Young Sheldon was born out of Sheldon’s popularity in The Big Bang Theory. When it premiered in 2017, the prequel was focused on the boy genius, and how living in Texas shaped him. As the series progressed, however, it diversified its storytelling, which I think was the best thing to ever happen to the show. While I love Iain Armitage’s Sheldon, I was always more interested in his family. Unfortunately, while the rest of the Coopers got their respective arcs, Missy barely had her own stories, especially during the spinoff’s middle years.
Sheldon was off to college, and while tackling his unique experience was fun, juxtaposing it with Missy’s more stereotypical growing pains seemed like a great way to balance Young Sheldon ‘s storytelling.
By Young Sheldon season 6, I had been harping on the matter for a few months. Season 5 barely did anything for Missy, as the series’ focus shifted to developing Georgie’s budding romance with Mandy, which made me more frustrated. Sheldon was off to college, and while tackling his unique experience was fun, juxtaposing it with Missy’s more stereotypical growing pains seemed like a great way to balance Young Sheldon‘s storytelling. I was ready to give up on the matter when CBS started incorporating criticisms of its mishandling of Revord’s character into her arc.
Finally fed up with being ignored all the time, Missy started acting out towards the end of Young Sheldon season 6. She became antagonistic and rebellious — annoyed that her parents continued to prioritize her siblings over her. At one point, she boldly stole George’s truck, called Paige, and went on a daring road trip to Florida despite being underage. Missy was clearly wrong, but I sympathized with her frustrations. She had always been there whenever anyone in her family needed her support, and yet, she seemed to be easily discarded when she was no longer needed.
