Young Sheldon EP on Season 5 Finale’s Other Big Bang Easter Egg: ‘It’s Not a Permanent Change, But…’ — WATCH

TVLINE | So, is this a permanent wardrobe change? Has Sheldon worn his last bowtie for the foreseeable future?
No, it is not a permanent wardrobe change, but it is an addition to his wardrobe, which is why he says, “I hope I don’t look too cool.” He’s covering his bases, and this way, we can [put him in a graphic tee] when we want. When he feels like cutting loose, and experimenting with being a teenager, he’ll throw it on.

TVLINE | Speaking of wardrobe changes, can we take a moment to acknowledge that dream sequence? Not only did Iain Armitage transform into every member of the family, but he did the voices, too, right? The only one I wasn’t convinced was Iain was Annie Potts’ Meemaw…
No! That was him! Every [voice] was Iain.

TVLINE | That is impressive. What was his reaction when you told him he’d be playing all these characters?
Iain was as game as he always is for these challenges. We asked the actors to read the dialogue for him in character to help him get the voices in his head. We [shot] it one character at a time over a couple of days, and he just crushed it. I just couldn’t be happier with how it turned out, and it makes me very happy that you thought that was actually Annie. That’s incredible. We worked on [the voice], and as the takes went on, we’d ask him to lean into the impersonation a little more and a little more, so it would help us find it in editing. He gave us so many incredible choices.

TVLINE | Mary and George Sr. have been quite frank about the state of their marriage. How, exactly, would you define their relationship at this point?
I would define it as struggling. But there’s still a glowing ember. [These are] people trying to hold it together.

TVLINE | George is out of a job, he’s pretty sure his wife has feelings for another man, and now she has a job working alongside his almost-mistress, Brenda Sparks. I was half expecting him to clench his chest at the end of the finale. Can things get any worse for this man?
[Laughs] That’s the nature of where we are in this storyline. Things could get worse, but things could also get better. That’s how life works. There are ups and there are downs, and he’s had several downs. We’re just going to keep on this rollercoaster.

TVLINE | How important has it been to see Mary’s faith tested throughout these recent challenges at home?
Everyone, including Mary and George, faces challenges. Raising kids is hard, paying bills is hard, so it can be tough — especially for a mom to hold it all together. You have kids who often think their parents are impervious to these kind of problems, and the reality is that everybody’s human. I find it interesting to see that there are more sides [to this story] than we might have expected.

TVLINE | Last we spoke you pointed out that Missy is a pretty intuitive kid. You also suggested she’d be quick to catch on to all the family’s secrets. In these last three episodes, she has been the most levelheaded Cooper, and has served as a rock — first for Georgie, then for Mary, now for Sheldon. Can you talk to me a bit about her role in all of this?
I think it’s unexpected and beautiful to watch. Unfortunately, sometimes in this world, kids are thrown into situations where they need to grow up quicker than perhaps we might like, and for Missy that’s what’s going on. Like everyone else in that house, she is doing her best.

TVLINE | Georgie’s had a rough few weeks since he found out Mandy was pregnant — so much so that a cliffhanger that sees him and Connie arrested at the U.S.-Mexico border seems relatively lighthearted by comparison. Was that the goal here?
I think so. We’ll often be faced with the question, “Are we going to do some kind of cliffhanger?” and “How serious or not should it be?” It was nice to have a storyline that promises a little something in the future without being so heavy. This season has not shied away from drama, and I think it was a nice to have more lighthearted fun in the finale.

TVLINE | Nearly every character is at a crossroads — at the precipice of a new beginning as the season winds to a close. Does that excite you heading into Season 6?
It’s definitely exciting for us in the writers’ room. As you cross 100 episodes and enter Season 6, that’s a lot of stories. It becomes more attractive and more important for us to tell [deeper] stories about these characters that we’ve gotten so attached to. That doesn’t mean there isn’t still room for more lighthearted stories, but it’s attractive to keep storylines in play where we care, where we feel like things matter.

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