Young Sheldon Just Brought Back a Key Character—And It Might Finally Fix The Big Bang Theory’s Most Confusing Plotline

Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage season 2 can bring back one Young Sheldon character whose story was unceremoniously dropped at last, solving one big The Big Bang Theory mystery. Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage season 1 being focused on setting up the spinoff made the story revolve mainly around the titular characters acclimatizing to their life definitively with the McAllisters.

This focused the attention primarily on Audrey, Jim and Connor, but it also expanded Georgie and Mandy’s lives through the introduction of Ruben and Beth. Mary, Missy, Connie and Dale’s appearances helped solidify the Young Sheldon connection, which First Marriage season 1’s ending set up to be stronger. First Marriage season 2 nevertheless needs to include one forgotten character too.

Paige’s Fate Was Left Unresolved By Young Sheldon

Despite introducing her in season 2 and continuing her story throughout the show, Young Sheldon’s final season never concluded Paige Swanson’s story. Paige’s last appearance in the Big Bang Theory spinoff was in season 6, episode 16, and it wasn’t particularly encouraging, given how Paige happily went along with Missy’s joyride towards Florida, willingly getting in trouble with her friend.

Young Sheldon season 7 having 14 episodes and several storylines to wrap up made it virtually impossible to update on what went on in Paige’s life. Between the 2023 Hollywood strikes necessarily reducing the episode number and Young Sheldon having to tackle George Sr.’s affair, his death, and Sheldon’s move to California, the spinoff had to focus on the Coopers.

A lack of knowledge about Paige’s future nevertheless left a sour aftertaste, as TBBT couldn’t reveal what had happened to her, but the last time Paige was seen, she was having a hard time, making terrible choices as a result. Her connection with Sheldon made it easy to be invested in her story, and Paige’s struggles foreshadowed a tragic resolution.

Not knowing if Paige learned to cope better makes her story loom over TBBT’s universe, and Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage season 2 could solve that if the Young Sheldon spinoff were to offer updates about Paige. After all, characters like Pastor Jeff, Coach Wilkins and Ms. Hutchins all appeared in First Marriage, and they weren’t as central as Paige.

How First Marriage Season 2 Can Include Paige In Georgie & Mandy’s Lives

Paige’s story in Young Sheldon was always supposed to be antithetical to Sheldon’s, who struggled socially, but also managed to form rewarding friendships. This was the case in The Big Bang Theory, as the gang did gravitate around him no matter how they found some of his quirks annoying, but also in Young Sheldon, where Sheldon connected with several peers.

While Young Sheldon introduced Paige as some kind of nemesis in the eyes of Sheldon because he viewed her as the person with whom to contend for Dr. Sturgis’s attention, it was also clear they had plenty of things in common from the get-go. This made the path of their lives leading them in such opposite directions feel particularly jarring.

Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage season 2 can make up for Young Sheldon never solving Paige’s mystery. The multiple appearances of secondary Young Sheldon characters in First Marriage’s first season proved that Paige appearing wouldn’t be too far-fetched, even without Sheldon being in Texas anymore. Missy’s bond with Paige, coupled with her worry for Paige’s behavior, justifies a Paige cameo.

However, Paige appearing in First Marriage season 2 would work even better to solve her story’s mystery if she weren’t directly connected to Missy. Paige staying in Medford makes her potential involvement feasible. If she were to appear in Georgie and Mandy’s life unrelatedly to the Coopers, it could finally put the spotlight on Paige and away from Missy’s shenanigans.

This is especially true after Big Bang Theory established the aftermath of George Sr.’s death as the time Missy was most rebellious. Paige becoming CeeCee’s babysitter or coming into the McAllisters’ life in a seemingly mundane way could offer hope about her story, showing her finding better coping mechanisms for her struggles with how her genius impacted her social life.

Paige finding peace at last could reasonably involve her leaving her academic career behind, or at least not pursuing it in the same way Sheldon chose to, moving away without caring about his age making things difficult for the level of education he had reached. This could give Paige the normal life she longed for and explain her TBBT absence.

Why Paige Appearing In First Marriage Could End Up Explaining Her Absence From TBBT

The Big Bang Theory could never have updated viewers about Paige’s existence organically due to Young Sheldon effectively introducing her too late, even with the shows overlapping for two years. This caused a problem retroactively after Young Sheldon made Paige compelling, especially in the way she impacted Sheldon’s life, either by outmatching him or through her future’s heartbreaking direction.

Paige appearing among Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage’s characters could nevertheless solve the problem of Young Sheldon not revealing her fate and that of TBBT never acknowledging her. First Marriage showing glimpses of a better life for Paige, one she achieved by distancing herself from the academic world, would simultaneously reassure audiences and explain why TBBT’s Sheldon didn’t mention her.

The Big Bang Theory established Sheldon as someone who firmly believed his genius should have been in the service of science, and even in Young Sheldon, he could see Paige suffering, but couldn’t understand why, as he couldn’t see Paige’s extraordinary genius as something negative. Thus, Paige choosing her well-being over science would go against every fiber of Sheldon’s being.

Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage hinting at such a future for Paige would still work as a cautionary tale opposite to Sheldon’s story, and also give her peace, not making her story’s ending completely negative. However, it would also explain why Sheldon wouldn’t mention her in The Big Bang Theory, not respecting somebody who reneged on science for their well-being.