The Conners season 6, episode 4 sees Darlene worry over Mark in college, indirectly forcing her to admit her long mistreatment of David.
Darlene’s latest The Conners season 6 problem causes her to finally admit to her mistreatment of David 27 years later after Roseanne. After being absent in its first three episodes, Mark finally makes an appearance in The Conners season 6, episode 4, “Shrinks Don’t Talk and Kids Don’t Sing,” which sees him getting used to being a college commuter student. Much of his arc in season 5 revolved around securing funding for school. Much like most things about the Conners, things didn’t go his way, resulting in Darlene having to make a big sacrifice to ensure his academic future.
Admittedly, Darlene’s decision to leave her cushy job to be a lunch lady at Mark’s school to help him pay for it remains a controversial decision. It seemed counter-intuitive for her to jeopardize her future when there were other ways that her son could have continued with college without her making that significant sacrifice. However, she was determined to give Mark as much as he needed. She remains committed to the idea in The Conners season 6 when she goes to great lengths to learn why Mark is seeing a shrink, resulting in her finally confessing to David’s mistreatment.
Estelle Parsons as Bev with Ed and Dan Conner in The Conners
The Conners writes out Estelle Parsons’ Bev in season 6 while also setting up a horrible trend with how the Roseanne spinoff handles deaths.
Darlene Admits Her Poor Treatment Of David In The Conners Season 6, Episode 4
David endured years of maltreatment from Darlene and even her family.
Sara Gilbert’s Darlene checks her phone on the couch in The Conners season 6 episode 3
In The Conners season 6, episode 4, “Shrinks Don’t Talk and Kids Don’t Sing,” Darlene starts to become concerned over Mark’s new life in school after seeing him coming out of the therapist’s office. She goes to great lengths trying to determine the reason for his visit, starting by slyly talking to the therapist during her lunch break. However, bound by law, she couldn’t divulge any information about the session. This doesn’t deter Darlene, and she eventually reaches out to her son about the matter.
As Darlene lists down all the possible reasons for Mark’s issues, she touches upon her split from David and how it may have impacted their son. When he says that he couldn’t sleep well, she theorizes that he’s “lying up awake thinking about how I drove your father away and how it’s left you without the ability to form long, trusting relationships with other people.” The line is played for laughs, but it secretly highlights the maltreatment that David endured not just from Darlene, but from her whole family during Roseanne.
Darlene dominated the relationship and David was much of a pushover to let her.
Unlike his brother, Mark, who was more aggressive and sure of himself, David was often meek and timid. That made it easy for Darlene to railroad him for the most part of their relationship. While there was no doubt that she liked him, she could be far too harsh and inconsiderate of his feelings. Darlene dominated the relationship and David was much of a pushover to let her. It didn’t help that he was also forced to cater to the whole family when he was living with them.
The Conners Makes The Destruction Of David Worse
The Conners season 5 finale fully destroys David’s character.
Just because Darlene and her family maltreated David, it doesn’t absolve him of his crimes. He needs to be accountable for his misgivings as a father to both Harris and Mark. In his return in The Conners, he promised that he would stay and rebuild his family with Darlene. She was skeptical at first, only to be let down by him, once again. David has admitted that his inability to handle his emotions causes him to run away and hide from everything instead of addressing them.
It’s misleading and totally unfair to simply cast David as a villain because of his transgressions without taking into consideration his full history with the clan.
Still, it seems incorrect that The Conners ruined David beyond repair. As a family, the Conners tend to use humor to deal with more serious issues — that’s one of the major appeals of the Roseanne franchise as a whole. That being said, it’s misleading and totally unfair to simply cast David as a villain because of his transgressions without taking into consideration his full history with the clan.
Will David Ever Return In The Conners?
Johnny Galecki is currently on hiatus.
Johnny Galecki as David in The Conners
Bev’s seeming The Conners season 6 exit is preceded by several other major cast exits from the show, although the writers have maintained that they are always open to bringing back familiar faces to the Roseanne spinoff sequel. That idea extends to David. Despite Johnny Galecki’s previous appearances, however, the actor is currently on hiatus, making it impossible to stage his comeback. His return will be spelled out by the show’s future stories and Galecki’s willingness to reprise his role as David. For what it’s worth, The Conners season 5 finale effectively removes the pressure to feature him again.
The Conners season 6 airs new episodes every Wednesday, 8pm ET on ABC.
The Conners is a spinoff of Roseanne, a popular sitcom beginning in 1988 that starred John Goodman as Dan Conner and Roseanne Barr as Roseanne Conner. After the Roseanne revival was canceled in 2018, The Conners continued the storyline of the lovable middle-class family and their lives in the fictional town of Lanford, Illinois. The Emmy award-winning series brings back Dan’s children, Darlene, Becky, and DJ, played by Sara Gilbert, Alicia Goranson, and Michael Fishman, respectively.
SEE MORE: The Conners Season 6 Brings Back Roseanne’s Worst Revival Joke
