Young Sheldon was one of the many shows ending or canceled in 2024, and its finale was definitely a long time coming. The final episodes included George Sr.’s long-anticipated death, and the funeral scene made it all the more heartbreaking. Since Lance Barber was there, both as a corpse for the open casket and in disguise as a grieving old lady, he had some specific plans for the funeral itself. However, it didn’t exactly go his way.
The CBS prequel remained mostly light-hearted throughout its seven-season run, but emotions were running high while filming the series finale. Not only because the show was nearing the end, but because they were saying goodbye to such a big character (even though everyone knew it was coming at some point). However, Barber told THR he actually had plans to mess up the funeral, and it would have definitely kept things a lot lighter, even if just for a little bit. But it didn't happen for one major reason.
I’m going to ruin so many takes. … I’ve got a fart machine and a fake mustache — but quickly realized how emotional the experience was.
I’m guessing everyone on set was in need of some fun, and it would have been a great blooper reel that could have been made available for those with a Paramount+ subscription if the fart machine gag had played out. But it sounds like the end result was exactly what the show needed. Instead of putting on a fake mustache and using a fart machine, the exact opposite happened. Barber recalled what made him change his mind, and I can’t say that I blame him:
These actors walked up in succession to talk to George and had their moments with him. I didn’t do any of my funny bets, I laid there and [had] tears in my ears the entire time. It hit me pretty hard in the way it didn’t anticipate.
The funeral was such a heavy and important scene, especially when some of the characters were telling their stories. While the jokes would have definitely broken the tension and sadness, I personally feel it worked a whole lot better with everyone in their element and full of emotions. The whole thing was a mix of saying goodbye to George Sr. and Lance Barber and coming to terms with Young Sheldon ending as a whole.
Iain Armitage previously shared that George's death didn’t hit how he expected, noting that it was more about Lance than it was about the character. He also admitted that it was hard filming those final scenes without his TV dad, and having some pranks during the funeral would have definitely changed the mood. For better or worse? We'll never know.
George Sr.’s death has been expected for quite some time now. On The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon revealed that he lost his dad when he was a teenager, around 14 or 15 years old. Young Sheldon had foreshadowed George’s death before, and even though the series included some Big Bang inconsistencies, such as George cheating on Mary and Sheldon finding him, many knew that his death was inevitable. The penultimate episode ended with his off-screen death and the Coopers getting the news, and it was as heartbreaking as ever.
There was still some humor in the series finale, especially when it came to Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik’s cameos, so it wasn’t all tears. The funeral was one scene where it should have remained raw and emotional, and it’s a good thing Lance Barber had a change of heart. It made the scene all the more real.
