The Young Sheldon Scene That Went Too Far
You can't mention CBS' "Young Sheldon" without reminding people that it's more or less supposed to be a prequel/origin story for the main character Sheldon Cooper on "The Big Bang Theory" – trust us, we've tried, you literally can't. Over the course of "TBBT," Sheldon drops so many colorful and record-scratch-inducing anecdotes about what his family life was like as a kid that someone got the bright idea to scrape all of those moments together and create a profitable spinoff. It was a winning strategy that paid off for the network to the tune of 16 million live viewers during its first season (via Deadline).
If you were a loyal viewer of "TBBT" going into the new series, you already knew that certain things were going to happen. You knew that Sheldon (Iain Armitage) was going to argue with his teachers and have trouble making friends. You knew that Sheldon's mother was going to be very religiously devout and involved with the church. And you knew that Sheldon's dad was eventually going to have an affair. But even the most blatant spoilers can't make experiencing how these things happen unwatchable — which is why viewers were so affected by the Season 5, Episode 11 scene that went too far for Sheldon's father, George.
When George sees Mary enjoying Pastor Rob's company, it's too much for him
In the episode, titled "A Lock-In, a Weather Girl and a Disgusting Habit," Mary (Zoe Perry) helps with a church lock-in party for the kids while George (Lance Barber) does his best to avoid the temptation to spend time with Brenda (Melissa Peterman). During the course of his struggle, he shows up at the lock-in and accidentally happens upon his wife laughing and having a secret smoke with Pastor Rob (Dan Byrd). Although they clearly aren't doing anything wrong, you can tell by George's demeanor that he feels betrayed. He then proceeds to sneak away before anyone notices that he's there.
Fans of the show on Reddit have accused the writers of including that scene — and the overall storyline of Mary having a crush on Pastor Rob — to explain how George ends up cheating on her. Likewise, social media users have mixed feelings about this turn of events. MajorZombie7204 and Winter-Instance1973 are two of many who believe that there is never an excuse to cheat, no matter what the circumstances. But TheTopNotchedBrain has a different take, extolling the writers for adding depth and nuance to the couple's story that more closely reflects how messy the gray area of infidelity is in real life.