Young Sheldon Season 7 Episode 3 Contradicts The Big Bang Theory In One Major Way

With a few notable exceptions, "Young Sheldon" usually does a fairly decent job of following the trail already blazed for Sheldon Cooper (Iain Armitage) by "The Big Bang Theory," but what takes place during Season 7's "A Strudel and a Hot American Boy Toy" completely negates a plot point heavily established by the prequel's parent show. In this episode, Sheldon converses first with a ticket inspector on the train he is riding — without the knowledge of his mother, Mary (Zoe Perry) — and then with a pair of police officers on the platform on which he is stranded in their native tongue. In both instances, his German is not just intelligible but practically flawless.

On the other hand, the Sheldon we meet on "The Big Bang Theory" (Jim Parsons) shows nothing resembling mastery over the language. During Season 1's "The Pancake Batter Anomaly," he recalls to Penny (Kaley Cuoco) that during his stay in Heidelberg, his German was so poor that he ended up being given an enema for gastrointestinal issues. Of course, he also tells Penny that he was a 15-year-old visiting professor and that his mother had flown home to help with the family's trailer, so perhaps his memory of the incident is faulty. Then again, it's impossible to ignore how bad his German is during his episode of "Fun with Flags" spotlighting the country in Season 5's "The Beta Test Initiation."

While some "Young Sheldon" fans think they finally understand the show's continuity errors with "The Big Bang Theory," chalking them up to Sheldon being an unreliable narrator, dozens of small differences still live on to rankle viewers. For instance, Sheldon claims during Season 1 of the parent show that he's been an honorary member of the Justice League since he was 5 — even keeping a membership card from the organization in his wallet.

However, "Young Sheldon," which begins when the character is 9 years old, follows the development of his interest in comic books, which he had previously considered as being for children. From that comic Sheldon wants in Season 6, Episode 7, "A Tougher Nut and a Note on File," to his purchase of a T-shirt bearing the iconic logo of the Flash, one of his signature wardrobe choices on "The Big Bang Theory," viewers see it all.

While some "Young Sheldon" fans feel the show is limited by what happens on "The Big Bang Theory," the prequel series changes up the timeline every now and again to allow for more character development — and fans of both shows would gladly agree that this is for the best.