While it was sad to see Paige at her lowest ebb in season 5, Young Sheldon season 6 should not bring back the guest star to avoid reopening a Big Bang Theory plot hole. As The Conners proved in its struggles with Roseanne’s legacy, it is tough for sitcom spinoffs to stay true to their franchise predecessors. Young Sheldon has struggled with this issue throughout the show's five seasons, with viewers reasonably wondering why the title character’s childhood is so markedly different from the version of his upbringing that his older self references in The Big Bang Theory.
One of the biggest issues that Young Sheldon struggles with is the introduction of new characters who weren’t mentioned in The Big Bang Theory, and who occasionally even contrast with information the adult Sheldon has previously provided about his life. Often, Sheldon was depicted as a thin-skinned egotist who struggled to let grudges go in the earlier series. As such, it can be jarring to see Young Sheldon introduce rivals, enemies, and assorted antagonists who Sheldon seemingly forgot all about before The Big Bang Theory began.
However, much like Connie’s Young Sheldon role can justify the Big Bang Theory character’s fondness for his grandmother without becoming predictable, Paige’s surprising Young Sheldon season 5 plot proved that the show can introduce new characters and still effectively justify their absence from the earlier hit. The sad ending of Sheldon’s earliest rival (dropping out of college after running away due to the pressure and social isolation of being a teen genius) was unusually dark for the sitcom spinoff, but it did offer an answer to why The Big Bang Theory’s version of Sheldon never talked about Paige or visited her. However, Young Sheldon season 6 must not bring Paige back, as this would make this plot hole hard to excuse all over again and undo the hard work of season 5.
It is a shame that Young Sheldon’s Paige plot hole renders the spinoff unable to bring back the character, as Sheldon’s earliest rival gives the show’s star a rare character to play off who is at least his intellectual equal. Often, Sheldon is unfairly matched as he faces off against peers who are less intelligent than him or co-workers who are as smart as him but boast vastly more life experience and social graces than Young Sheldon’s guileless lead. This made Paige a welcome person when the character occasionally appeared on Young Sheldon since she was the show’s only character who experienced the same social struggles and academic acumen as the eponymous hero.
However, this is not enough reason to bring the character back. Young Sheldon closed the Paige plot hole perfectly when the series clarified that the character abandoned academia and, as such, had no reason to cross Sheldon’s path again. Not only that, but their thwarted rivalry/quasi-friendship never resulted in anything consistently beneficial for the duo, so it would be understandable for The Big Bang Theory’s hero to not mention an acquaintance who left his life at such a formative age. It is believable and a little poignant that The Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon never forgot Paige but also never mentioned her, and this could easily be undone by Young Sheldon season 6 bringing back the character unnecessarily.