S06.E13: Less Money, More Problems

[DanaK]

Quote

WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 9:32-10:01 p.m. EDT (Season Finale)

Mark takes on odd jobs, determined to find a way to pay for school. Meanwhile, Darlene grapples with her emotions when she discovers her household is about to change dramatically.

 

[MrsEVH]

Curious to know the "big change" in the household will be.

[Bastet]

With them shoehorning Tyler into the last episode, when it made no sense for him to be there (at the bank with the family), it's possible the change is going to be Becky and Beverly Rose move out because Becky and Tyler have decided to get a place together.

[StaceyNotStacie]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

With them shoehorning Tyler into the last episode, when it made no sense for him to be there (at the bank with the family), it's possible the change is going to be Becky and Beverly Rose move out because Becky and Tyler have decided to get a place together.

I wonder if Becky and Tyler will get engaged and the final season will consist of Becky finishing school and planning a wedding (which could be the series finale). 

[Rocknrollzombie]

Lecy herself said she isn’t into the idea of Becky getting married again. Also they released the photos for the finale on Abc press site. Looks like either Harris or mark or both might be moving out/away 

[Bastet]

1 minute ago, Rocknrollzombie said:

Looks like either Harris or mark or both might be moving out/away 

Oh good, that makes more sense than Becky moving her kid in with a guy this early in the relationship.

[ofmd]

With this show, it wouldn't surprise me if Darlene got (unexpectedly) pregnant after all. Remember when she wanted another baby?

Edited May 17 by ofmd

[pinkandsparkly13]

I just saw a promo for the show on ABC. 

Spoiler

Harris and Becky both said they're moving out. 

 

[Rocknrollzombie]

2 hours ago, pinkandsparkly13 said:

I just saw a promo for the show on ABC. 

  Hide contents

Harris and Becky both said they're moving out. 

 

 

Oh boy, she better not be moving in with Tyler and taking Beverly rose with her. Emilio come get your kid and full custody. 

Seen this happen with my niece, and her ex and she has a 9 year old son. To us her family we saw nothing wrong with how he would treat her son, nice respectful would pay attention to the kid. But once she moved in with her ex. And I found out the reason she broke it off with him was because of how he started treating her son behind closed doors.

[chitowngirl]

If Becky moves out, and Ben and Darlene are depending on her rent income, I could see why Darlene might be upset.

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

If Becky moves out, and Ben and Darlene are depending on her rent income, I could see why Darlene might be upset.

Weren't they at some point socking away her rent, or part of her rent, to give to her when she graduated?

[ams1001]

How is Darlene helping Mark if she can't even pay her own bills?

If they'll hold your spot for a year then go back to the school you're already enrolled in and getting free tuition at and get some classes out of the way before transferring. Then you  can pay for one less year at the U of C. Jesus, these people are so short-sighted.

Edited May 23 by ams1001

[Rocknrollzombie]

16 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

How is Darlene helping Mark if she can't even pay her own bills?

If they'll hold your spot for a year then go back to the school you're already enrolled in and getting free tuition at and get some classes out of the way before transferring. Then you  can pay for one less year at the U of C. Jesus, these people are so short-sighted.

Jesus Christ, even when I decided to stop going to a four year university. After I failed some classes, I still transfers my credits to the community college I was going to make it less time. 
 

these writers can’t write themselves out of a ditch.

[Annber03]

I was going to say, surely there were ways for Mark to make that work with the school. I did like the bit where he, Dan, and Jackie were doing repo work, though - but I'm with Mark, I couldn't do that job, either. 

The whole thing with Darlene being sad at the thought of everyone moving out made me think of how Roseanne reacted to something similar in the original series. I don't know how intentional that comparison was on the show's part, but I felt it was a nice way to show how Darlene is like her mom in that way. 

Going to be a while until the show returns, but I'm curious to see how they'll wrap things up next season. 

[txhorns79]

2 hours ago, ams1001 said:

If they'll hold your spot for a year then go back to the school you're already enrolled in and getting free tuition at and get some classes out of the way before transferring. Then you  can pay for one less year at the U of C. Jesus, these people are so short-sighted.

The whole storyline annoys me.  Finish your year at SAD.  Transfer the credits you can.  Take out student loans for University of Chicago, and do your research on a major that makes sense, and has a good track record in terms of job placement.  Don't take shady hacking jobs that could potentially end with you being arrested.  I just want to scream at these people sometimes.   

