WhileThe Connersseason 7 ended theRoseannefranchise once and for all, the sitcom’s many forgotten plot lines highlight just how disappointing an ending this was.The Connersseries finalefocused on Dan’s failed attempt to get a pharmaceutical company to acknowledge their role in Roseanne’s opioid overdose years earlier.The Conners’ large cast of charactersreunited by Roseanne’s grave to open the check that the company sent Dan after his deposition, only for John Goodman’s character to be crushed by the realization that it was merely money for his transport to the courthouse.
This plot twist might have been heartbreaking, but it was also devastatingly realistic.The Conners, likeRoseannebefore it, always prided itself on remaining true to the challenges and struggles that real-life American working-class families face. As such, it was a welcome surprise to see the series avoid a saccharine, unrealistic ending in favor of this bracing, tragic coda. That said, whileDan’s emotional goodbye to Roseanne worked, many of season 7’s storylines were major letdowns. The spinoff ignored a plethora of promising plots set up in earlier seasons, disappointing viewers in the process.
7Dan and Ben’s Friendship Was Forgotten In The Conners Season 7
Darlene’s Husband Barely Spoke To Her Father
Dan and Ben’s unlikely friendship began when Darlene started dating the grouchy editor, but it was set in stone by Dan working at Ben’s family hardware store. When the store burned down in season 6, Ben used part of the insurance payout to provide Dan with severance pay that paid off his mortgage. Dan’s retirement was a welcome surprise inThe Connersseason 6, but it came with an unexpected consequence for the pair’s friendship.
Ames McNamara
Mark Conner-Healy
Dan and Ben’s awkward but sweet father-in-law/ son-in-law bond was one of the spinoff’s more organic relationships, but it vanished almost entirely in season 7. Earlier seasons mined humor from their attempts to get along as colleagues and family alike, but this dynamic was barely mentioned in season 7.The Connersseason 7 did acknowledge Dan and Ben’s disappointing ending when the two characters bemoaned their conflicting schedules, but this just amounted to the duo appearing in the same scene to complain that they never appear in the same scene. As a result,Ben’s story felt increasingly irrelevant.
6Beverly’s Trip Across America Was Ignored Throughout The Conners Season 7
The Fate of Jackie and Roseanne’s Mother Remained Largely Ambiguous
After decades of struggling with each other,Jackie and Beverly finally buried their beef in season 6, episode 3, “Moms and Rats.” This outing ended with Beverly heading off on a cross-country train trip, promising to spend her remaining days riding the rails. However, since Jackie reassured the family that she could always trace her mother’s cell, it seemed reasonable to assume this wasn’t the last viewers would see of Beverly.
Sadly, surprisingly, it was. Jackie’s offhand mention ofBeverly inThe Connersseries finalewas a glib gag that effectively admitted the sitcom forgot all about her, as Jackie told Roseanne’s grave that she had no idea where their mother was. For a character who dominatedRoseanne’s storylines and earlier seasons ofThe Conners, Bev’s disappearance felt more like a retcon than any type of real, substantive resolution. For all her flaws, the franchise’s matriarch deserved a better sendoff and a proper tribute to her legacy, especially considering the final season’s renewed focus on Roseanne.
5Darlene’s Writing Career Went Unmentioned In The Conners Season 7
Darlene’s Ambitions Of Becoming A Writer Were Dropped Unceremoniously
Beverly’s absence underlined just how muchThe Connersseason 7 avoided any difficult emotional payoffs. As such, it perhaps shouldn’t be shocking thatDarlene’s writing career was completely dropped inThe Connersseason 7. As noted in a 2018Vanity Fairarticle, Darlene’s writing ambitions once gave her future life plans outside of her hometown Lanford a tangible shape. This was central to herRoseanneseason 10 arc but, byThe ConnersSeason 7, the entire idea had vanished from the series.
For a character originally defined by her rebellious, artistic verve, the erasure of Darlene’s creative career plans felt like a betrayal.
Even though Ben was relaunching a magazine and needed all the help he could get, it didn’t even occur to Darlene that she could work with him onHardwaremagazine. For a character originally defined by rebellious artistic verve, the erasure of Darlene’s creative career plans felt like a betrayal. In sidelining Darlene’s inner life and her plans to make this a tangible, real career,The Connersabandoned what made herRoseanne’s breakout star and the closest thing to Roseanne’s true replacement in the spinoff.
4Harris’s Struggles Running The Lunchbox Were Dropped In The Conners Season 7
Darlene’s Daughter Faced A Lot Of Pressure In Season 6
In season 6’s premiere, Harris became The Lunchbox’s manager when Jackie finally admitted she had lost her passion for the restaurant. This seemed like a potential redemption arc and a clever nod toRoseanne’s legacy, as the granddaughter Roseanne once vehemently disliked could have become the one to finally make the struggling restaurant a success. However,The Connersseason 7 completely sidelined Harris’s strugglesand never even mentioned the hardships she faced when she took over running the place in season 6.
