What Happened to George Cooper Sr. on 'Young Sheldon'? (SPOILERS)

This article contains spoilers for Season 7, Episode 12 of Young Sheldon.

Fans are having to say goodbye to a main character of Young Sheldon, the long-running prequel of The Big Bang Theory, just before the series comes to an end.

Indeed, George Cooper Sr., played by Lance Barber, dies. This is Sheldon's dad, so obviously the death is a big deal, especially since fans see the genius dealing with the aftermath of the loss in his adult life.

So what happened to George on Young Sheldon? Read on for details of the sad day we knew was on the horizon.

In the episode entitled "A New Home and a Traditional Texas Torture," George dies ahead of the finale of the show. Of course, fans always knew this would happen if they kept up with the plot of The Big Bang Theory.

The much-anticipated event starts with George leaving for work just like any other day, saying to his family, "See y'all later." Except, this doesn't happen.

Soon, co-workers must deliver the awful news to the Coopers that he passed away. But how? As fans will recall, George endured various health struggles, including a small heart attack during a previous season.

Now, a colleague tells Sheldon's mom and George's wife Mary that he suffered another heart attack, but this time, he did not survive.

Heartbreakingly, Missy asks, "He's OK right?" It's clear from the look on the co-workers' faces that he is not.

We then see Sheldon in the background take a seat in a chair, clearly in shock.

The cast of the show clearly liked how George's storyline played out even if they didn't want to say so long to their castmate.

"It's a great episode. You barely even see it coming," Iain Armitage, who plays Sheldon, told Entertainment Tonight, adding that, "It's not like the whole episode is like mournful and dreary."

Meanwhile, Zoe Perry, who plays Mary, said she understands that the turn of events will be sad for viewers, even if we knew it was coming all along.

Indeed, fans took to social media to share their sadness about George's passing, with some even admitting to bawling over the loss.

"[It's] 3:45 am and I’m getting emotional because George Cooper died in Young Sheldon," one fan tweeted.

"I didn’t know I was this attached to George as a character. I am bawling like hell now in a train. George wasn’t a perfect dad, but he was a damn good one... Will miss you George Cooper," someone else tweeted.

"As a Big Bang, fan I was totally expecting George to be as bad as mentioned in the show. But I freaking love him and I'M NOT READY to say goodbye," a viewer wrote on the show's official Instagram page.

Finally, a post from Chuck Lorre Productions revealed there were tears on set when the scenes were shot.

As Lance told TV Insider about the way his character dies so suddenly, “I imagine this whole thing will be polarizing. Some people will not like it because it’s hard and some people will appreciate it because it’s hard. I certainly do.”