‘Young Sheldon’ Star Officially Calls Out Jim Parsons’ “Dreaded” Finale Scene 2 Years Later

6 days ago 31

Raegan Revord, Annie Potts, and Iain Armitage seated together in Young Sheldon

Published Oct 23, 2026, 2:36 PM EDT

Ryan O'Rourke is a Senior News Writer at Collider with a specific interest in all things adult animation, video game adaptations, and the work of Mike Flanagan. He is also an experienced baseball writer with over six years of articles between multiple outlets, most notably FanSided's CubbiesCrib. Whether it's taking in a baseball game, a new season of Futurama or Castlevania: Nocturne, or playing the latest From Software title, he is always finding ways to show his fandom. When it comes to gaming and anything that takes inspiration from it, he is deeply opinionated on what's going on. Outside of entertainment, he's a graduate of Eureka College with a Bachelor's in Communication where he honed his craft as a writer. Between The IV Leader at Illinois Valley Community College and The Pegasus at Eureka, he spent the majority of his college career publishing articles on everything from politics to campus happenings and, of course, entertainment for the student body. Those principles he learned covering the 2020 election, Palestine, and so much more are brought here to Collider, where he has gleefully written on everything from the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes to Nathan Lane baby-birding sewer boys.

Two years after the finale aired, Young Sheldon still looms large in the wider Big Bang Theory universe. Its spin-off, Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage, is still going strong in its third season, returning as television's highest-rated comedy during CBS' premiere week and still featuring many of the Cooper family members viewers grew to love over seven seasons. However, Sheldon Cooper (Iain Armitage) himself has been left in the past/future following a two-part final story that sent him off to Caltech and linked the prequel up with the mothership series. Most notably, it welcomed Jim Parsons back as the modern version of Sheldon alongside his wife, Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik), who now have two children.

While seeing Parsons again was a full-circle moment for the series and a "gift" for the actor, it was also a reminder of the very different tone of the two shows. The version of Sheldon viewers came to know in The Big Bang Theory was often immature, growing in some key ways throughout the sitcom but keeping a lot of his more frustrating qualities even after forming a relationship with Amy. It stood in contrast to Young Sheldon's exploration of the genius at a young age as he evolved with guidance from the people who loved him. As shown with Georgie & Mandy, the rest of the spin-off's cast became worth following as well, turning the Sheldon-centric show into a portrait of the entire family. One person who was particularly put off by the moment was the series' "Meemaw," Annie Potts.

In the recently released tell-all book, Young Sheldon: The (Juicier-Than-Meemaw’s-Brisket) Inside Story of the Hit Comedy, author Jessica Radloff spoke to Potts about the finale and her thoughts on the series overall, and she didn't mince words when it came to Parsons and Bialik's cameo. She was beyond frustrated that, as the show flashed back to Sheldon penning his memoir, he was still the same as he appeared in The Big Bang Theory. In her eyes, it felt as if the growth he experienced and the overall efforts of the show were swept under the rug in favor of bringing back the characters everyone knew.

“That broke my heart. It was like, ‘Really? Still no responsibility?’ It was just selfishness. It’s just not how I wish to see Sheldon off into the world. … I thought the show could have ended [with young Sheldon] and not to the dreaded scene with Jim and Mayim as Sheldon and Amy revealing he was unchanged and unrepentant. That gave me a stomachache. It was like, ‘Who crashed our party?! Who invited you?'”

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ABeing part of something larger than myself — a cause, a rebellion, a fight for freedom that outlasts me. BThe journey itself — the places I'll go, the companions beside me, the world I'll discover on the way. CLearning — unlocking what I'm capable of, understanding the world's hidden mechanics, growing into something more. DLegacy — the name I leave behind, the power I build, the mark I make before the world moves on without me. EUnderstanding — exploring what exists beyond the horizon and asking what it means to be alive in a universe this vast.

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AA galaxy of planets, each with its own culture — connected by conflict, trade, and the Force. BAncient lands of breathtaking beauty, deep history, and a creeping darkness at the edges. CA world hidden inside our own — full of wonder, community, and magic waiting to be learned. DA brutal, beautiful continent where power is everything and every alliance is a calculation. EA future where humanity has reached the stars — and must decide what kind of species it wants to be.

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AI want to use it to protect — and I'm terrified of what I might become if I'm not careful. BI distrust it. The most important power in this story is the courage to give it up. CI want to earn it — through knowledge, through effort, through becoming someone worthy of it. DI want to wield it. Preferably before someone else decides to wield it against me. EI want to understand it — its structures, its limits, its ethical dimensions. Power without accountability is the real threat.

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AThat hope is real — that even in the darkest galaxy, a new hope is always possible. CThat even the smallest person can change the course of the future, if they have the courage to try. CThat love and friendship and doing what's right will matter in the end, even when everything says otherwise. DThat the wheel keeps turning — that power shifts, winters end, and what endures is those willing to fight for it. EThat humanity — or whatever we become — is capable of extraordinary things, if we choose to be.

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'Young Sheldon's Spin-Off Didn't Sit Well With the Cast at First

Iain Armitage as Sheldon Cooper in 'Young Sheldon'

Potts' frustrations were meant towards Bialik and Parsons specifically, but their presence at all left a bad taste in her mouth from a series that became such a success on its own merits. It also hasn't stopped her from joining Zoe Perry, Montana Jordan, Raegan Revord, and more in Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage. Her and other stars' thoughts on the show weren't the rosiest at first, either. The book also details how the spin-off following Jordan and Emily Osment's characters was kept well under wraps for so long until the final season, prompting some frustration from the actors and the parents of the younger stars, who felt as if they weren't being trusted.

Potts admitted it was a bit of a "blow" to not be brought back as a regular, considering how deeply connected she was to the couple in Young Sheldon. She couldn't shake the feeling that Meemaw and other characters weren't as highly valued, even if that wasn't the intention. The lack of transparency from the beginning left a lot of awkwardness in the room, even if the Coopers now continue to get together on the hit sitcom.

“And I guess, especially since the last two years of Sheldon, they set me up with bringing Georgie into the gambling room, and then they brought Emily in, and Mandy was living with Meemaw, so I was a little surprised that I wouldn’t have a [regular] place in the new show. I felt devalued. It’s like [they were saying], ‘It was fun to have you in this, but we don’t really need you in that because you don’t bring all that much to the party.’ So, being entirely honest, I will confess to having those sinking feelings of, like, just not feeling that worthwhile.”

Young Sheldon is currently streaming on HBO Max.