Young Sheldon‘s penultimate episodes finally delivered a long-dreaded fate for Cooper family patriarch George Sr. (Lance Barber), as Sheldon’s (Iain Armitage) dad died due to a heart attack in the episode, “A New Home and a Traditional Texas Torture.”
As the family gears up for their next chapter with Sheldon preparing to head off to college, George learns in this installment that he is up for a new coaching position at a university which would be a major opportunity for himself and his family. The possibility makes Sheldon upset as he wants to do all he can to preserve his family’s home and rejects the idea of having to visit his family in another Texas town.
While this drama unfolds, Mary (Zoe Perry) has also tasked the family with partaking in a Texas tradition of taking a family photo in the bluebonnet fields. But as the family gets dressed and ready, they find themselves waiting for George to arrive home from work, only to discover Principal Petersen (Rex Linn) and Coach Wayne Wilkins (Doc Farrow) at their door as they deliver the devastating news that George has had a heart attack and didn’t make it.
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Viewers only have a few seconds to sit with the news before the credits roll, which is something Barber really appreciated. “I love the writer’s choice to end the episode that way, to tell the story that way because it’s a great device. Everyone will feel that kick in the gut and then [they’re] left swirling in their loss the way that our characters do in that moment,” the actor tells TV Insider.
“And then it’s over. And there you sit with what do you do next? And from an art standpoint, what a fun way to play with the audience and give them that experience?” he continues. “I imagine this whole thing will be polarizing. Some people will not like it because it’s hard and some people will appreciate it because it’s hard. I certainly do.”
The actor who has captured viewers’ hearts in his role adds, “I have a selfish perspective on it ending the way that it is for my character because I think it’s memorable. Selfishly, as a character actor, I get to play [the part of] America’s dad gets to die on TV.” As Barber puts it, he hopes that it’s one of those deaths that’s talked about by generations as they reminisce about the series. “To have that as part of my legacy as a TV actor, I think that’s pretty neat,” Barber confesses.
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Perry teases, “The audience and the characters are going to be experiencing this shift simultaneously,” as they head into the final two episodes airing back to back on May 16th. “Everyone will be going through this catharsis together,” she adds, noting, “What a unique experience that is.”
Regarding the filming of George’s death reveal, Perry says, “When we knew what was coming and that we knew it was also coming at the end of us wrapping up a series, we were feeling true grief. And so I think the audience will get to witness some real emotion because it’s sad to lose a beloved character, and it’s sad to say goodbye to him and to a show and to some great entertainment for the last seven years.”
In other words, “They get to share that experience with the family,” Perry notes.
For Barber, he was aware of his impending end for some time. “I had an idea,” he says of the timing. “They kept things kind of close to the chest for a while, but weeks before, we certainly were aware of how it was all going to play out so I could prepare for that.”
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What makes George’s demise all the more heartbreaking is all of the future planning that was going on in this installment and the casual way he slips out the door for work with a simple “see you later” remark. “This is how life turns out sometimes at the best of times, potentially, it turns into the worst,” Barber notes. “So to me, that’s just good storytelling that’s relatable, which has been the success of the show, is that this family has always had challenges that are identifiable,” Barber continues.
“That last moment with George is so every day no one takes note of it. We spent so much time making that moment as uneventful and unspecial as possible because that felt so real that you don’t know things are the last moments at the time,” executive producer Steve Holland shares. “You only notice them in retrospect. And there are so many times where you just take all that for granted because it happens every day and there’s no reason to think that this is any special moment until after the fact. And that felt really sort of powerful.”
“And I think knowing where these characters wind up, given what’s established in Big Bang Theory, raising the stakes of what’s happening right before, the writing in Episode 12 really hits home with the excitement that everyone’s feeling and the loss of this potential future that they’re also suffering,” Perry acknowledges.
But don’t anticipate all misery as Holland reveals that the placement of George’s death in Episode 12 was intentional so as to not prolong the sadness too much. “George’s death was always the thing we wanted to address this season. And we talked about it maybe being the finale and then I think it was Chuck [Lorre] who said, ‘the show has been such a positive, mostly uplifting [thing], let’s not just punch America in the gut and [sneak] away. Let’s give them a little bit of a ramp out.’”
Still, if you’re feeling emotionally raw from the death, that was also intended. “We thought maybe it could catch people off guard in a good, slightly cruel way maybe,” Holland admits, adding, “but just that they wouldn’t be expecting it to come at the end of Episode 12.” What did you think of George’s death? Sound off in the comments section, below, and stay tuned for more on Young Sheldon‘s final episodes.
