'Young Sheldon' Episode 10 recap: The Coopers try life without Sheldon

"An Eagle Feather, a String Bean, and an Eskimo" -- Pictured: Sheldon (Iain Armitage) and Tam (Ryan Phuong). When Sheldon moves to Dallas to attend a school for gifted children, the family struggles to cope with his absence, on YOUNG SHELDON, Thursday, Jan. 4 (8:31-9:01 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Monty Brinton/CBS ©2017 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (©2017 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved)

What happens when Sheldon finally gets a chance to leave his family and live in an environment of academia? That’s exactly what the 9-year-old genius had to deal with in the first episode of "Young Sheldon" of 2018.

The episode opens with Sheldon’s parents meeting with his principal. Despite being in high school at age 9, he has to admit that the curriculum can’t keep up with him. He’s finishing his work, getting bored and being rude to teachers.

“I don’t want to embarass you so I’ll give you a moment to think about what you just said,” he tells a math teacher after she thinks she solved a problem on the blackboard.

Needless to say that Sheldon is giving the entire high school too much grief. The principal suggest sending him to a private school. The only issue is that the one best suited for his needs is in Dallas, several hours away. The youngster would have to live with a foster family and commute home on Fridays for the weekend. It’s a stellar opportunity for Sheldon, but Mary can’t wrap her head around the idea of sending her son to live elsewhere.

George Sr. suggests giving Sheldon a say in all this. Captivated by the idea of a different school that’s closer to his level, he’s on board immediately. Just like that, the family is off to Dallas to meet the woman he’ll be staying with. She’s an academic who seems perfectly suited to take care of his very specific needs. Meanwhile, everyone but Mary is just excited to get a break from Sheldon.

That is until Sheldon finally moves away. George Sr. thinks the foster family looked nice, but Mary got a bad feeling. They sit down to dinner for the first time without Sheldon and his absence is noticeable, but in a bad way. George Sr. has to hold George Jr.’s dirty hand during grace, Missy has to go to bed alone and Mary can’t stop crying.

At night, George Sr. overhears Missy talking to Sheldon even though he’s not there and walks in on MeeMaw and Mary arguing. He’s had enough. He grabs his coat and makes the trek to Dallas in the middle of night one of Sheldon's stay. Fortunately, Sheldon is all-too-happy to come home having had a terrible first night. The ceiling fan above his bed conjures images of his own decapitation and the dust ruffle makes him painfully aware of the existence of dust around his bed. However, it was his foster parent's "hippie music" that sealed the deal.

“Dad,” he says. “I’m glad you came to get me.”

It seems that despite his grating nature, the Cooper family simply doesn’t work without its most annoying member. This was made evident by the typically reserved Missy leaping out of her bed and hugging her twin brother upon seeing he’d returned the next morning.

The episode ends with the true victims of this ordeal, the high school teachers, who are drinking their troubles away in the faculty lounge at 11 a.m.