Roseanne Series Finale Review

Roseanne's return to TV has been a fun ride, with multiple great episodes and tons of laughs to be found. The road to this tenth season finale hasn't been all good, but for the most part, I've really enjoyed the return of the Conner family. The penultimate episode of season 10, Netflix & Pill, set up the finale very well, and I found it to be one of the better episodes of the season. I'm hoping that this finale can be just as good.

Roseanne gets stuck on the toilet, because her knee is acting up. This prompts Dan to ask her if she made an appointment for a surgery. She doesn't want to because of the high cost, but Dan wants her to get the surgery no matter what. He's even resorting to cutting costs at work, by using some illegal methods. Roseanne warns that he might be kicked out of the union over it, but Dan doesn't care. The next day, Roseanne asks Jackie for help searching through the basement for things of value to sell. Elsewhere, Becky is giving Darlene waitressing advice, so that she can get more tips. Darlene doesn't appreciate this advice. In the basement, they discover a doll that their mother used to love and they used to still hate. It's worth $5,000, so I guess the doll isn't as awful as Jackie and Roseanne thought it was.

At work, Darlene is having some difficulty being approachable, but she tries her hardest. Elsewhere, Roseanne and Jackie take their mother's doll to be sold. Unfortunately, the doll was repaired, so she's only worth $100. A disappointment to the end! (Jackie's words, not mine.) Dan calls Roseanne with some bad news: their basement is flooding. But that's not the end of Dan's problems: Chuck has found out about his plans to use illegal immigrants instead of him and his workers, and he's very unhappy. Dan tells about his struggles, but Chuck doesn't really understand. Roseanne gets home to discover the damage, and Dan tells her not to worry. When he's finally alone, Dan starts to break down.

The family discovers that the president will be declaring a state of emergency due to the storm, which means that they'll get money from FEMA to pay for their basement. Dan plans to use some fo this money on Roseanne's surgery, so their problems are solved. In better news, Dan has also fixed things with Chuck. In less good news, Roseanne is getting worried about her surgery, though Dan comforts her and she starts to feel better.

Wrap-Up:
I have to say, this was a pretty messy way end to the season. It was much darker than usual, and I didn't really find it all that funny. While it had its moments, it was mostly a disappointment. Darlene's storyline (can we even call it that?) was so short and pretty pointless. It didn't really add anything to the episode and just took away from the main plot. The doll storyline also didn't go anywhere, it was just a dead-end that merely provided a few laughs without actually existing for a meaningful reason. The worst part of the episode, however, was how neatly everything was wrapped up. I typically credit this show for its realism, but this episode didn't really feel all that realistic. The episode's ending felt more like the ending to a Hallmark movie than a Roseanne episode. And that's problematic.
Score: 7/10
Grade: C+

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