[ItCouldBeWorse]

If Darlene quits her job, how can she cosign for Harris? And even if she doesn't, does the lessor care how little money she's making, or just that she has a good credit rating?

[ItCouldBeWorse]

Mark should definitely finish his freshman year, and it's good that they established that U. Chicago will only hold his admission for a year (although I doubt they'd do that for a transfer student; gap years are generally for pre-frosh.)

It makes sense, though that he's not taking another year of courses at SAD before transferring. Competitive schools generally won't let you transfer credits taken after you are supposed to start attending. If U Chicago wants Mark, then they want him to take future courses with the rigor of U Chicago, not that of SAD.  He's also clearly past beginning computer science courses, and has probably also finished his basic prereqs.

[TattleTeeny]

i just found myself wondering if Lanford has a pizzeria that makes vegan pizza. 

My credits from a community college didn’t transfer when I did, which was super-annoying because the classes were literally exactly the same stuff: foundation-year visual arts requirements…for exponentially more money (not worth it!).

Edited May 23 by TattleTeeny

[Bastet]

Darlene gave up the first good job she'd had in many years to take the cafeteria job so Mark could go to this school, where she wound up getting a promotion and could have proceeded to do better over time, but now they really are just throwing that all away so Mark can work three jobs and not go to school at all rather than finishing his first year?  Because he needs an amount of money he'd never actually need in real life and can somehow make that amount of money by cobbling together shitty jobs?  But then not, so he has to resort to crime?  (And Darlene is going to do what?)  Yes, I know this was set up last week, but to actually see it ... it's hard enough in reality to get a college education without crippling student loan debt, there is no need to make this cartoonishly exaggerated version of the family's dilemma in order for us to root for them to overcome.  The ever-fucking hell?? 

I'm glad Harris is going to have her own place, but Becky is rushing things.  It is ironic, though, for Darlene to rightly call Becky out on moving her kid in with Tyler too soon when she was ready to haul her kids back to Chicago to move in with Ben when they all barely knew each other.  But I like Darlene admitting it's more than Tyler and the money, it's that she's going to miss Becky and the relationship they finally developed.  At least Becky is "only" going to move Tyler in, and now Beverly Rose can have her own room with Harris out, but Darlene's original objection got entirely waved off as if because part of it was rooted in other motives meant she wasn't at all right.

But it was funny for Jackie to say she's going, too, to keep both of them safe after Dan says he's accompanying Mark on the repo job to keep him safe.  And as predictable as it was, nice for them to decide they couldn't be the ones to take this woman's car, even if someone else was going to come along right behind them; some jobs just aren't worth even the meager money no matter how much you need it for what they take out of you.  Jackie's ridiculous answer as to where they'd all been was also funny.

Disappointing season finale, though.  Hopefully knowing next season is the last, they'll wrap this franchise up in a way that leaves me more satisfied.

[EtheltoTillie]

FWIW I don’t see it as moving Tyler in too soon, as he has been around for a long time in show time?  At least a year?  And while malignant step parents are a real thing, they are not always a thing. Tyler has been painted as a good guy.

I can’t stand the hacking job, but I liked the joke about cat videos at the very end. It got cut off by my DVR, so I had to wait to catch it on Hulu this morning. 

[Rocknrollzombie]

55 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

FWIW I don’t see it as moving Tyler in too soon, as he has been around for a long time in show time?  At least a year?  And while malignant step parents are a real thing, they are not always a thing. Tyler has been painted as a good guy.

 

A year are we even sure it’s a year , ….nvm after doing some math not a complete year but more like 10 ish month. And just because Tyler is painted as good guy doesn’t mean he is a good guy …literally that is his only personality trait good. 

Edited May 23 by Rocknrollzombie

[TattleTeeny]

2 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

FWIW I don’t see it as moving Tyler in too soon, as he has been around for a long time in show time?  At least a year?  And while malignant step parents are a real thing, they are not always a thing. Tyler has been painted as a good guy.

I can’t stand the hacking job, but I liked the joke about cat videos at the very end. It got cut off by my DVR, so I had to wait to catch it on Hulu this morning. 

Yeah, what is the actual timeline? Becky isn't 22 -- "too soon" is vastly different for a person in her late 40s than it is for someone much younger. I would think a ~year is more than enough time to decide that someone is a "keeper."

