that he will likely return to Medford, Texas to finish up his time at East Texas Tech. Beyond that, however, is currently uncertain. Considering how popular the show is, it's difficult to imagine CBS preferring to cancel it. If the network decides to continue the series, it needs some changes. That starts with shifting the focus from Sheldon to the rest of the family, as the boy genius moves to California.
Young Sheldon season 6 airs Thursdays on CBS.