Long before their heated rivalry in Young Sheldon, two of its stars squared off in an iconic Pixar movie — and fans have only just clocked it.
Meemaw (aka Connie Tucker) was both a staple of the Young Sheldon cast and the Season 7 finale, but she was also responsible for creating one of the show’s best rivalries.
Ex-boyfriend Dr. Sturgis didn’t see eye-to-eye with later boyfriend Dale Ballard, but now fans have worked out that the rivalry was born somewhere else — in iconic 2004 Pixar movie The Incredibles.
While Dale actor Craig T. Nelson voices Mr. Incredible himself, Sturgis’ Wally Shawn previously voiced Gilbert, Bob Parr’s former boss.
“Incredibles had a goated voice cast. They also had Mike Ehrmentraut and Saul Goodman,” one Young Sheldon fan posted on Reddit, with another agreeing, “Kind of a nice reverse since Mr Incredible was the nice one and the boss was the mean one.”
Gilbert is an antagonist in The Incredibles, known for being mean, uncaring, and self-centered. Bob is fired after throwing him against a wall, but he also hated working at the insurance company.
In Young Sheldon, these roles are reversed. Dr. Sturgis is a unique, lovable man who nurtures Sheldon’s scientific mind, and relishes his relationship with Connie. After the two break up in Season 3, Connie meets Dale, a cantankerous and straight-shooting guy who is the stereotype of old-school masculinity.
By the time both are seen in Season 7, their relationship has mellowed out and is a far cry from the tense fishing trip they took with George and Georgie shortly after Connie and Dale got together. Dale also picked on Sturgis for his mental illness, which was the trigger for him and Connie breaking up in the Season 2 finale.
However, some fans feel as though Sturgis and Connie were better suited, wondering what she saw in Dale in the first place.
“I‘ve grown to like Dale a lot, but I still feel like Connie should have ended up with Sturgis. Their love felt very pure and sincere,” one fan stated.