S03.E16: A Fast Car, A Sudden Loss, and A Slow Decline

[DanaK]

Quote

Darlene learns some shocking news about an old friend, and the Conners family comes together to help someone close to them

Wed, April 7, 9:30pm

[Annber03]

...uh, okay, well, scratch what I said in the other episode thread about Darlene and Molly becoming good friends, then. Whoa. That's sad. Again, I can sympathize with Ben and Darlene here. I totally get Darlene's desire to get away, especially after everything that's happened of late, but Ben's also right about needing the money. Especially considering Becky's going into rehab. Maybe some of that money could help her with that, or with her schooling. 

But clearly Darlene seems to have made her choice, so...that'll be interesting when Ben finds out. 

I hope that this rehab works for Becky. I liked the way Jackie called her out on her drinking-that move she did with her against the fridge was a nice, subtle nod to her cop days there, too. 

Edited April 8, 2021 by Annber03

[greekmom]

Darlene is a mini copy of Roseanne. Ben was right about the tickets.  Like when Roseanne and Dan blew all that money that Dan got from some job on a trip to Disney for the whole family.  Darlene could have used the money for Becky's rehab and Dan's financial issue. 

I loved the move that Jackie pulled on Becky.  Why does Becky need to go to rehab? Can't she just go to AA meetings? (curious)

Again, I found the episode ended abruptly.

 

 

[Snow Apple]

I can't believe they did that. I was hoping Molly sticks around for a few episodes. She brought spark back to the show in the first episode.

Who else thought the papers were the deed to the house?

[nelroy78]

It made sense for tonight’s episodes to air back to back. The first one set up the second one. That, and Call Your Mother only has four episodes left. It hurts to see Becky crash and burn like this. And RIP Molly. I liked her letter to Becky. I am glad they were able to make peace. I wish Ben and Darlene could’ve gone to Hawaii but that money needs to go to more important things. But I understand where Darlene is coming from too.

[Melina22]

Wow, that was REALLY good! I can honestly say that I alternated crying and laughing a couple of times. One was Jackie telling Becky her baby was between the bed and the wall (incredible acting by both of them) followed by Jackie revealing she made that part up. 

Then the shocking reveal of Molly's death followed by the hilarious casserole discussion. 

Darlene's body language in the scene where Ben convinces her to cash in the tickets made me feel so sad for her, but at the same time his POV was totally understandable. I'm curious to see what she decides. 

Such a well-written and well-acted episode. 

Edited April 8, 2021 by Melina22

[Snow Apple]

I also understand both points of view regarding the Hawaii tickets but they can use a bit of the refund for a smaller weekend trip. It doesn't have to be all of nothing. Darlene probably gets paid vacation days. Dan can watch the store. Ben even said Dan can potentially manage the mortgage in six months without help so they must be making a profit.

Edited April 8, 2021 by Snow Apple

[StaceyNotStacie]

I’m a little tired of Ben. He knows what’s going on in their family yet he’s guilting Darlene into cashing the tickets in so they can get their own place. I was surprised that there was no mention of Darlene cashing in the tickets to pay for Becky's rehab because that’s where I thought they were going. At this point if she was going to go to Hawaii, I’d rather she take Harris or Jackie on a girls trip. 
 

I wish they would have made reference to Molly’s sister and what she was up to. 

[Chaos Theory]

The big confrontation scene between Becky, Jackie, Dan and Darlene was some of the best acting they have all done in awhile.   It goes to show when the show treats the characters seriously some great stuff can get done.  
 

I’m not sure if Ben was right or being an asshole making Darlene cash in those tickets.  I get what he is saying but Darlene is going through her own midlife crisis and I don’t think Ben is seeing it at all.  I really don’t think these two are on the same page at all.   I was a actually thinking Darlene was going to end up taking Becky with her to Hawaii instead of expensive rehab.

Edited April 8, 2021 by Chaos Theory

[Winston Wolfe]

1 hour ago, Melina22 said:

Such a well-written and well-acted episode. 

It actually was. And also a pleasant change to see Darlene less miserable for a change. I'm still a little bit confused as to whether Darlene actually cashed in the tickets though. Really nice of Molly to do that, I don't remember Darlene ever really being nice to her.

