'Young Sheldon' Cast Reacts To George's Death

Graeme O'Neil takes a look at what Lance Barber, Zoe Perry, Annie Potts, and Iain Armitage have to say about George's death in the third last episode of "Young Sheldon".

[@RYSHU20]

One of Television's Greatest Fathers

[@BaadSheep.]

The greatest father

[@zeroo.]

that probably isn't true

[@kathleenhanlon8107]

Probably the greatest TV Dad of the 21st century.

[@melissamurray8307]

@@kathleenhanlon8107I can agree to that.

[@mrigankasenapati]

​@@kathleenhanlon8107 I would say 2nd... Phil Dunphy is the first!

[@valeriemoran842]

Lance Barber and all of the actors in this series are phenomenal. It is a heartbreaking but beautifully acted scene.

[@lisanickerson4788]

I just watched the latest episodes of Young Sheldon. We all began watching the show with the knowledge that George was going to die. I think we all expected to hate him due to how Sheldon described him in Big Bang Theory...instead we got this character we grew to love, that was nothing like the man Sheldon had described... I cried as the scene unfolded... George was the father I wish I had. Lance Barber made this man a breathing person that had flaws, but loved his family and always put them first... He was not a religious man but was more Christ-like than the minister. As we all prepare to watch the series finale, we should thank the actors and writers for giving us characters to fall in love with

[@jdvm9991]

So dramatic. 😂😂

[@gr8daynegb]

I do wonder for the Georgie and Mandy spinoff do they try and connect as to why Mary and Sheldon spoke I'll of George in the big bang theory as much as they do. It should be easy for Sheldon do to his characters tendencies and also as a child losing a parent you almost feel abandoned to a certain extent. Connecting the Zoe Perry of Mary Cooper to Laurie Metcalf's is the challenge as the Young Sheldon Arch makes older Mary Cooper almost appear as a bad person.

[@lotemylife3006]

I saw the thumbnail and title for the next episode beforehand and I was dreading it the entire episode, knowing it was going to happen and seeing the set up with everyone getting one more small moment with him...

[@debra2700]

@@gr8daynegb Laurie Metcalf's recollection of her husband in TBBT is accurate because they had no idea there was going to be a spin off of Young Sheldon so he was remembered as a lazy, mean drunk who cheated on his wife. It does a disservice to the Mary and Sheldon in TBBT to rewrite history especially with ridiculous storylines like a very pious and religious Mary Cooper dressing up as a Viking woman with blonde braids who Sheldon mistakes for a strange woman in bed with his father or George Sr turning into Father of the Year to get several more years out of a sitcom that Jim Parsons shut down because he got tired of playing Sheldon but conveniently ended up being the only one who continued to get paychecks off of TBBT characters.

[@burghbrat3319]

My dad died suddenly, but not unexpectedly, of a heart attack. We all knew it would happen, but none of us were prepared WHEN it happened. Watching Young Sheldon, I felt once again that a day that was just a day could become the worst day ever. I don't think think I told my dad that I loved him. I wish I had.

[@henriquebueno3208]

I really thought he was going to die slowly at the hospital with his family around him, the way it happened was way more brutal and hurt way more

[@melissamurray8307]

At least he didn’t suffer.

[@sibongile77]

true, they should have given us all a chance to see him leave and accept it.

[@stephanymarialuisapalomino8212]

It was brutal, but it felt more real. That's how it usually happens, just few people are lucky enough to die around their loved ones

[@El-Toro-Nica]

As a father, George’s death was so painful I was inconsolable. I connected with him on such a personal level, it hurt from day one knowing that he was going to pass.

[@PTO5607]

7 years ago, I didn't expect to like the sequel and be more emotionally involved with it than the original.

[@joealmoni4018]

Good show. The Wonder Years but with a slightly annoying prodigy growing up Texas. I think the show is better described as a prequel even though it was made after BBT.

[@doriwilson6991]

I cried so much when they told Mary George was gone. When you're invested in Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon you get attached to the characters ❤

[@fatimazafir1036]

i cried my heart out. i love George snr. The Best character and such a good dad ❤️

[@angelfishluva291]

Annie Potts should have wrote.. "George, you can have my Brisket recipe now!!!"

