Young Sheldon fans were lucky enough to not get just one but two new episodes on premiere week. “A Rival Prodigy and Sir Isaac Neutron” is all about Sheldon’s jealousy when Dr. Sturgis bonds with another child prodigy, Paige. If you remember from last season, Dr. Sturgis invited Sheldon to be in his advanced college course which required MeeMaw to drive him there and back. Dr. Sturgis and MeeMaw ended up becoming a couple at the end of last season, but that’s not what this episode is really about.
“A Rival Prodigy and Sir Isaac Neutron” – Pictured: Paige (McKenna Grace) and Sheldon (Iain Armitage). Photo: Darren Michaels/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. © 2018 WBEI. All rights reserved.
Sheldon meets Paige in Dr. Sturgis’s classroom and is immediately standoffish. Paige ends up questioning about Sheldon’s physics knowledge which turns him a nice shade of red. When Paige asks him finally what he DOES know, we get a famous tagline we’ve been waiting for “I KNOW YOU’RE IN MY SPOT!” On the way home with MeeMaw, Sheldon explains that he’s feeling a feeling that he’s unfamiliar with. She explains it might be jealously and Sheldon proclaims he still wants to kick her seat. Meanwhile, Dr. Sturgis calls Sheldon’s mother to get her in touch with Paige’s mother so they can chat. Mary thinks this is amazing because she will finally have someone else to talk to about raising a genius. By the time Sheldon walks in the door home still ranting about how horrible Paige is, Mary interrupts him by saying that Paige is coming over the next day.
It’s moments like this that remind us that Sheldon really is 10 years old. He’s trying to learn all these emotions he is feeling. He finally finds someone who is better than him at something. While most of us normal kids learn this very early on, it took 10 years for Sheldon to find someone superior to him. Mary tries to talk to Sheldon about Paige coming over. Sheldon continues to say no until his mom breaks down. Mary admits that she was hoping to make friends with Paige’s Mom because she doesn’t have many friends. After being hit with guilt and jealousy in one day, Sheldon was left to make some decisions. He goes and seeks the wisdom of Mr. Spock who tells him to suppress his emotions for the good of the team.
When Paige arrives, she is over excited to meet Sheldon just as Sheldon’s parents are to meet her parents. As everyone gets settled, Sheldon’s parents right off the bat start naming some of Sheldon’s more interesting quirks. Paige’s parents attest that Paige doesn’t have any quirks at all. Meanwhile, Sheldon shows Paige his signed Professor Proton Photo. She says she doesn’t like him because he dumbs everything down. All signs point that this meeting of the families was the worst decision ever until we go out to Georgie and Missy entertaining Paige’s sister who is in the 8th grade. Even though they are bored, they are all bonding over the fact that they have parents that give the genius kid all the attention. The episode ends with Sheldon flipping a chess board after losing to Paige. Mary and George realizing that Paige’s family was indeed as screwed up as their family as Paige’s parents drunkenly argue in the living room. The other kids, well, they blew up a television with a firecracker in the alleyway.
I liked this episode a lot. While we tend to think the series is all about Sheldon, it’s really about the entire family. I love how it showed Georgie and Missy’s side of the story on having Sheldon as a brother. They believe that they are smarter than Sheldon in other ways. It was also really awesome to see Mary and George in a lighter and more fun view. What was your favorite part of the episode? Let me know below in the comments. As always keep following The Game of Nerds for more Young Sheldon coverage.