1 hour ago, Stacey1014 said:

I’m a little tired of Ben. He knows what’s going on in their family yet he’s guilting Darlene into cashing the tickets in so they can get their own place.

Ben's starting to come off as someone who's just sticking with a losing cause out of stubbornness - or to make a point. He knows who the Connors are (and aren't) at this point. He probably needs a more stable, sensible GF and Darlene needs...I don't know really.

Edited April 8, 2021 by Winston Wolfe

[txhorns79]

33 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

The big confrontation scene with between Becky, Jackie, Dan and Darlene was some of the best acting the show has done in awhile.   It goes to show when the show treats the characters seriously some great stuff can get done with the show.  

Yes, and the acting and writing was solid enough to make it all work.  I thought Lecy did a great job, and it does speak to a truth about how things can be fine, and then something small just sends a person spiraling.  I did gasp when Jackie initially said she found Beverly Rose downstairs struggling to breathe while Becky was passed out.  It was a really horrible image, and you could see Becky just instantly fall apart.

Also, Danielle Harris must be a very small person because she was wearing very tall heels just to be at the same height as Sara Gilbert.   

[Egg McMuffin]

This is the most depressing show on TV. It’s too bad because I really liked the original, especially the early years. And I like the performers, particularly Lecy Goranson. But every week the family’s situation gets worse.

I recall from the original series that the Tildens consisted of a single dad and his two daughters. Where did the mother come from? Wings Hauser, who played the dad, is still working.

[TattleTeeny]

OK, so, I am confused about Molly’s mom — where was she way back when? And did I mishear when she said the casserole dish belonged to her grandma? Because if it was her grandma’s, why was the name “Tilden” on it? She also mentioned Mr. Tilden, which I assumed to be Molly’s dad, who we saw back in the old days.

Edited April 8, 2021 by TattleTeeny

[Melina22]

13 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

Also, Danielle Harris must be a very small person because she was wearing very tall heels just to be at the same height as Sara Gilbert.   

It's pretty amazing to see a flashback of the same show when the 40 something actors were teens, and it's the same actors, not child actors! Can any other show even do this? 

[catlover79]

1 hour ago, Stacey1014 said:

I’m a little tired of Ben. He knows what’s going on in their family yet he’s guilting Darlene into cashing the tickets in so they can get their own place. I was surprised that there was no mention of Darlene cashing in the tickets to pay for Becky's rehab because that’s where I thought they were going. At this point if she was going to go to Hawaii, I’d rather she take Harris or Jackie on a girls trip. 

Agreed. I get that this show has positioned Darlene/Becky as the Gen X Roseanne/Jackie with Ben as Dan. Still, it would be nice to see more of the characters have more to do. For example - WHERE IS DJ???

I get that due to COVID-19, logistics are not what they would usually be. Maybe some people are staying away due to health concerns for themselves and/or family. I just miss the ensemble feel all the incarnations of the Conners and their world once had. The show just feels very claustrophobic.

Let's hope that once the pandemic levels off, the show will improve. Maybe they should hire a few new writers, too, to freshen up the proceedings a bit.

[Annber03]

16 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

I did gasp when Jackie initially said she found Beverly Rose downstairs struggling to breathe while Becky was passed out.  

Same! She was way too convincing with that lie. 

[catlover79]

1 minute ago, Annber03 said:

Same! She was way too convincing with that lie. 

I almost bought Jackie's lie, until I remembered that Beverly Rose was still in the crib when Becky started drinking on her bed and the scene faded to black.

[txhorns79]

1 minute ago, Melina22 said:

Can any other show even do this? 

Sure.  You just have to bring back the show after a couple of decades.  For example, The New Leave it To Beaver featured most of the the same cast from the original and The Bradys had everyone except Maureen McCormick.

 

3 minutes ago, catlover79 said:

For example - WHERE IS DJ???

I do find it strange that he's credited for every episode, but has only actually appeared in three or four of them.

[catlover79]

4 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

I do find it strange that he's credited for every episode, but has only actually appeared in three or four of them.

Mary has been in more episodes than him at this point. No one mentions DJ even in passing. Did he join Jerry on the fishing boat? 😉😝😂

Edited April 8, 2021 by catlover79

[jmonique]

Before the pandemic, I booked flights for myself and clients most weekends of the year. You can't just cash in airplane tickets nowadays. It's like the writers haven't actually booked their own flights since the 80s. 