[@DarthOminis]

I thought she already gave it to him when Sheldon threatened to leak it anyway?

[@Unversed333]

​@@DarthOminisno, Sheldon told him.

[@doriwilson6991]

😂 that would have been perfect.

[@triciam6765]

I loved this show. It was a perfect way to show the family's journey on that last fateful day. Especially poignant to me was the preparations for the family picture. Such a simple beautiful event that in the end wasn't meant to be. When the Coopers went to the door and heard the devastating news, seeing them in their matching attire made it even more evident the hole George's loss would bring. I couldn't have asked for a more fitting and heart wrenching ending to a character so beloved.

[@wiccabanks7291]

I loved George Cooper, I was gutted when he died, Lance Barber Is brilliant ❤️

[@krishnaats7141]

It was one of the best episodes of the series. I bawled like a baby.. especially When Mary gets angey and emotional in the church with the open casket. I was angry when my dad died too.. but was overcome with helplessness and darkness.

[@geminiumralte9552]

i knew this was coming but still it's enough to make a grown man tear up

[@shawnharris5682]

With the new Georgie spinoff happening, and it follows the YS timeline, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of any of the characters - including George. They could do a flashback, or Georgie “talks” to George if he’s really stressed out.

[@SteveBrant55]

I'm old enough to remember when the character of Henry Blake died in a plane crash on M*A*S*H. I think it's great this show portrayed Sheldon'd dad's death.

[@lindabecconsall6317]

I still cry watching the rerun of the episode of MASH where Henry Blake dies. Carroll O'Connor won an Emmy for the episode when Edith Bunker died. Edith also died off screen too.

[@astrofan1993]

The difference is, though, no one in the audience knew that Henry Blake was going to die. It came entirely out of left field, stunning many people who saw it. On the other hand, those of us who saw The Big Bang Theory knew for years that George was going to pass away when Sheldon was just a teenager. So the whole series had been building up to this exact moment. It is still a heart-wrenching scene, however.

[@kp22kc]

@@lindabecconsall6317 although Carroll O'Connor did win 4 Emmys for playing Archie Bunker on All in the Family, he did not win for the episode when they say Edith has passed away. That episode was in the 2nd season of Archie Bunker's Place, for which O'Connor was never nominated. He did go on to win his 5th Emmy for In the Heat of the Night.

[@greghanes5808]

I got to meet Alan Alda years ago. I asked him about this episode and he said that nobody actually knew that Henry was going to die. And they handed Gary Burghoff his lines on his clipboard that he's holding in his hand when he walks into the ER and he only have minutes to read it. So his reaction and everybody's reactions were completely spontaneous

[@gachapawn6663]

maybe just maybe, why TBBT Sheldon was kind of harsh to his father was because its his way of trying to handle the death of his father alone. Hes always been special and insensitive so no one will get him. So he make himself believe George is a bad father, so its easier for him to accept his dads death.

[@Thatkidclapper14]

Hope they do the same with Georgie and Mandy, for instance Sheldon gets mad at his brother after his fathers death and loses connection with Georgie and someone lies to Sheldon in tbbt that makes him think that Georgie and Mandy divorced but in reality they stayed happily married

[@user-fp7ik1se3t]

After watching the entire all seasons of young Sheldon, and comparing it to TBBT, I have always felt that’s why he talked about his father as a cheating, drunk husband and father. It was his way of handling his death.

[@debra2700]

@@user-fp7ik1se3t TBBT was on for 12 seasons and the idea for Young Sheldon was thought of only a few years before TBBT ended. They could only walk back so much about George as a husband and father on Young Sheldon when even Mary Cooper, a pious and deeply religious woman had basically nothing good to say about her husband when she was a character on TBBT.

[@AB_Artz14]

Woah, the accent change is , wow.😊

[@UkeCan1]

He looks different too ... I didn't realize who he was at first!

