Since The Conners season 7 will be the last outing of Roseanne’s spinoff, the family sitcom needs to explain the absence of one major character. The Conners has jettisoned a lot of characters from Roseanne’s original run over the years. The Conners has a large cast of characters, so it is no surprise that the series doesn’t feel the need to bring back every supporting star from the original series. However, it is still striking to see pivotal figures like Tom Arnold’s Arnie Thomas or Martin Mull’s iconic Roseanne character Leon Carp unmentioned in the spinoff.
Since The Conners began life by killing off Roseanne’s title character, it makes sense that the spinoff wants to distance itself from its predecessor and gain an independent identity of its own. That said, this approach can go too far. Simply ignoring important characters or dropping them without any explanation is a poor replacement for gradually writing out characters who are no longer central to the show’s story. This could prove a problem for The Conners season 7 which will have to explain the absence of one original Roseanne family member who hasn’t been seen in a long time.
The Conners season 6 wasted one of the Roseanne spinoff’s most underrated stars again, and I’m getting increasingly annoyed by this pattern.
The Conners Season 7 Can’t Ignore Roseanne’s DJ
The Roseanne Supporting Star Was Quietly Dropped In The Conners Season 5
Although he was never officially killed off, The Conners season 5 unceremoniously dropped Roseanne’s DJ by announcing that he had moved out of Lanford for a new job. This revelation came after seasons 3 and 4 of the spinoff struggled to give DJ as much screen time as his sisters, Becky and Darlene. Becky’s drinking problem and the birth of her child Beverly-Rose made her one of the show’s main characters during this era. Darlene’s character arc during this era focused on her love triangle with David and Ben, as well as the exploits of her children, Mark and Harris.
DJ needs to return at least once before The Conners ends for good.
Since Mark’s The Conners season 7 story could end up being central to the spinoff’s entire ending, it is fair to say that the Roseanne follow-up needed to devote this screen time to Darlene’s kids in its earlier outings. However, DJ is still one of the three original Conner children, and he played a pivotal part in Roseanne‘s original run. Since he was not killed off and his daughter Mary remained a supporting character for a full season after he disappeared, DJ needs to return at least once before The Conners ends for good. Unfortunately, this could prove tricky.
DJ’s Role In The Conners Never Really Worked
The Roseanne Spinoff Didn’t Know What To Do With DJ
Throughout Roseanne’s original run, DJ’s role in the family was easy to discern. Younger than his sisters, DJ was a rebellious but good-natured kid, while Darlene and Becky were precocious teens. However, when Roseanne became The Conners, the show had no idea what to do with the adult version of DJ. Becky’s character is defined by her impulsivity, with her innate sweetness struggling against her recklessness. In contrast, Darlene was defined by her sardonic, bitter sense of humor, with the character’s pessimistic outlook only becoming more entrenched in the decades since Roseanne’s story ended thanks to many disappointments.
Bringing back DJ is difficult.
In contrast, DJ’s adult self didn’t have a meaningful character arc in The Conners and this made his storylines a slog. While Jackie’s Lunchbox plot was imperfect, it at least gave Roseanne’s grieving sister something to do. In contrast, DJ was often simply present, with his wife Geena and his daughter Mary getting better subplots since they were more active, dynamic characters. Even then, Mary and Geena’s storylines weren’t as dramatic as those of Becky, Darlene, Mark, and Harris, so it was no surprise when The Conners finally opted to drop them. Thus, bringing back DJ is difficult.
The Conners Season 7 Bringing Back DJ Complicates Its Plot
DJ’s Return Would Necessitate Mary and Geena’s Comebacks
It is hard for The Conners season 7 to justify DJ’s return, but what makes this trickier is the fact that bringing back DJ also inevitably means bringing back Mary and Geena. That would be a lot of extra characters for a show that already has a large family to follow and only a few episodes to wrap up its unfinished storylines. To wit, The Conners season 7 must focus on Mark’s email scam job, Harris’s takeover of The Lunchbox, Darlene’s search for better employment, Louise’s new school board role, Becky’s Psychology course, and Ben’s takeover of Hardware magazine.
Dan and Jackie will also need plenty of story focus since they are two of the most prominent characters.
This rundown doesn’t even mention Dan or Jackie, two of the show’s most well-loved characters. Dan and Jackie will also need plenty of story focus since they are two of the most prominent characters who have been around since Roseanne’s original run. The Conners season 7 must conclude Crystal’s subplot too after season 6 brought back the recurring character. As such, it is hard to see where the sitcom would find the screen time or story focus to center on both DJ and his family in its final outing. Luckily, there is a way to work around this.
One Solution Could Fix The Conners Season 7’s DJ Problem
Roseanne’s Spinoff Should Include DJ’s Family Only In The Series Finale
If The Conners season 7 brought back DJ only for the series finale, then the series might be able to reincorporate him without throwing off the balance of its many subplots. The Conners season 7 has a lot of stories to tell, but the show’s ending still has to honor the history of Roseanne and its original heroes. DJ and his family should return for the series finale alone, possibly to attend a major family event. The death of Bev or Crystal, both of which have been foreshadowed by the show, would be good reasons to compel DJ and company to come back.
This return could prove that DJ, Mary, and Geena are all well without derailing the plot of season 7. The Conners has enough plots to worry about in the show’s final outing, so there is no need to reincorporate three more supporting stars from the premiere onward. Instead, The Conners season 7’s Roseanne character comebacks should be facilitated by the sort of events that reunite families in real life, such as funerals. This would offer DJ a poignant goodbye that proves he is still part of the family, even though The Conners could never make the Roseanne character’s story work.
