‘The Conners’: Darlene Makes a Big Career Decision

In the latest episode of The Conners, Darlene (Sara Gilbert) had a big decision. During the course of the episode, Darlene was not getting along with her co-workers at Wellman Plastics and contemplating quitting the job as her true passion lies in the writing field. However, after much consideration, and after Mark (Ames McNamara) expressed a need for a new laptop, Darlene decided to stay in the position to provide for her family.

At the top of the episode, one of Darlene and Becky’s (Lecy Goranson) co-workers was celebrating their birthday. But, Darlene, who has been anti-social when it comes to her fellow workers, did not partake in the celebration, leading others at Wellman Plastics to dub her “Darlene Antoinette” (a play on the French Queen Marie Antoinette). She later confronted her co-workers, who noted that Darlene’s attitude is vastly different than her late mother, Roseanne. Darlene explained that she doesn’t have the greatest of attitudes at her job because it simply wasn’t her plan to be working there at this stage in her life.

Later in the episode, Mark expressed that they needed a new laptop for school, which is being done remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Darlene said that she would indeed be able to get him one (jokingly saying that they should look into Rite Aid brand ones) because of her job at Wellman Plastics. She later told one of her co-workers, who worked alongside Roseanne, that she went about the job with the wrong approach, as she is grateful to be working at all amidst the pandemic to provide for her children.

In the premiere episode of The Conners, which aired on Oct. 21, the family discussed that the Wellman Plastics location, where Roseanne and Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) used to work on the original Roseanne, would be re-opening. This prompted Jackie to reminisce about her time with Wellman Plastics manager Booker, who was played by George Clooney. She even noted that Booker looked just like the famous actor and added that she “should’ve hit that ’til I broke it.” The show then featured a throwback clip from one of the episodes that aired in the ’80s that showcased Jackie and Booker flirting during the original comedy series. At the end of the premiere, both Darlene and Becky followed in their aunt and late mother’s footsteps by securing jobs at Wellman Plastics.