Georgie And Mandy's First Marriage: Georgie's Zombie Dream Twist, Explained

Contains spoilers for Season 1, Episode 12 of "Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage" — "Typhoid Georgie"

When Georgie Cooper (Montana Jordan) comes down with a fever and cold symptoms in "Typhoid Georgie," Episode 12 of "Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage," he feels guilty staying home from his job at the tire store. That leads to him dreaming about his dad, George Sr. (Lance Barber), who makes his return to the world of "Young Sheldon" via this "Georgie and Mandy" appearance. The dream George mocks his son for not being strong enough to go to work in his condition. Missing George Sr.'s love and guidance, Georgie hugs his dad, to the latter's surprise — and then George Sr. turns into a zombie, menacingly demanding his son get back on the job. Georgie tries, but is waylaid by Connor (Dougie Baldwin), who insists that he get back into bed.

The choice to end Georgie's dream on such a jarring note was an important one, per co-creator and co-executive producer Steve Holland. Even though Barber himself noted how moving it was to stand in the Cooper's old kitchen set, it was imperative for the moment to stand out. "We thought it would be a nice sort of surprise and a shock for the audience, and it was," he told TVLine. He added that Lance Barber enjoyed getting to put on full zombie makeup for the final shot. 

While this twisty scene might lead to further appearences from Barber on "Georgie and Mandy," some members of the crew were unfortunately less than thrilled by the notion of George Sr. as a shambling creature of the night.

Steve Holland admitted to TVLine that not everyone who read the episode's script was enthralled by George Sr.'s zombification. "There was a lot of talk about that, and people were upset. I think even reading it, in a good way, they were like, 'No, I don't want to see him like that!'" he admitted. But the scene did manage to get off the ground — mostly because it does a good job of reminding us that this isn't really George we're seeing, but a version of George that exists only in Georgie's head.

Ironically, it's his father's death that makes Georgie realize he needs to take better care of himself. His father's heart problems may have been averted if he'd paid more attention to his health. That makes Georgie realize that sometimes a down day is really what you need, inner scold or not — even if it comes in the form of your zombified dad.