[@michaelfrei454]

It was played well.. with sympathy and care… good job guys…

[@gringogreen4719]

I think it was a bad thing done well. Having it happen off screen definitely hits more like something that happens in real life where you find out about someone's passing after the fact. Still, it was a tough scene overall.

[@Aud_slayzz13]

Missy’s reaction breaks my heart

[@davidely7032]

Lance may be sad that his time as a core cast member may be over and I'm sure he's feeling some sadness for that. But I expect he is enjoying the outpouring of love and affection for his character, something that the other actors won't really experience. Their characters will all end as their show ends, but Lance gets a ... spotlight, a focus that others will have diluted when their time comes along for the end of every character.

[@sylviarussell8832]

I remember when he played Lenore’s HS bully on Big Bang Theory. The actor was perfect for the dad part in young Sheldon and the ending was as foretold in BBT. Fantastic job to all

[@stephenshelton4267]

I've viewed Young Sheldon as superior to Big Bang Theory for years. There's just something about a sitcom with no laugh track and 3D sets that seems to force the producers into a different type of storytelling than seen in regular sitcoms. I enjoyed The Middle and I believe Young Sheldon started the season after The Middle ended. Aside from the stories shows like this tend to have a large cast of supporting characters and locales. I was really starting to enjoy the whole George and Mandy storyline so I'm very happy to hear that they are getting their own show, and that it will keep this cast of characters together.

[@richardbidinger2577]

It also helps that the kid that plays young Sheldon is an exceptional actor.

[@frpgplayer]

BBT without the sound track fails miserably as a comedy,just like Friends without the track. Hope the third spinoff works. The less of Sheldon would be great unless this takes an alternate time storyline. Maybe Sheldon can be saved with this. Doubt they'll do it. His behavior can't be saved. Who could really help his humanity would be Paige, but she needs a different man than Sheldon.

[@stephenshelton4267]

@@richardbidinger2577 He really is, and I'm curious how close he would seem like Jim Parsons (?) once he reaches his late 20s, but I also think the girl playing Missy is outstanding. I've liked everyone on this show TBH.

[@stephenshelton4267]

@@frpgplayer The kid plays Sheldon perfectly, but I think we know enough about the character. He's moving to CA so he likely won't appear much. The traditional setup, punchline, laugh track, repeat style of most sitcoms can be entertaining but it is not conducive to much depth and character development. Ghosts is another sitcom that I believe works as a comedy without falling in that trap.

[@kp22kc]

@@frpgplayer BBT and Friends don't fail because the laughs are missing, they fail because they are written and acted to have the laughs. When you take the laughs out you can see the pauses the actors make and it's very disjointed. If they were acted without an audience the shows would probably work just fine.

[@MermaidGal90]

I love that they mentioned “This is Us” because when Jack’s death episode aired, I bawled like a baby. And even though I knew George’s death was coming since I also watched “The Big Bang Theory”, I still bawled like a baby as I watched this past episode

[@kaykiessling5029]

That meeting at the door tore me up.. 😢💔

[@mikemahoney6840]

It was so real the way the front door meeting happened.That is exactly how it would happen.I thought Mary's reaction began before they told her George had died.I get the impression that she knew in her gut that he wasn't coming home.Very sad and moving.This series left a permanent mark on America.This shows the potential that TV has.Television has grown stale over the last 20 years.All the cop shows and medical shows and nothing really original but this show was unique.It was a comedy but not entirely.

[@countalucard4226]

This show was perfectly cast.

[@mikemahoney6840]

All the actors brought their best talent to this show.No lightweights here.Annie Potts is special.She was great in Designing women too.Great in all her work.Missy and Georgie and Sheldon have bright futures and Zoe Perry and Lance Barber are superb as well.

[@countalucard4226]

@@mikemahoney6840 100% agree. You summed it up.

[@joycejohnson6329]

To me what was so heartbreaking was so many times we're going about our normal routine or our life has come together where we're content with where it seems to be going and the unexpected loss happens that shatters us. It comes out of the blue and hits like a punch to our hearts. I know it's happened to my family and me.

