While The Big Bang Theory, there is no reason that the sitcom spin-off can't change the story of the existing series. Although Young Sheldon ostensibly chronicles the backstory of The Big Bang Theory's titular hero, the spin-off differs from its predecessor in many essential ways. In of style and tone, Young Sheldon is a more dramatic single-camera series, while The Big Bang Theory was a lighter, multi-camera hang-out show with a sillier sense of humor.
This tonal disparity impacts the plots of the two shows, too. Sheldon's Big Bang Theory backstory is surprisingly tragic, from his brother Georgie's divorce to his father's early death. However, The Big Bang Theory treated this backstory lightly, while Young Sheldon takes these events much more seriously. As a result, some of the more depressing elements of Sheldon's past will be pretty bleak when they inevitably arise in Young Sheldon. The Coopers are a fun family to spend time with, but their tragic fates loom over the series like a dark cloud. That said, Young Sheldon can retcon some of The Big Bang Theory's version of events, thus reshaping the spin-off's appeal.
The Big Bang Theory Makes Young Sheldon Dark
Young Sheldon often tries to be a fun, silly series about a nostalgic Sheldon looking back on his adolescent scrapes and the antics of his dysfunctional family. However, according to The Big Bang Theory's canon, Georgie is fated to hate his brother for years, Mary returns to the church and her bitter judgmental ways, Missy never makes it out of Texas, and George Sr straight up dies while he is still young and his youngest children are barely teenagers. This series of events, seemingly set in stone by The Big Bang Theory's canon, make Young Sheldon inadvertently dark, as viewers know the sad fates that are in store for its heroes.
How Young Sheldon Can Change The Big Bang Theory
While The Big Bang Theory seemingly ensures that Young Sheldon is necessarily dark by nature, this doesn't need to be the case. Young Sheldon has already changed The Big Bang Theory canon by having Sheldon's narration it that things were different than he had previously ed them. Sheldon's incessant bullying has already been retconned, as has his father's alcoholism. Hence, it is no stretch for him to it that he mised the date of his father's death or that Georgie and Mandy's eventual break-up didn't last or was amicable. From there, it would be no stretch to say that Georgie's grudge against his brother didn't develop until their twenties/thirties.
While Young Sheldon is tinkering with the story told by The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon's narration could also concede that Missy actively wants to stay in her hometown as an adult. The fates of the spin-off's heroes seem tragic because their Big Bang Theory selves were often bitter people, but this doesn't necessarily need to be the case. Georgie could go through a divorce and still someday reunite with Mandy, Missy can be happy with living in her hometown, and even Mary can come to with George Sr's death in a way that leaves her less resentful than her Big Bang Theory appearances implied.
Young Sheldon Would Get Away With Canon Changes
As proven by The Big Bang Theory, never mentioning Paige, Sheldon does not give too much thought to other people. This is doubly true for his "mouth breather" siblings and his late father, for whom he displays open contempt throughout The Big Bang Theory. As such, it is entirely believable that he would have mised things in The Big Bang Theory, only to revise his recollections later while narrating his memoirs. If viewers assume the events of Young Sheldon are his memoirs, Sheldon could use them to it that, while he never saw eye-to-eye with his family, they did lead full, happy lives.
Changing The Big Bang Theory Improves Sheldon Too
If looking back on his past while narrating his memoirs made Sheldon more thoughtful and reflective—especially after the events of The Big Bang Theory finale already saw him become a more thoughtful, considerate friend—this could make Sheldon more likable than ever. Young Sheldon justified many character traits of The Big Bang Theory antihero, but leaning into his character growth could allow the spin-off to improve the futures of his family . If Sheldon's attitude toward his family was less contemptuous, he could see Young Sheldon's Georgie, Missy, George Sr, and Mary as fully-rounded people. This could concede their lives were not as sad as The Big Bang Theory's glimpses of their futures made them out to be.
