The Conners Season 7’s Darlene Story Ends Up Being Pointless (But It’s For The Better)

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Conners season 7, episode 4, “Danny Boy, the Interview, the New Hire, and the Hanging Chad.”

Although The Conners series finale made one season 7 plot redundant, this was better than the Roseanne spinoff taking the opposite approach. While The Conners series finale wasn’t perfect, it would be hard for any Roseanne viewer to hate it. The ending of the original series was infamously bad, with Roseanne’s narration abruptly revealing that her love interest, John Goodman’s Dan, died at the beginning of season 9 and all the preceding season’s events were a fantasy she made up to distract herself.

It would have been hard for The Conners season 7’s ending to outdo this misjudged, maudlin moment, so Dan’s emotional goodbye in The Conners finale was a much more fitting end to the sitcom franchise. That said, the new characters of The Conners season 7 still felt unnecessary as the series reached its conclusion. Jane Lynch’s heavy-drinking lawyer Jean wasn’t even present at Dan’s deposition after coaching him, and the family lost the case that they brought against the pharmaceutical manufacturers responsible for Roseanne’s overdose regardless.

Darlene and Chad’s The Conners Season 7 Relationship Didn’t Go Anywhere

The Conners Series Finale Saw Ben and Darlene Reconnect

Meanwhile, Zoe Perry’s cop who mocked Jackie’s attempts to rejoin the force never found out that Jackie passed the physical, meaning she never had to eat her words. While The Conners heroine Becky’s season 7 fate was fittingly upbeat, her sister Darlene’s story with a new character was perhaps the most pointless season 7 subplot of all. After Darlene spent weeks bitterly drinking and complaining about her husband, Ben, and Seth Green’s charming divorced barfly Chad, she realized this constituted an emotional affair and confronted Ben over spending too much time at work.

If nothing else, the series finale at least didn’t ruin Darlene & Ben’s marriage at the last moment.

They had their first conversation in weeks, Ben immediately understood Darlene’s grievance and admitted he’d taken her for granted, and the entire conflict was resolved instantly. Darlene’s The Conners season 7 arc was disappointing because it involved almost no conflict, with Ben going from an absent partner to a perfect one in an instant. Unlike The Conners season 7’s missing characters David Healy, Beverly, or. DJ, the issue here wasn’t the show forgetting or sidelining Darlene. She was front and center, just embroiled in a pointless plot that didn’t go anywhere.

The Conners Not Paying Off Darlene & Chad’s Relationship Is Better Than The Alternative

Darlene And Seth Green’s New Character Got A Surprising Amount Of Screen Time

If nothing else, the series finale at least didn’t ruin Darlene & Ben’s marriage at the last moment. That said, the episode did forget a much more fitting conclusion to her story. As noted in a 2018 VanityFair article, Darlene wanted to work as a writer in the original series and the revival but never had the necessary financial stability due to supporting her children. As such, it was bizarre that she didn’t begin working with Ben at his magazine.

Lecy Goranson's Becky looks upset standing in the living room in The Conners season 7 episode 3

Roseanne’s Painful Death Resolves 1 Lingering Issue In The Conners Ahead Of Its Ending

The Conners season 7 episode 3 made Roseanne’s death even more tragic with Becky and Dan’s storyline, but this was ultimately a good choice.

Admittedly, The Conners short-changing Harris was more noticeable than the shortcomings of Darlene’s subplot, since Darlene still gained plenty of season 7 screen time. However, Darlene transitioning to working with Ben could have reignited their romantic spark and given her the career she had dreamed of for decades. As such, it was a crushing disappointment to see The Conners series finale ignore the Roseanne heroine’s potential perfect ending.

Source: VanityFair

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