The Conners Season 1 Episode 8 Review

On this week's midseason (but really three-quarters-through-the-season) finale of The Conners, Dan misses some signs from Katey Sagal. Also, Jackie and Peter travel back to old-timey Norway (?) and drama involving Harris causes drama between Darlene and Becky.

Dan starts talking with the bartender at the restaurant Becky works for, Louise, and she asks him out. That night, Becky answers the door to discover Harris, who was taken home by a police officer because she was drinking in the woods with her friends. Becky decides not to give her a lecture, and agrees not to tell Darlene as long as she doesn't keep drinking with her friends. The next day, the officer shows up again to drop off Harris's sweater, and reveals that Becky knew about it. I think Harris is gonna get murdered, guys!

Jackie's Norwegian experience that she's taking part in with Peter is going terribly, for her at least. Becky and Jackie warn Dan about Louise wanting to date him, but he just thinks they're being crazy. Darlene confronts Harris about the cop stopping by, but she brings up Becky as an example of how bad choices can ruin anyone's life, and Becky overhears her and gets offended.

Becky tells Peter that he's not bringing anything to their relationship, but he brushes her off and tells her to get to work. She refuses, and won't take part in his school assignment anymore. Dan stops by to talk to Louise, and she makes a move on him. He confronts her about what Becky and Jackie said, and she tells him they're right. He tells her he's not interested because he still loves Roseanne. They agree to remain friends anyway. Darlene tracks Becky down to talk, and she talks about why she felt so hurt. It goes back to when she lost Mark and Darlene didn't comfort her like she wanted.

Wrap-Up:
This was the strongest episode of the Conners so far. All of the storylines were very funny, and Jackie's in particular was very creative. The other stories were definitely similar to other plots we've seen on other TV shows, but they added their Conner flair to them and made them their own, so I can forgive their familiarity.

Dan's storyline was really funny, especially since he was so oblivious, but it was also really touching. I'm glad that they didn't have him get over Roseanne so quickly, because it would be such a huge disservice to both Dan and the Roseanne character for him to be moving on already. There will be a time for that for sure, but right now, he's just not emotionally ready for that and it has shown throughout the season.

Darlene and Becky's story was also really enjoyable, and it was good to see her addressing Mark's death, which we haven't heard menitoned at all. Lecy Goranson and Sara Gilbert work so well together, and I'm really enjoying the increase in screen time together that we're seeing with them this season. It's been great to see the show explore Darlene and Becky's sisterly bond, and this episode dealed with that bond the best so far.

My favorite plot, though, was Jackie's. That entire plot was just so hilarious and I absolutely loved it. Matthew Broderick's Peter sure is annoying, but Broderick has done a wonderful job in the role and his scenes this week were absolutely hilarious. I could have taken an entire episode of just this plot, I loved it that much. Her standing up to Peter and finally telling him that he contributes nothing was just what I've been waiting for, and I'm so Excited to see where their relationship goes from here. No matter what, it'll probably be hilarious. I do wish we could have seen Jackie talking with Dan about what she told Peter, considering Peter and Dan's argument last week and Jackie and Dan's discussion about it. Maybe in January.

Score: 9.5/10
Grade: A

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