S04.E14: Triggered

[ItCouldBeWorse]

Just now, Annber03 said:

I thought about that briefly during that part of the episode, too, yeah. 

And was it the police who emailed him about support services?  If he was interviewed by them after the shooting, he must have been extremely nervous.

[UYI]

1 hour ago, Starchild said:

I'm just glad I finally know how "Lecy" is pronounced.

Just for the record, it's a nickname for Alicia. :) 

ETA: Beaten to it again! :P

Edited March 4, 2022 by UYI

[Marley]

What a horrible preachy lame after school special episode. I’m surprised my eyes didn’t roll out of my head. Such bad acting too.

I know these issues are important but this show did a horrible job at trying to do an episode about gun violence.

Harris had no right to sell Dan’s gun. What a fucking joke. Horrible actress and dumb decision. If Dan wants a gun in his house then he can have one in his house. Harris and her bitch mom can kick rocks and move the fuck out.

I hate this show.

[ESS]

19 hours ago, iMonrey said:

When Louise got home they told her she couldn't take a shower because Mary was in the shower. Is there only one shower? Isn't there a bathroom upstairs in addition to the one attached to the master bedroom downstairs?

Was that a different Beverly Rose than the last time we saw her?

That was actually a joke - she said she'd give it a try after Dan took out his gun. That said, I'm glad she objected to the hippie furniture like we all thought she would. 

I too thought there was another bathroom too I think it's in Dan & Louise's bedroom so that was kind of weird. As for Beverly Rose it looked like the same girl to me and as for Louise and the waterbed now that I think about yes it was joke I just couldn't tell at first, but you're right... I wonder what they are gonna do with the bedroom now I think they'll end up actually going together and getting new things like the bed and stuff.

Edited March 4, 2022 by ESS

[ESS]

12 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

I felt the same way. Did they get new writers?

They do have a few new ones this season, but I don't know how many though. 

[ljenkins782]

22 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Somber episode written by Lecy Goranson. I thought a lot of the dialogue was pretty heavy-handed and expository, and I say that as someone who advocates for gun law reform. I think it's pretty hard to address an issue this complex in 22 minutes in an organic way. I really didn't get Jackie's anxiety, she used to be a cop. I understood Becky's freak out, and the story might have been better served more focused on her and Emilio. 

The expository dialogue was over the top for me, I didn't enjoy the episode. The way they have to shoehorn every possible point of view and every current event term (ie, doomscrolling), it just doesn't come off natural.

Quote

 

"Yeah, because no angry mob ever storms a capitol."
"Ben, read the room."

Ha.  Ben provided some of the needed humor in this one, like saying one of them needs to commit a crime so the news helicopters will fly overhead again and show off his impeccable craftsmanship after he fixed the roof properly.

 

Ben, and surprisingly, Harris, were my favorite parts of the episode. I think I could actually like Harris if they gave her better material more often. It's very, very hard to root for that character when she's being a petulant monster hellbent on destroying her life. Like, it's actually realistic, but the whole dating a 38 year old with a kid and a messy home life and winding up in a dead end life due to poor choices at a young age, that's not something you commonly see on TV. And frankly, I'd rather not see it, it's super depressing. At least in original Roseanne, the parents had a happy marriage and the kids were intending to go to school and do something with themselves (even if it didn't turn out that way, those goals were there.) 

But if they added some layers to the character, I think I could come around on Harris, the actress can deliver some funny lines.

And Ben's "there is literally ONE scenario where that could bite me in the ass, and here we are." I can't help it, I love the actor and I think he's got great line delivery. The way he's continuing to be part of the show with no defined relationship with the family is super dumb, but I like him the best so I'm okay with it. 

On a shallow note, I thought Katey Sagal looked adorable in her returning scene with the sweatshirt, ponytail, and glasses. She'll always be Peg Bundy to me, so seeing her all dressed down was cute.

[TattleTeeny]

13 hours ago, rmontro said:

The shooting was current events but some of the remarks and the gun control debate were politics.

I don't care what side of the aisle one is on; kids having to worry about getting shot to death at school should not be a "political" issue. 

