Episode 2 of Young Sheldon Season 6 opens with the Cooper family having dinner. The gang engage in their usual dinnertime banter. Mary has made Hamburger Helper, a dish she doesn’t make commonly.
Missy remarks that they are now officially poor, but Mary and George Sr try to fix the situation, saying that they aren’t. Sheldon asks Mary if they should say grace since Mary seems to have scepticism about her faith. Mary reassures them that they are free to do so if they choose, and Missy then leads the prayer at the dinner table before the meal is served.
While Mary is working in the kitchen, George Sr inquires about her religious practice and how she intends to go about it. He informs her that he’s going to drink a beer and invites her to join him since she’s no longer religious. She declines his invitation. George Sr had previously spotted Mary smoking with Pastor Rob, and he seems to believe that Mary is not as free with him as she is with the Pastor, which bothers him internally, though he does not mention it to Mary.
As Sheldon handles the family’s taxes, Missy talks to him about their financial woes and asks how bad they are. He informs her that the family will be out of money by the end of the year. After the discussion, they continue their customary quips.
Grant Linkletter calls Meemaw and invites her out to dinner. While agreeing to go out to dinner with him, she makes it clear that their interaction will be platonic and that he shouldn’t hold out hope for more. He accepts it. They joke around a little and hang up the call.
Brenda receives a call from George Sr asking her to meet him at the chicken coop. Brenda hired George’s wife, Mary, to work at the bowling alley with her, and George becomes enraged as a consequence since Brenda and George Sr are attracted to each another. Brenda tells George that she was just trying to be kind to Mary as she needed a job. Brenda responds to George’s comment that hiring Mary is strange by telling him that everything around them is strange. Given that there was an odd relationship developing between George and Brenda, George tells Brenda that hiring Mary is a bad decision.
Sheldon and Missy talk about possible jobs they could take on to provide for their family financially. Sheldon tells Missy that he could sell story ideas to shows like Star Trek. Missy simply tells him that Star Trek won’t be interested in his ideas; however, Sheldon is adamant that they will, and he goes on to narrate a story to Missy.
Mary struggles to understand the finances at the bowling alley, and Brenda advises her that if she’s having trouble, she should look for work elsewhere. Mary is adamant that she can handle it and will figure it out. At the bowling alley, Mary sees Pastor Rob on a date. Since Mary has a crush on Pastor Rob, Mary is envious of his date. She denies having a crush on Pastor Rob when Brenda asks, owing to the fact that she is married to George.
Meemaw raids George’s refrigerator for beer and runs into him in the process. When Meemaw asks how Mary is doing, George responds that she appears to be doing fine. George seems dumbfounded when Meemaw describes how wild Mary was before she discovered religion, way before she met George, and how she isn’t like that with him anymore.
Missy interviews for a position at a comic book shop to support her family financially. She pretends to be knowledgeable about comic books and responds to questions from the owner by recalling Sheldon discussing them.
Missy tells Sheldon that she works at the comic book store when she gets home, and Sheldon is incredibly jealous because he loves comics and that position would have been ideal for him.
Brenda sees Mary sobbing and offers to take her for a drink to make her feel better
Meemaw and Professor Linkletter discuss sweet nothings over dinner on their dinner date. Meemaw rejects Professor Linkletter’s invitation to sleep with her during their meal.
Sheldon discusses his desire to pitch his story to Star Trek with his father. He narrates the story, and George pretends to be interested.
Brenda and Mary talk about Pastor Rob over drinks at the bar. Brenda suggests that Mary has a crush on him, but Mary denies it, implying that she is only attracted to her husband.
After Sheldon has finished telling his father the story, George finds a flaw in the boy’s story, which frustrates Sheldon. Sheldon enters Missy’s room and tells her about another idea. This time, he considers inventing his own digital currency and informs her that he intends to profit from it. He attempts to explain it to Missy, but she isn’t convinced. Sheldon then goes to pitch his idea to George, who calls it a scam and almost falls for it, but when Sheldon tells him how much money it would take to get started, he shuts the door in his face.
While George Sr is watching television, Mary arrives home intoxicated. Mary responds to George’s inquiry about her whereabouts by saying that she went dancing with Brenda. Mary asks George if he wants to fool around with her after he seems to be happy after seeing this side of her.
When Sheldon visits the comic book shop, Missy boasts about working there and how knowledgeable she is about comics, which makes Sheldon envious.
This episode serves as a kind of filler that surprisingly advances the plot of the Big Bang Theory prequel. Nothing particularly noteworthy happened, but the events seem essential to the overarching plot.
The events that unfold in this episode appear unimportant, but if you pay close attention, they are leading up to something that is very crucial and is fairly predictable if you’ve seen The Big Bang Theory (Mary and George’s divorce). The episode addresses the underlying emotional causes of this.
The episode also reveals a new and refreshing side to Mary, and it’s nice to see her excel in that role as well. Sheldon appears to be performing really well too, but because of his increased maturity in real life, his voice is deeper than it was in the previous seasons, which lessens the humor in his remarks.
With his flawless Texas accent, George Jr. does an outstanding job. He only shows up for a brief period, but his presence has a profound impact.