Young Sheldon viewers were reduced to tears following the emotional finale – which saw Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik reprise their roles as Sheldon Cooper and Amy Fowler from The Big Bang Theory to reunite for the first time in five years.
After seven seasons, the beloved CBS prequel ended with two heart-wrenching episodes on Thursday night.
The penultimate installment – titled Funeral – kicked off with George Cooper Sr’s open casket funeral after his sudden death following a heart attack at work.
In another gut punch, Young Sheldon, played by Iain Armitage, decided he didn’t want to say goodbye to his father before the burial and was wracked with guilt.
Young Sheldon viewers were left in floods of tears following the emotional finale of the CBS series
Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik reprised their Big Bang Theory characters Sheldon Cooper and Amy Fowler for the first time in five years
The closing chapter, Memoir, which saw the 14-year-old discover he would be going to CalTech, also jumped into the future to reveal Amy and Sheldon had two children, son Leonard and a daughter.
The finale moment showed Sheldon arriving on the campus, with a man asking him: ‘You lost?’
‘No. I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be,’ he replied as the series, which launched in September 2017, concluded.
Fans voiced their heartache as the series with many claiming the devastating scenes had reduced them to tears.
‘My face is literally soaked in tears watching this Young Sheldon finale lmao,’ wrote one viewer on X. ‘I didn’t expect this to be so heartbreaking.’
Another posted: ‘Young Sheldon Finale. I am totally heartbroken. To watch Sheldon and Amy one more time, it is just so sad.’
A third said: ‘Young Sheldon finale was beautiful, I’m crying.’
A fourth added: ‘Not the finale of Young Sheldon making me shed so many tears.’
Young Sheldon fans didn’t hold back their heartache following the conclusion of the series and flooded social media while sobbing
‘The finale of Young Sheldon was everything it needed to be and more!’ a fifth wrote. ‘Tears were a lot, but I enjoyed every moment of the two episodes that aired.
‘I will miss the cast being in that show more than people will know. Thanks for the memories and a pure comfort show for me.’
Viewers last saw Amy and Sheldon together in the finale of The Big Bang Theory, which aired for 12 seasons on CBS from September 2007 to May 2019.
In one of the flash forward scenes that aired on Thursday, Amy told Sheldon that he needed to get ready for their son’s hockey game.
‘Oh, I’m not going to that,’ Sheldon said while showing Amy his first laptop from 1994.
‘Terrific. What do you mean you’re not going?’ Amy replied.
‘Children on skates hitting a rubber puck with a stick. Why would I want to see that?,’ Sheldon said.
‘Because Leonard is your son, and he is one of those children,’ snapped Amy, revealing they named their boy after Sheldon’s best friend and roommate Leonard Leakey Hofstadter, who was played by Johnny Galecki on The Big Bang Theory.
The finale revealed that Sheldon and Amy have two children, son Leonard and a daughter
In the last episode, Amy tells Sheldon that their daughter wants to take acting classes
‘This is why I wanted to wait until cloning was possible. Because the old-fashioned way got us a hockey player,’ Sheldon said.
The show then momentarily flashed back to Sheldon’s mom Mary Cooper (Zoe Perry) just weeks after her husband’s death as she told Sheldon and Missy (Raegan Revord) they had to get baptized.
‘Sheldon, I know you’re not a fan of sports, but it would mean so much to Leonard to have his father in the stands supporting him,’ Amy said.
‘He knows I love him despite his foolish and embarrassing hobby,’ Sheldon fired back.
Amy then told Sheldon to get upstairs and take a shower.
Back in Texas, Missy at the last moment bailed on getting baptized, but Sheldon went through with it wearing yellow rubber boots, life vest, snorkel and mask.
‘Oh, my,’ Amy said while reading his memoir. ‘You never told me you were baptized.
‘I told you we never should’ve let Penny babysit,’ Sheldon said, referencing their aspiring actress neighbor Penny, who was played by Kaley Cuoco on The Big Bang Theory
‘Yes. And I got a pretty nasty ear infection for my troubles,’ Sheldon added.
‘And you went through with it just to please your mother,’ Amy pointed out.
‘She may not have understood me or the things I cared about, but she did everything she could for me. My dad did, too,’ Sheldon said.
‘That must’ve been great, having parents who supported you despite all your differences,’ Amy noted.
‘Yes. Looking back, that was the ultimate gift,’ Sheldon said.
‘Hey, smartest man in the world. I brought you to the water. Take a freakin’ sip,’ Amy said.
At this point, Sheldon then realizes that Amy was drawing a parallel and agreed to go to his son’s hockey game.
‘And, by the way, your daughter wants to take acting classes,’ Amy added.
Young Sheldon cast members Iain Armitage as Sheldon, Annie Potts as Meemaw, Craig T. Nelson as Coach Ballard, Raegan Revord as Missy, Lance Barber as George Sr., Emily Osment as Mandy, Montana Jordan as Georgie, Zoe Perry as Mary
Mayim, Kunal Nayyar, Melissa Rauch, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco and Jim are shown as The Big Bang Theory cast posed together in 2014 in Los Angeles
‘I told you we never should’ve let Penny babysit,’ Sheldon quipped, referencing their aspiring actress neighbor Penny, who was played by Kaley Cuoco on The Big Bang Theory.
The episode then showed young Sheldon in his family home after his mother sold it.
Executive producer Steve Holland explained why Big Bang Theory stars Mayim and Jim ended up being such major players in the grand finale.
Speaking to Variety, he said: ‘We decided we wanted to use them as more than just a cameo at the end, because we figured that also might be a thing more people expected and it might be able to catch them off guard.
‘Even though they know they’re in the episode, but then you cut to them right in the cold open. I think we found a really good balance for that.
‘Maybe some people expected to see them, but is there a way to still do it and maybe surprise people a little bit? So that’s really nice to hear.’
Young Sheldon recently found a new audience on Netflix, quickly becoming a hit on the streaming service.
CBS ordered a spin-off titled Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage that is focused on characters from Young Sheldon.
It will center on Sheldon’s brother Georgie, played by Montana Jordan, and his wife Mandy, played by Emily Osment.
Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage is expected to premiere later this year or early 2025.