Spoiler alert: This story contains details from the Oct. 23 episode of “The Conners.”
In last week’s premiere, “The Conners” dealt with the death of matriarch Roseanne Conner from an opioid overdose.
Tuesday’s second episode, “Tangled Up in Blue,” looks at the possible death of the marriage of Roseanne’s daughter, Darlene (Sara Gilbert), and David Healy (guest star Johnny Galecki). If that sounds too grim, don’t worry. ABC’s “Roseanne” spinoff finds some laughs – and no character died in the making of this episode.
The Darlene-David relationship has deep connections to the first incarnation of “Roseanne,” the hit 1988-97 comedy. The couple had an on-again, off-again relationship that eventually resulted in marriage and two children.
When “Roseanne” returned last spring, David, separated from Darlene and off helping the poor, returned to Lanford because he wanted to be closer to their kids, Harris and Mark. Although he had a girlfriend, Blue, a night of romance with Darlene teased the possibility that the couple would reunite.
Darlene (Sara Gilbert), right, takes issue with Blue (Juliette Lewis), the girlfriend of estranged husband David, on Tuesday’s episode of ABC’s ‘The Conners.’
That now seems unlikely. Tuesday’s episode opens as Darlene waits for David at a meeting with son Mark’s teacher. She gets a big surprise when David shows up with Blue (guest star Juliette Lewis), a nonsense-spouting know-it-all who acts like a Mark expert even though she barely knows him.
Then David springs another surprise on Darlene: He wants Mark and Harris to stay over at his place. Darlene agrees, despite wise reservations about Blue.
When David arrives to pick up the kids, we get a reference to the not-long departed Roseanne. “So strange being in your house without your mother,” he says. “When you and I were having problems, she’d always take me aside and say, ‘David, I can’t understand you when you’re crying.’”
Darlene jokes about David’s masculinity, a frequent topic in the original series: “You were the daughter she always wanted.”
A potential suitor (Justin Long), left, talks to Darlene (Sara Gilbert) at Casa Bonita during Tuesday’s episode of ABC’s ‘The Conners.’
Darlene is gauging whether they could get back together after last season’s hook-up, but that possibility appears squelched when David says, “I think I found my soulmate.” (Galecki’s busy with the final season of “The Big Bang Theory.”)
“That’s great,” Darlene says, her eyes glistening. “I just wanted clarity.”
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David’s relationship opens the door for romantic exploration by Darlene, a potentially promising storyline for the spinoff. At Casa Bonita, her aunt Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) tells Darlene she’s a catch, as her sister, Becky, serves them drinks.
“You’re an educated, diabetes-free woman in Lanford,” Jackie says. “There’s only two of us.”
Becky (Lecy Goranson), left, Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) and Darlene (Sara Gilbert) enjoy a moment together at Casa Bonita in Tuesday’s episode of ‘The Conners.’
A little too on cue (and a little too meet-cute), a potential suitor (guest star Justin Long) immediately appears, offering to buy Darlene a drink. There’s a spark, as viewers see Darlene sneaking back into the Conner house the next morning.
But guess who arrives just as she does? David. He’s there to talk about their daughter Harris, who slept with her boyfriend while staying at David’s place.
Darlene rushes to pick up her kids and isn’t in the mood for a female-empowerment lecture from Blue, calling her “a crystal-licking, patchouli-smelling, hippie (expletive).”
On the way home, Darlene engages in a mother-daughter sex discussion.
“How well do you know the boy?” she asks. “Pretty well,” Harris (Emma Kenney) responds, pausing. “Better now.”
When Darlene asks more questions, Harris responds, “Did you tell your mom you were going to have sex?” It’s a good reminder how roles have flipped for Darlene, who was the teenager under scrutiny on “Roseanne.”
Becky (Lecy Goranson), right, tries to persuade her father, Dan (John Goodman), to let her join his construction crew in Tuesday’s episode of ABC’s ‘The Conners.’
Despite some verbal jousting, Harris wants her mom to go with her when she gets a morning-after pill.
Later, Darlene, realizing David is serious about Blue and finding her own romantic possibility, says it’s time they got a divorce. It’s a sad, genuine moment.
The episode closes with David and Dan – who didn’t respond well when David and Darlene were teens having sex – talking about the challenges of parenting. David reminisces about sneaking in to have sex with Darlene while Roseanne and Dan were downstairs.
Dan, smiling menacingly, floats a thinly veiled threat: “You know, David, if you disappeared, I don’t think anybody would notice.”
David understands: “I pushed too hard. I felt it.” Roseanne may be gone, but a parent still holds the upper hand in the Conner household.
Bonus: The episode also features a subplot in which Becky goes to work in construction for Dan, but her unhealthy dependence on alcohol gets in the way. That could prove an interesting story later.
