The Conners Review: Trucking Live in Front of a Fully Vaccinated Studio Audience (Season 4 Episode 1)

It’s always a gamble when a show decides to do a LIVE episode. Fortunately, for The Conners Season 4 Episode 1, “Trucking Live in Front of a Fully Vaccinated Studio Audience,” it makes for a very heartfelt tribute to the fans who got the show to this point.

It isn’t often that a spin-off show is as successful as the show it originates from, but this premiere proves that The Conners can stand on its own while staying true to the family that we fell in love with on Roseanne.

Darlene’s Dilemma

Throughout Season 3, Darlene struggled to find her own happiness. Unfortunately, every move she made to put herself first was ridiculed or criticized by those closest to her.

Now, she is back in front of Ben asking him to trust her to put him first. Honestly, it’s a move that is a million steps back for her. Once again she’s scared to lose something in her life so she allows them, in this case, Ben, to dictate how she should find her happiness.

As a grown woman, Darlene needs to really move toward finding herself and her own happiness before she worries about romance. It looks as though Season 4 just might focus on her doing a little bit of that.

While religion and God isn’t a route we really expected of Darlene it can also be something that helps her. There are many people who find purpose in believing that their goodness and life are in the hands of someone who loves them unconditionally.

Darlene definitely deserves a big dose of that right about now.

While it’s heartbreaking to see her so broken up over Ben breaking up with her, it’s the best move The Conners could make. They are cute together and at times make us mushy, but there is a  toxicity to Ben that can’t be underscored.

He isn’t about her happiness, he’s about her independence. Darlene never stated she wanted independence from her family, but Ben always seemed to push that on her — proving time and again he doesn’t really know how to listen to her.

Mark Conner-Healy and the Conner Project

The cutest thing about this premiere is hands down Mark’s school project. It seamlessly wove in Mark’s investigation to his family and genetics with a shoutout to all us fans. 

The Conners Season 2 Episode 12, “Live from Lanford” previously tried to make a LIVE episode successful and sadly missed the mark. However, while both that episode and The Conners Season 4 Episode 1, “Trucking Live in Front of a Fully Vaccinated Studio Audience” center on Mark having a school project due, this episode gives us the human aspect of a LIVE broadcast.

Having the little snippets of video calls with other “Conners” is the show’s way of saying it loves us and appreciates our years of loyalty. After all, some of us have been around since the ’90s. 

Mark: Thanks for being a Conner. Bye.

As Ames McNamara gets older we are getting to enjoy the presence of Mark more and more, which is both beautiful and exciting. Mark is so unique in that he is nothing like the rest of his family and yet they would all die to protect him as he would them — which is what being a Conner is all about.

Dan and Louise

When Louise first arrived on the Lanford scene I was a bit skeptical. Being a fan from the days of Roseanne it was hard for me to imagine Dan Conner with anyone else.

However, Season 3 and COVID really showed us fans that Dan would do anything for Louise. Also, who else can deliver a punch as quickly as Louise? She is definitely Conner material.

The Conners has continued to work her seamlessly into this family through little moments over the last few seasons. However, her conversation with Dan in the kitchen about learning to listen seals the final deal for me.

She knows that Dan has been married before, she knows exactly who Dan is and what she’s marrying into. Instead of trying to change Dan, she works with him to show him that he can have with her something similar to Roseanne — but not as a means to forget her existence. 

She’s in it for the long haul and we can’t be happier for it. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that Katey Sagal portrays her with just enough edge that she’s spicy and fun. 

If there is one gripe I have about this episode it’s that there isn’t enough Jackie. She has a few killer moments but, nothing major.

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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