Big Bang Theory fans have been left heartbroken over a Young Sheldon tragedy – despite knowing it was coming.
The spin-off series, focused on the formative years of Jim Parsons’s Sheldon Cooper, is coming to an end next week – a decision that one of the show’s stars thinks is quite premature.
Over the course of Young Sheldon’s time on air, viewers have seen moments that were referred to in The Big Bang Theory play out – and one heartbreaking moment occurred in the final season’s 12th episode, which aired on Thursday (9 May).
In The Big Bang Theory, it’s revealed that Sheldon’s dad, George Sheldon Sr (Lance Barber), died when he was 14, shortly before he left the family home to go to Caltech.
As George’s cause of death was not specified in the main show, Young Sheldon viewers have spent all season on the edges of their seats whenever the character was on screen, as they expected him to meet his maker at any time.
The moment finally arrived in the latest episode, but it occurred off screen. Viewers only discovered George had died when his two best friends informed the family that he had a fatal heart attack.
Speaking about George’s death, executive producer Steve Holland said the show’s makers always knew “internally” that George died of a heart attack, despite never “specifically” revealing that detail on The Big Bang Theory.
Holland told Deadline that the death was “always going to be off camera” as “we didn’t want to witness that moment of his death.
He added: “We always knew we were going to deal with his death this season, but we never thought about seeing it on camera. So really the discussion was when it would happen in the course of the last few episodes and how the family would get the news.”
Viewers have been left heartbroken by how the death played out, with Annie Potts, who plays Sheldon’s grandmother, paying tribute to her on-screen son-in-law.
She wrote: “Love you, George. Forever and always, Meemaw.”
One viewer said: “Even though we were warned… damn, that hurt,” with another adding: “I knew it was coming and nothing could’ve prepared me for it.”
“Despite expecting it the scene was powerful & packed quite an emotional punch,” one additional viewer wrote.
Young Sheldon will come to an end with a two-part finale on 16 May.
