season 7 cannot escape George's death because of Georgie and Mandy's upcoming show. The demise of Sheldon's father has always been one of the most anticipated plotlines in The Big Bang Theory prequel. While not much has been revealed about how he exactly passed away, his death was well-established in the nerd-centric sitcom as a turning point for the Coopers. So when was announced to serve as Sheldon's origins story, there was an assumption that it would be addressed head-on. Six years later, CBS continues to dance around the tragedy.
Admittedly, isn't the best when preserving continuity; it has created countless plot inconsistencies, which sets a precedent.
This paves the way for the prequel to prioritize its storytelling and ignore George's death altogether. Perhaps it takes place in an alternate reality where the Coopers remain intact. Unfortunately, means that it will have to stick to killing off George. It could have gotten away with not showing it on-screen, but the new spinoff forces it to include it in its final season.
Ahead of 's premiere, it was announced that the Coopers' story in Texas will continue via a Georgie and Mandy-centric spinoff.
Specific plot details about the show are still scant at the moment but reports claim that it will focus on the pair navigating life as new parents while also dealing with their romance. It will be set on the heels of season 7, which will likely end with Sheldon moving to Pasadena, California to start his post-graduate studies at Caltech, bridging the gap between it and the nerd-centric sitcom.
Considering the timeline, it means that prequel will have to address George's demise because there's a show that takes place after it. If CBS didn't greenlight 's next spinoff, it could have gotten away with ending just before tragedy struck, leaving the family intact and the show on a high note.
That being said. Now, however, it will be a disservice to Georgie and Mandy's series to leave the burden of explaining what happened to the Cooper patriarch, especially if it won't feature any other member of Sheldon's family.
All members of the Coopers were somewhat worse when older versions of them visited Sheldon in Pasadena. Despite not being able to make a physical appearance,
The prequel has a different take on George in a way that he's more responsible and caring compared to how Sheldon and Mary described him. Because of this, elected to disregard his supposed cheating scandal, which supposedly went down sometime in season 6. Now, however, they don't have a choice but to deal with his death.
The problem now is how will handle George's death. If it tackles the loss early on, the tragedy may cloud the rest of the year. While the family show no longer shies away from drama, it's still a rather dark topic to tackle. Meanwhile, if it saves it until towards the end, it risks ending the series on a glum note.
season 7 having fewer episodes makes this much trickier, considering the limited time left against the sheer number of plots it still needs to tackle.
While Sheldon, Mary, and even Missy never really talked about the aftermath of George's death, Georgie's appearance in offered details about how the family coped after the loss. During his emotional argument with Sheldon in
season 11 penultimate episode, the eldest Cooper kid took over the family after his dad died. Oblivious to what was happening at home because he was in California, Sheldon attempted to discredit his brother.
That being said, Georgie insisted that he became the new man of the house after Mary was too grief-stricken to function. Missy, on the other hand, continued to act out as a way to process her grief. This is the reason why — unless it breaks continuity.
Young Sheldon season 7 premieres on February 15, 8 pm ET on CBS.
