You Thought TBBT's Sheldon Was Bad? Young Sheldon Made Him a Monster

Summary:

• The Big Bang Theory was a CBS sitcom that followed the lives of 4 nerdy friends and their new hot neighbor.
• In 2017, CBS released a prequel to the show, Young Sheldon, which focused on Sheldon Cooper's childhood.
• Many viewers believe that The Big Bang Theory's Sheldon Cooper ended up being more likable than his Young Sheldon counterpart.

If there's one thing fans of The Big Bang Theory can agree on, it's that Sheldon Cooper is one of the most obnoxious people around. Not only does he have a hard time reading social cues and interacting with others without overstepping their boundaries, but he's not afraid to use that to his advantage.

After all, it's much easier to pretend that you don't know or understand what's wrong than it is to hold yourself accountable and admit how wrong you were. This selfishness and complete confidence in his genius is what makes Sheldon so insufferable.

However, since CBS premiered a prequel to the show, Young Sheldon, which showed his childhood self, it has become even more obvious that the version of Sheldon that Leonard, Howard, Raj, and Penny met as young adults was a much more timid version than the one his family had to deal with.

Young Sheldon’s Worst Character

At this point, all Young Sheldon fans, whether they have seen The Big Bang Theory or not, believe that Sheldon Cooper is the weakest, most annoying, and least interesting character on the show. Despite him being the show's titular character, there's nothing to root for, and this lack of emotional depth actually makes the older Sheldon shine in a better light.

As we hoped, the younger Sheldon explains how he became so selfish. His mother never stopped coddling him from the very first episode, instilling in him the idea that he was special and somehow superior to others. Though his intelligence is quite unique, this played a bad trick on him in the future.

Sheldon was not used to facing reality and communicating with other people as equals. Instead, Mary prepared him to be correct and praised in every situation imaginable. As a child, he was completely unbearable at home and at school, driving just about everyone he met crazy.

Since there were no real consequences for this at the time, as a young adult, Sheldon was quickly humiliated by other people who didn't find him pleasant. He's had to adjust, at least to some degree, to living in society, so his actions, while still often abhorrent, aren't as bad as they used to be.

From a storytelling standpoint, the change in Sheldon makes perfect sense. From the Sheldon-centric prequel side, it could have been a disaster. The only thing that saved Young Sheldon and made it the success that it is is a brilliant cast that could've easily taken the attention away from the annoying title character.

To see how Young Sheldon ends, be sure to tune into Season 7 on Thursday, February 15, 2024 on CBS.