Young Sheldon once again retconned a major moment from Sheldon Cooper’s past in the Season 6 finale of the popular CBS sitcom.
While CBS had previously teased that the Season 6 finale, “A Tornado, a 10-Hour Flight and a Darn Fine Ring,” would adapt the story Sheldon told in The Big Bang Theory about a tornado touching down in Medford while he was in Germany with his mother, it seems that the fan-favorite theoretical physicist mixed up a few important details. In Season 1 of Big Bang, Sheldon recalled how his mother had flown back to Texas to help his dad after their house slipped off cinderblocks: “It was tornado season, and it was an aluminum house.” However, it wasn’t the Cooper household that was damaged in Young Sheldon, but Sheldon’s grandmother’s, with her house completely destroyed by the tornado.
The tornado destroying Meemaw’s house instead of the Cooper’s isn’t the first time Young Sheldon has played fast and loose with The Big Bang Theory canon. Perhaps the most significant and life-defining moment from Sheldon’s childhood — him walking in on his father having an extramarital affair with another woman — was completely ignored. The moment was supposed to occur during 13-year-old Sheldon’s spring break, which began at the start of Season 6, Episode 17, “A German Folk Song and an Actual Adult.” However, the eighteenth episode, “Little Green Men and a Fella’s Marriage Proposal,” jumped over spring break entirely and picks up with Sheldon already back at school.
While some fans have expressed disappointment at Young Sheldon ignoring and/or retconning certain moments from Sheldon’s childhood, the show’s executive producer Steve Holland previously explained in April 2023 that they are “not obligated to tell all the stories that Sheldon told on Big Bang.” Fans have pointed out that Sheldon walking in on his father having an affair is a huge moment for the character as it is the reason why he knocks three times before entering a room. There is always a possibility the storyline will be revisited in the future, with Holland hinting that it “could potentially happen in Season 7, and it’s a possibility we’ve talked about a lot, so it’s on the table.” However, he reiterated that “just because it happened doesn’t mean it’s a story [our narrator] has to tell.”
