Although fans were initially skeptical about Young Sheldon, the show has done fairly well since it launched. Despite producing a few inconsistencies as compared to the main show, Young Sheldon provided insight into Sheldon's childhood before he became a Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist. Among other things, the show focuses on Sheldon's dynamic with his family, including his mother, father, grandmother, brother, and twin sister.
His mother, Mary Cooper, is one of the most loved characters of the show for her sweet demeanor and obvious love for Sheldon. Although the show often offers comic relief, there are some things about it that never fail to pull at the audience's heartstrings. Mary, in particular, is one character that viewers often feel sorry for on account of her unique traits and some of the things she does.
10 She's Too Attached To Sheldon
Despite having three kids, Mary was clearly partial to Sheldon. Given Sheldon's extraordinary mental aptitude and rapid development, it's no surprise he needed more attention than his siblings. While it may have started out as Mary tending to Sheldon's needs, most of the episodes showed he was her favorite child.
Fans believed Mary and Sheldon's relationship was unhealthy. The show even explored this in the season 4 episode, "Training Wheels And An Unleashed Chicken." In the episode, an unfortunate incident with a bicycle and a chicken forces Sheldon and his mother to face the sad reality of their co-dependent relationship.
9 She's Too Attached To Her Mother
Mary and her family live quite close to her mother, Connie, who the kids affectionately call Meemaw. In the third episode of season four, Mary and Constance have a conversation about children growing up and leaving the nest.
The conversation revealed that Mary's siblings had all moved away from home, while she remained close to her mother. Meemaw even joked about Mary still hanging around her even though she was fully grown and had her own family. Ironically, an episode in season one revealed that Meemaw begged Mary to come and live nearby so she could be close to her grandkids. Perhaps the over-attachment goes both ways.
8 She Doesn't Seem To Have A Relationship With Her Siblings
Mary's siblings, Charlene and Edward, have only been mentioned in passing in the season one episode "Cape, Canaveral, Schrodinger's Cat, and Cyndi Lauper's Hair." The two came up in a conversation between Mary and Meemaw about how her mother was rarely ever around and she practically raised her siblings.
Despite the implied relationship between Mary and her younger siblings in the past, they are rarely mentioned and it doesn't seem like there's much of a relationship between them now. In the same episode, Meemaw mentioned that Mary is the only one of her children who still talks to her.
7 She's Always Caught In The Middle
From the first season, Meemaw's disdain for Mary's husband, George, was obvious. As the show progressed, it revealed that this stemmed from her disappointment at Mary getting pregnant by George while they were still teenagers. Although Meemaw and George maintained civil interactions, they were often colored by subtle undertones of hostility.
Sadly, Mary is always caught in the middle of the feud between her mother and husband. This was especially obvious in the season one episode, "A Brisket, Voodoo, And A Cannonball Run." George voiced out his offence at being treated like an outsider by Meemaw, to which she responded with more taunts that only angered George more. Poor Mary was caught in between, trying to keep the peace.
6 She Suppresses Her Urges A Lot
The little bits of backstory that the show revealed about Mary's past indicated that she was a wild teenager. Comparing that with the prim and proper woman who admonishes people for swearing at the dinner table calls a lot into question. Especially when Mary does or says something that contrasts with her character.
In the second episode of season four "A Docent, A Little Lady And A Bouncer Named Dalton," Mary secretly was watching an R-Rated movie, something that's odd for her character. Her son Georgie questioned her about it, making her feel guilty for something she clearly enjoyed. She even explained that it was a guilty pleasure because she wanted to be a good Christian.
5 She Takes Sheldon's Troubles Personally
Like most mothers, Mary was always saddened by her children's woes. Because of his unique character and quirkiness, Sheldon often faced these more than Georgie and Missy. That meant for the majority of the show, Mary would be stressing about Sheldon and whatever he will be going through at the time.
One prominent example was in the pilot episode when Sheldon was about to start high school. Throughout the episode, she expressed her concern over how he would manage it, if he would make friends, and how the teachers and students would treat him. Even when Sheldon stopped eating solid foods in season one's "A Therapist, A Comic Book, And A Breakfast Sausage," she blamed herself for it.
4 She's Always Being Judged For Sheldon's Behavior
Unfortunately, not everyone understands Sheldon, including some members of his family. That's why the young boy often gets shunned by adults and his peers alike. Mary always does her best to comfort and support Sheldon and to most people, this comes off as coddling.
Her husband, George, sometimes criticizes her parenting style, leading to Mary getting defensive about it. Whenever Sheldon interacts with others in a public space in the presence of Mary, he inevitably does what he does best and Mary gets judged for it.
3 She Always Has To Clean Up Sheldon's Messes
Although Sheldon is a good boy in general, his unfiltered honesty often lands him in trouble. Whenever he unknowingly offends someone, Mary is always the one who cleans up the mess and apologizes for his behavior. In the pilot, Sheldon's first day in high school showed him openly questioning his teachers' qualifications, among other things.
Naturally, this upset his teachers and they took their grievances to the principal in the presence of Mary and George. Mary was the only one who stood up for her son and told the staff they didn't have a choice but to put up with Sheldon. Even in the church, Mary often gives apologetic looks to the Pastor and other patrons when Sheldon makes remarks bashing Christianity. This continued long into Sheldon's adulthood in The Big Bang Theory when his friends would enlist Mary's help when Sheldon was being difficult.
2 She's Always Worried About Sheldon
In every episode of the four seasons that have aired so far, Mary worries about something Sheldon related. This ranges from whether he will any friends, how he will feel about a significant change in his life, and so much more. She often shares her concerns with her husband, who usually brushes her off.
Her constant worrying about Sheldon leads to her coddling him and their unhealthy co-dependent relationship. In season one's "An Eagle Feather, A String Bean, And An Eskimo," Sheldon's principal suggested a special school for gifted children in Dallas and at first, Mary was worried about him being away from home at his young age, regardless of the great opportunity it offered him.
1 She Can Be Too Hard On Herself Sometimes
Mary puts a lot of pressure on herself to be the perfect wife, mother, daughter, and Christian. She's always admonishing her mother, George, Georgie, and Missy for swearing. She works for the church and dedicates a lot of her time doing "the Lord's work."
Even though the other characters sometimes land themselves in troublesome situations because of their actions, Mary takes it all on her shoulders. As a result, she stresses a lot about what she's doing wrong and how she can improve, and it's quite sad to see her struggle so much with that.
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January 09, 2021 at 06:30AM
