Georgie And Mandy's First Marriage: Episode 10's Feud Explains How Mary Will Become Her Big Bang Theory Self

Contains spoilers for "Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage" Season 1, Episode 10 — "A House Divided"

There's nothing harder than trying to mediate a brawl in the family, and that's just what Georgie (Montana Jordan) and Mandy Cooper (Emily Osment) have to do when their moms get into it in "A House Divided." The reason? Audrey (Rachel Bay Jones) and Mary (Zoe Perry) start fighting over who has the right to spend more time with baby Cece and who the child takes after. They accuse each other of hogging the baby; Mary even sneaks pictures of herself with Cece into a photo album, something Audrey calls passive-aggressive. 

Multiple attempts at a resolution come about, but Mary strikes back from the pulpit, using God and her religion to belittle Audrey. This isn't the first time Mary and Audrey have gotten into it — indeed, "Young Sheldon" fans cheered when Mary went to bat for Mandy against Audrey. But this episode is a major reflection of Mary's growing reliance on her Baptist faith to act as a cudgel and protective barrier against pain, as she continues to have problems figuring out how life works without George Sr. (Lance Barber). 

Slowly but surely, Mary's becoming the icy woman who is so religious on "The Big Bang Theory" and who so discomfits Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and his friends there. Her hyper-conservatism can still be punctured by moments of rage or sadness, but this is the Mary whom "Big Bang Theory" fans will come to loathe. As of this moment, she isn't quite the strident warrior of faith she will become in 10 years or so. But she still manages to be a thorn in the side of the kids. 

Mary, of course, wasn't always so grating. During the majority of "Young Sheldon," she's religious but reasonable, very different from how she is in "The Big Bang Theory," and doesn't always agree with the church's preaching. For instance, she's willing to go against the church when Pastor Jeff (Matt Hobby) preaches a sermon against Georgie and Mandy's out-of-wedlock conception of Cece. It causes her to leave her job with the organization. George Sr.'s death does change everything, causing Mary to cling harder to scripture and to God's ways, while turning her into a more blatantly aggressive, less tolerant practitioner of her faith. Her concern is saving their souls, for better or worse.

While Georgie and Mandy do lock horns over which of their moms happens to be right, they don't fall apart and their marriage stays above the chaotic fray for once. Score one for their constantly-embattled union, although it helps that Mandy's relationship with Audrey is always a little frayed around the edges. The saddest part of it all, of course, is that we know Georgie's relationship with Mary is set to get worse — as it does for his brother and sister.