Summary
- Many TBBT fans blame Sheldon's terrible character on his mother.
- In earlier seasons of Young Sheldon, Mary comes across as quite repulsive.
- The Season 7 Mary has little in common with her Season 1 version.
It's hard to imagine a more controversial character than Sheldon Cooper from CBS' cult sitcom The Big Bang Theory. His intelligence is astounding, but his attitude toward other people and general lack of social skills make him difficult to be around. At the same time, his antics are always fun to watch, but they definitely wouldn't be nice to experience. And this is the character that got his own spin-off.
When it debuted in 2017, Young Sheldon seemed like a nice little addition to TBBT, which was still on the air and going strong. But soon enough, The Big Bang Theory ended, and the prequel became one of CBS' flagship series.
In telling the story of Sheldon's childhood, YS explains how Dr. Cooper became what he was on the original show. And many viewers saw his mother, Mary, as the reason for his insufferability.
As a result, TBBT fans were quick to blame Sheldon's horrible personality on Mary and his upbringing, which is why she was one of the most hated characters in earlier seasons of Young Sheldon. But it seems that by Season 7, Mary has become one of the most complex characters on the show.
Mother of the Year?
There's no way to tell that Mary was a sweetheart right off the bat. Zoe Perry's character was actually very annoying at the beginning. Her religious zeal made her seem like a bigot who took all the fun out of everything she got involved in. But more importantly, Mary did not make a good impression as a mother.
Mary devoted herself to the family. She took care of the household and later combined her duties as a mother and wife with her work in the church. Her children were always fed and neat. But she made the fatal mistake of coddling Shelly and attending to his every need at the expense of her other children.
Character Evolution
However, things seem to have changed over the years. Sheldon is no longer Mary's only priority. With Cece coming into the family, Mary is much more focused on Georgie, Missy, and her granddaughter. Especially in Season 7, Mary no longer smothers Shelly with her care. In fact, when Sheldon gets a tutor in Germany, Mary laughs at his expense. And then she is much more attentive to Missy, her accomplishments and problems.
This just goes to show that Mary has realized that she has three children who all need her love, attention, and support. She stopped coddling Sheldon and became more critical of him, which is normal for a parent. And as a cherry on top, Mary has become much more fun – the German lady foreplay is a prime example. If that's not character development, I don't know what is.
Young Sheldon's two-episode finale will air May 16.