Roseanne Review: Eggs Over, Not Easy (Season 10 Episode 4)

It’s been said that if you want to make God laugh, show him your plans. This sentiment becomes harshly real for Becky on Roseanne Season 10 Episode 4, “Eggs Over, Not Easy.”

So far, on the episodes we’ve seen, Becky’s focus is entirely on being a surrogate for a stranger. This focus is about to come to a screeching halt which shows us the most vulnerable side of Becky Conner.

In the entire history of the show, Becky has always been happy-go-lucky, Miss Positive. Most of the time it’s because she really is happy. However, on occasion, we get to see the darker side of her reality, which is that she puts a positive spin to keep herself going.

It is fantastic to visibly see Becky go from hopeful about her future and the change this surrogacy is going to bring to holding back tears.

At this moment, Roseanne takes a more serious tone. It’s a balance that they don’t always master, but with “Eggs Over, Not Easy” it is in full force.

Roseanne: What if this is the only baby you can have?

At first, Roseanne’s attitude about Becky’s decision seems selfish and cruel. However, by the end, viewers can see that Roseanne is merely looking out for her daughter.

To be honest, I am in that group of people who become annoyed at Roseanne for her closed off attitude. While she does make some adjustments to help her daughter, it’s obvious in hindsight that her care and compassion for Becky is there all along.

Roseanne knows that Becky is not the young age that she passes as on the outside. She also knows from personal experience that just because you look 30 doesn’t mean your physicality and body functions are 30.

In a way, she knew that Becky was only going to find disappointment with her venture.

Roseanne: I do care. I wanted you to keep that baby, so you could experience the joys of motherhood like I did.

Another great point of this episode is when Roseanne puts aside her second nature to comfort and reassure Becky. As long-time viewers or even newcomers, it’s not hard to see that Roseanne loves to be right and then to rub it in the faces of those who are wrong.

However, on rare occasions, by rare I mean mostly non-existent, she checks herself before she reacts. The result of that brings moments that get to the heart of being a mom.

Roseanne can be a loving and completely caring mom, unselfish in every way. She just has to work a little harder to achieve that level of care. This is not saying that Roseanne is mean and selfish all the time towards her kids.

She doesn’t outwardly show her affection in ways that most moms do. Instead, it appears in the form of sarcasm and playful jabs.

I hope that in her older age, Roseanne becomes more selfless especially now that her children have children. Becoming a mom has definitely softened up Darlene. Who’s to say it can’t work for Roseanne as a grandma?

Darlene: It’s not betraying Mark to move on.

All great shows must grow and change if they wish to keep their audiences captivated and entertained. With age, Darlene and Becky have changed enough to keep us interested while still holding onto traits of themselves that we love.

Darlene has always been at odds with Becky because they are just too different to function together. This is always a point of connection with audiences because it really shows the beauty and pain of siblings.

Now that the two are in their forties and grown, it’s fun to see how the writing of their characters changes with them.

Darlene may still be closed off and hard to crack, but she is more likely to give into the urge to be vulnerable and freely give advice.

On the flipside, Becky may seem like she still hasn’t matured past early adulthood, but a simple conversation with Darlene reveals that it’s all a cover to really hide the pain she carries.

Darlene knows Becky better than anyone else on the planet, even their own mother. I love that Roseanne decides to highlight that aspect of their relationship instead of it always being about them clashing.

Maybe, now that they are older the focal point will be more about their knowledge of each other’s vulnerabilities and broken sides. Not only that but also hit on moments where they use that knowledge to help fix each other.

Darlene hitting right at Becky’s main issue and insecurity is what restores my faith in the longevity and success of this show.

The writers can’t continue this show by riding the success of what it was in the 90s. They must grow and change it based on the current time.

By taking what happened to Mark — the actor who played him died — and making it part of who Becky has become they cement the continued growth of the show. It would have been a huge disservice to the fans and the characters to act like Mark was still around or that he didn’t matter.

Obviously, a love that big and monumental to Becky’s life would have lasting effects on her.

To be honest, I never imagined the effects would be so drastic that her person and behavior is frozen in time with her early 20s. That is the beauty of the writers — they have taken something that has many possible outcomes and chose the most heartfelt one.

“Eggs Over, Not Easy” places itself amongst the top ten Roseanne episodes of all time.

The more serious focus with slight humorous undertones reminds all viewers that Roseanne can live in the past and present while still remaining relevant and entertaining.

Further Thoughts:

• While we are on the subject of motherhood, what happened to Jackie’s? Does her son still exist or is he so insignificant in her life now that he’s relegated to not even being mentioned?
• It’s great to see DJ but when will he get the adult treatment and character evaluation that his sisters have received?
• Roseanne and Dan have still got it! Their humor that is. It’s great to see their little back and forth moments breaking up the deeper, meaningful dramatic moments.

What did you think of this episode of Roseanne? Share your thoughts in the comments below! Catch up on our review of Roseanne Season 10 Episode 3, “Roseanne Gets the Chair” right here. 

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Roseanne airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC.

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