1 hour ago, Rocknrollzombie said:

A year are we even sure it’s a year , ….nvm after doing some math not a complete year but more like 10 ish month. And just because Tyler is painted as good guy doesn’t mean he is a good guy …literally that is his only personality trait good. 

This is true for everyone; Tyler could say the same about Becky. Or Beverly Rose, hahaha! 

What is the "magic number" for a grown woman to decide that it's been long enough to join households -- or the magic number for "knowing" someone is "good"? It's not like we don't see people "go bad" after 25 years of partnership. 

Edited May 23 by TattleTeeny

[Rocknrollzombie]

23 minutes ago, TattleTeeny said:

Yeah, what is the actual timeline? Becky isn't 22 -- "too soon" is vastly different for a person in her late 40s than it is for someone much younger. I would think a ~year is more than enough time to decide that someone is a "keeper."

This is true for everyone; Tyler could say the same about Becky. Or Beverly Rose, hahaha! 

What is the "magic number" for a grown woman to decide that it's been long enough to join households -- or the magic number for "knowing" someone is "good"? It's not like we don't see people "go bad" after 25 years of partnership. 

Oh hahaha!!
god, look it is different. When there is a child in the mix, because your not just moving yourself, but your kid as well. Magic’s number of “knowing” someone, people like Tyler because he seems so nice and sweet and caring. 

you know whatever, I don’t like Tyler either way and hate Becky being paired off.  Glad this show is ending with  six Episodes and Lecy not being on Becky remarriage train.  
 

 

Edited May 23 by Rocknrollzombie

[TattleTeeny]

Haha, point taken! Sometimes I forget that I am thinking like a childless person.

[Rocknrollzombie]

56 minutes ago, TattleTeeny said:

Haha, point taken! Sometimes I forget that I am thinking like a childless person.

Yeah we can’t forget about Becky’s kid.

[TattleTeeny]

WHY NOT? "We" forgot about Jackie's -- and Jerry!

[NeenerNeener]

I'm still surprised that they didn't have Dan re-mortgage the house to pay Mark's tuition. It would have been such a *"love letter to the fans" thing for the writers to do.

 

*where "love letter to the fans" = let's do the worst thing we can think of to these characters.

Edited May 23 by NeenerNeener

[OLynn33]

Honestly didn't even realize I was watching the season finale. Can't keep up with what shows are doing now. So, it's wait a year to watch 6 episodes of the series finale. Ok whatever. Man I miss the old days of tv. A season was 20 plus episodes. Now we are supposed to be grateful for anything over 10. It ended in May and began in September with the exception being for the shows on the network airing baseball. And even sometimes, you got to enjoy repeats of your favorite show over the summer. Good times.

[txhorns79]

9 minutes ago, NeenerNeener said:

I'm still surprised that they didn't have Dan re-mortgage the house to pay Mark's tuition. It would have been such a *"love letter to the fans" thing for the writers to do.

Honestly, he'd probably be a bad risk for the bank in terms of repayment, even with the house as collateral.  He's in his 70s, has no job and probably has an income limited to social security.  

[Snow Apple]

I like Darlene's line about listening to the college kids talk and then going home to look up what they said.

I hope she keeps her cafeteria job until she finds another one. Any income is better than none. She doesn't need to quit right away just because Mark is not attending.

[Yeah No]

Ugh, this show.....I won't like it if Darlene stays in the cafeteria job.  I get it that life is more than money but I don't find it that believable that she would love it that much to stay there.  She'd be crazy not to go back to making better money doing something she has the skills to do.  It doesn't have to be soul-sucking but there has to be a medium-happy solution.  I realize that in their universe there seems to be only two extreme options and neither of them are very good.  Unless Ben strikes it rich with his magazine, which in this alternate reality might actually happen even though it would never happen in the real world.  She's not comfortable enough financially to be so quick to stay in a low paying job if she doesn't have to.

The bad decisions these people make!  I just hope the last few episodes shows them finally making better decisions.  Mark taking two stupid shady jobs, come on.  Again, not believable because he seems to be more level-headed and ethical to do either of those.  I still think the writers hate the audience and the characters.  They are so much better and smarter than this.  At least the actors are.  And if the characters are supposed to be that stupid the actors aren't playing the parts as dumb as they should to make it believable that they are that stupid.

