Yeah, I think I want to double down on possibly being too harsh on Ben for some of my reviews. I think the problem is the writing for Darlene having a boyfriend is always slow. And that's something that was even happening in the original "Roseanne". The endless Darlene and David saga was as tiring as Darlene/Ben and Darlene/bland new age (NA) guy sagas. Darlene can't get other storylines besides romantic ones? Her romance storylines are usually the weakest link imo.
This episode features a cell phone. NA guy said he got rid of his cell phone because he connected it with non stop stress. And what does Darlene show up with? A gift of a cell phone! I can see why Harris and Darlene have their friction and Mark felt more comfortable talking to Ben. I'm not as extreme as this NA guy. I do think a cell phone is a wise thing to have if you're out on the road and break down, your kids need to be able to access you at any time, etc. You don't have to walk around with it glued to your hand 24/7. And Darlene gets what she wants because it sounds like NA guy's willing to text her on this phone instead of standing by his beliefs of not wanting to be connected to a cell phone anymore.
Becky's storyline was the best of the bunch. They really need to have Becky have the lead storyline because it seems like she's got more of an advantage of having different kinds of storylines. This one is a follow up of her helping at risk girls so they don't end up like her. It sounds like she's gotten through to a few girls but this one girl basically crapped all over Becky's life and didn't take her seriously because she's a 46 year old loser still living at her dad's house. It's realistic to have a character throwing that up to Becky. I just hope she's able to help more girls and they see that Becky's a strong woman. She might be a late bloomer when it concerns completing goals in her life but she is doing it.
Dan's storyline was insane. No other way to say it. I get being somebody that struggles financially and you're in a situation where you need cash quickly. This is a continuation of Louise's compromise of Dan being able to keep the other furniture in the house that belonged to Dan and Roseanne but she wants brand new furniture for the bedroom. Dan has a yard sale for 43 year old furniture and asks for an insane price. This storyline is so bad that even Wacky Jackie made sense by (paraphrasing) saying the only way that furniture would sell at that price is if cocaine was involved. A guy comes up and offers Dan a low amount and Dan gets angry at the guy. Dan could've gotten something to put towards new furniture and instead he ends up burning the furniture (?). Another guy comes up at the end and asked if he still had that bedroom set and offered him $2,000 for it. Guy must've been on something. Maybe he got the coke out of the drawer before everything was burned?
Harris is also having trouble adjusting to being out of the house. She snuck back in and got caught by Becky for sneaking food out of the house. I'm just having a hard time buying this storyline. I get having friction with Darlene. It makes me think of when Becky left the house in the original "Roseanne" because she wasn't getting along with Roseanne and she stayed with Jackie for a few days. I can see somebody like Becky having trouble if Jackie wasn't there for her because Becky didn't have a job at that time point. Harris has a job. Harris has had other jobs. She's got income coming in or could have income coming in again if things have completely fallen apart between her and her boyfriend and she had to find another job.
I think the saddest part of Harris' storyline is she's rather isolated. She's couch surfing at a stranger's house instead of possibly going to Jackie's place and asking if she could stay with her until she got on her feet or going to DJ. I'd pick DJ because the few times we get to see him, he seems like the most stable of the bunch.
I can see where it'd still be awkward at Jackie or DJ's place because the viewers aren't really sure if Harris and Mark got to spend much time with the family since Darlene's family was living somewhere else before moving back to Lanford. You might see these people every so often for visits but you don't really have that much of a family connection because you're not around them that much. But this is a show that's on season 4 and the Roseanne reboot lasted one season so you'd think there'd still be some kind of a connection formed between somebody in the family instead of having to couch surf at a stranger's place.
0 out of 4 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
