As the Conners prepare for a lawsuit over Roseanne’s death, John Goodman‘s character, Dan, struggles when it comes to being more emotional about her overdose.
During the Wednesday, April 16, episode of the hit ABC series, Dan’s attorney on the case Jean (Jane Lynch) told Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) about her biggest issue ahead of their deposition, saying, “I have been practicing with Dan and I can’t get him to be emotional when he talks about what happened with Roseanne. He just stuffs it down.”
She continued: “I even sent him links from depositions where loved ones really broke down to show him what will move a jury and he never opened them.”
Dan later admitted to daughters Darlene (Sara Gilbert) and Becky (Lecy Goranson) that he was “hiding” from Jean for the same reason.
Every Time the Final Season of ‘The Conners’ Mentioned Roseanne Barr’s Character
“She keeps pushing me to be more emotional for my deposition. I am just not good at opening up,” he admitted. “I drink to get in touch with my emotions but after five or six beers, I forget what I am supposed to be feeling.”
Dan blamed his childhood for not allowing him to dig deeper, adding, “[But] it probably won’t hurt me to try something different.” The last scene of the episode was Jean and Jackie singing “Danny Boy” while getting Dan drunk, which finally got him to tear up.
The final season of The Conners has brought up Roseanne Barr‘s character numerous times. Barr originally brought Roseanne to life in the OG sitcom, which aired on ABC from 1988 to 1997. After being briefly revived in 2018 — and Barr’s eventual exit from the series amid controversial social media posts — the story transformed into The Conners. The spinoff was created without Barr’s involvement and she hasn’t made an appearance since the drama.
“I just can’t bear it, so I don’t [watch],” Barr, 72, told The Los Angeles Times in February 2023 of the new show. “When they killed my character off, that was a message to me, knowing that I’m mentally ill or have mental health issues, that they did want me to commit suicide.”
She continued: “They killed my character … And all of that was to say thank you for bringing 28 million viewers, which they never had before and will never see again. Because they can kiss my a**.”
