The Conners Review: Bridge Over Trouble Conners (Season 2 Episode 20)

The Conners may be over for the season, but the Conner home lives to see a few more famous Conner shenanigans. In what can be seen as nothing short of a miracle, The Conners Season 2 Episode 20, “Bridge Over Trouble Conners,” manages to save the family home.

This move is truly the best for the show, especially since there is no official news of it getting another season. The family gets to continue to live together under one roof and Darlene gets to help her father with the full support of Ben.

At first, Ben’s reactions to Darlene’s emphatic cry to use their apartment money to help her father are less than ideal. While it is understandable that Ben’s first thought is to dig his heels in and let Dan figure things out for himself, it also grates on the nerves of anyone who has followed this family since the beginning.

Therefore, it’s a huge relief when Ben does seem to wake up and realize that living together with Dan in this home is way more important to Darlene than having an apartment across town while Dan loses their family home. To the Conner clan, this home is more than just some walls with windows and doors — it is a member of their family.

If anyone doubts this, they only have to listen to Darlene’s impassioned speech on the subject to realize just how special it really is. There is a level of emotion during this scene that hasn’t really resonated down much since the start of the season. 

This family leans on one another not because they need to, but because they want to. Darlene goes from gung-ho excited to move out one minute, to a complete one-eighty the next. It’s all because her father has always been the one to bail her out, and now it’s her turn to step up to the plate and return the favor.

At its heart, The Conners has always been about family above all else. Without fail, these individuals will always put aside their own personal struggles to help one another out of a tight spot — there is nothing that warms our hearts more.

It’s easy for a show to lose sight of its core strength when dealing with so many characters and moving parts. Yet, somehow despite its flaws, The Conners never does. 

Even in the face of such uncertainty, the show is not without its humor and its unique ability to create individual personal trajectories for all the characters while they also work on a common situation. For example, the family is all banding together to remain in the home at the same time Becky is also working to solve her Emilio in Mexico problem. 

Becky is the one Conner we can always count on to have a huge heart that leads her toward irrational decisions. This time she comes back from her trip to Mexico married to Emilio and doesn’t even seem fazed by her family’s shock of it all.

There is no doubt in our minds that Becky is doing what she can for one of the fathers in her life. She can’t help Dan really at all, but she can help Emilio be a better, more present father to Beverly Rose. 

If we never get a Season 3, I am happy that we get to end this show on such a high note. There is no clear-cut ending to any of these characters, just a solution to temporary problems. 

These characters continue their lives beyond the show, which is the best way to end any kind of series. It satisfies us because it allows for the continued hope of happiness.

However, we are hoping for a Season 3 because who doesn’t want to see Ben and Dan go at it almost daily? Or Becky trying to explain Emilio’s sudden appearance to her family?

There are still meaningful stories of this family to tell, but if this is the end, it’s a good one.

 

What did you think of this episode of The Conners? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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