Young Sheldon changes major Big Bang Theory detail with unexpected cliffhanger

Young Sheldon Season 7 Episode 9 has dropped a clanger of a cliffhanger, changing The Big Bang Theory in an unexpected way.

Like the previous episode set up, this week’s instalment of Young Sheldon saw the genius Cooper grapple with which college to attend. However, the final scene in Season 7 Episode 9 revealed something incredibly unexpected — Sheldon was actually intent on attending MIT.

Fans of The Big Bang Theory will know that Sheldon and Caltech — his eventual grad school and place of work — are one and the same. Even before he started studying there, his character is largely shaped by the college’s reputation, asking George to accompany him there to see a talk by Stephen Hawking back in Season 3. It was here that the same canteen set seen in The Big Bang Theory was also introduced to Young Sheldon.

Despite this, Young Sheldon Season 7 Episode 9 throws a curveball into the mix. After being featured in a prestigious physics publication as a co-author on a paper, grad school recruiters flock from all over the country to try and get Sheldon on board. After much deliberation, Sheldon narrows it down to MIT and Caltech, surprisingly choosing to go with MIT.

Once George and Sheldon arrive for a visit, Sheldon decides that he’d rather not attend MIT because of the bad weather.

“Now we know the origin of Sheldon’s aversion to MIT,” one fan commented, picking up on Sheldon’s loyalty to his eventual grad college. “The choice did come down to MIT and CalTech, he should have taken the weather into account before they got there,” a second agreed.

In the episode, Sheldon implies that he vouched for MIT because it had recent Nobel prize winners in its alumni — which as fans will know, is something Sheldon himself changes for Caltech by the end of the main series.

Though it’s been revealed that Young Sheldon Season 7 has filmed at Caltech, the details of bridging the finale to The Big Bang Theory are still unknown.

Young Sheldon Season 7 continues on CBS until May 16, 2024. Make sure to catch up with plenty more great TV shows to stream this month.