Young Sheldon’s Biggest Rival Was Ditched in the Finale for This Hideous Reason

Originally created as a prequel to The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon has since moved from focusing on the character of Sheldon to capturing the lives of the members of the Cooper family and the people around them.

The show, which has grown to be far more meaningful than expected, has tackled many issues, including the importance of having a reliable support system in your family to face the trials of the outside world. Sheldon's young rival Paige was the perfect foil to underscore this message, but was dumped and never brought back.

What Happened to Paige in Young Sheldon?

Paige started out as a very strong character, a prodigy, just like Sheldon. However, unlike the title character, she is also in touch with her emotional side and knows how to attract people. Her personality multiplied by the strength of her mind painted a bright future for her, but as the show progressed, viewers saw her crumble under the circumstances.

Although we all knew that the Cooper family was never calm and united, it was still a loving household.

Paige's parents, on the other hand, had a little too much on their plates with the divorce, so she was forgotten by both of them. The lack of attention, as well as the lack of real affection, caused Paige to go through several rebellious phases, pushing her into alcohol and other forms of self-destruction that a child shouldn't be exposed to.

With so many people caring so much about her story, Young Sheldon fans were sure the writers would give her character some sense of closure, but that never happened. In fact, according to Steve Holland, the writers' room never even considered such a possibility:

“When we got into this season, especially with it being a shortened season, we never thought that [Paige’s storyline] was an arc that needed more closing than it got. There was a parallel; she was a bit of a mirror image of Sheldon — a different way that Sheldon could have turned out — and I think we saw that play out,” he said.

Unfortunately, Paige's story fell victim to the effects that the WGA and SAG AFTRA strikes had on the industry. However, fans still believe there was an opportunity to at least mention her in the finale.

If you didn't get a chance to watch Young Sheldon's big finale and say goodbye to the show, be sure to check out the episodes on Paramount Plus.

Source: TVLine