[Rocknrollzombie]

One and sorry if I step on toes here but people should not need a damm tv show to air an episode to talk about these gun issues. 
 

other sitcoms have done episodes on guns before black-ish has one. The simpsons has one. Guns control/violence isn’t some new found issues that is barely being addressed in tv shows. It has been around there have been episodes about guns. The news, tv shows, movies.

[tribeca]

22 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

And was it the police who emailed him about support services?  If he was interviewed by them after the shooting, he must have been extremely nervous.

Beverly Rose is four now and they only had to be married a year or two so maybe he is all set.  

[sara416]

Resident therapist here to chime in with a pet peeve!

School psychologists do NOT do counseling in schools. They do testing and assessments for students who need IEPs. It is typical for there to be only one for an entire district. They are still overworked, but their job is not to do therapy with 3000 students.

School COUNSLEORS, however, are Master's level counselors who have been trained in counseling. They are the people you would want to send your kid to after something like this. They are also overworked and have huge caseloads, but they do counseling. The unfortunate stereotype is that all they do is scheduling and are inept at everything. I went to graduate school for school counseling, and I also have my professional license and I work in a private practice. 

Thank you for coming to my TED talk. 

[Irate Panda]

If the house layout is the same as on Roseanne, Dan and Louise’s room have a shower (remember Jackie was sitting in high) and Darlene’s and Becky’s old room had a shower, we saw it when Becky was hungover from drinking with Dana.  
 

I think the episode was better than most, but again way too many characters.  I thought this episode was one of the better written ones, but I know that’s not saying much.  Obviously John, Laurie, and Katey can act so I know at least some of the other episodes I can really write off to bad writing.   Ben and to a lesser extent Becky (in more serious scenes) I think are fine, but Darlene just seems awful although I though her scene with Mary was actually better than those she has with her own kids.  Was Sara Gilbert always such a bad actor or is is bad writing coupled with the show now revolving around her, or is it all of the above? 

Edited March 5, 2022 by Irate Panda

[Rocknrollzombie]

51 minutes ago, sara416 said:

School psychologists do NOT do counseling in schools. They do testing and assessments for students who need IEPs. It is typical for there to be only one for an entire district. They are still overworked, but their job is not to do therapy with 3000 students.

 

Word senior year of highschool my mom wanted me checked out by the school psychologist because Something about my disability which I have since I turned 18 or when I was 17 do not have anymore. (23 going on 24)
 

so I would get pulled out of classes asked a couple of questions sent back to class. And for major things that happened or indirectly involved me school counselor was the person to go to. 

Edited March 5, 2022 by Rocknrollzombie

[UYI]

9 hours ago, Rocknrollzombie said:

One and sorry if I step on toes here but people should not need a damm tv show to air an episode to talk about these gun issues. 
 

other sitcoms have done episodes on guns before black-ish has one. The simpsons has one. Guns control/violence isn’t some new found issues that is barely being addressed in tv shows. It has been around there have been episodes about guns. The news, tv shows, movies.

I'll admit that I'm not as into current television as many other people are (I'm the rare person who has become more aware and interested in newer music as a I've gotten older than newer TV shows/movies, strange I know), so I honestly have no idea how many other TV shows are doing episodes on this issue these days.

(And yes, I'm aware that The Simpsons is an older show that happens to still be on the air, but I'm not as familiar with the newer seasons, which I'm assuming its gun-related episode is from.)

 

[UYI]

40 minutes ago, Irate Panda said:

Was Sara Gilbert always such a bad actor or is is bad writing coupled with the show now revolving around her, or is it all of the above? 

Sara was largely singled out as one of the most talented cast members on the original series, but I think most of it had to do with her being so good at delivering one-liners at such a young age. She can still do that well, but as far as her overall acting ability, I really think she's kind of overrated.

Lecy can have some awkward moments, but she was arguably VERY underrated as an actress when she was a teenager--I've seen it suggested here that she was so effortless at playing a bratty teenager, that it was easy to overlook her in favor of Sara's one-liners, and I think that's pretty accurate. 

[Egg McMuffin]

The original “Roseanne” show so effortlessly mixed comedy and issues. The current show isn’t able to do that at all. I find it too somber with few laughs. I like seeing Lecy Goranson do so well on the new show, since she never got her due on the original. But they need better writers and a different showrunner.

