Young Sheldon Season 7 Already Set Up Meemaw’s TBBT Character Change

Young Sheldon season 7 might have already set up The Big Bang Theory’s very different Meemaw, but this might not be a good thing for the spinoff.
While Young Sheldon’s version of Meemaw is nothing like her incarnation in The Big Bang Theory, season 7 of the spinoff might explain and fix this discrepancy. As the first spinoff from The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon inevitably contradicts the canon of its predecessor from time to time. Sheldon’s late father, George Sr, was referred to as a philandering drunk by his son throughout The Big Bang Theory, but Young Sheldon portrayed him as a likable everyman and a devoted father. Likewise, Mary is pious in both shows, but she is much more bitter in The Big Bang Theory.
Some of these changes can be chalked up to Sheldon’s selective memory or characters changing over time, but others are harder to justify.Young Sheldon’s Meemaw is a wild, irrepressible rebel, whereas her character in The Big Bang Theory was effectively an older version of Mary . The upcoming Young Sheldon season 7 might be able to explain why this is the case, and the spinoff’s season 6 finale may have already set up this surprising character shift. However, the show justifying Meemaw’s character change will not necessarily be a positive development for Young Sheldon season 7 as a whole.

Pastor Jeff & Meemaw Making Peace In Young Sheldon Can Change Her Character In TBBT
Meemaw might tone down her antics before Young Sheldon season 7 ends
In the Young Sheldon season 6 finale, Meemaw’s illegal gambling room was destroyed by a tornado. This led to an uneasy truce with Pastor Jeff who, until this point, had been waging a quiet war against both Meemaw’s gambling room and her illegal video store. Pastor Jeff’s meddling almost saw Meemaw’s store shut down, but the pair struck an unlikely peace after the storm reduced the building to rubble. Pastor Jeff’s truth could explain how Meemaw became more like her devout daughter, especially considering the tragedy that would soon befall the Cooper family. These events may change Meemaw’s attitude toward Pastor Jeff.

Now that Young Sheldon’s season 6 finale finally leaves Meemaw and Pastor Jeff on civil terms, the tragedy that awaits the Coopers in season 7 could make her the more staid, traditional presence from The Big Bang Theory. Meemaw first appeared in The Big Bang Theory season 9, episode 14, “The Meemaw Materialization,” and her stern countenance there had more in common with Sheldon’s pious mother Mary than her Young Sheldon self. However, in that same episode, she also complaining about Sheldon’s Pop-Pop, a clue that might hint at the real reason behind her change after the show’s spinoff.
2 Young Sheldon Season 7 Storylines Justify Meemaw’s TBBT Character Change
George Sr’s death and Missy’s rebellion could shape Meemaw’s new attitude
The sudden death of her daughter Mary’s husband could be a contributing factor to what drove Meemaw to religion.

Meemaw bemoaning her late husband’s personality calls to mind the many times that Mary complaining about her own late partner, George Sr. Although Young Sheldon made it clear that losing Pop-Pop didn’t make Meemaw a more sedate character, the sudden death of her daughter Mary’s husband could be what drove Meemaw to religion and subsequently changed her personality in the intervening years. Young Sheldon makes The Big Bang Theory sadder by revealing the context behind certain character details, so it would make sense for the second great tragedy in Meemaw’s life to make her a less playful, carefree character.
Furthermore, Missy’s teenage rebellion in Young Sheldon season 7 could be what leads her grandmother to tone down her own rebelious activities. After all, it was difficult for Mary and George Sr to discipline Missy for her antics when Meemaw was operating an illegal business that employed both Georgie and Mandy. Missy’s rebellion started relatively mild but, by the end of season 6, she had stolen her father’s truck and went on a joyride with Paige. Her shenanigans could get out of control, which explains why season 7’s Meemaw might be forced to act like a role model.

How Meemaw’s TBBT Character Change Would Hurt Young Sheldon Season 7
Young Sheldon’s final season needs Meemaw to stay as fun as ever

While it might make sense for Meemaw to become a more conservative and self-serious figure in Young Sheldon season 7, this does not make this twist a good idea. Much like Young Sheldon couldn’t explain Georgie and Mandy’s breakup without getting too bleak, the spinoff can’t introduce a new, less fun version of Meemaw in the final season without this hurting the series. No one wants Meemaw to become a pious do-gooder in the show’s final episodes, even if this would set up her characterization in The Big Bang Theory. This leaves the series in an unenviable position.

Young Sheldon season 7 must ignore Meemaw’s character change in The Big Bang Theory, thus making the gap between both contradictory versions of the character even more noticeable. Additionally, the spinoff must quickly change Meemaw from a fun-loving hellraiser to The Big Bang Theory’s stony, cooler version of her, thus depriving viewers of one of the spinoff’s funniest characters. No matter how Young Sheldon handles Meemaw’s character shift, the show is guaranteed to struggle with either approach. As such, it will be tough for Young Sheldon season 7 to explain The Big Bang Theory’s alternative take on Meemaw.