[@Everyoneloveskinley]

George’s death had me ugly crying for 40 minutes. I swear it broke me emotionally. Absolutely amazing acting all these actors are so talented. I have never cried so much over a TV show.❤❤

[@joshlouie]

i really felt that something will happen to George on the latest episode esp when they showed him on the ladder. i thought he was going to fall there. they made it subtle but not showing what happened to him and instead his colleagues just informed the family. i was touch and i was hoping that George will do a cameo on the spin off itself. i guess they will as flashback. very touching episode! 😪

[@Barbara-jq2se]

Zoey Perry & Lance Barber have been really interesting parents. Yup, it’s gonna be a difficult how Mary Cooper handles this loss of her husband’s loss. Including the other children. Doesn’t matter how old you are = death “stings” potently! But you will be truly missed!

[@lovereaderphoebe]

I just finished watching the last three episodes and I was sobbing. Well written and well acted.

[@mcarr4537]

Great explanation of actors characters and the telling of the story.

[@nevg21]

This episode hit me so hard. I lost my Dad in 2020 so I can relate. It was worse then the death of Jack on This Is Us because of the timing of it. There are all these positive things happening to the entire Cooper family and then wham! So sad and tragic. RIP George!

[@sadia2395]

Same.Lost my father 2 months back.Not sure how will I react to watching the episode,havent yet

[@JMS33975]

I’m so sorry for your loss ❤

[@lindabecconsall6317]

The episode being just a day in a life made George's death sadder. Although, I wished George had kissed Mary goodbye. Poor Missy will regret choosing to take the bus to school rather than accepting a ride from her Dad. Sheldon seems to have buried the fact that he didn't say goodbye to his Dad one last time. 😢💔

[@Barbara-jq2se]

Thank you for sharing/showing that part of the show meaning the description of what was to come.

[@natiblaga99]

Damn... I Actually tear up at this episode 😢

[@jaysongonzalez6025]

I fcking cried

[@sabamesfin634]

Me too

[@mikemahoney6840]

Me too.Next weeks episode is George's funeral.That should be intense

[@judyjudkins9494]

I knew this was going to happen and still bawled my eyes out when it did. So hard to believe a great show is ending😒

[@shawnmccree8613]

Although I knew it was coming I still cried 😔 I love the show and I hate that it's coming to an end

[@Springbok314]

I still find it interesting that the mother of Sheldon was played by an actual mother-daughter duo in the Big Bang and in Young Sheldon.

[@iamaidansmith7542]

Is anyone else watching interviews with lance barber to feel better about georges death

[@cristinasneed3022]

This was a surprise. I thought they were coming to tell George that the college offer had been rescinded. What a surprise that he had a heart attack. instead.. made me cry.

[@debra2700]

George's weight put him in the obese category, he didn't exercise and drank a lot of beer and ate a lot of brisket and other fattening food. Who couldn't see a heart attack in his future?

[@cmdrdatayt]

One thing the last three episodes did was to correct what seemed to be a discontinuity between the shows in Sheldon's personal growth. Young Sheldon showed him becoming a better person, better than Sheldon was at the beginning of The Big Bang Theory. But the depiction of Sheldon dealing with his father's death reset him and reverted him to being more introverted, self-centered, and to someone with thick shields to protect himself from human interaction.

[@COFFEEBlack-yk4kq]

I was shocked. ididnt watch TBBT.. HAHA my fav character next to meemaw.. THANKS LANCE YOURE SO COOL MABUHAY KA❤

[@joeslater2390]

They all killed it (no pun intended)

[@artforlifelady]

I hope they were able to get that scene right on the first take. So emotional!

[@joeslater2390]

@artforlifelady I didn't even think about that part, they had to be crushed after that

[@traydaniel0403]

I wish some actors from the Big Bang Theory returns to reprise their roles like Laurie Metcalf as older Mary Cooper and Kailey Cuoco as Penny. Especially I hope to see their song Leonard Cooper

[@robertmoore2049]

I always think of the announcement of the death of the character Henry Blake on the classic tv series of M*A*S*H watching this…

[@SleepyJukebox-vv9dy]

Sheldon Cooper

[@evedarth1]

I cried my eyes out... I wish it didn't need to end.