[Shermie]

On 3/3/2022 at 3:20 PM, Darian said:

I also can't be the only person here who has either been in an active shooter "stay inside" lockdown while out and about (I was an RN in Florida, so it was not that rare at work) or have friends whose kids have been in lockdowns because of active shooters in or around their school. A month or so ago, I knew three different friends who don't know each other in different parts of the same mall while there was an active shooter (more than one person died). I bet many if not most of us know or have been touched by something like this so I'm glad they did this show.

Nope. But I’m not American.

I think Lecy is a terrible actress, very forced and campy. I think Sara Gilbert is much better. But if it wasn’t for John Goodman and Laurie Metcalf, I wouldn’t watch this.

It’s becoming a meh-watch for me anyway. I’m tired of the Connors being perpetually stupid with money and then complaining about it. Even in this episode, Darlene gives $40 to a random neighbour as a fundraiser. Why wasn’t her first $20 enough? Shame on Mary (was it Mary?) for shaming Darlene into giving money she can ill afford.

[Irate Panda]

9 hours ago, UYI said:

Sara was largely singled out as one of the most talented cast members on the original series, but I think most of it had to do with her being so good at delivering one-liners at such a young age. She can still do that well, but as far as her overall acting ability, I really think she's kind of overrated.

Lecy can have some awkward moments, but she was arguably VERY underrated as an actress when she was a teenager--I've seen it suggested here that she was so effortless at playing a bratty teenager, that it was easy to overlook her in favor of Sara's one-liners, and I think that's pretty accurate. 

I wondered about this, I was really young when Roseanne was on, but the kids seemed more than actual kids, than sugary sweet, which was nice change on tv.  Therefore, I thought they were pretty good.   I don’t remember DJ much, except some episodes when he wanted to make films, so I didn’t get a read on him kinda like now.  Sara probably did her best acting in this Triggered episode.  Maybe it’s because I found her more likable because she was concentrating on something besides just herself.  

I also think I liked the episode because it really focused on the entire family and their inter-workings not just Darlene.  I probably would have waited for Louise’s return and had DJ or Gina there for Mary.  As mentioned, they could have focused on how Mary might have different or additional fears than other family members.

I guess I’m cynical, but did the Conners even know the people collecting the money?   I could see them donating, although these people are supposedly completely broke, so I’m not sure why they are giving all the money they had on them away, but how do they even know these women are legit? I know it was something nice and was probably written as normal, but they did know the family and could have just given a donation to the family themselves.
 

 

[chitowngirl]

 

4 hours ago, Irate Panda said:

guess I’m cynical, but did the Conners even know the people collecting the money?   I could see them donating, although these people are supposedly completely broke, so I’m not sure why they are giving all the money they had on them away, but how do they even know these women are legit? I know it was something nice and was probably written as normal, but they did know the family and could have just given a donation to the family themselves.

A simple “Hi Sally” when they opened the door was all that was needed.

Edited March 5, 2022 by chitowngirl

[ams1001]

24 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

A simple “Hi Sally” when they opened the door was all that was needed.

The way the woman introduced herself, even though she knew Dan's name, suggests they clearly didn't know each well, at least. Probably just in passing by seeing each other in the neighborhood. Dan seemed like maybe he recognized their faces as neighbors, at the most.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 3/4/2022 at 9:25 PM, tribeca said:

Beverly Rose is four now and they only had to be married a year or two so maybe he is all set.  

He entered the country illegally. His marriage might help him get into the country if he applied from abroad, but he is in violation of the law now, and discovery could lead to deportation and an inability to gain admission through legal channels. 

[One Tough Cookie]

I was teaching during Columbine and also Sandy Hook.  I think it's a sad commentary on American gun violence and he power of the NRA that  shooter drills have to be taught to Kindergartners.  Red Alert'"  gather n the farther corner, do't talk, duck, wait for the all clear." I can just imagine "what did you do in school today? and the parents' reactions  and realize how fucked we age.

[iMonrey]

Quote

 I'm not a gun person, but can you just walk into a police station and give them a gun in exchange for cash? 

As mentioned upthread, some police stations do have gun buy-back programs. But they are usually limited in scope - they are advertised and active for a limited time, like a week or a month. Also, I find it unlikely a small, economically depressed town like Lanford would have the money for such a program. 

