Young Sheldon is an unreliable narrator — here’s why

As Young Sheldon draws to a close, fans have been accusing Sheldon of being an unreliable narrator — here’s why they’re right.

Without Sheldon, there wouldn’t be a Young Sheldon — but that doesn’t mean the genius Cooper is always right. The events of the prequel are told through his perspective, fleshing out backstory fans first heard about in The Big Bang Theory.

In many ways, this has led to a show that’s become more popular than the original. Not only are viewership ratings at an all-time high, but many fans prefer the single-cam format, despite the upcoming sequel reverting to the old style.

Now that multiple plot points are being wrapped up ahead of the Young Sheldon Season 7 finale, many fans are complaining that Sheldon is an unreliable narrator — and they’re right.

Sheldon’s childhood memories can’t be trusted

Sheldon is an unreliable narrator because his childhood memories can’t be trusted, already proving themselves wrong about George’s affair.

It’s no secret that Young Sheldon is incredibly inconsistent with stories set up in The Big Bang Theory, but it’s Sheldon’s recollection of events in the prequel that exaggerates this. With some help from Jim Parsons, each episode has a continuous adult voiceover, reconfirming facts while questioning others.

Examples of this have included George’s affair, which was revealed to be a case of mistaken identity in Season 7 Episode 4. Georgie’s adult backstory also has a number of inconsistencies in Young Sheldon, alongside Meemaw and Mary’s sudden changes in character.

As expected, fan theories for why Sheldon’s memories differ so much have been rife on social media. One states: “My theory is that Sheldon doesn’t include stuff like his father cheating and other sensitive things is because he’s writing an autobiography and Amy or any one of his friends thought it was too personal to include so he just improvised. Another one on a similar topic is that he’s telling these stories to his kids and he doesn’t want to show their grandfather in a bad light.”

“I always assumed it was like string theory. We are watching a different universe for Sheldon’s life and not the one from Big Bang Theory,” a second muses. A third agreed: “Honestly the show is pretty confusing in my opinion if the characters didn’t have the same name and obviously didn’t have Sheldon narrating it could’ve been a different show without it being attached to TBBT.”

Speaking to TV Line in 2022, series co-creator Steve Molaro explained: “We don’t have a precise roadmap in front of us – and to some extent, we don’t feel handcuffed to things that were said on Big Bang. I mean, there are some things that we will honor, but we also have to do what’s best for this series.”

While you wait for the next episode, you can catch up with our other Sheldon content like our Season 7 theories, filming locations, how to watch Season 7 outside the US, and when Season 7 will be coming to Netflix.

You can also check out all the best new TV shows coming out this month.