AceShowbiz - In the latest episode of "Young Sheldon", the CBS prequel to "The Big Bang Theory", the young Sheldon Cooper loses his father, George Sr., to a heart attack. The departure of Lance Barber, who played George Sr. since the show's inception, has been met with tributes and emotional responses from the cast.

Iain Armitage, the actor portraying young Sheldon, expressed his affection for Barber and his onscreen father. "Love you, George! Love you, Lance!!!" he wrote on Instagram.

Executive producer Steve Holland explained the decision to kill off George Sr. "We wanted to do it in a way that was hopefully a little surprising," he said. "So that's why it happens at the end of [episode 12] - we thought maybe we can catch people off guard."

Lance Barber had known about his character's eventual departure since the beginning of the show. "He's known since the beginning of the show that George Sr. had an expiration date," Holland said. "We slowed time down a little bit… We stretched one year out into a couple seasons to keep Lance alive as far as long as we could. But he always knew this was coming."

According to Barber, the cast has been emotionally preparing for this moment for seven years. "It doesn't keep it from landing kind of strange on you when you're in the moments," he shared with ET.

Montana Jordan and Zoe Perry, who play Sheldon's brother, Georgie, and mother, Mary, respectively, agreed. "I don't know if there is any preparing anybody for it. It's just going to have to hit you, hit you hard too," Jordan said. Perry added, "We knew we were gonna end around that time, but discovering how and is still kind of new to us. I imagine if it's sad for us, it will be sad for people who have watched from the beginning."

Despite the sadness surrounding George Sr.'s death, Armitage emphasized that it's not entirely a mournful event. "The last episode that we're seeing George in really is just a beautiful and great episode right up until the last [moment]," he said. "You barely even see it coming."

As "Young Sheldon" approaches its conclusion, the cast reflects on the emotional journey they have shared over seven seasons. "We have had some roller coasters of emotions and some tears, all the appropriate things you would expect after seven years of being together in this wonderful journey," Barber said.

Annie Potts, who plays Sheldon's grandmother, added, "It's gonna be a very emotional time for us here and for those who have been watching the show."

Armitage expressed his hopes for the show's legacy. "In 20 or 30 years, or maybe 10 or 20 years, I hope that people who watch this show [now, who are] my age or a little older, are watching with their kids or are saying, 'Oh, remember Young Sheldon? That was funny. I always liked that,'" he said. "I'd like it to be a piece of nostalgia and a comfort show."