[TattleTeeny]

I thought the same thing about exchanging the tickets for something “smaller.” After all, they’d still have to pay for a hotel and food and drinks, etc. I see both sides of that whole thing. But, yeah, it doesn’t have to be all or nothing.  

[Cherpumple]

29 minutes ago, jmonique said:

Before the pandemic, I booked flights for myself and clients most weekends of the year. You can't just cash in airplane tickets nowadays. It's like the writers haven't actually booked their own flights since the 80s. 

That's what I was thinking, especially since they were paid for by another (now deceased) person's credit card. Wouldn't any refund go back to the original card? It didn't make sense.

It's not the most responsible choice, but I could get behind Darlene going to Hawaii for a few days if she flew coach and went cheap with hotels and food. The family wouldn't be any worse off financially since the money was a gift, and while Becky is in rehab a rejuvenated Darlene is going to be much more use to them than a stressed-out Darlene having panic attacks.

I was shocked to see Molly, mainly because I barely recognized the actress (and I'm normally really good with faces). Her smile looked the same, but from the nose up nothing looked familiar. She Jennifer Grey'ed herself! I was hoping that the "shocking news" would be that she and David are now dating, and was very sad that her character ended that way. She deserved better! But I'm glad she and Darlene bonded, however briefly, and that Molly called Darlene out for her immature insecurities about Ben.

Note to writers- I'm more than happy to see original characters make an appearance, but please, I beg you, give ONE of them a happy life! (Becky's friend Michael doesn't count, because he wasn't in the original).

[catlover79]

I thought flights were nonrefundable, period. Then again, I haven't flown since 2007. Things may have changed.

[Bastet]

I figured Molly was going to die, but had no idea how, and having it turn out that she was terminally ill was the perfect background for her attitude in the previous episode.  Her note to Darlene was great.

I kind of wish Darlene had honored that by using the tickets (taking someone other than dumb-ass Ben once he got huffy that Darlene was originally going to go with Molly - you know, the woman who paid for the tickets and invited Darlene), but I also understand there are far better uses for what equates to found money.  It's the same thing the Conners have confronted over and over - can they sometimes do a little something for themselves, or do they always have to use their windfalls responsibly?

Becky crunching numbers and thinking she can afford to go to college around the same time Beverly Rose can, and then dipping into her stash of cheap-ass vodka was so sad.  I love how she was made to look up like hangover shit, and the Jackie-Becky confrontation was brutally real, especially when Dan and Darlene got involved and realized Becky was in complete denial.  Becky's reaction to Jackie's lie about Beverly  Rose was haunting.

And it was a nice exploration of the limited rehab options for those without money and not wanting to be preached at.

I don't know that Becky actually needs inpatient treatment at this point, but I'm not an expert, and Lecy is playing the hell out of this, so I'm in.

LOL at the note from Robin.

 

[catlover79]

I thought I read a press release saying that Molly was going to work at Wellman, but that was obviously a red herring. Once we learned what had happened to Molly, I expected it to be a suicide. Thank goodness that wasn't the case.

Edited April 8, 2021 by catlover79

[chocolatine]

The whole tickets to Hawaii thing didn't make much sense because, as has already been said, most plane tickets are non-refundable these days, and for those that are, refunds are made to the original method of payment. Plus, Molly said she used the credit card to collect airline miles, and if those tickets were bought with airline miles they're definitely not refundable for money.

It would have made more sense if Molly had left Darlene something nice she had owned, like an upscale car, and for Ben to pressure Darlene to sell it and use the money to move in together.

1 hour ago, TattleTeeny said:

OK, so, I am confused about Molly’s mom — where was she way back when? And did I mishear when she said the casserole dish belonged to her grandma? Because if it was her grandma’s, why was the name “Tilden” on it? She also mentioned Mr. Tilden, which I assumed to be Molly’s dad, who we saw back in the old days.

I'm pretty sure Molly's mom was dead in the original. Mr. Tilden was a single dad, and IIRC he even had a flirtation with Jackie. It would have been more poignant if the current Mrs. Tilden were the stepmother and Molly died of the same cancer and at the same age as her mother.

