All posts by DanTD

So, we now know the truth about the "other woman" that George Cooper supposedly had an affair with, and it's none other than Mary in a role-playing game as part of a sexual tryst between the two of them. And early teenage Sheldon had no idea what was really going on for the rest of his life.

Some say this aspect of the storyline has ruined the Big Bang Theory/Young Sheldon universe, or Sheldon himself. Not me. I thought it was kind of fun. When Sheldon walked back into the Cooper household right after Mary became "Helga," I knew this was the moment he would be convinced of his father's infidelity.

While we're at it, let's look back at all the female characters who could've been "the other woman."

Since late Season 4, the number one suspect has been Brenda Sparks. They have more in common with one another, he was always willing to fix her car, her household appliances, and things like that. She straight up invited him to her bedroom. Then again, Sheldon described the mistress as a barmaid, and Ms. Sparks is the manager of the local bowling alley.

For a long time, I've suspected it might've been Linda Swanson, a.k.a., Paige's mother. Just before Linda and Barry's divorce, the two of them confided in George while both their kids were at the Natural Science Museum of Texas in Houston, and he was trying to watch a football game at a restaurant. Linda was first though. If they had, it would've been a new excuse for Sheldon not to start a relationship with Paige. Then again, when she drove to Louisiana to pick Paige and Missy up from that police station after Missy stole her father's truck, he scoffed when she told them that her female marriage counselor recommended that the two of them get divorced.

Mary in disguise. I thought of this as a possibility, and the week before the episode aired, somebody on YouTube suggested this theory. However, instead of that Old Bavarian stereotype she actually pretended to be, my suspicions might've been that she was going to dress like some Houston hooker whose hair and makeup hasn't changed since the early-1980's.

In the meantime, I considered other possible suspects;

Shannon Dixon. The little girl who Mary babysat long ago, was all grown up even when we saw her in "Future Worf and the Margarita of the South Pacific." It's possible that she could've been looking for something from Mary, ran into George instead, and they discuss the contrast between their shared histories with her, and suddenly, they decide to fool around. On the other hand, while she is blonde, she's also young, though not too young.

Mandy McAllister. As you could probably guess, it'd be a typical routine where the two of them sit down and relax and discuss how insufferable Georgie, Sheldon, and Missy are, But the same case against Shannon applies to Mandy, plus, I don't think George wants to go fooling around with his future daughter-in-law, especially, since she already read some of Georgie's attempts at love notes and still tries to seduce him.

Veronica Duncan. Yeah, highly unlikely. The scenario I had in mind was her visiting Georgie, in a last-ditch effort to rekindle his previous crush on her, but she finds out about Georgie and Mandy, and gets upset. He tries to comfort her, then he really tries to comfort her. Not likely. The last time George saw her, she was staying over to escape from her mom's drunken boyfriend, who may have been seeking to use her as a mistress, Why would George do the same thing?

I even though PAIGE might've been the "woman" Sheldon catches him in bed with. George is no kiddie-diddler, so I think we can put that to rest.

One thing that should be noted from the episode "The Holiday Summation" was that Mary gave a religious lecture to Georgie, Missy, and George when she discovered they were "living in sin." I forget where I heard this, but I vaguely remember George's "mistress" giving him science-related gifts in an attempt to buy his silence on the matter. Then again, if this "other woman" knows that Sheldon is so heavily into science, it should be easy to figure out that she's not "the other woman."

So, hat's off to the cast and crew of Chuck Lorre Productions for clearing this up.