Young Sheldon’s 100th Episode Guest Star Makes A TBBT Plot Hole Worse

Although Young Sheldon’s upcoming 100th episode will see the return of a recurring guest star, the sitcom spinoff still hasn’t explained why this important figure went unseen throughout The Big Bang Theory’s run. Lots of sitcom spinoffs have trouble with reintegrating old cast members. Sometimes, an actor’s busy schedule means they can’t appear as often on the new show as they did on the original, as was the case with Roseanne’s Chuckie on The Conners.

In other cases, the fact that sitcom spinoffs aren’t direct continuations of their predecessors poses a problem. For example, The Big Bang Theory actor Mayim Bialik has appeared on the spinoff series Young Sheldon via voiceover on occasion. However, the fact that Sheldon didn’t meet her character Amy Farrah Fowler until he was an adult means that Young Sheldon can’t bring the character back unless she is recast with a much younger actor. Even then, Young Sheldon would need to explain why The Big Bang Theory‘s protagonist didn’t remember meeting his future wife years later. However, while returning stars can be tricky for sitcom spinoffs to set up, the inverse problem can also be an issue for shows that follow up popular hits

Since Young Sheldon is a prequel to The Big Bang Theory, viewers have every reason to expect that the spinoff will set up characters who later appear in The Big Bang Theory.Young Sheldon introduced a younger version of Sheldon’s siblings and mother, characters who already appeared (albeit played by older actors) in the original series. However, news that actor McKenna Grace will return as Young Sheldon’s Paige in the “show-shifting” 100th episode has led some fans to wonder why this character—who has variously been a rival, begrudging friend, and potential crush for Sheldon—was never seen on The Big Bang Theory.

Who Is Young Sheldon’s Paige

Paige’s 100th episode role marks the character’s seventh appearance on Young Sheldon. She originally appeared sporadically throughout Young Sheldon seasons 2-4, and has played a pretty formative role in the title character’s adolescence so far. A fellow child prodigy, Paige was first established in Young Sheldon season 2 as a rare genius who can hold her own against Sheldon. She is proven to be smarter than him numerous times but this has not stopped her journey on Young Sheldon from being an uneven one. Paige was first introduced as a sweet, good-natured influence on Sheldon, who struggled with her intelligence due to his ego. Her next appearance proved she had a troubled home life as Paige discussed her parent’s impending divorce with Sheldon.

By Young Sheldon season 3, Paige became a disillusioned troublemaker after her parents got divorced, only for her eventual emotional breakdown in front of Sheldon to prompt his earliest trademark offer of a “hot beverage” and a sympathetic ear. Their relationship soured once again when Sheldon reinstated their rivalry at Bible Camp and became even more acrimonious when Missy’s belief that Sheldon had a crush on Paige indirectly led the two to become full-blown enemies. However, despite Paige’s status as Sheldon’s rival—and the possibility of her becoming a formative crush or close friend for the character—she’s not mentioned in The Big Bang Theory at all; something Young Sheldon has never addressed.

Why The Big Bang Theory Never Mentioned Grace

There’s no obvious canon reason why Sheldon would never think of his childhood friend who played a pivotal role in his formative years. Young Sheldon has explained many The Big Bang Theory character flaws, storylines, and twists by showing their origins in Sheldon’s life, which makes it even stranger that Paige is never seen prior to the spinoff. Young Sheldon never justifies this via voice-over and, even if viewers assume that Grace never visited Sheldon in adulthood or the pair grew apart before The Big Bang Theory began, it’s still strange that Sheldon never mentioned someone who provided him with his earliest intellectual rivalry. Sheldon is comically thin-skinned and never forgets a grudge, prompting some fans to reasonably wonder how he let this one go. After all, The Big Bang Theory introduced his childhood friend Tam Nguyen, whose only crime against Sheldon was attending a different university, and Tam later became a Young Sheldon mainstay, appearing in almost 30 episodes of the show. Why then is Grace so different?

Why Paige and Sheldon’s Rivalry Matters

Sheldon is shown to be intensely competitive throughout both Young Sheldon and The Big Bang Theory. Paige is one of few characters who can claim to be smarter than him and a rival to his intelligence, as well as being his friend (or at least frenemy) at various points throughout Young Sheldon’s five seasons. Her intelligence clearly irks Sheldon, which makes it all the weirder that he didn’t hold this grudge into adulthood. After all, Sheldon recalls specific instances of people who slighted him in far less substantial ways throughout The Big Bang Theory. The technical, out-of-universe reason for this disconnect is likely that, much like How I Met Your Father wasn’t written before How I Met Your Mother aired, Young Sheldon’s storylines weren’t planned when The Big Bang Theory was still filming.

The Real Reason Paige Isn’t In The Big Bang Theory

As a result, the character of Paige may not have been created until Young Sheldon season 2, by which stage it was impossible to retroactively add her to The Big Bang Theory. This is most likely the real reason that Paige doesn’t appear in the earlier hit even though she had a formative effect on Sheldon’s early years, but it doesn’t mean that Young Sheldon can avoid explaining her future absence forever. Some explanations would justify why Paige never visited Sheldon in adulthood—the duo already have a relationship fraught with rivalry and conflict, so it’s fair to say that this could have boiled over into full-blown mutual hatred before Sheldon ever met The Big Bang Theory’s Penny. However, what is harder for Young Sheldon to justify is why The Big Bang Theorynever mentioned her—something that the series needs to find an in-universe excuse for if the spinoff intends to keep bringing back Grace as a guest star.

About The Author

Cathal Gunning
(1447 Articles Published)

Cathal Gunning has been writing about movies and TV online since 2020. His obsessions include The Simpsons, Stephen King, the Scream series, and the horror genre in general. He has spent more time thinking about Stranger Things than the writers of Stranger Things, and he has never seen a Star War.

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