‘The Conners’: Juliette Lewis Returns With Scandalous Dating Advice

The Conners featured the return of one of its most memorable guest stars to date, who revealed a hilariously scandalous part of her past.

During “Hold the Salt,” Darlene (Sara Gilbert) finally acts on her feelings toward her boss Ben (Jay R. Ferguson) and the two start to build a romantic relationship, with their conflicting “Alpha” personalities getting in the way from the start.

After sharing their first kiss in the office, Darlene shows up to Ben’s apartment and they have their first disagreement when he asks her to take her shoes off before coming in. The pair then disagree further as they are both stubborn about which wine to enjoy and how to season their meal. Frustrated, Darlene walks away feeling like the relationship might not work after all.

The next morning, Darlene is at a coffee shop expecting to meet David (Johnny Galecki) but is greeted instead by his girlfriend Blue (Juliette Lewis) for the first time since their serious disagreement in a previous episode.

“What are you doing here? Oh wait, that sounds rude,” Darlene says. “What are you doing here instead of David, who I wish was here.”

“Well, he couldn’t come so I’ll be going over the kids’ Christmas list with you,” she says.

Before they discuss the holidays, Blue admits that she is having problems with David and could use Darlene’s advice. Darlene says she wouldn’t want to get involved but the woman opens up anyways about struggling with David’s inability to make decisions.

Darlene says that she is struggling with the opposite as she is dealing with a man who wants to make all of the decisions in their new relationship. Blue starts to massage Darlene’s hand and convinces Darlene to open up about her dating problems.

“I started dating my boss. He’s really controlling and I don’t think it’s going work out,” Darlene admits.

“One thing I learned at my previous job, before massage therapy, is that people who have a lot of responsibility secretly want to give up control to someone else…” Blue said, before hinting she had been a dominatrix in the past.

“It was a long time ago and I was the opposite of an anesthesiologist. I brought a lot of pain,” she continued. When Darlene tells her she doesn’t think Ben might be the kind to let go of his control, Blue suggests Darlene loosen up when it comes to relationships for once.

Back at her office, Darlene tells Ben to focus on work, and when he gives her a bad suggestion for the front page, she doesn’t fight it. Noticing things are different, he apologizes for what happened during their first date.

“I’m sorry that I got upset. I’m used to being the only Alpha in the relationship,” Ben says.

“Me too,” Darlene admits. “Can two Alphas have a relationship that works?”

Darlene and Ben both agree to try to let go of controlling everything, and just to trust in each other. They seal their blossoming relationship with a kiss before getting back to work.

The Conners airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.