Why Young Sheldon Season 7's Final Joke Makes No Sense

The ending of "Young Sheldon" may have provided its fans with a lot of closure, but it also gave viewers a very confusing and muddled final message. In many ways, it shows how the titular character (portrayed as an adult by Jim Parsons, returning from "The Big Bang Theory") continued to keep his selfish disposition despite supposedly discovering generosity in the finale of "The Big Bang Theory." The entire closing episode of the series is all about how Sheldon Cooper (Iain Armitage) must do something unselfish to comfort his mother, Mary (Zoe Perry), and give her some solace in the wake of his father's sudden death. Even though he's an atheist, he puts on a wet suit and allows himself to be baptized. As he tells his mother, he doesn't believe in God, but he loves and believes in her.

But in the present day, Sheldon is recalcitrant about making any kind of sacrifice regarding his children. He wants to spend his time alone in his study, working on his memoir, instead of going to his son Leonard's hockey game. Amy has to talk him into it through coaxing, wheedling, and pointing out that he's failed to practice what he preaches regarding self-sacrifice and discipline. He finally agrees to go — and even don the jersey of his son's hockey team after insisting he wouldn't — but one last jab puts Sheldon's redemption in question.

On the way out the door in the final episode of "Young Sheldon," Amy (Mayim Bialik) tells Sheldon that their daughter wants to be an actor. Sheldon reacts to this fact in exasperation and annoyance, saying, "I told you we never should've let Penny babysit," already prepared to avoid giving his blessing to such an outré career.

While this final "joke" doesn't make much sense, considering the arc of Sheldon's character was one away from selfishness and toward grace, one could argue that Sheldon is unknowingly replicating his father's reaction to his own brainy youth. As proud as George Cooper Sr. (Lance Barber) was of his son back in the day, he used to think his son stuck out in the crowd because he wasn't athletically gifted like the other Coopers. While Sheldon eventually receives his father's praise and attention, it takes a while for him to come around. Fans are left wondering if Sheldon and Amy's daughter will receive as much grace for her dreams. With her father's erratic character development at question, who knows what her future may hold?