Young Sheldon – A Financial Secret and Fish Sauce

By: Ujjyani Banerjee

As the episode begins, adult Sheldon (Jim Parsons) recollects how weekends meant fun and freedom for others and anti-hygiene phases for Georgie (Montana Jordan). They were unwelcome breaks in education for Sheldon himself (Iain Armitage); however, this weekend was special. It was the weekend of calculating taxes!

At dinner Sheldon asks about a 12% rise in grocery bills compared to last quarter. George (Lance Barber) points at Meemaw (Annie Potts) eating for free while she points at George eating for three. Mary (Zoe Perry) lets Sheldon know that the extra groceries purchase is for the church food drive. Later, Sheldon comes to George inquiring about a missing three-hundred-dollar check. He lets him know that it was charity to a needy borrower and it’d better remain a secret between the two of them. Sheldon’s stupefied, but George asks him to just be cool. Adult Sheldon shares that flying around the backyard would be easier than being asked to play cool!

At night, while Mary is putting Missy (Raegan Revord) to bed, Sheldon enters the room acting all weird. When asked if he’s okay, Sheldon affirms that he’s cool. Witnessing his failed attempt, Missy feels he actually needs to learn what being cool means. The day at breakfast Sheldon tries avoiding mom by stuffing his mouth with food. Mary finds him to be a little off. Georgie joins the party and shares how well he slept last night, naked. Fighting the awkward air, Mary thanks her adolescent son for having shared this info.

Elsewhere, George needs batteries for their TV remote control. Mary tells him to get them from the drawer next to their refrigerator. While searching, he is puzzled to find Sheldon hiding inside a kitchen cabinet in an attempt to keep the secret. George slaps the door closed as Mary comes in inquiring about Sheldon’s weird behavior and that he’s been awfully quiet and has not had any bowel movement for days now. George lets her know that he hasn’t really noticed but will keep an eye on him.

George rushes over to Connie’s. It turns out she’s the “borrower” and in no way can she have Mary know about any of this. However, George is more worried about Sheldon who’s having a physical toll because of holding the beans for days now and suggests coming clean on this. Connie agrees but on one condition – George can rat her out to Mary but Mary will learn about his church picnic doings!

The scene shifts to the school library where Sheldon and Tam (Ryan Phuong) are having lunch. Sheldon asks if he can sleepover at his place. Tam needs to ask his mother. Sheldon tells him to mention about him being clean, well-behaved and being okay with lesser room, in case space is a constraint.

George is driving Sheldon to his first sleepover. Sheldon is anxious, but George lets him know that when truth can hurt it shouldn’t be told. Reaching Tam’s, adult Sheldon recollects his first few minutes at the Vietnamese home as an emotional roller-coaster. He doesn’t like the display of gruesome religious iconography at entrances or the pungent smell of fish sauce; however, he likes not wearing shoes inside the house for sanitary reasons and the practice of washing hands and face prior to every meal. While chopsticks are a bane to Sheldon, using a common napkin to wipe face after meal is worse.

Back home Mary finds it hard to believe that Sheldon himself volunteered to go on a sleepover. She feels there must’ve been something wrong on her part, but Connie assures her that she’s working herself up for nothing. Just then, Missy calls out to help get her hair out from a zipper and Connie points that she’s the kid Mary needs to be worried about. George grows impatient and wants to tell the truth ASAP.

Meanwhile, Sheldon cannot concentrate on playing with Tam as the secrets are weighing him down. He’s wants to tell Tam, but he cannot disobey dad and it’s driving him crazy. Tam says that if he were Catholic he could have confessed it to a priest. Sheldon decides to confess it to Tam who’s Catholic. Tam argues he’s not a priest, but Sheldon tells him he’s not Catholic, so it makes perfect sense. Tam situates as Sheldon starts with his confession. Adult Sheldon recollects the whole act being morally unburdening and rejuvenating to him. Also, his colon could now use some unburdening as well. Sheldon rushes to the bathroom!

At night, Tam gives Sheldon the bed as he sleeps on the floor as they serve guests with the utmost honor and respect. Sheldon thanks him finding the Vietnamese to a be very welcoming clan. He asks if his father would ever ask him to keep a secret from his mother? Tam tells him that his father’s annoyingly honest. Just then, Mrs. Nguyen tells them to go to sleep, switching off the lights.

Next morning, George comes to pick his son up from Tam’s. He asks Sheldon if he enjoyed and wonders how terrific the fish soup was for breakfast. He’s puzzled to find Sheldon astonishingly quiet who tells him that his first good night’s sleep in a week has given him a fresh perspective. Burdening him with the secret was irresponsible of George and he cannot look up to him as a role model anymore. But still, since they had a deal, he’d keep the secret. Hurt and disappointed at himself, George quietly drives Sheldon home.

Now it’s the time to come clean for George, who with great difficulty, blurts out the truth. Connie too admits to having gotten a DWI whilst accompanying Georgie at a dog track while buzzed. Georgie explain that he and Meemaw were at the bar, she went overboard on Margaritas and he drove them home but swapped places when the cop pulled them over as he’s got no license. Connie adds that she ended up getting arrested while George bailed her out. Mary is flipping mad that this was all kept secret from her so she instructs the male duo to stay at Meemaw’s until she says otherwise. Sheldon and Missy watch on. Missy is ecstatic.

At Connie’s, George appreciates her not ratting out his church picnic shenanigans. Wishing her good night, he wraps for the day. A minute later, Connie calls up Mary revealing how George sneaked in a six pack to the picnic, got too pissed to wait in the bathroom line and ended up irrigating the whole vegetable garden. Mary is mortified as she can’t imagine to have eaten those vegetables! Super proud of her tit-for-tat antics, Connie hangs up with the brightest smile on her face retires for the night.