Young Sheldon – A Parasol and a Hell of an Arm

By: Ujjyani Banerjee

Pastor Jeff (Matt Hobby) calls Mary (Zoe Perry) into his office. Peg is (Nancy Linehan Charles) there, too. Jeff thanks Mary for all her hard work that she’s put in for the carnival and wonders if they could have Sheldon (Iain Armitage) in the dunk tank. People would participate like crazy and money would roll in. Mary doesn’t want people aiming baseballs at her son and says no.

During dinner Mary wonders if the family is excited about the carnival. Missy (Raegan Revord) and Georgie (Montana Jordan) are, but Sheldon is not. Georgie is even helping set up the carnival, which is a huge surprise for George (Lance Barber). It turns out he’s helping because Veronica (Isabel May) will be there. Mary asks her mom if she’ll be in attendance as well. Connie (Annie Potts) says no. George asks Mary to let the old and cranky lady be at peace which further infuriates Connie. She leaves the table slamming the door to her room. Everyone is tense and Sheldon starts talking about an ongoing RadioShack sale of 9V batteries.

At night Mary is busy painting posters for the carnival. Sheldon comes up to her. He’s just learned that Meemaw and Dr. Sturgis (Wallace Shawn) are at odds and is worried whether Meemaw will take him to Dr. Sturgis’ Friday class at 4:00pm. Mary asks him not to worry as she will take him instead. Sheldon is relieved. She expects him to help her with the posters, but he declines immediately.

The next day Mary calls her mom to inform her that they are leaving for the carnival and hopes that she will change her mind about attending. Connie is not interested and prefers watching TV at home. Sheldon ask Mary for an umbrella as it’ll be hot and sunny at the carnival. Upon arriving George finds the umbrella funny while Missy thinks that Sheldon is attracting bullies. Meanwhile, Georgie gets stuck with Peg who’s substituting for Veronica who got sick at the last minute. Peg advises him to embrace disappointments and reveals how she herself had given up when she learned that her husband, who had just come from the war, was down with syphilis. At the dunk tank Pastor Jeff calls people to come throw baseballs at him but nobody is interested. The Coopers arrive. Jeff comments on the umbrella. Sheldon says its a parasol which in French means “defense from the sun.” George tries to hit the target only to fail twice. Missy tries next and aces seven times in a row. George is beaming with pride. Georgie is bored out of mind as Peg narrates her sad marital life to him.

After returning home Mary goes to Connie’s to drop off some chicken that she packed for her from the carnival. She asks if she’d gotten out of the house. Connie reveals that she walked to their place to steal some beer and adds that she doesn’t need her pity food. Mary asks if she’ll still drive Sheldon to his class. It is a hard no. Mary threatens to leave. Instead of stopping her Connie appreciates her decision. Missy approaches her dad and explains how playing dunk tank got her to realize that she wants to be on the baseball team. George is apprehensive because it’s a guy’s game and gives her other suitable sports options, but she’s not settling for anything else. George makes some calls from the school and coach Wilkins (Doc Farrow) deciphers that it’s for Missy as Sheldon trying out for baseball is out of the question.

While Sheldon gives a detailed tour of the college to Mary we see Georgie get beer for Meemaw at home and even tries snatching one but unsuccessfully. Upon reaching the class John is surprised to see Mary accompanying Sheldon instead of Connie. He asks about her. Mary says that she’s been busy. In reality, Connie is busy brainwashing Georgie about how love and pursuing relationships is a complete waste of time and the destroyer of independence. John, though, asks Mary to say “Hi” to Connie. He changes it to “Hello” and then to “Greetings.” Mary can tell that he’s still in doubt. Connie advises Georgie to forget about Veronica and keep his freedom intact. He is bored listening to the same things that he heard from Peg the other day. She soon pukes into a trash can and asks Georgie to be a good boy and get her a towel.

The next day a hungover Connie goes to Mary and cannot tolerate George shouting around the house. He’s asking Missy to hurry as they’ve got to leave for the tryouts in five minutes. Missy is about to leave when Sheldon fills her in on some baseball theory and history. She says she won’t need them as it’s not a written test. After she and George leave Mary fills Connie in on the interaction that she had with Dr. Sturgis the day before. Connie wonders if he’s doing okay, but when Mary tells her she pretends as if she couldn’t care less.

George takes Missy to coach Dale (Craig T. Nelson) who’s in charge of the tryouts. He wasn’t told that the candidate would be a girl and straightaway denies her a chance. George is upset and raves about the arm she’s got, in case it changes his mind. Instead, Dale asks if he’d put a girl on his football team. He says it’s different as it’s a contact sport. According to Dale so is baseball. He’s worried that the guys could deliberately throw a ball at Missy when she’s up to bat. Denied a chance based on her gender, Missy starts to cry as she goes home with her father.

Georgie goes to meet Veronica. He’s carrying a “Get well soon” balloon with him. Her grandma opens the door as Veronica’s at the doctor’s and will be home shortly. Georgie waits at her house. In no time he is shown albums full of her relatives and ancestors while he tries to not succumb from the boredom.

Connie is telling Mary about how Georgie tried snitching a beer from her the other day when suddenly Missy gets home crying and rushes to her room. George informs her about what happened. Connie takes it upon herself to get her granddaughter the fair chance she rightfully deserves. Seeing his twin sister weep on her bed, Sheldon wonders if she failed a written test. Missy says no. Connie storms in asking if she wants to get on that baseball team. Missy says yes. They go and meet Dale. Connie forces him to give Missy a chance otherwise they’re going to have a problem. He wouldn’t want that and allows Missy to try a ball. She is nervous. Connie asks her to focus and think about how her Meemaw just created a scene to get her a chance. Missy aims and throws with her signature zip. Dale is impressed. Finally, Missy and Meemaw get home, both smiling ear to ear. It turns out that Missy got her spot on the baseball team and Meemaw got herself a date with Coach Dale!