Harris’s challenges and growth at the restaurant were barely shown, with her only appearances focusing on Becky’s stint as a failed influencer and Harris’s flirtation with a new waiter. The Lunchbox had historically been a symbol of the family’s persevering work ethic in the face of hardship. As such, by forgetting about Harris’s season 6 arc,The Connersseason 7 tossed aside a golden opportunity to make Darlene’s daughter more like her late grandmother.
3Crystal’s Fate Was Left Unclear In The Conners Season 7
The Future Of Dan’s Stepmother Seemed Pretty Bleak
To be fair to the show’s creators,The Connersseason 7 didn’t have sufficient screen time to bring back manyRoseannecharacters. However, this left one character in a particularly troubling position. Season 6 revealed that Dan’s stepmother, Roseanne and Jackie’s friend, Crystal, was relying on Dan to pay for her medical expenses since his father’s death left her penniless. SinceThe Connersseason 7 forgot thisRoseannecharacterlike most of the rest of the original show’s supporting cast, viewers never even found out if Crystal survived the spinoff’s final outing.
Trading long-term emotional stakes for short-term narrative convenience, season 7 centered on Dan’s trial but not the fate of his ailing stepmother.
Even though her appearance in season 6 was a bizarre, tragic shock that demanded further clarification, season 7’s six episodes made no effort to explain her story. This made Crystal, alongside Chuckie Mitchell and his sick wife Anne Marie, another figure from the show’s past who was disregarded in the final outing. Trading long-term emotional stakes for short-term narrative convenience, season 7 centered on Dan’s trial but not the fate of his ailing stepmother, whose plighgt merited a brief cameo only a season earlier.
2DJ & Jerry’s Whereabouts Were Never Discussed In The Conners' Season 7
The Conners Sons Were Forgotten Completely In The Spinoff’s Final Outing
The fact thatThe Connersseason 7 introduced new charactersproves that the show’s lack of screen time wasn’t its only problem. The sitcom spinoff clearly also struggled with prioritizing its plots, focusing on Jane Lynch’s lawyer Jean, Seth Green’s divorced barfly Chad, and Zoe Perry’s sardonic cop instead of Darlene and Becky’s missing brothers, Jerry Garcia Conner and DJ. In the case of Jerry Garcia Conner, viewers could argue that he had been retconned since Roseanne’s death, and therefore his absence in season 7 wasn’t too surprising. However, DJ is a different story.
Until season 5’s premiere,Michael Fishman’s DJ played a major role in the early seasons ofThe Conners. As such, it was a shock when DJ not only never appeared in season 7, but never even merited a passing mention. Season 7 didn’t just forget DJ. Rather, the spinoff’s final outing acted as if he and his family, including his wife Geena and daughter Mary, had never even existed in the world of the series. This was particularly surprising since Mary remained a regular fixture in the series until the start of season 6.
1Louise’s School Board Position Was Forgotten In The Conners Season 7
Louise Was Elected To The School Board In Season 6
It would be fair if viewers didn’t expect Louise’s role on the school board to be mentioned again after her season 6 election. After all, she made it onto the board after campaigning, so presumably her hard work was done. However, this straightforward plot proves just how muchThe Connersseason 7 fell short of living up toRoseanne’s original legacy. In season 6, Louise started teaching music lessons to school kids but became unintentionally embroiled in controversy when the school revealed that ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” couldn’t be played as some parents feared the song had LGBTQ+ themes.
Mark’s struggles as an LGBTQ+ theme were central to the early seasons ofThe Conners, much like the late, great Martin Mull’s character, Leon Carp, was central to the events ofRoseanne’s original run.
Initially, the usually rebelliousThe Connersheroine Louisewas willing to comply with this rule. However, Mark and Becky argued that it was her responsibility to stick it to the close-minded censors, so Louise eventually ran for a role on the school board so she could make a difference. Mark’s struggles as an LGBTQ+ theme were central to the early seasons ofThe Conners, much like the late, great Martin Mull’s character, Leon Carp, was central to the events ofRoseanne’s original run. The show used to be interested in the realistic issues facing these marginalized characters.
As such, it would have been reasonable to assumeThe Connersseason 7 would explore how Louise’s role on the school board allowed her to challenge this dogma, and whether she felt pressured to change her stance once elected. This was exactly the sort of relevant social commentary that the original series strived to provide, and this plot offered the final outing a perfect opportunity to do so. Instead, Louise’s only role in season 7 was to provide emotional support for Dan as he decided whether to go to court. Thus,Roseanne’s spinoff reducedThe Connersheroine to a glorified sidekick.
