The Conners Review: Halloween and the Election vs. The Pandemic (Season 3 Episode 2)

It’s always hard to find that delicate balance between serious and silly when it comes to sitcoms. Viewers don’t want things to be too dramatic, but they also don’t want only jokes throughout the program. 

This is where The Conners Season 3 Episode 2, “Halloween and the Election vs. The Pandemic,” excels. There is an easy flow between moments that break our hearts and build us back up. 

From the cold open to the end credits these characters take us on a journey from silly, to frustrated, to sad, back to silly, and then finally come around to love. It’s truly one of the best Conner family Halloween events to date. 

Ever since the 90s, this family has entertained us with their outlandish Halloween events and shenanigans. It was a concern of mine going into this season, considering the state of the world, that their Halloween wouldn’t pull out all the stops this year.

There really is no need to worry, because not since the year the Conner clan had to convince Roseanne that Halloween is still worth her time, have they had a more over the top celebration. It goes without saying that the multiple costume changes on Ben’s part sold the whole “indoor trick or treating” for us. 

We haven’t gotten to see so many silly Conner hijinks in one episode in years and it’s a nice breath of fresh air during these uncertain times. It’s comforting to know that we can turn to our old pals and get exactly what we’ve come to expect from them for their favorite holiday.

Like we mentioned before, this episode isn’t just about the silly — even though that comforts us the most — it also really brings out the best for subjects the world faces the most right now.

There are a couple of really great bonding moments during this episode that center on Mary, who is always a nice addition to the story. The first of which is probably the most noteworthy, despite the second being between her and her father.

Sure, it’s always heartbreaking to see a difficult moment between a parent and their child — more on that later — but sometimes a rarer moment outshines even that. I am talking about Darlene’s moment of motherly comfort with Mary on the roof of the Conner home.

It’s been mentioned before that Darlene isn’t the warmest or fuzziest member of the family and yet she’s the one who finds Mary and talks her down off the ledge — literally. That has to count for something and actually makes this episode even better than it already is.

Sara Gilbert has this gentle way of handling Darlene’s scenes with children that stays true to Darlene’s snark while also managing to make everyone feel seen and loved. It’s a beautiful thing to watch and it’s nice that we get to see it with her niece as opposed to her son.

There are many families facing the current dilemma that Mary is facing — they have to work full-time and their children can’t go to school full-time. Any other show would’ve probably taken this topic and made it even more heartbreaking and dramatic, but The Conners does a phenomenal job of addressing it without taking it too seriously.

They do find a solution, but the family comes to it with a few quick jokes thrown in for good measure. They all realize the enormity of what helping Mary and DJ is going to entail, and yet they never once waver or think “nope we can’t handle that.”

It’s nice to see that the show refuses to let go of what makes this family so charming and comforting to us. They all have their struggles but, in the end, it comes down to helping each other survive through it all with love and humor.

Through it all, Darlene has only one thing in mind — making sure her niece doesn’t feel alone. It also leads to one of the hardest conversations this show has probably ever tackled.

It’s not easy for DJ to admit that he isn’t enough for his daughter right now. In fact, it’s in his nature to make sure that he is more than successful in both life and parenting.

The pandemic is an attack on who he is at his core. I really appreciate that The Conners doesn’t shy away from having that fear and insecurity be addressed. 

I gotta hand it to Michael Fishman, he really brings his A-game during DJ’s conversation about living arrangements with Mary. There is a level to that scene that seems to be all him and no DJ, it’s what really sells the fatherly bond. 

Even better is seeing his sisters look at him with nothing but love and support. In a different situation, they probably could have used this as fodder to poke fun at their baby brother, but instead, they reassure him that he’s alone in this so it’s okay for him to ask for help. 

There is a moment where it seems like Dan is going to let his daughters do all the talking and stand back. However, when DJ tries to run away and have a pity party Dan doesn’t let him.

Ultimately, it comes down to the well-known fact that no one in the Conner family never walks alone. Especially in times of crisis, and this is one of the biggest crises of all time. Once again, The Conners proves why these guys are America’s family — they represent all of us at our core. 

Killer One-Liners:

• Jackie: It’s a bathroom used by six people!
• Mark: Is that my punishment? Taking me to a restaurant during COVID?
• Dan: We had one favorite and two backups. You guys figure it out.

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

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The Conners airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on ABC.

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