[@mikemahoney6840]

Unfortunately to stay True to the Big Bang Theory story George had to die.I heard Chuck Lorre regrets killing him off but there was no choice.

[@boomer2095]

Damn, I would not have recognized Lance as George if I walked up to on the street. The look,the mannerisms and the speech are not the same. Lance looks and speaks as a much younger version of the character he plays

[@Davidstone568]

That scene was so real it probably didn't need rehearsals. The grief was real. Cut and remember everybody that George is not really gone

[@kimberleyleane8729]

Couldn't stop the tears on this purely because its so real, someone just walks out the door like every other day without a second thought and doesnt come back 😭 and sheldon going over it again and again on what he wish he could of said so real

[@gerryfarley6266]

I cried. I will miss this show.

[@ellakim3656]

I really love George because he is really like my father. I just finished watching it right now and I'm crying; thinking that it's my father really hurts me. 💔

[@lisawilliams8657]

I love this show and sad and we will miss george

[@Savvymoon-]

Never cried so hard in my life. It was extremely painful.

[@sxnqie]

what was most heartbroken were missy so excited to not see sheldon anymore to all of sudden a much bigger issue than sheldon happen and their father died

[@thefastelephant94]

I wasn't ready 😢

[@Bartcmh]

I knew it was coming but was still like a dagger to the heart.

[@GrandmaLoves2Scuba]

I cried watching it last night. I'm crying again. This hurts. Is that odd?

[@triciam6765]

No, I think most viewers probably cried. I know my husband and I did. You are not alone in your tears.

[@baronluigi2738]

I cry everytime I see it, because it feels very realistic. Something similar happened to my grandfather from my father's side.

[@Barbara-jq2se]

Hurting enough due to the losses of so many series that I really enjoyed watching & can’t give a thumbs either way.

[@badwolverinex17]

Young Sheldon is way, way, way better show than TBBT. I cried my a$$ out when George passed away... So sad to see this show end, it had phenomenal writing, great humor and amazing characters...

[@DarkLock450]

Fly high my friend fly high 🕊

[@Oce67]

I didn’t watch Big Bang Theory. I didn’t know George was going to die. I have been watching Young Sheldon but I was clueless. I cried, I didn’t have a good childhood didn’t have a father that cared stepfather was a monster. I cry a lot watching TV shows wishing my life was different. I know it’s not real, I wish I could change it go back in time.

[@8thMaestreo]

Ive just been binge watching this series and i know its fictional but theres just something like youre connected to the characters and in my thoughts "hes gone" and considering that sheldon, missy and georgie was still young... Imagine that in real life

[@allisonstampley7155]

I knew it was coming and it was still sad 😢

[@NilGalliguer]

That’s true, dear Allison! Impossible not cry, cause the art touch our heart about the real things of life. 😢❤️ My best wishes from Brazil...

[@anthonyanderson9398]

I watch the last Episodes it was 😔 ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@SeekandDewhiplash]

This hit almost as hard as Marshall's dad's death in How I met Your Mother. They did this very well!

[@reecemilne5179]

Will there be an episode 13

[@cube5518]

There’s 2 episodes left

[@natvan29]

I think ep 13 is the funeral

[@SweetHeartHolly1982]

How can Sheldon say that he didn't have any friends when his dad went on? When Sheldon is shown during what I guess is a funeral moment, Dr. Sturgis is sitting right behind him. My only question is will Tam, Paige, and Dr. Linkletter be there? Sheldon's video game college dorm buddies could also be there. I love when they carried Sheldon to the bathroom when he got sick from eating so much junk food. (laughing) God bless you and each cast member always!!! Holly in east TN

[@debra2700]

When Howard's mother died on TBBT, Sheldon tells him that at least he has friends. Sheldon meant friends like Leonard, Penny, Raj, Howard, Bernadette and Amy when he considers people his true friends and not Dr. Sturgis. Tam. Paige and Dr. Linkletter.

