Socially awkward science nerd Sheldon Cooper’s story has finally come to an end with a bittersweet two-part finale of Young Sheldon, a spinoff of the hugely popular sitcom The Big Bang Theory.

The final episode of Young Sheldon ended with the death of Sheldon’s father George Cooper (Lance Barber), and Jim Parsons — who played adult Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory and made him an immensely popular sitcom character, leading to the spinoff series — returned in the final episode to say farewell to Cooper Sr.

In doing so, adult Sheldon also helped resolve some continuity issues in the prequel that fans have been complaining about. One significant loose end that Jim Parsons’s version of Sheldon addresses is about his recollection of his late father.

In Young Sheldon, Cooper Sr is shown as a doting dad, which is quite different from the account that adult Sheldon gave in The Big Bang Theory. In the original sitcom, Cooper Sr was spoken of as a stereotypical ‘redneck Homer Simpson’ who was often the butt of his son’s jokes. Adult Sheldon described him as an alcoholic who neglected his family and had an affair. In fact, Sheldon’s famous habit of knocking thrice on the door — remember him going, ‘Penny… Penny… Penny…’ and knocking on Penny’s door? — stemmed from him discovering his father with another woman in the bedroom when he was a kid.

In the Young Sheldon finale, adult Sheldon sheds light on this discrepancy. He reflects, ‘For a long time, I focused on my father’s shortcomings. Now that I’m his age and have kids of my own, I realise he was just a person doing the best he could, and he did a lot. I didn’t say it at his funeral, but I can say it now. I loved my father. I will miss him forever.’

Earlier in the episode, adult Sheldon explains in a voiceover that he lacked the emotional maturity to cope with his father’s death as a child, which led him to later repress many positive memories of his father and paint him in an unflattering light.

In line with this admission, the final episode of Young Sheldon shows kid Sheldon being uptight and clinically logical about his father’s passing, avoiding the grieving process altogether. He also imagines various farewell scenes, from a simple ‘bye’ to a heartfelt ‘I love you’, but stops short of expressing it at his father’s funeral, underscoring adult Sheldon’s regret for not having done so.

A spinoff prequel to The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon aired from 2017 to 2024. Iain Armitage played the title role in Young Sheldon, alongside Zoe Perry, Lance Barber, Montana Jordan, Raegan Revord and Annie Potts. The series is currently streaming on Prime Video.