Warning! Spoilers ahead for Young Sheldon season 7, episode 12.

Summary

• George's death happened off-screen, but Young Sheldon season 1 offered an idea about how the tragedy went down.
• In Young Sheldon season 1, episode 3, Sheldon was rushed to the hospital for having a heart attack, where he was shown visibly struggling throughout the whole ordeal
• Tackling his death on-screen after all these years would have been far too heartbreaking for Young Sheldon.

George's death went down off-screen, but Young Sheldon retconned George's cheating scandal story, helping the show's effort to rehabilitate the character's image. Unfortunately, it couldn't change his death, although the prequel delayed it as much as they could.

In Young Sheldon season 7, episode 12, “A New Home and a Traditional Texas Torture,” things appear to be already turning a corner for the Coopers. George's life, in particular, is on the precipice of a major breakthrough following his Rice College coaching offer. In the cruelest way possible, Young Sheldon takes it away, when he dies due to a heart attack. The tragedy was long expected, but it was still difficult to get through watching Mary, Missy, and Meemaw receive the news of George's ing. Still, Young Sheldon could have made his demise much more heartbreaking.

Young Sheldon Season 1 Showed George Suffering From A Heart Attack

George Had Two Mini-Heart Attack Before His Fatal One In Young Sheldon Season 7.

Early in its run, the prequel already showed George suffering from a heart attack. In Young Sheldon season 1, episode 3, "Poker, Faith, and Eggs," Sheldon's father was rushed to the emergency room for having chest pains and difficulty breathing. The outing prominently featured a visibly struggling George, and it was very difficult to watch, considering that his death was established in The Big Bang Theory. Even as the doctors worked on him, and he was breathing heavily with all the medical apparatus connected to him, Young Sheldon stayed with him and chronicled the ordeal.

This gives the viewers a good idea of how George's death happened years later in Young Sheldon season 7, which is helpful, considering that the tragic news doesn't come with any additional details regarding what really went down that caused his demise. While he did have another mini-heart attack in the Young Sheldon season 4 finale during his flirtatious relationship with Brenda Sparks, The Big Bang Theory prequel didn't fully explore his medical emergency because the focus was on the brewing affair between George and the Coopers' next-door neighbor. Ultimately, however, nothing came out of the tease.

Why Young Sheldon Did George's Death Off-Screen

George's Death Is Young Sheldon And The Big Bang Theory's Worst Tragedy.

The Young Sheldon season 1 episode was able to get away with staying on George and prominently tackling his heart attack because he was confirmed to survive by the end of it. Tackling the narrative early in its run knowing that his fate was already determined in The Big Bang Theory was a way for the show to get people invested. It also set up the exploration of Sheldon's faith as he prayed for his father's safety.

Seven years later and with the established tragedy set to happen, Young Sheldon could not devote the same screentime to George's actual known death because the thought of losing him was already too heartbreaking.

Seven years later and with the established tragedy set to happen, Young Sheldon could not devote the same screentime to George's actual known death because the thought of losing him was already too heartbreaking. At its core, the show is still a comedy series, and doing so could make it difficult to leave it on a high note when it ends. The Young Sheldon finale will still tackle George's funeral but only for its first half, with its final half-hour devoted to wrapping up Sheldon's arc.

Young Sheldon finale airs on May 16, 8pm ET on CBS.