My heart just breaks for Becky falling off the wagon; I really wanted the wine at dinner to be a one-time slip.

[brokenwing29]

I thought that Darlene should have gotten the money back for Ben's ticket and taken the trip by herself. I understand about the money...I'm struggling too, but Molly's wish was for Darlene to lighten up and enjoy life and out of respect for that I feel that Darlene should have done the irresponsible thing for once and just enjoyed that gift. 

I also had trouble recognizing Molly (I even wondered if it was a different actress for a second). She has aged really well and didn't at all look to be terminally ill, but it was a good episode so I'll overlook it.

I agree with the person who wished for a mention of Molly's sister. She was unlike the kind of teenagers usually portrayed on tv (then or now). I related to her apparent social anxiety just as I related to Darlene's depression.

[Gizmo321]

I'm also getting a bit tired of Ben lately. He knows she's sufffering (as mosmt recent episodes keep telling us) and rather than take that into consideration and propose smaller get aways he essentially tells her to suck it up buttercup and use the money from the tickets to help out with the finances of the Conner household. I am also hoping that Darlene realizes been is not taking her needs serioulsy and cashes in his ticket and takes the trip on her own. Ben needs to go. In a perfect world Johnny Galecki would have agreed to come back to the show full time so that Darlene and David could have had their happy ever after. But that's not the case. Darlene deserves better than Ben and David. 

There must be some remote work from home Darlene could be doing as a writer as oppposed to to just dropping the goal of being a wtiter to become an executive at a local factory. 

As for Becky, I recall that Darlene gave her a pamphlet about Hotel, Restaurant Managmeent that offered financial aid and seemed doable. It would be great to see her pursue that and parlay her years of working as a waitress into the drive to manager a place. Granted the pandemic has decimated the hotel and to a large degree local mom and pop restaurants, but still. 

Anyway, realistically I hope that Darlene decideds to take the trip by herself. Although, I thought for sure she was going to see if Becky would go with her so they could bond and get away from their current stresses. 

The death of Molly may be the thing that finally snaps Darlene out of her stressed out, panic attack driven, self doubting mood. 

 

 

 

 

[Irate Panda]

I didn’t understand the whole refunding of tickets either since, but then I thought maybe Darlene would find out she couldn’t get a refund and they’d have to go on the trip anyway or she’d return Ben’s ticket to “save money” and go on the trip by herself.  It would have made more sense if Molly paid cash but a lot of things on this show don’t make sense.  
 

I like Dan, but I don’t understand how he went from not even wanting to ask for a raise to wanting 25% of the business in about 5 minutes, especially since Ben just inherited the place.  Hell, are they even through probate?  If they were going to do that the Dan thing, they should have written it as Ben inherits this completely failing business that is ready to close its doors and owes the IRS a ton of money and only stays open because Dan went out and found tons of clients and that ultimately saved the business.  Even then I don’t know about asking for 25% off the bat.  Again, as somebody mentioned Ben could have put Dan on commission for whatever special clients Dan brought in to pay him more, but only if Dan produced.

I know they never said it, but exactly how much are we supposed to believe this mortgage is? You had 4-5 adults living there and they still can couldn’t up with mortgage?  Not to mention if DJ and his wife are throwing in any money for Mary living there.  Again, where is DJ?  I thought Michael Fishman was starting on his own production company, but it be nice if they referenced him otherwise just cut his and Mary’s characters.  Honestly, I would cut all the kids but one.  I don’t even care which one they keep, there’s just to many people for this show.  

Darlene is painful for me to look at.  She’s older than I am, but I don’t think I thought a lot about her sullen youth back on Roseanne because I was a kid, but she just seems like a horrible person as an adult.  Even when I should have been happy for her with the tickets I was like I hope they guilt her into cashing them in for Becky or Dan.  I don’t even see what Ben sees in her, and I’m not crazy about his character.  I might have asked this before, but were all these people such assholes before Roseanne died on the reboot?  Maybe Roseanne’s general asssholery tempered the rest of them, but besides Becky, I’m starting to actively hate these people.  John Goodman/Dan Conner built up a lot of goodwill over the years so I can’t hate him right away despite his absurd behavior recently. 
 

