Young Sheldon Season 7 Cut Two Major Things From George Sr.'s Funeral

The "Young Sheldon" finale devastated fans, and that grief was primarily caused by George Sr.'s (Lance Barber) funeral. The Cooper family patriarch's death is the "Young Sheldon" moment everyone was dreading from the start of the series, and his send-off was an emotional affair. However, the funeral scenes almost contained more moments of humor to counteract the misery.

While speaking to Entertainment Weekly, "Young Sheldon" showrunner Steve Holland revealed that two running jokes were left on the chopping block. The first involved Georgie (Montana Jordan) and Mandy's (Emily Osment) baby crying throughout the funeral. The second, meanwhile, entailed Sheldon's (Iain Armitage) professors trying to distract the mighty little man with his favorite thing — science.

Holland explained that the cuts made for a better episode in the end, as the creators felt it was better to focus the story on Sheldon's point of view. That said, the decision to favor emotion over humor in the "Young Sheldon" finale was a big decision to make.

"Young Sheldon" is a sitcom, and most viewers go into such shows expecting to be tickled. However, the two-part finale mined influence from the tradition of Very Special Episodes, which deal with serious topics and often keep the humor to a minimum. In the interview with Entertainment Weekly, Steven Holland revealed that the creators struggled to find the right tone for the episode, but ultimately convinced themselves to present the subject of grief in an honest light.

"We had to give ourselves permission to not go for the joke all the time and to actually take a moment," he said. "This family's grieving, and the audience who has fallen in love with this family and with George Sr. will also be grieving, so it's okay for people to grieve. It's okay to have those emotions, and we didn't feel the need to always have the little offramp of a joke."

The "Young Sheldon" finale features scenes that rank among the saddest sitcom moments ever, and the reaction from fans suggests it touched many people in the feels. On the bright side, however, George Sr.'s death allowed "Young Sheldon" to solve a major plot hole from "The Big Bang Theory," so that's a positive that can be lifted from the sad occasion.