Georgie's reaction to his dad's attempt to forge a closer relationship with him backs up Sheldon's stories about George on The Big Bang Theory.
Warning! Spoilers ahead for Young Sheldon season 5.
Georgie (Montana Jordan) proves Sheldon's (Jim Parsons) story about George (Lance Barber) on The Big Bang Theory. Young Sheldon is currently focusing on the eldest Cooper sibling as he navigates Mandy's (Emily Osment) surprise pregnancy. But a recent brief remark from him backs up Sheldon's claims that George was a bad dad.
Despite existing in the same reality, there are several inconsistencies between Young Sheldon and The Big Bang Theory. But arguably the biggest one is the depiction of the Cooper patriarch. While Sheldon and Mary (Laurie Metcalf) claimed that he was a no-good father on The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon has debunked this multiple times. It continues to do so by showing George as a committed family man who will do anything to support his wife and kids. That being said, Georgie may not see it that way, as proven by a recent comment about his dad.
In Young Sheldon season 5 episode "Babies, Lies and a Resplendent Cannoli" Georgie seeks out Dale (Craig T. Nelson) for advice regarding Mandy’s unexpected pregnancy. After his conversation with his old boss/mentor, he bumps into his dad who suspects that something is going on with his son. He offers to lend an ear to whatever is bothering his son, but Georgie's nerves get the best of him, causing him to back out. Later on, Dale tries to convince Georgie to finally open up to George because he's worried. Georgie just scoffs it off, totally in disbelief that George actually cares about him. This indicates that despite the Cooper patriarch's efforts to be a good dad, his children don't see him that way. The fact that Georgie can't believe that his dad is concerned about him backs up the possibility that Sheldon also doesn't notice George's attempts to be a good father. Instead, he only remembers his flaws, hence his unflattering stories about George on The Big Bang Theory.
Granted that Sheldon has an eidetic memory, which means that he could remember even the smallest details from his past, it's possible that he wrongly misinterpreted his dad when he was still alive. For what it's worth, the pair have barely had any one-on-one interactions in Young Sheldon as Sheldon has a closer relationship with his mother than his father. It doesn't help that Sheldon tends to chastise George, not to mention look down on him for not being as smart as he is. Perhaps the fact that he caught his dad having sexual relations with another woman when he was 13 years old also contributed to Sheldon's perception of George. When he first shared the story to Penny (Kaley Cuoco) on The Big Bang Theory, he said that they were never able to discuss the incident. A year after it, George tragically died. It's possible that Sheldon was never able to process the trauma of what he witnessed, resulting in him harboring a grudge against his dad.
For now, Young Sheldon is sticking with its depiction of George as an imperfect but well-meaning dad. Even adult Sheldon's narration has admitted to that. But, with a cheating scandal on the horizon, it's curious how much longer the CBS prequel will be able to maintain this. Otherwise, they would have to explicitly contradict Sheldon's story on The Big Bang Theory, which would create a string of new plotholes.
Young Sheldon airs Thursdays on CBS.