Becky is the only character that I am rooting for.  Watching her relapse, and realizing she needs help was one of the few interesting parts of the episode.  I really wish Becky would get back into school or look into some training program at Wellman.  I mean Darlene does it and half the time she’s not even working at work. 

Edited April 8, 2021 by Irate Panda

[sheetmoss]

3 hours ago, catlover79 said:

Mary has been in more episodes than him at this point. No one mentions DJ even in passing. Did he join Jerry on the fishing boat? 😉😝😂

Uh - Were has Mark been?

[qtpye]

3 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

Yes, and the acting and writing was solid enough to make it all work.  I thought Lecy did a great job, and it does speak to a truth about how things can be fine, and then something small just sends a person spiraling.  I did gasp when Jackie initially said she found Beverly Rose downstairs struggling to breathe while Becky was passed out.  It was a really horrible image, and you could see Becky just instantly fall apart.

Also, Danielle Harris must be a very small person because she was wearing very tall heels just to be at the same height as Sara Gilbert.   

This is why we can not have nice things.

It was nice to see a joyful happy person in Landford...so of course she is dead. I loved the flashbacks and how they realized it was stupid to fight over guys. Molly was a bit of a wild child who seemed sweet on the outside (Darlene would call her fake). She would definitely flirt with David (to mess with Darlene not because she particularly liked him) and wanted to go off with some guys in van after the Daisy Chainsaw concert.

It would have made much more sense for the dad to have opened the door, though the Tildens did move away (maybe they moved to another part of Lanford...maybe they were just renting the house next door?)

It was so cool to see Darlene actually have a friend particularly since they kind of hated each other back in the day.

The Becky relapse was very realistic to me.

Becky used alcohol to not have to face her feeling about Mark's death and how disappointed she was about where she is in life. Her having dinner with her successful classmate would bring all those feelings to the surface and her first instinct would be to hit the bottle as a way to not have to face her reality. Becky never wanted to become her mother and her parents always thought she could do better. The truth is Becky is not her mother....her mother was in a loving marriage, owned her own house, and had her own business well before she was Becky's age. However, there is still hope, Becky just needs to see it in herself.

Great acting by the whole cast.

In the show "Mom" they talk about addicts and why "moderation" is not a thing with alcoholics. It really has to be all or nothing with them.

3 hours ago, jmonique said:

Before the pandemic, I booked flights for myself and clients most weekends of the year. You can't just cash in airplane tickets nowadays. It's like the writers haven't actually booked their own flights since the 80s. 

The tickets made no sense since they would just be refunded to Molly's credit card...not to Darlene.

I imagine the people who thought up the ticket refund story were the same writers who thought that Darlene and Ben starting up a print magazine like it was 1991 was a great idea.

[movingtargetgal]

1 hour ago, brokenwing29 said:

I agree with the person who wished for a mention of Molly's sister. She was unlike the kind of teenagers usually portrayed on tv (then or now). I related to her apparent social anxiety just as I related to Darlene's depression.

I really liked Molly's older sister, Charlotte.  Their mother had died and she had taken over the household duties for the family.  On one episode, she offered to show Roseann her special meatloaf recipe.  Roseann's reaction, "You're too young to have a meatloaf recipe.".  There were a few episodes that showed Roseann befriending her.  Charlotte was very shy and was a good kid.  It would be nice if she came back to Landford and befriended Becky.  Maybe Charlotte began drinking to deal with her social anxiety and ended up in AA.  She and Becky could meet up at a meeting and she could become Becky's sponsor. 

 

[Annber03]

1 minute ago, movingtargetgal said:

It would be nice if she came back to Landford and befriended Becky.  Maybe Charlotte began drinking to deal with her social anxiety and ended up in AA.  She and Becky could meet up at a meeting and she could become Becky's sponsor. 

Oh, I like this idea. 

[qtpye]

3 minutes ago, movingtargetgal said:

I really liked Molly's older sister, Charlotte.  Their mother had died and she had taken over the household duties for the family.  On one episode, she offered to show Roseann her special meatloaf recipe.  Roseann's reaction, "You're too young to have a meatloaf recipe.".  There were a few episodes that showed Roseann befriending her.  Charlotte was very shy and was a good kid.  It would be nice if she came back to Landford and befriended Becky.  Maybe Charlotte began drinking to deal with her social anxiety and ended up in AA.  She and Becky could meet up at a meeting and she could become Becky's sponsor. 

