Lance Barber's Favorite Young Sheldon Episode Is Largely Forgotten

Narratively speaking, the "Big Bang Theory" spin-off "Young Sheldon" is a surprisingly different animal than its parent show. The prequel nature of "Young Sheldon" meant that certain characters arrived with certain expectations, and among the biggest questions was how the show would treat Sheldon Cooper's (Iain Armitage) father, who came pre-characterized as a pretty awful person. Indeed, Lance Barber was worried about playing George Cooper Sr. for this very reason, but the show ultimately addressed the concerns by turning George Sr. into such a likable character that co-creator Chuck Lorre came to regret killing him off on "The Big Bang Theory."

Barber ended up having quite a bit of fun with the role, too. However, his favorite moments was quite different from what you might think. In a 2019 interview with Mashable India, he named the comparatively obscure season 2 episode "Albert Einstein and the Story of Another Mary" as his favorite one just from an acting standpoint:

"If we're talking about the fun, actor-y stuff that I got to do, it'll be this episode in season 2 in which Mary was pregnant. There were moments in this episode that were heavy lifting for us as actors. When I watched it, I thought it turned out pretty great."

Zoe Perry (who plays Sheldon's mother, Mary Cooper) concurred with the sentiment, noting that Barber's performance, in particular, was a sight to behold:

"There is definitely a treat we get when we get together, cast and crew, on set and watch an episode together. With that one in particular, I was so moved by Lance in a particular scene, because I wasn't exactly looking at him during the scene.

"Albert Einstein and the Story of Another Mary" (which is the 17th episode of "Young Sheldon" season 2) is indeed a wham of an outing, though Sheldon himself wouldn't necessarily realize it. Grim and tragic by the show's standards, this particular chapter focuses on Mary discovering she's pregnant and then losing the baby, all in the span of a single episode.

The incredibly sad scene where George learns of this loss and comforts Mary (which Barber was presumably referring to with his "heavy lifting" comment) is a rough one to watch, there's no two ways about it. It doesn't exactly help that Sheldon, who spends much of the episode preoccupied with a typically complex plot to emulate Albert Einstein's musical skills by converting to Judaism, walks in afterwards and informs his teary-eyed mother he has canceled his plan ... thus leading Sheldon to form an extremely mistaken core memory of his mother being moved to tears by his decision to continue being an atheist under the Baptist umbrella.

"Albert Einstein and the Story of Another Mary" is certainly one of the show's saddest episodes, but it doesn't really have any business claiming to be the saddest one. George Sr.'s death is so integral to the show's fabric that the episode where it finally takes place — "Young Sheldon" season 7, episode 12, which is aptly titled "The Funeral" — was always destined to hold that position. Still, relatively forgotten as this season 2 standout might be, at least Barber and Perry hold it close to their hearts.

"Young Sheldon" is currently streaming on HBO Max.