The Conners Season 5 Episode 18 Review: Road Trip and Guilt Trip

The battle of the siblings is on with The Conners Season 5 Episode 18, “Road Trip and Guilt Trip.” Between Jackie and Dan disagreeing about how giving they are and Darlene and Becky fighting over chores, there isn’t a moment’s peace for anyone.

It isn’t very often that an episode has a conflict with little to no resolution. More often than not, as with most sitcoms, the show wraps everything up in a nice little bow by the end.

However, with “Road Trip and Guilt Trip,” Becky and Darlene converse about what is going on, but a solution isn’t reached, while Jackie avoids creating a solution altogether. 

Jackie Needs to Take Ownership

The most significant takeaway from Jackie and Dan’s tiff is that Jackie can’t be trusted to stand her ground. Sure, they have a stalemate once Dan accuses her of always taking without giving, but that isn’t what she needs to do.

When it comes up that she and Neville don’t share finances, she thinks it’s because he’s going to leave her. The reality is much bleaker — at least for Jackie’s strength of character.

The Conners has been great about taking who Jackie was in her younger years and helping her develop beyond that into who she is five seasons in. Unfortunately, Jackie’s continued growth still has a glaring issue- a block, if you will.

No matter how far she comes in her personal and professional life, Jackie will always bend her will to whatever her in-laws need. Dan knows this and manages to weasel things out of her even when she doesn’t necessarily want to help.

Neville is correct in monitoring how much money he gives Jackie access to because she will always bail out Dan when it comes down to it. Having that level of family loyalty is admirable as long as your life isn’t pulled down by it.

Jackie knows that she needs to give herself the authority of will to have a backbone toward Dan and the Conners, but a part of her hesitates. She doesn’t want to address the elephant in the room because she is a people pleaser and doesn’t want to be abandoned.

Learning to say no will be a huge mountain for her to climb, but I believe she will get there someday.

Motherhood is Hard — No Matter What Age

The great thing about Season 5 is The Conners‘ focus on Becky and Darlene’s relationship as sisters and fellow moms. That doesn’t change now that their families live under the same roof.

Despite Darlene getting her life back on track — thank goodness for the can company position — she still feels jealous of what Becky has. As children, this jealousy arose regarding things such as boys, parental affection, and general ease of existence. 

Now, they are both struggling parents, and Darlene finds issue in how easy it is for Becky and Harris to bond. Darlene prides herself on her ability to succeed at almost everything.

This year, she’s found herself questioning that more and more because of her prolonged unemployment and strained relationship with her daughter. Because she struggles to communicate her feelings clearly, Darlene’s insecurities come out in a list of chores for Becky.

Viewers easily see that Darlene’s actions aren’t just because she needs the house cleaned. She controls the one thing she can in her life by forcing everyone else to get on her level.

While it’s helpful that Becky and Darlene finally hash out their parenting struggles, it doesn’t exactly solve anything. Becky might better understand why Darlene is reacting the way she is, but the sisters haven’t found a way to prevent it in the future.

This is going to be an ongoing area of growth for them, and I, for one, am excited to see it play 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 8/7c on ABC.

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