A Key to Liking The Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper? Watch Young Sheldon First

If there is a single most controversial character in the entirety of The Big Bang Theory, it has to be Sheldon Cooper. Even though all the other characters in the show had their own flaws, some worse than others, it was Sheldon whose personality always stood out the most, and not in a good way.

While we've all wondered at some point what keeps his friends around him, and how they aren't more annoyed by his entitlement, those viewers who haven't seen Young Sheldon are missing out on a huge piece of lore about him. And that lore has been a game-changer for those who have decided to give the prequel a chance.

Why Is Sheldon Cooper So Annoying?

Although it was explained that Sheldon's genius IQ was offset by his failure to understand social cues, his lies became more obvious as the show went on. As it turned out, Sheldon could understand a lot more than he let on but chose to ignore it for personal gain.

It's not surprising to see so many instances of Sheldon's friends turning on him, and we can't say we didn't cheer several times as we watched him get told off. What is surprising, however, is that Young Sheldon doesn't make things any better with his personality. In fact, the prequel story made him worse, and understandably so.

While Sheldon seemed to be just as brilliant as a child, and his entire family was happy to use his gift to their advantage, he was even less balanced, and even more spoiled and entitled. Though this is the behavior one would generally expect of a young child, mixed with the original Sheldon's personality, it becomes too much to bear.

If you watched Young Sheldon first and came to accept, if not love, all of Sheldon's flaws, The Big Bang Theory will show you a surprisingly toned-down version of the adult Sheldon. Still extremely egotistical and annoying, but nowhere near as bad as his younger counterpart.

However, viewers who watched the prequel as it was released were very grateful to see the show gradually shift to showing more of the Cooper family and less of Sheldon himself. To join the Coopers on their day-to-day journey once again, stream Young Sheldon on Netflix or Max.