Young Sheldon ending explained: Season 7 finale breakdown

Young Sheldon reached a painful and emotional conclusion with the Season 7 finale. From George’s funeral to Sheldon’s arrival at Caltech, here’s what you need to know about the show’s ending.

In 2017, Young Sheldon seemed like a strange idea: a sitcom based on the early years of The Big Bang Theory’s main character, coming at a time when the original series started to fall out of fashion.

Seven seasons later, the naysayers — myself included — have been proven mightily wrong. We’ve seen ups, downs, and everything in between with the Cooper family, whether it’s Sheldon’s early college education, Georgie meeting Mandy, or the show’s most devastating moment: George’s death.

Young Sheldon Season 7 Episodes 13 and 14 bring the series to a close, so here’s what you need to know.

Young Sheldon ending explained

Young Sheldon ends with Sheldon arriving at Caltech and walking off into the distance to Dire Straits’ ‘Walk of Life’, a callback to the song playing in the opening seconds of the pilot.

CBS

It’s the natural ending for the series, but there’s plenty of heartache before that uplifting final moment; notably, George’s funeral, coming after we’re forced to endure Sheldon re-living the last time he saw his dad and wishing he could do it all differently.

Everyone processes grief in their own ways: Mary dives headfirst into the church (more so than normal), Georgie focuses on keeping the family together and filling the patriarchal role left by his father, Missy grows increasingly irritable at everyone’s strained sympathy, and Meemaw seeks comfort in Dale.

We see almost everyone in Episode 13: June, Brenda, Sheldon’s teacher Mr Givens, Dr. Sturgis, Dr. Linkletter, and others (but no Paige). They get through the funeral, and at the end of the episode, Sheldon seemingly speaks in front of everyone and talks about how he regrets not appreciating everything his father did for him while he was still alive — but this is all in his head, and he actually stayed firmly in his seat.

In Episode 14, we fast-forward 27 days from the funeral as Sheldon is packing up his things to leave for California. It cuts between the past and present day, with Amy peeking at his memoir (and taking issue with how kind he’s been to himself) and nudging him to go take a shower so they can go to their son Leonard’s hockey game.

That’s not the main dramatic conflict of the finale, thankfully: it’s Mary’s increasing dependence on god and her desperate pleas for Missy and Sheldon to get baptized. They refuse… at first until Meemaw tearfully asks them to do it because her “daughter is falling apart.”

When they get to the church, Pastor Jeff tells Missy he’s sorry for her loss — big mistake. She storms out, but Sheldon stays. His mum says she knows he doesn’t believe in god, and he replies: “I don’t… but I believe in you.” Of course, he does it in his own way: he walks out in front of the congregation in a full snorkeling suit.

In the closing scenes of the Young Sheldon finale, Sheldon (both in his adult and teenage form) walk around his empty home, with Jim Parsons narrating that the house was eventually sold — but he made sure he took it all in so he could remember it when he was older. He shares one last moment with Missy, who asks if he’ll remember her too. He cites his eidetic memory, meaning he has no choice. With a cheeky smile, she responds: “Ha!”

In the last scene, he arrives at Caltech with his suitcase. A man asks him if he’s lost, and Sheldon tells him: “No, I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”

Is there going to be a Young Sheldon Season 8?

No, Young Sheldon Season 8 isn’t in the works. Episodes 13 and 14 of Season 7 are the last-ever episodes of the series.

CBS

While the decision to end the series has been criticized by fans and the cast (Annie Potts called it an “ambush”), spinoff Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage has taken over.

Mary, Meemaw, Missy, and Dale have all appeared in the new TV show so far, fully reuniting in a Thanksgiving episode. Sheldon hasn’t come back, though – and it’s not clear if he ever will.

As for “Old Sheldon,” we’re not likely to see much movement there. Jim Parsons previously said “In 30 years, maybe. You’ll have to ask me then. It’ll depend on how nice the beach is I’m living on. If it’s flooded away, I might come back.”

Perhaps Young Sheldon Season 8 will happen at some point, or we’ll reunite with the Coopers properly somewhere down the line.

Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage is airing weekly on CBS. Catch up with our Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, and Episode 5 recaps before you watch the next episode.