Young Sheldon – Training Wheels and an Unleashed Chicken

By: Sammi Turano

The episode opens with Sheldon (Iain Armitage) worrying about his class schedule and getting to his next class in ten minutes via a word problem, as told by Adult Sheldon (Jim Parsons).  He practices by talking fast when he runs into Billy (Wyatt McClure). He says he cannot talk because he is in the middle of a word problem.

When Sheldon gets home he asks Mary (Zoe Perry) and Meemaw (Annie Potts) if he will hit puberty in the next few weeks. Meemaw says she hopes not and asks why. Sheldon says he needs an extra does of testosterone to get across campus on time. The ladies offer suggestions such as leaving class early, running or bike riding. He shoots down all those ideas and goes to ask Georgie (Montana Jordan) for help. He tells him that he can be less annoying so people don’t chase him, but once Sheldon points out why he needs to work out he teaches him how to lift weights. He also asks George for a human growth hormone and if his team uses it. George (Lance Barber) says they lost 63-9 last season, so Sheldon says he should look into it and then give some to him.

Finally, he convinces Missy (Raegan Revord) to teach him how to ride a bike without training wheels. This goes well until he has a run in with a chicken and falls, breaking his arm.

Missy tells George what happened and he goes to help him. Sheldon wants his mom, but she isn’t home. He cannot bend his arm, so George takes him to the ER….But not before Billy apologizes for his chicken getting loose and telling him to have fun.

At the doctor he finds out his ulna is broken and worries because it is his dominant arm. The doctor says the cast cannot get wet, so he can protect it by wrapping it in a garbage bag. He is not willing to do this and accuses George of getting a cheap doctor because they are poor.

Mary arrives and after bickering with George over what happened is able to comfort Sheldon, offending George.

At home Missy offers to sign his cast. Sheldon wonders why and Missy says that is what kids do. He reminds her he is not a kid and does not want a reminder of his broken arm. He also thinks she will write something mean. She promises not to because doing that can get her into trouble. She learned that the hard way.

Missy finally convinces him to let her sign the cast, but he freaks out because she used you’re instead of your. Adult Sheldon says she has a big heart and if that were only the case with her brain. He says his arm is defaced with a grammatical error and she says that is” YOUR problem, Y-O-U-R.”

Brenda (Melissa Peterman) comes over to apologize for her chickens causing the accident and bring over dinner as a peace offering……and to ask about his insurance covering the break. Sheldon tells her not to worry, but he is a bit worried when he sees she brought over fried chicken.

Sheldon talks to Georgie about what to expect being left handed. He tells him cutting, shaking hands and driving are hard. Sheldon says he doesn’t do any of those things and wonders why Georgie complains so much about being a lefty.

At dinner George and Georgie help Sheldon put on gloves to say grace. Mary has his food cut into bite sized pieces, but he is still worried about eating. Georgie talks about his friend breaking his leg and how it was skinny and smelly when the cast came off, like beef jerky with toes. Mary tells them to just eat. Georgie says the chicken is good and George says it is from Brenda. Everyone is a bit wary after that.

Sheldon goes to use the restroom and realizes he needs help with his zipper, leading to a montage of Mary helping Sheldon to the tune of “I Got You Babe.”

Missy goes to help him ride the bike again, but Sheldon keeps hearing Mary’s voice saying he needs her, freaking him out. It turns out it is a dream, upsetting Mary as he mutters in his sleep and annoying Missy.

Mary and George discuss this, causing George to say maybe it is time for her to let Sheldon grow up. She goes to talk to Meemaw who says that despite bourbon in her coffee and going grey overnight due to an unplanned pregnancy, she needs to let the kids grow up and be independent.

Sheldon tries to name Nobel Peace winners to distract himself from his cast. Missy yells and him and tells him to quit being a baby. She says Stephen Hawking doesn’t whine in his robot voice and he thinks she is saying they both have brilliant minds. She says that is not it, but he disagrees. However, he sings himself “Soft Kitty” instead of having Mary sing it.

The next morning he realizes he slept through the night and wakes up Missy at 6:15 am. She says this is why people hate him, but he doesn’t care because he knows he can do anything. With Adult Sheldon narrating, we see him take on his usual tasks, including using the bathroom without making a mess (which George wants him to teach his brother), opening jelly, debating with the pastor (Matt Hobby) and bathing. He then decides he wants to remember this time and has everyone sign his cast.

The episode ends with Sheldon getting his cast off and being able to ride his bike eleven miles while being chased by a dog.