 

Great idea

1 hour ago, brokenwing29 said:

I thought that Darlene should have gotten the money back for Ben's ticket and taken the trip by herself. I understand about the money...I'm struggling too, but Molly's wish was for Darlene to lighten up and enjoy life and out of respect for that I feel that Darlene should have done the irresponsible thing for once and just enjoyed that gift. 

I also had trouble recognizing Molly (I even wondered if it was a different actress for a second). She has aged really well and didn't at all look to be terminally ill, but it was a good episode so I'll overlook it.

I agree with the person who wished for a mention of Molly's sister. She was unlike the kind of teenagers usually portrayed on tv (then or now). I related to her apparent social anxiety just as I related to Darlene's depression.

Yes, not all teenage girls are boy crazy rebels who hate their parents.

[Winston Wolfe]

2 hours ago, Irate Panda said:

Darlene is painful for me to look at.  She’s older than I am, but I don’t think I thought a lot about her sullen youth back on Roseanne because I was a kid, but she just seems like a horrible person as an adult.  Even when I should have been happy for her with the tickets I was like I hope they guilt her into cashing them in for Becky or Dan.  I don’t even see what Ben sees in her, and I’m not crazy about his character.  I might have asked this before, but were all these people such assholes before Roseanne died on the reboot?  Maybe Roseanne’s general asssholery tempered the rest of them, but besides Becky, I’m starting to actively hate these people.  John Goodman/Dan Conner built up a lot of goodwill over the years so I can’t hate him right away despite his absurd behavior recently. 

Re: Darlene - she was horrible as a young person and seems to have pretty much stayed that way. Of the entire family only DJ seems to have become significantly less awful, and we barely see him. Has anyone else noticed that the Connors barely mention Roseanne when speaking to others outside of the family? Becky made no mention of her Mother passing at dinner with her HS classmate, nor did Darlene when she first encountered Molly. Very odd, and I wonder if that was intentional on the writers' part.

[nelroy78]

5 hours ago, sheetmoss said:

Uh - Were has Mark been?

Mark has a major role in the April 21 episode 

Spoiler

 

“Cheating, Revelations and A Box of Doll Heads” – Mark is stressed and exhausted from studying for an important entrance exam so Darlene steps in to help, but her plan backfires, on an all-new episode of “The Conners,” airing WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21 (9:00-9:30p.m. EDT), on ABC. Episodes can also be viewed the next day on demand and on Hulu.

 

Edited April 8, 2021 by nelroy78

[Chaos Theory]

I am amending my original post and going full on Ben is being an asshole.  I would be a little on his side if Darlene took money out of their savings fund to purchase the tickets but these were free tickets from a friend .  Darlene has been having panic attacks and needs time away and a vacation might be exactly what she needs but Ben is more interested in his own plans and not even hearing Darlene’s needs.    So no I am not giving his point any credence at all.  Ben is an asshole.

[txhorns79]

8 hours ago, chocolatine said:

The whole tickets to Hawaii thing didn't make much sense because, as has already been said, most plane tickets are non-refundable these days, and for those that are, refunds are made to the original method of payment.

Most of the major airlines offer refundable tickets.  They typically cost more than non-refundable ones.  

 

4 hours ago, Winston Wolfe said:

Becky made no mention of her Mother passing at dinner with her HS classmate, nor did Darlene when she first encountered Molly. Very odd, and I wonder if that was intentional on the writers' part.

Mrs. Tilden brought up Roseanne's funeral when requesting her dish back, so perhaps we were just supposed to assume that Molly was already aware that Roseanne had died.

[joanne3482]

Since they were first class tickets they'd be refundable, but like said above, they would be refunded back to the card that bought them so it isn't like Darlene could actually get the cash. I'm not sure if they'd be transferrable if they sold them to someone else (and who do they know that could afford to pay even part of the face value of two first class tickets to Hawaii). The other issue, is yes the tickets are usually the most expensive part of a vacation, but where will they sleep when they get to Hawaii and what will they eat? They can barely make ends meet now and, depending on the island, even the cheapest hotel is over $100 a night. 

