While The Conners season 7 will see the series come to an end, concluding the 36-year Roseanne saga in the process. Before it became The Conners, the working-class family sitcom was originally titled Roseanne. Roseanne’s original run lasted nine seasons from 1988 until 1997, with a one-season revival in 2017. When star Roseanne Barr’s racist tweets saw her fired, the show’s original title character was killed off and the Roseanne revival’s second outing became The Conners.

Luckily, The Conners’ cast of characters was still more than large enough without Roseanne around. There was her widower Dan, her sister Jackie, her children Becky, Darlene, and DJ, and their children Mark, Harris, and Mary. More faces were soon added to the cast of the series when Becky’s daughter Beverly-Rose was born, Dan began dating Katey Sagal’s Louise, and Jackie married Louis's successful veterinarian brother, Neville. By season 6, The Conners had profoundly reshaped the show’s lineup with the exits of DJ and Mary. However, some things never changed in the titular family’s long history, particularly for one character.

Becky’s Roseanne Arc Was The Original Show’s Saddest Story

The Conners Couldn’t Afford To Send The Roseanne Heroine To College

When looked at as a whole between the two shows, Becky’s story in Roseanne and The Conners is nothing short of devastating. Although she always had an impulsive streak, Becky was once the most academically promising of Dan and Roseanne’s children. Where Darlene was a sardonic burnout and DJ was constantly in trouble in school, Becky got great grades and excelled at school. Despite this, her parents let her down at a pivotal point in her life and, despite her best attempts, Becky was never quite able to regain the momentum she had in her adolescence due to numerous tragedies.

Becky has the saddest story of any member of the Conner family.

In season 4, episode 25, “Aliens,” Becky discovered her parents had spent her college fund on covering their bills. Times had been lean for the family and, without consulting her, Dan and Roseanne had been forced to spend the money they promised Becky. Although Roseanne’s revived final season technically made Becky a millionaire along with the rest of the family, this misjudged twist was retconned along with the rest of the outlandish season 9 in the revival. This resulted in a tragic multi-decade arc that proved Becky, not Jackie, has the saddest story of any member of the Conner family.

Roseanne’s Season 10 Revival Made Becky’s Story Sadder

Mark’s Offscreen Death Was A Defining Tragedy For Becky

Despite some thwarted attempts at further education, Becky never made it out of Lanford and didn’t return to school in earnest until season 4 of The Conners. Although Beverly-Rose was born at the beginning of season 2, Becky struggled with alcoholism throughout much of The Conners seasons 1-3. This addiction cost her jobs, friends, and opportunities, and it was not hard not to see the links between Becky’s self-destructive spiral and the opioid overdose that claimed her mother’s life off-screen. Even the best season of The Conners gave Becky little hope, so season 7 must provide her with a brighter future.

Becky’s academic achievements made it clear that she had plenty of potential, but her relationship with Mark Healy reshaped her future for the worse. Mark wasn’t as academically gifted as Becky, nor was he as ambitious as Roseanne’s daughter. Despite their differences, Becky and Mark were inseparable and Becky even offered Mark the money her parents gave her for college so he could attend trade school. In season 6, episode 12, “White Trash Christmas,” Dan and Roseanne attempted to make amends by offering Becky money for college, but her attachment to Mark derailed this plan and began a fight.

The Conners Season 6 Highlighted Becky’s Struggles

Her Addiction Issues Were Triggered By Her Psychology Course

Tragically, Mark’s real-life actor, Glen Quinn, ed away in 2002 at only 32 years old. Roseanne’s revival handled his untimely death by killing Mark off-screen, eventually revealing he died in a motorcycle accident years later. The best episode of The Conners saw Becky explain her relationship with Mark to her young daughter Beverly-Rose, and this poignant scene highlighted just how much trauma the character has been through over the decades. Becky’s story has been relentlessly bleak throughout The Conners and Roseanne despite her upbeat demeanor, and the character is long overdue a little good luck in the final season.

The Hollywood Reporter reported The Conners season 7 will debut in late 2024 or early 2025.

In season 6, episode 11, “Fire and Vice,” the impact of Becky’s emotional issues came to a head when her Psychology course saw her take on a role as a drug counselor. Becky went way overboard in trying to save the drug addicts she was counseling, loaning one patient money and giving another access to her truck. While it will be tough for The Conners season 7 to fix Harris’s character arc, Becky presents the show with its greatest challenge. After so much hardship and uncertainty, it is difficult to imagine a happy ending for Lecy Goranson’s irrepressibly sweet character.

The Conners Season 7 Can Finally Give Becky A Happy Ending

Roseanne’s Heroine Deserves A Steady Job And Relationship

Fortunately, all hope is not yet lost for Becky. Becky’s relationship with Sean Astin’s Tyler was one of The Conners season 6’s best new storylines, since the level-headed pilot offered Becky a more stable, ive type of romance that she has historically been accustomed to. Becky and Tyler’s romance isn’t perfect, and the pair will undoubtedly face a few major snags as Becky finishes college, balances raising Beverly-Rose and her current job, and searches for new employment as a graduate. However, much like Ben and Darlene’s The Conners romance improved Darlene’s outlook, things are still looking up the Roseanne heroine.

Becky’s story can more than afford an unambiguously happy ending.

It is important that The Conners season 7 doesn't abandon the spirit of blue-collar resilience that animated Roseanne in its search for a satisfying ending. However, Becky’s story can more than afford an unambiguously happy ending. Over the decades, Becky missed out on attending college, lost the love of her life to a tragic accident, struggled with alcoholism, and had a hard time making ends meet as a single mother. The Conners season 7 owes Becky a satisfiying ending after all that the spinoff and Roseanne put her through, so that’s exactly what the show’s final outing should provide.

Source: TheHollywoodReporter