Young Sheldon Rewrites TBBT Season 10 Story with Yet Another Retcon
Young Sheldon is a coming-of-age sitcom that expands on the story of its parent series, The Big Bang Theory, with new revelations about Sheldon Cooper's childhood in Texas.
However, over the course of the seasons, fans have been noticing that the showrunners have effectively retconned multiple TBBT storylines. And in the fifth season of the prequel show, viewers are treated to yet another retcon – this time, a season 10 story.
The use of retcons in television is not a new concept, but it does come with certain risks. Sometimes, they can be for the better. Other times, fans feel betrayed when their favorite characters or storylines are altered without warning. In this case, the retcon doesn't necessarily change any huge points in the plot, but it does alter a certain aspect of Sheldon's character without any explanation or justification.
The moment in question is in the 100th episode of Young Sheldon , where we find out that Sheldon has been much better at socializing in college and even spends time playing games with his dorm neighbors.
When he runs into his friend Paige, they decide to hang out, and she meets his new friends. And much to her confusion, it turns out they like Sheldon. When she jokingly asked them if they got assigned to look after Sheldon, they said he ended up in the room next door, and they took him in like a dog.
Sheldon, however, wasn't insulted by this at all and gave an approving smirk, which surprised many fans.
That's because we learned something about Sheldon in season 10 of TBBT, and it doesn't add up with this particular moment in Young Sheldon. As you may remember, there was an episode where we found out Raj could no longer afford his apartment, so Penny and Leonard temporarily offered him and his dog Cinnamon Sheldon's old room.
It later became clear that Sheldon didn't like dogs and was scared of them – even a small ones like Cinnamon. So, the fact that he was fine with being likened to a dog left a lot of viewers scratching their heads. Though Sheldon never mentioned why he hated dogs in TBBT, a potential explanation could be that he started disliking them after his time in college. Nevertheless, it would've been helpful if it was explained somehow in either sitcom.
This is just one example of how Young Sheldon has been able to use its platform as a spin-off show to expand upon and improve upon its parent series. With more retcons expected to be on the horizon, it will be interesting to see what other changes and surprises are in store for fans of TBBT in future seasons.