Young Sheldon Finale Features Major Big Bang Theory Cameos

The Big Bang Theory‘s final two episodes pulled on fans’ heart-strings in a lot of ways, and it looks like Young Sheldon continued the emotional night even further.

Spoilers for tonight’s season two finale of Young Sheldon below! Only look if you want to know!

The episode, which aired right after Big Bang‘s series finale, followed a young Sheldon Cooper trying to listen to the Nobel Prize award announcements (foreshadowing his endgame in the latter-set show’s finale). At the episode’s end, the show hammered at the idea of growth and legacy even more, flashing to the younger versions of the Big Bang cast in their various childhood orbits.

Young Leonard and Young Raj could both be seen at desks in their respective, while Young Penny fell asleep in a colorful bedroom. Young Howard was shown playing video games in a bean bag chair, Young Bernadette was shown peacefully falling asleep, and Young Amy was shown reading Little House on the Prairie by flashlight.

It’s an adorable sequence that not only ties together the two shows (without breaking continuity and having them meet each other), while also honoring the flagship show’s impressive run.

“It’s such a tremendous night for Big Bang Theory,” Young Sheldon showrunner Steve Molaro told TVLine. “we were hopeful to find a way to somehow make it feel like a cohesive [night of programming] and, more importantly, pay homage to Big Bang, which was ending and which was the birthplace of Young Sheldon. And this was, hopefully, a way we were able to achieve that.”

“I do think it is a moving and powerful ending for Young Sheldon that is, at the same time, a love letter to Big Bang Theory,” Molaro added.

In a way, Big Bang’s sendoff tied quite a bit into the world of Sheldon Cooper, as Jim Parsons was part of the reason the show has ultimately come to an end.

“It was the first time in my life of doing this show that it occurred to me that I might want to not do another contract after [season] 12 was up,” Parsons said in a recent interview. “I don’t know if it’s because I’m an Aries or just because maybe I’m in touch with myself. Whatever it is, once I had that thought, I was like, ‘Well, that’s your answer.’”

“There was no factor; there was no situation that I was like, ‘Well, I’ve had enough of that.’ No. There was nothing like that. It was just…when you know, you know. And you’re susceptible and thrown around by the whims of your own existence and getting to a certain age and your life changes and suddenly you just think different,” he said. “It has been fascinating to think about who I was 12 years ago. And sometimes when I have trouble learning a line or saying a line of Sheldon’s right now, it’s hard to know why specifically. But it’s like, you’re not the same person you were. There is a possibility that this actually became more difficult for you in a way. And I don’t know what that means but it’s like you just change.”

What do you think of Young Sheldon‘s Big Bang Theory crossover? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Young Sheldon will return for a third season this fall on CBS.