[@shallowgal462]

Thank you for all those spoilers for _This Is Us!_

[@itsbello__]

right? like wtf🤣😭?

[@enoughstuff333]

😢❤

[@RyanSmith-bv4ht]

If George Sr really was dead in the series he wouldn't be helping himself to French toast and calling Leonard Nancy later on

[@pegph4988]

They must have liked the actor even though that bully character was super unlike able.

[@RyanSmith-bv4ht]

@@pegph4988 Constance Tucker is played by Annie Potts in Young Sheldon and played by June Squibb in Big Bang Theory. Mary Cooper is played by Zoe Perry in Young Sheldon and played by Laurie Metcalf in Big Bang Theory so you only see in both is Lance Barber. This is the only episode where Sheldon's dad appears physically and he only appeared in a tape in a Season 12 episode of Big Bang Theory. If Sheldon's dad was really dead in the series (Particularly if he dies in Young Sheldon) he wouldn't be helping himself to that french toast

[@burtonwilliams5355]

💔😢😢😢

[@SayanHaqueOfficial]

Wow 😮 😢😢😢

[@ashmcdaniel5503]

It was pitch perfect

[@UkeCan1]

I've never heard Lance Barber speaking as himself. He sounds nothing like George Cooper. He almost doesn't look like him either! I didn't realize it was him at first.

[@Ranchladytmd]

I love Lance!

[@Paulzpc]

I don't get emotional over tv shows, but death is a real thing and that eposide hit me, we all have lost someone dear to us, and although Young Sheldon is a charter the heartfelt feelings of losing someone was real so, I love it and disliked it all at the same time it was a fitting well done ending.

[@phyllisrogers847]

Oh it's so sad I love that show I cannot watch the end of it like that no way no way no way I'm going to miss it cuz I watched it every week I thought it was a real good show

[@debra2700]

Lance Barber played the bully who picked on Leonard in school in TBBT.

[@kylaina]

I don’t know if I’m old enough to watch this episode.

[@emiliobello2538]

Young Sheldon changed the original storyline of Sheldon’s father

[@FrancieMoon9]

George is legendary!

[@FrancieMoon9]

My dad died unexpectedly of a heart attack when I was 14 years old

[@LBF522]

Killing off a main character is always hard on the viewers.

[@mikemahoney6840]

I would've preferred that they had one more season where we see them recovering from this tragedy

[@akarion9917]

1:37 He's still 15

[@merodatesfaye5690]

Whattt it don't have to beeeeee😢😢😢😢😢

[@rommelpontilaireneo7293]

😢😢😢😢😢 😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@silzeppelin]

😢

[@chuckdelak]

It’s so sad

[@doctorpaul34]

We all knew it was coming, I just really hated to see it happen

[@rachelburris1661]

Kind of reminded me when James Evans finally got a better job and died before he started

[@mikemahoney6840]

I remember that.That also was devastating

[@kayerobbins3048]

Was shocking to say the least. So sad.

[@janjohnson6414]

I am wrecked they did this. The show was ending! Why not let that death happen after the show ended. You watch a program for years and come to love it and the characters, and then to repay you for your loyalty they KILL a beloved character, so that when you remember the show, it's not all the comedy and fun, it's that heavy-hearted death. I am really mad they did this and very sad. I'm glad Lance Barber is happy about it because I am not!

[@ice_fox]

Thanks for spoiling This is Us 👍

[@thejanusproject32]

RIGHT?!?

[@MsJAC28]

why did you read it?

[@soberguy778]

I hope the bad news never come

[@tigers9879]

It was good how they did it.. but getting him snipped the episode before this.. made him seem he was in good health.. should have put that earlier..

[@Puppetmaker]

Is this real or just for the show

[@talalaljuhani3953]

They got me bad , I just couldn’t believe that a show would make me so angry 😢 it supposed to be a comedy show for God’s sake

[@blaineknutson6847]

Look one heart attach then again men don't generally survive the second heart attach my dad's dad said after the first if that happens again I won't make it and he was right.