[pinkandsparkly13]

Mark taking the hacking job took me back to when he was writing papers for other kids in school for money. I think that got him kicked out. He was also buying pills at some point I think, so he's really not above doing shady illegal things to get by. 

[Yeah No]

59 minutes ago, pinkandsparkly13 said:

Mark taking the hacking job took me back to when he was writing papers for other kids in school for money. I think that got him kicked out. He was also buying pills at some point I think, so he's really not above doing shady illegal things to get by. 

I thought he was above that then too but the writers keep wanting to make Mark in particular dumber and less ethical than he should be given the way the actor and most of the rest of the scripts portray him.  It doesn't add up, especially after he couldn't bring himself to repossess that car.  He acts like the straightest arrow and is supposed to be so smart and then they make him do these things that to me feel out of character.  It's been bothering me for the entire reboot.  If he really had a shady side to him he wouldn't be acting like an "honest Abe" or boy scout about everything else.

And how ridiculous when there are plenty of other ways to finance an education that don't involve desperate/shady measures.  Just how stupid and shady are we supposed to believe this kid is?  Wouldn't he be looking for more legal means toward the end of his education?  Geez, my family couldn't afford my education even with financial aid and I had to go to a cheaper school and take out student loans in addition to a work-study job.  Never ONCE would I have considered doing something shady to go to a better school.  And believe me, I could have gone to a better school.

[Starchild]

2 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Ugh, this show.....I won't like it if Darlene stays in the cafeteria job.  I get it that life is more than money but I don't find it that believable that she would love it that much to stay there.  She'd be crazy not to go back to making better money doing something she has the skills to do.

Maybe Robin will come back and offer Darlene something wherever she landed after the plastics factory. She seemed to like Darlene,

And I liked that character, Robin was cool.

[ams1001]

16 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

or just that she has a good credit rating?

I have a hard time believing anyone in this family has a good credit rating.

16 hours ago, TattleTeeny said:

My credits from a community college didn’t transfer when I did, which was super-annoying because the classes were literally exactly the same stuff: foundation-year visual arts requirements…for exponentially more money (not worth it!).

My brother transferred most (maybe all) of his credits from community college...but then the state school had prerequisites for some of those classes so he had to take them after the fact and ended up going an extra year (which worked out well for me because it meant my financial aid grant only got cut for one year instead of two; it went from $5600 a year to $1300 my senior year).

[Rocknrollzombie]

And as for me right now, I stopped going to college because I basically the sole provider for me and my parents. My siblings do help but ya know they have families of their own. 
 

my dad does receive his pension, so that helps when my whole check goes to rent. But the good thing is I don’t spend a lot of my money when I do get paid. And my credits and record is still at the college so if I ever do go back I just need to do 10 classes and then I get my degree in graphics. Plus no loans to pay back whatsoever because I only ever accepted the pell grant loans.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 5/23/2024 at 1:12 AM, Bastet said:

and now Beverly Rose can have her own room with Harris out, . . .

So Mark, who soon won't have a dorm room will still be sleeping on the window sill? I was watching each time he stormed off to see where in the house he would go since he has no private spot.

 

[Mittengirl]

I am confused - I thought Mark really wanted to go to his current school, hence Darlene quitting her job in order to work in the cafeteria for Mark’s free tuition.  If it is a crappy school, why not just go to community college and Darlene stay at her good job?  
 

 

[ams1001]

6 hours ago, Mittengirl said:

I am confused - I thought Mark really wanted to go to his current school, hence Darlene quitting her job in order to work in the cafeteria for Mark’s free tuition.  If it is a crappy school, why not just go to community college and Darlene stay at her good job?  

Because that would make sense?

[Yeah No]

6 hours ago, Mittengirl said:

I am confused - I thought Mark really wanted to go to his current school, hence Darlene quitting her job in order to work in the cafeteria for Mark’s free tuition.  If it is a crappy school, why not just go to community college and Darlene stay at her good job?  

Because his current school is crappy compared with the University of Chicago but a better school than a community college in his mind.

[iMonrey]

9 hours ago, Mittengirl said:

I am confused - I thought Mark really wanted to go to his current school, hence Darlene quitting her job in order to work in the cafeteria for Mark’s free tuition.  If it is a crappy school, why not just go to community college and Darlene stay at her good job?  

