The Conners Review: Keep On Truckin’ Six Feet Apart (Season 3 Episode 1)

During this uncertain time, we turn to our favorite shows to bring us comfort and joy. With its season premiere, The Conners attempts to do just that.

We are given a handful of well-timed cracks at the new standards in place for keeping each of us safe, while still keeping with the spirit of who these family members are at their core. The Conners Season 3 Episode 1, “Keep On Truckin’ Six Feet Apart” isn’t the funniest, laugh-out-loud episode.

However, what this episode lacks in humor it more than makes up for it in heart. After all, the Conner family has always been America’s look into the realities of the working-class family. 

The focus on how each family member is struggling to not only stay afloat personally but help the family as a whole stay afloat is what this show is all about. The bonds of family have never been stronger and that is what makes this episode a breath of fresh air after so much sadness.

The most emotional part of the episode doesn’t come when Dan is served the eviction notice — though that is worth discussing — it’s when Darlene actually breaks down and cries. 

Darlene has always been the strong and stoic member of the family who doesn’t ever show a deeper emotion than dread or disdain. So for her to show enough vulnerability that she is crying with her sister is absolutely worth remembering. 

This is a turning point for not just Darlene but Becky as well. Up to this point, they’ve both been holding onto their faint hope that having a job is enough to keep themselves going, but with the looming eviction, they realize that money is just as important.

By applying to Wellman Plastics, Darlene has finally accepted that her dream of making a career out of writing just isn’t feasible when your family is struggling to survive a world where businesses are closing left and right. It’s hard for her to sink that low in her own spirits, but it’s still refreshing to see her open up about those fears and disappointments with her sister.

It’s a great move for The Conners to continue last season’s trend of enhancing the bond between Darlene and Becky. It’s even better the show does so in a way that is very real and doesn’t appear forced in any way. Darlene’s breakdown isn’t as believable if it is at their kitchen table while she and Becky are just shooting the breeze.

No, that vulnerability only comes in the face of such immeasurable loss as applying for the only paying job available in town. Darlene has always seen herself as above the menial kind of work her mother did as they were growing up and now here she is being forced into it by life’s circumstance.

It’s a moment that really brings Becky and Darlene closer because they are both in the same boat and can now better understand each other. In a way, Becky is giving up on a dream as well — she started The Lunch Box with Jackie and now she is reduced to seeking other employment since Jackie can’t pay her.

When a show decides to address the world at large to their targetted audiences it can either create a conversation or totally throw the show off track. Thankfully, The Conners is able to draw attention to the current economic crisis without everything being specifically the pandemic. 

Most of what this episode discusses is the fallout from COVID on the Conner family. This itself is what connects with the audience — so many of whom have lost jobs or homes because of the economic crisis. 

It’s going to be interesting to see how this family continues to adapt and fight their way through troubled waters. It is my hope that the show continues to discuss family dynamics in the current situation with honesty and love.

 

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

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

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

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

20 Vastly Underrated TV Characters of 2019