Quote

I too thought there was another bathroom too I think it's in Dan & Louise's bedroom so that was kind of weird. 

In the original series there was a jack-and-jill bathroom off that master (two entry doors; one from the master bedroom), and there was another bathroom connected to Darlene and Becky's room. But I don't remember if the upstairs bathroom had a shower, it might have been a half bath. 

[ESS]

18 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

As mentioned upthread, some police stations do have gun buy-back programs. But they are usually limited in scope - they are advertised and active for a limited time, like a week or a month. Also, I find it unlikely a small, economically depressed town like Lanford would have the money for such a program. 

In the original series there was a jack-and-jill bathroom off that master (two entry doors; one from the master bedroom), and there was another bathroom connected to Darlene and Becky's room. But I don't remember if the upstairs bathroom had a shower, it might have been a half bath. 

Yes I remember the bathroom connected to Becky and Darlene's room back in the original. From what I can recall I don't think it had a shower that I saw or remember.

[pinkandsparkly13]

I'm pretty sure Becky and Darlene's bathroom did have a shower. You can see it in a couple episodes, like the Mother's day episode and the one where Becky gets drunk. 

[Ottis]

That was the most ham-handed sitcom episode I've seen in years. "You're more likely to shoot one of us than the shooter." "He has a gun!" "It's terrible kids have to know these things!" “I was powerless!”  It was like the actors were reading someone's issue talking points. Or an after school special. No artistry at all.

There was a story to be had there about violence and stress on kids, but this was terrible. I imagine this is how sheltered rich people think other people react to a nearby shooting.

Edited March 9, 2022 by Ottis

[Sile]

My favorite part of the episode was that they didn't show the opening breakfast reel.  

I only got 10 minutes of the previous episode because they cut in with the news about Ukraine, so I didn't see it beyond Darlene trying to get Ben to help her with the seller.  So I just assumed she'd gotten it when they mentioned moving out, but I see here that's not the case.  Maybe it's an out of order deal where either they hadn't decided on the ending for the previous episode or this was supposed to air after a later episode where they do get a house.

[Virtual]

Scariest part of the episode was Dan keeping the gun of his in a dresser drawer where ANY child could have found it. That’s something you need to LOCK UP. Harris couldn’t have sold it behind his back if he had done that.

Ben provided a much needed irreverence to the episode. Darlene’s reactions were funny.

[Snow Apple]

On 3/12/2022 at 10:10 AM, Virtual said:

Scariest part of the episode was Dan keeping the gun of his in a dresser drawer where ANY child could have found it. That’s something you need to LOCK UP. Harris couldn’t have sold it behind his back if he had done that.

 

Wasn't it locked up? I thought Harris knew the combination because "every guy Dan's age in Chicago has the same combination number." 

[joanne3482]

For the bathroom thing, I just assumed it was a hot water issue, not an enough bathrooms issue. I still have a water heater with a tank. There's not really enough hot water for two of us to take a shower at the same time, even though I have two bathrooms. I remember growing up it was the same way. In the morning if one of us showered, the next person had a hot shower for a little while before getting cold. 

[SmallTownMom]

I just watched this episode and didn't like it.  As others have pointed out, the acting was terrible.

And everybody complaining to Dan about having a gun in the house?  You are grown women living in HIS house.  If you don't like it, feel free to move out.  Harris could not have just sold his gun, either.  They tried to hit all the issues and failed.

This show has jumped the shark.

[Irate Panda]

14 hours ago, SmallTownMom said:

I just watched this episode and didn't like it.  As others have pointed out, the acting was terrible.

And everybody complaining to Dan about having a gun in the house?  You are grown women living in HIS house.  If you don't like it, feel free to move out.  Harris could not have just sold his gun, either.  They tried to hit all the issues and failed.

This show has jumped the shark.

Didn’t Harris just do one of those anonymous buy back guns by the police? Aren’t those basically just no questions asked sort of a thing. I also found it strange nobody would have known Dan had a gun for like 50 years or was this supposed to be a relatively new purchase, I can’t remember.  I mean the gun was locked up, with the Conners I’d half expect it to be in the fridge near the beer.