[RunningMarket]

11 hours ago, TattleTeeny said:

I thought the same thing about exchanging the tickets for something “smaller.” After all, they’d still have to pay for a hotel and food and drinks, etc. I see both sides of that whole thing. But, yeah, it doesn’t have to be all or nothing.  

Thank you! I kept bringing this up while watching. First class tickets to get there is lovely, but Hawaii isn't a cheap place to stay or eat. That would have been a much better argument for Ben to present. 

The kitchen scene was fantastic. Even though I thought "Beverly Rose was in her crib" I bought Jackie's lie. And her pinning Becky up against the fridge to me was a call back to when Roseanne pinned Jackie to the couch to prove she wasn't such a hot cop.

[peacheslatour]

22 minutes ago, RunningMarket said:

Thank you! I kept bringing this up while watching. First class tickets to get there is lovely, but Hawaii isn't a cheap place to stay or eat. That would have been a much better argument for Ben to present. 

The kitchen scene was fantastic. Even though I thought "Beverly Rose was in her crib" I bought Jackie's lie. And her pinning Becky up against the fridge to me was a call back to when Roseanne pinned Jackie to the couch to prove she wasn't such a hot cop.

"It hurts!"

That's why it works!"

[bobalina]

6 hours ago, Winston Wolfe said:

Re: Darlene - she was horrible as a young person and seems to have pretty much stayed that way. Of the entire family only DJ seems to have become significantly less awful, and we barely see him. Has anyone else noticed that the Connors barely mention Roseanne when speaking to others outside of the family? Becky made no mention of her Mother passing at dinner with her HS classmate, nor did Darlene when she first encountered Molly. Very odd, and I wonder if that was intentional on the writers' part.

Molly's stepmother obviously knew about Roseanne  dying so Molly would have too.  And I didn't get the feeling that Becky was close to Mikey. Honestly I douby many people continually mention a dead parent 3 years later. And scrubbing Barr from the show is the best thing for them to do.

[TattleTeeny]

10 hours ago, chocolatine said:

 

The whole tickets to Hawaii thing didn't make much sense because, as has already been said, most plane tickets are non-refundable these days, and for those that are, refunds are made to the original method of payment. Plus, Molly said she used the credit card to collect airline miles, and if those tickets were bought with airline miles they're definitely not refundable for money.

It would have made more sense if Molly had left Darlene something nice she had owned, like an upscale car, and for Ben to pressure Darlene to sell it and use the money to move in together.

12 hours ago, TattleTeeny said:

OK, so, I am confused about Molly’s mom — where was she way back when? And did I mishear when she said the casserole dish belonged to her grandma? Because if it was her grandma’s, why was the name “Tilden” on it? She also mentioned Mr. Tilden, which I assumed to be Molly’s dad, who we saw back in the old days.

I'm pretty sure Molly's mom was dead in the original. Mr. Tilden was a single dad, and IIRC he even had a flirtation with Jackie. It would have been more poignant if the current Mrs. Tilden were the stepmother and Molly died of the same cancer and at the same age as her mother.

 

But I’m still confused by the dish. Did she not say that it was her grandma’s?

[Egg McMuffin]

She did, but she probably put a piece of tape on it that said “Tilden” when she lent it to the Conners so she’d be more likely to get it back (typical when you’re getting overwhelmed with bereavement buffet dishes after a death in the family).

[iMonrey]

It's so frustrating how this show picks and chooses which parts of the original series to honor or acknowledge. Sure, it was great seeing Molly again, but no, there was no Mrs. Tilden in the original version, and the Tildens only appeared on one season then were never mentioned again. Are we to assume they've been living there all along? Wasn't a Muslim family living in that house in an earlier episode? Sure, maybe it's the house on the other side of the Conner house. But I don't understand the dichotomy. Clearly the show has access to the original series . . . they showed a flashback clip right in the middle of this episode! How can they go back and find the appropriate episode without watching enough of it to get the basic facts straight?

It's kind of like what happened with "Little Ed," Dan's half brother. He showed up for a couple of episodes and apparently had been estranged from Dan. But why? Where the heck was Crystal in those episodes? Had he been estranged from her too? Because she's still involved with the Conner family, or at least she was until very recently. 

