Much like last week’s episode, tonight’s half-hour focused primarily on Mandy, Georgie and Sheldon, without even a mention of George and Mary’s marital issues. It begs the question of whether George and Mary’s indirect admission that they are making it work for the kids, while in the car with Paige’s mother, was the end of the infidelity storyline. Although Chuck Lorre has insisted that the prequel is under no obligation to follow the same timeline as the Big Bang Theory, adult Sheldon was clearly traumatized by his father’s infidelity, so if they have chosen to downplay it for the sake of keeping George around a little longer, it is quite disappointing. All will be revealed soon one way or another ,as only three episodes remain in the season.
Being a mom is important to Mandy, but so is having a career. She gave a lot up to settle down in Medford and have her baby with Georgie, and while motherhood has been great, she has other goals in life that she wants to accomplish in order to feel fulfilled. Going back to work so quickly after Cece’s birth was never her intention, but when the local news station has an opening available for a new weather girl, the opportunity is difficult for her to pass up. Mandy assumed that Georgie and the rest of the Coopers would be supportive, so she is disheartened when Georgie and Mary question why she would go back to work so soon after giving birth. Traditionally, women in small town Texas, especially in the early 90s, tended to be stay-at-home mothers so Mandy is truly defying the norm. Luckily, Connie is supportive and understands Mandy’s desire to be a strong role-model for her daughter. The one person that has always been able to talk sense into Georgie is Connie, and she does just that. She tells him that if he wants a chance with Mandy, he needs to be supportive of her dreams. Mandy’s interview entailed delivering a mock weather report. It was going well, until she started to leak breast milk right in the middle of it. It wasn’t made clear whether or not the executives were able to look past her unfortunate mishap and reward her with the job, so viewers will have to wait until the next episode to find out.
Sheldon is disheartened to learn that it is going to take a lot more than being a genius to get into grad school. With only a year left before applications are due, it is made clear to him by peers and his advisors, that he needs to be doing more to beef up his application. In typical Sheldon fashion, he automatically resorts to blaming everyone else for not filling him in on this fact sooner, including Mary, accusing her of coddling him as a child and always telling him he was special. Sheldon’s quirks were cute when he was younger, but now that he is all grown up, his accusations come across as obnoxious. His self-serving attempt to get Professor Hagemeyer to create a summer program at Texas Tech, because he was too late to apply for any others, was shallow and it was satisfying to hear her provide him with a firm “no.” He may have been able to get everything he wanted as a child, but that isn’t going to be the case forever and it's time he learns that he needs to rely on more than just his intelligence to get by in life. The episode ended with Dr. Sturgis offering Sheldon a chance to attend a summer program in Germany, that is being run by a colleague. Hopefully Mary allows Sheldon to go, as it will be a great opportunity for him to see what it is like to be on his own in the world, without his mother around to tend to his every need.
Your turn, Young Sheldon fans. What did you think of the episode? Was Mary forgiving Brenda the end of the infidelity storyline? What will the final three episodes bring? Sound off below and follow me on Twitter @MiddleofCanada.
