How many writers does it take to disrespect a show's audience. ANSWER: minimum of 2; one to come up with the bad idea and at least one to say "Great Idea." The writers voluntarily drew Paige deeper into the family in season 6 beyond being Sheldon's alter ego. While acknowledging she's a fan favorite, they decide to cast her aside. They knew McKenna's career was bigger than Young Sheldon when they milked her appeal in season 6. So it's a sham to simply offer up she's a busy actress so a season 7 appearance was impractical. As you wrote, all they had to do is offer up an update on her doings thru another character and we'd be satisfied. That final episode was not as tightly written as they think so a line or two contrasting her path with Sheldon's would have been a treat.

What canon purists don't understand is when a fact is derived from a character's narration it is merely how they recall or interpret an event. Rather than declaring the clarification of George's affair a recon, I think it demonstrates that someone's interpretation or telling of something they saw does not make it true. A child often come to a better understanding of their parents when the child become a parent. I would not be surprised if the final episode, with Sheldon now himself a parent, reveals Young Sheldon to be a more nuanced understanding of his life and often contradictory to what he said during BBT.