And it feels like Darlene has thrown her life away for nothing, and that Mark's entire future rests on whether or not he gets into a "good" school. There are lots of people who got four year degrees at "good schools" and wound up in crappy jobs. And there are lots of people who didn't get four year degrees and did OK. It's about skills, smarts and ambitions, not just a degree. Do we even know what Mark wants to do for a living? I'm really tired of this Mark/school thing, it's stupid and it doesn't make any sense.

The one part of this episode I did like was Dan calling out Darlene on her crap about Becky. It was a rare moment when we were reminded he's her father. 

[bluegirl147]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

I'm really tired of this Mark/school thing, it's stupid and it doesn't make any sense.

So much of the Connors has been stupid and made no sense.  At least on Roseanne you could identify with the family in different situations. And root for them. But this family just makes mistake after mistake.  If I had given up a good paying job with benefits to take a job so my kid could get free tuition and then the kid decides to leave that school I would be pissed.  And Ben wants to take the insurance money to start another magazine?  Having one fail already isn't enough.  Watching people struggle financially isn't funny. Especially if that is the central theme of the show.  On Roseanne the Conners were a family who loved one another and yes they weren't always doing well financially.  On the Conners this is a family who are really not doing well financially and oh yeah they more or less like each other. It kills me that two ABC shows with superior writing (Home Economics and Not Dead Yet) get cancelled and the Connors live to see six more episodes.  And I swear if I hear the word spin off about any Connors character I will scream.

[zamp33]

On 5/22/2024 at 11:54 PM, txhorns79 said:

The whole storyline annoys me.  Finish your year at SAD.  Transfer the credits you can.  Take out student loans for University of Chicago, and do your research on a major that makes sense, and has a good track record in terms of job placement.  Don't take shady hacking jobs that could potentially end with you being arrested.  I just want to scream at these people sometimes.   

My child is looking at U of C right now - its a "loan free institution", if your family makes below a certain amount you get free tuition and they work with you to finance what you need. If you are below another threshold its all covered. So the entire  storyline is ridiculous. It is a very selective and prestigious school that can open doors - such a no brainer!

[Pi237]

Why doesn’t Mark just learn a trade?

 

lol sorry. Had to trot that out as it’s all you hear when you rightfully complain about the astronomical cost of college. (& I’m not saying trade school is bad. It’s excellent and I wish I’d gone, but it’s not for everyone. And college should be affordable for everyone)

Why does Mark have to go from a cheap school to one of the most expensive? Isn’t there any middle ground that won’t bankrupt the entire family?  What’s he majoring in? Just take a major that’s in demand at a mid range college? I don’t get all this teeth gnashing week after week over Mark and his potential. It’s so unfunny and actually stressful to watch. Lol

[Yogisbooboo64]

5 hours ago, iMonrey said:

The one part of this episode I did like was Dan calling out Darlene on her crap about Becky.

Facts!!  Christ, Darlene has been so annoying this season.  Why not just say what's on your mind instead of trying to make others feel like crap...every one else has a life too ya know, it ain't always about your ass.

Ben should have put some of the insurance money towards bills for a few months.

[Snow Apple]

I'm also over Mark and how he'll be the savior of the family if only he can graduate from a prestigious university, and anything else is a dead end. I hope he gets arrested for illegal hacking and University of Chicago kicks him to the curb. 

His life was on track thanks to Darlene's sacrifice and he spits on it just because SAD, a good school, is not UofC.

[One Tough Cookie]

21 hours ago, zamp33 said:

such a no brainer!

It's the Connors, REMEMBER?

 

19 hours ago, Yogisbooboo64 said:

Ben should have put some of the insurance money towards bills for a few months.

Or an apartment for himself.

What I want to know is how is Mark going to make /$150,00 in a year. I wish he could tell me his secret.

[ams1001]

55 minutes ago, One Tough Cookie said:

What I want to know is how is Mark going to make /$150,00 in a year. I wish he could tell me his secret.

Me, too. I have a college degree and almost 30 years of working and I don't make anywhere close to that.

[Wizardpatch]

SAD seems like just a slight step up from Greendale Community College.

[One Tough Cookie]

On 5/23/2024 at 11:02 AM, Rocknrollzombie said:

Yeah we can’t forget about Becky’s kid.

As much as we'd like to.