What the show got right
young sheldon Captures many of the characteristics and experiences of highly developed children. Sheldon has very high expectations for academic performance and struggles with failure (he ignores his professor's wise advice about applying to a summer program and receives a “low grade” for his spectacularly failed college project). He tends to be full of himself and doesn't respond well to being ignored. He hates group activities (even his college classmates!) and struggles to avoid boredom. He's more than a little obsessive. Sheldon loves his family, but he often struggles to show them. Another young genius, his frenemy Page admits to rebelling against the high expectations of others, struggling with his parents' divorce, and pretending to be unintelligent in order to become more popular. This is not an atypical trait of many smart people. and Adult!
I liked that the writers resist pathologizing Sheldon's weirdness. Other shows featuring genius characters tend to succumb to the temptation to portray them as being on the spectrum or having debilitating personality disorders. But that's not Sheldon Lee Cooper. Of course, that person is strange and different. But how could a highly intelligent person do that? ~ no Does it seem strange to most other people? I remember seeing a friend standing alone at the reception of an academic conference. I asked him if he was okay. He responded that he was doing well, waving his hand and saying, “It's nice to be in a room where I'm not the weirdest person.”
A good example of how the writers treat his oddities is his drama teacher Mr. This is a conversation with Lundy. Sheldon declares his passion for acting, despite having never tried it before. The teacher says, “Well, I like that confidence,” to which Sheldon replies, “Thank you. Most people find that offensive.”
This exchange becomes even more important when it becomes clear that Sheldon is actually a great singer and dancer who requires very little practice. However, as he prepares to appear in the school musical, his anxiety prevents him from going on stage. That doesn't make him a monster. It makes him human. He knows who he is and how people view him. He doesn't care most of the time. Mr. Lundy says, “You’re a weird kid, but you make it happen” (S1, Ep16). It's worth noting that Sheldon responds by nodding appreciatively.
Over time, Sheldon becomes humble and increasingly self-aware in various situations. He had help from his family, as Meemaw notes, “It's good to have knowledge, but you don't always have to show it off” (S4, Ep2). In such situations, Sheldon is a bit embarrassed, but he tends to learn from it. Especially in later seasons, he often shows himself to be adaptable, shaking in disgust in situations that would have caused him to run away screaming (literally!) earlier in the series. The older Sheldon takes more interest and adjusts to each person's expectations. He is not always successful, but he makes an effort.
One of my favorite scenes in the series is when he asks one of his professors, Dr. Linkletter, to help him understand satire (S6, Ep15). It acts like a modern-day version of “Who's First?”, with Sheldon trying to figure out which comments are sincere and which are sarcastic. (Everything Dr. Linkletter says is satirical.) Sheldon realizes that sarcasm exists, and he finds himself struggling to understand it, so he tries to learn how to be sarcastic. He's just not good at it. And that's okay! We all have struggles, and I enjoyed seeing a portrayal of a super smart kid who resists making himself a superhero or super geek.