Though fans of ‘The Big Bang Theory’ knew it was coming, the death was still devastating.
The cast of Young Sheldon is grappling with a major loss.
On Thursday’s third-to-last episode of the Big Bang Theory prequel, Sheldon’s dad, George, died of a heart attack. It’s an ending Big Bang Theory fans knew to expect, but that didn’t make it any easier — for the cast or for viewers.
“I’ve had the luxury of emotionally preparing for this for seven years,” Lance Barber, who plays George on the series, told ET during a March set visit. “It doesn’t keep it from landing kind of strange on you when you’re in the moments.”
Montana Jordan and Zoe Perry, who play Sheldon’s brother, Georgie, and mother, Mary, agreed.
“I don’t know if there is any preparing anybody for it. It’s just going to have to hit you, hit you hard too,” Jordan told ET of George’s death, with Perry adding, “We knew we were gonna end around that time, but discovering how and is still kind of new to us. I imagine if it’s sad for us, it will be sad for people who have watched from the beginning.”
No matter how devastating George’s death is, the actor behind Sheldon, Iain Armitage, told ET that it’s not all sad.
“What I love is that the last episode that we’re seeing George in really is just a beautiful and great episode right up until the last [moment],” he said. “… You barely even see it coming, so it’s not like the whole episode is mournful and dreary.”
Barber noted that, while there will likely be “mixed reactions” to his character’s death, he’s hoping it will be a positive step in the closure process.
“I’m hoping everyone prepares themselves and uses this as a catharsis. I think some people may struggle with it and some people will celebrate it,” he said. “I hope, ultimately, everyone finds it satisfying in some way that we got to enjoy the beginning, middle and end of a story, and we get to move on to a new story [in the upcoming spinoff]. I think it’s all pretty neat.”
It’s not only George’s death that the cast has to grapple with, but also the end of their series.
“We have had some roller coasters of emotions and some tears, all the appropriate things you would expect after seven years of being together in this wonderful journey,” Barber told ET, with his onscreen mother-in-law, Annie Potts, agreeing, “It’s gonna be a very emotional time for us here and for those who have been watching the show.”
As for what fans will think of the upcoming two-part series finale, which will air May 16 on CBS, Armitage quipped, “I would hope they don’t hate it.”
“I’m a fan of Big Bang Theory and, I’m a bit biased, but… I have really enjoyed it,” he said. “I’m enjoying working on these final few episodes, so if I’m taking myself as my metric, I think it’s gonna perform well. Our writers are great and I fully trust them, so it’s hard for them to mess up.”
When it comes to the show’s legacy, Armitage knows exactly how he wants it to be remembered.
“In 20 or 30 years, or maybe 10 or 20 years, I hope that people who watch this show [now, who are] my age or a little older, are watching with their kids or are saying, ‘Oh, remember Young Sheldon? That was funny. I always liked that,'” he told ET. “… I’d like it to be a piece of nostalgia and a comfort show.”