The writing just doesn't respect or care about continuity and it drives me crazy. It's disrespectful to the audience because it assumes we either don't remember or don't care, and it shows what little regard they have for us. Either that or they're just so damn lazy they pick a former character out of a hat and write a story around them whether it makes sense or not.

[qtpye]

25 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

It's so frustrating how this show picks and chooses which parts of the original series to honor or acknowledge. Sure, it was great seeing Molly again, but no, there was no Mrs. Tilden in the original version, and the Tildens only appeared on one season then were never mentioned again. Are we to assume they've been living there all along? Wasn't a Muslim family living in that house in an earlier episode? Sure, maybe it's the house on the other side of the Conner house. But I don't understand the dichotomy. Clearly the show has access to the original series . . . they showed a flashback clip right in the middle of this episode! How can they go back and find the appropriate episode without watching enough of it to get the basic facts straight?

It's kind of like what happened with "Little Ed," Dan's half brother. He showed up for a couple of episodes and apparently had been estranged from Dan. But why? Where the heck was Crystal in those episodes? Had he been estranged from her too? Because she's still involved with the Conner family, or at least she was until very recently. 

The writing just doesn't respect or care about continuity and it drives me crazy. It's disrespectful to the audience because it assumes we either don't remember or don't care, and it shows what little regard they have for us. Either that or they're just so damn lazy they pick a former character out of a hat and write a story around them whether it makes sense or not.

 

17 minutes ago, RocknRollZombie said:

The amount of people I have seen on the Reddit for the show who just brush off the retcons and accept it just kinda of irritate me, and they get all mad at some other users who criticize the show for the rewriting. If some people are so die hard fans why would they accept this disrespect like you said.

 

as for the pick a character out of a hat, I can imagine a dart board to decide said characters fates in the ep they will return in.

The writers are getting paid a lot of money to do this but the people on this board have more respect for the original series then they do. The writers should have basic knowledge of old Roseanne arcs particularly if they call back to them.

That being said, it was touching to see Darlene and Molly as teenagers and then see them today.

It would be nice if they brought back Becky's friend who got drunk with her when Roseanne and Dan left....maybe they could meet in AA?

Edited April 8, 2021 by qtpye

[StaceyNotStacie]

When Molly’s mother mentioned that the family was coming into town for the funeral, I just wish they would have said Charlotte or had a throwaway line in the kitchen about her. 

[Chaos Theory]

36 minutes ago, qtpye said:

 

The writers are getting paid a lot of money to do this but the people on this board have more respect for the original series then they do. The writers should have basic knowledge of old Roseanne arcs particularly if they call back to them.

But isn’t that the way it is with a lot long running shows?   Writers come and go and many of them have only a basic knowledge of the show while fans of the show might have just watched the episode the show directly or indirectly referenced yesterday.     
 

i personally forgot who Molly even was until the back flash to Roseanne.  And the storyline was a short one so I am kinda willing to hand wave whatever the mom thing actually was.  Missing/divorced/zombie.   

[Angeltoes]

This episode was directed by Katey Sagal's sister, Jean.  I had just been wondering whatever happened to her.

[ifionlyknew]

43 minutes ago, RocknRollZombie said:

Now that I think about it would been better if it was Dana who Becky had that little reunion with. But now the thought of them meeting in AA or rehab sounds interesting. Someone who knew Becky and technically knew Mark. I’m kinda of hoping they have a episode centered on Becky in rehab and she has to talk about the reason she started drinking which is Mark’s death. I feel like that would be a good set up for us viewers to get some insight finally.

That would be great but I have no faith in the writers to be able to do that.  

12 minutes ago, Stacey1014 said:

When Molly’s mother mentioned that the family was coming into town for the funeral, I just wish they would have said Charlotte or had a throwaway line in the kitchen about her. 

My first thought was family? Oh you mean Charlotte.  I know her name. But I'm inclined to believe the writers did not.  

If I was lucky enough to be writing for a TV show I would take the time to get details right regarding things that happened on screen no matter how long ago it was.  How hard would it have been to do a throw away line about Mrs Tilden being Molly's step mom?