Warning! Spoilers ahead for Young Sheldon season 6.
Mary's experiences on Young Sheldon season 6 secretly explain why she was so bitter on The Big Bang Theory. Sheldon's mom has gone through a lot in the last few months, forcing her to make some changes in her life. After she was fired from the church, she was forced to find another job. This effectively separated her from Pastor Rob, although it allowed her to rekindle her relationship with George. Mary faced all of these in stride knowing that she wasn't the only one dealing with issues in her family, but she may be the only one who is still stuck in her new situation now.
The Young Sheldon season 5 finale was tumultuous for the Coopers, but CBS has already reversed most of the changes inflicted on the family. Georgie and Mandy are getting along again, Sheldon no longer fears the future, and more recently, Georgie reclaims his old job at Medford High School. Meanwhile, Mary stays in her less-than-ideal situation. She struggles with her faith while she works with her husband's potential mistress. Finally, she is forced to stay away from the community she knows. No wonder when she appeared on The Big Bang Theory, she was bitter after realizing how much she struggled while the rest of her family thrived.
Is Young Sheldon Punishing Mary?
Before Young Sheldon season 6, Mary was judgmental and closed-minded. Like Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory, she could also be self-centered and oblivious to other people's feelings. For some reason, however, the Cooper matriarch had a personality shift towards the end of season 5. Instead of wallowing in self-pity for being fired from church employment, she immediately picked herself up and searched for new jobs. In Young Sheldon season 6, she has become more understanding and affectionate. Perhaps instead of seeming like she is getting punished, everything that she is currently going through on The Big Bang Theory prequel spin-off is part of humbling the character.
Mary’s Young Sheldon Life Is About To Get Worse
The family sitcom currently features a more relaxed Mary, but that’s all due to change, Young Sheldon's Mary and George marriage fix is a lie because eventually, their relationship will deteriorate. Per the official The Big Bang Theory canon, the Cooper patriarch's impending cheating scandal is about to happen in the next year or two. Not long after that, George will unexpectedly die, changing the trajectory of Sheldon and his family's life forever. At this point, it's still uncertain how Young Sheldon is planning on handling these rather dark plotlines. Unfortunately, it no longer has a choice but to finally address it. This means that Mary's happy days are now numbered.
All living members of the Cooper family visited Pasadena to check on the socially-inept genius, but Mary appeared on The Big Bang Theory the most, making her the most established character before even debuting on Young Sheldon after Sheldon himself. Given this, CBS needs to be extra careful when crafting her story on the prequel spin-off so as not to contradict what’s revealed about her on the nerd-centric sitcom. Using her current situation to explain why she was so bitter on The Big Bang Theory is a clever way of doing that.
Young Sheldon season 6 airs Thursdays on CBS.