Young Sheldon – Carbon Dating and A Stuffed Raccoon

By: Ujjyani Banerjee

The episode begins with Sheldon (Iain Armitage) unlocking his safe and proudly glancing at his membership cards as adult Sheldon (Jim Parsons) recollects his membership perks. As Radio Shack Battery Club member he got one free battery a month while the National Science Museum of Texas gave him free subscription to their magazine. The magazine he receives this time is on carbon isotope dating and he’s ecstatic.

Sheldon asks elders to take him to a carbon dating lecture to be held at the National Science Museum. George (Lance Barber) agrees and they leave for the lecture whist bonding over fossils and marriage. When Sheldon asks George if he believes in fossils being millions of years old, he affirms on it. Sheldon is puzzled on how his parents’ marriage is working out in spite of having such radically opposite beliefs especially when his mother (Zoe Perry) believes the world is only six thousand years old. George tells him that never talking about these topics has done the trick.

At home, Connie (Annie Potts), Georgie (Montana Jordan) and Missy (Raegan Revord) are assembling old junk out into their lawn for Connie to sell. Georgie doesn’t believe an old lamp could have a resale value of ten bucks. Connie shares that it was a wedding gift and that she’s going to haggle. Missy doesn’t understand. Connie explains that with negotiating prices you start high, they offer less and finally you fix the amount on a profitable middle. Georgie shortly puts the learning to effect. When the kids ask to get paid five dollars each Connie suggests a dollar a piece. Georgie haggles it down to three dollars each. Connie ups the game putting prices on accidental breakages, pizza for lunch and teaching life-lessons and finally gets the kids to pay her two dollars each. Showing pity on them, she negotiates it back to zero pay and the kids happily agree.

Later, Mary comes out into the yard and is impressed by Connie’s junk assembly. She notices her dad’s things being accumulated outside – his taxidermized raccoon, his golf clubs, clothes, shoes, pipes, etc. Mary doesn’t want them sold off. Connie coaxes her and sends her back to focus on the junk sale.

At the lecture Sheldon has just been dropped off by George and is quietly reading his magazine. He is suddenly called on by Paige (Mckenna Grace), his prodigal rival, who’s thrilled at their reunion unlike Sheldon. George, who’s at Hometown Diner watching soccer whilst dining, is startled to see Paige’s mom, Linda (Andrea Anders). When he inquires about Barry (Josh Cooke), her husband, Linda inconsolably reveals that’s they’re heading for a divorce. She asks for marital advice and George suggests following the “don’t talk about it” policy that he and Mary practice, leaving Linda puzzled.

At the lecture, the speaker is surprised to see two kids in attendance. While Paige tells her that reading her paper on accelerator mass spectrometry got her curious Sheldon gives credit to the magazine. Paige is asked to define carbon dating. After she’s done the speaker asks Sheldon if there’s something he’d like to add. He innocently says that it’s how they’d figure how old his grandmother is, leaving the room in laugh. This makes him smile. Adult Sheldon recollects this being the moment when he learned that not only was he smart that he was hilarious, too.

Gradually, Paige and Sheldon realize the lecture’s covering pretty basic stuff. Bored, Paige decides to walk out and asks Sheldon to follow. He tells he’s got to wait for dad as promised. She calls him a “baby” and escapes. Adult Sheldon remembers feeling insulted upon being called “baby” and follows Paige out of the lecture.

At the junk sale, Missy tries to sell the taxidermy raccoon at five dollars to Billy Sparks (Wyatt McClure), but he has only fifty cents. Missy says it’s okay as they’re haggling. Dr. John Sturgis (Wallace Shawn) is also at the sale trying out a jacket. Connie is surprised to see him and curtly tells him that it’s not for sale. Mary explains that it was her dad’s so maybe that’s why Connie doesn’t want to part with it. Sturgis is still clueless.

As Paige and Sheldon tour on, Paige is fascinated by a closed caveman exhibit and enters the area. Sheldon is alarmed as she defies the rule, but she again calls him “baby” and struts on. Irritated, he follows her exclaiming that it won’t work every time.

Back at the diner, Linda complains about how shifting too much and taking care of Paige’s special needs dented her marriage. Suddenly, she spots Barry and dashes out of the booth asking George to not reveal their meet. A few seconds later Barry is staring down at George and is indeed happy to see him. He’s surprised to know that both their kids are at the same lecture and asks if he’s seen Linda. George acts innocent. Barry eventually confides his marriage problems to George who now is just rolling his eyeballs at the poor soccer game.

Inside the exhibit Sheldon connects the prehistoric dinner scene to his family dinners as everybody eats together in a similar fashion. Paige dismally tells how her father’s always late from work and they don’t eat dinner together. She also tells that her parents are getting a divorce and she’s the reason behind it. As she speaks on, a guard knocks on the display glass and shouts at them to come out.

At the sale Billy and Missy finally agree on fifteen cents a week for a whole year and Missy will say “hello” to him at school when he greets her first. Sturgis apologizes to Connie for wearing her dead husband’s clothes and asks if she’s okay. She admits selling off her husband’s belongings has hit her hard. Sturgis appreciates her and deviates the topic to buying a hula-girl lamp on display. Connie decides to gift it to him. Witnessing this, Georgie comments it must be a nice haggle. Connie shoots back with a “nice mullet.”

At the museum Barry and George apologize to the guard for Paige and Sheldon’s actions. When Linda rushes in she and George put up quite the act of not recognizing each other initially and having a brief greet. While returning home Sheldon tells George about the probable diverse. After reaching home George adorably snuggles Mary and tells her about Sheldon’s shenanigans. Mary is surprised, but George is bursting with pride knowing that Sheldon can get into trouble with a girl! Mary is pissed and says she doesn’t want to talk about it. George pinpoints the statement saying that’s the reason he loves her so much.

At dinner Georgie asks Missy if she’ll eat her beans. Missy says yes. He asks if she’ll eat the tots. Missy’s irritated this time and Mary scolds him. The quarrelsome mood makes Sheldon imagine his family members as cavemen, strikingly similar to the exhibit humans. They all stare at him barking and shouting as Sheldon remains stupefied at the center, puzzled and scared.