The final season of The Conners revealed new details about what led to Roseanne‘s overdose, as multiple characters argued over who was ultimately responsible for her death.
During the Wednesday, April 9, episode of the hit ABC series, Dan (John Goodman) asked for Darlene (Sara Gilbert) and Becky’s (Lecy Goranson) help in figuring out the timeline of Roseanne’s (Roseanne Barr) addiction.
“My lawyer asked me to fill out these forms for my lawsuit against the pharmaceutical company and I need your help to remember the details,” Dan, who decided to sue after Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) suggested he take legal action, said. “We need to prove that her overdose was entirely the fault of the drug company and none of us could have done anything to prevent it.”
Darlene’s memory kicked in and she immediately named September 14th as the date, adding, “I told mom about [my difficult day] and she said, ‘I am not sure of anything that you’re saying because I have just taken my first pain pill.’”
It was when Becky asked how Roseanne got back on pain pills that things took a turn.
“The doctor never cut her off — he kept upping her dosage because she kept complaining it wasn’t stopping the pain,” Dan explained. “Then I found the extra pills she was getting from her friends. I knew she had friends but I didn’t know they were swapping pills like a bunch of San Francisco hippies.”
Dan “thought she was done” taking pills after Roseanne’s surgery. “It would have seemed that way to anyone,” he noted, to which Becky fired back, “You spin things however you need to make it sound like that.”
Elsewhere in the episode, Dan and Becky sat down to discuss their different outlooks on the situation.
“I know addiction is complicated but there had to have been a moment where someone could have done something to stop the worst from happening,” Becky told her father. “Maybe realize that if someone had an addiction before surgery, they would still have one after?”
She continued: “You were with her all day and all night. How could you not see she was on something? Sometimes we want things to go away so we don’t have to deal with them.”
Dan was upset at the institution. “She told me once her knee was fixed that she was done with them,” he replied. “Where were you in all this? Oh, that’s right. You were too busy with your own addiction to notice what is going on with your mother. Keep your own side of the street clean. I am not open to being accused.”
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Despite the tension, Dan and Becky worked out their issues. Becky apologized for how she “blamed” Dan for Roseanne’s death.
“If I hadn’t been drinking, I think I could have helped her,” she said, to which Dan noted, “You couldn’t have helped her. We are never going to lose the feeling that we could have done something more.”
Roseanne originally aired on ABC from 1988 to 1997. After being briefly revived in 2018 — and after star Roseanne Barr’s eventual exit from the series amid controversial social media posts — the story transformed into The Conners. The spinoff was created without Barr’s involvement and she hasn’t made an appearance since the drama.
“I just can’t bear it, so I don’t [watch],” Barr told The Los Angeles Times in February 2023 of the new show. “When they killed my character off, that was a message to me, knowing that I’m mentally ill or have mental health issues, that they did want me to commit suicide.”
She continued: “They killed my character … And all of that was to say thank you for bringing 28 million viewers, which they never had before and will never see again. Because they can kiss my a**.”
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Despite not every fan favorite making it back for the six-episode final season, Goranson was proud of how The Conners found a way to mention certain missing characters — starting with Roseanne.
“If it felt like this is a Hollywood thing to bring all the guest stars back, that’s exciting for the audience. But it’s not really true to the world of the show,” the actress exclusively told Us Weekly in March. “We’ve had people have feelings about the show since Roseanne left. But with what we have, it’s been really, really tasteful and well done, so I’m proud of it.”
Goranson weighed in on the idea of Barr’s character being brought up in the final episodes, adding, “It’s a really interesting thing. [The idea of] when to bring her up, how it has been through the series is when it seems right. There’s touches of it without really landing on it and making it super heavy.”
The Conners airs on ABC Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
