The Conners Season 6 Episode 10 Review: Campaign U-Turn and a Hard Write

When Jackie retires so she can spend more time with Neville, life decides to throw a few curve balls her way. On The Conners Season 6 Episode 10, “Campaign U-Turn and a Hard Write,” Jackie quickly learns that retirement isn’t all that fun when there’s nothing to do.

There is a spot of humor regarding Neville naively thinking that hiring a man who pops a few white pills every shift is not suspicious at all. It’s little moments like that that remind us that Neville’s big heart sometimes gets in the way of him seeing things clearly.

The big shame though, isn’t in the humor around Neville’s gullible nature, but in that he now can’t spend time with Jackie in her retirement phase. As fans, we deserve to see more of Jackie and Neville’s marriage dynamic instead of a few quick humorous lines in the span of the first few minutes of the episode.

The trade-off does allow us more time with Jackie individually, but it would’ve been nice to see more of Neville since he’s the least seen of all the spouses.

Jackie Is At Her Worst When She’s Bored

We have all loved Jackie for decades. It’s hard not to, especially with her wacky antics and heart the size of Texas. Unfortunately, that also means we sometimes can’t stand her.

We don’t often find ourselves in a love/hate relationship with a television character, but The Conners has managed to give us that with Jackie. By the end of the episode, we aren’t left wondering in the slightest why Louise washed her hands of her temporarily.

It’s made abundantly clear through Jackie’s push to be more involved in Louise’s campaign behind Louise’s back. She is given an inch and, in this case, takes a mile. We’ve only seen Jackie act this way in the past when she’s been unable to work due to injury or because of unemployment.

Most recently, we saw it during The Conners Season 3 Episode 1, “Keep on Truckin’ Six Feet Apart,” when Jackie’s ability to interact with the public at the Lunch Box was greatly diminished. As a result, she decided to do some silly antics to keep business on the positive side of the scale.

Now, she’s without a job due to retirement, so she’s looking for anything to fill her time. It’s just unfortunate that Louise doesn’t take her seriously, so she gives her the smallest role in her campaign, which does nothing to stop Jackie.

Louise’s Frustration is Warranted, and Entertaining

After six seasons, it is hard for The Conners to keep us intrigued with certain character attributes, such as Jackie’s annoying habit of making a mountain out of a molehill. However, her actions at the “Meet the Candidates” meeting prove just how fresh this part of her can still be.

When she stands up, we are anxious to know just how far her “questions” are going to go. And Jackie doesn’t leave us disappointed. She truly believes in her heart that by smearing the opponent, she’s making Louise look better.

Which, to be quite fair, in government politics she most certainly would be. However, on a smaller school board scale, Jackie’s behavior makes Louise look like a bully by association. 

Louise might fire Jackie, but she is completely valid to do so. It’s just unfortunate that Louise walks back her firing a few minutes later for the sake of allowing Jackie to grow.

I’m well aware that we have limited episodes left in the season. However, Jackie deserved to stew in her guilt and failure for a bit longer. After all, she derailed Louise’s good name and bullied her opponent.

It’s great that Louise and Jackie have become more accepting of each other’s quirks and flaws to the point of almost being sisters. Unfortunately, that gets in the way of a more fleshed-out story arc for Jackie. 

She might be a bit older, but Jackie still deserved to lose out on the opportunity of having something to do. The Conners has always prided itself on being real about the struggles of life, well, messing up a campaign has consequences.

Ben, Dan, and Being a Writer

Over the years, since we first met Ben, he and Dan have had a typical father/son relationship even when Ben was just the guy dating Dan’s daughter. Now, they’ve been in business together for a few years and thoroughly enjoying that new dynamic in their lives.

So, it’s actually refreshing to have the writers come up with a plot where Dan gets recognized for his work at the hardware store and not Ben. The Conners doesn’t often let Dan stand in the spotlight like this.

Sure, he’s been the spotlight of what it means to be a great father, but he’s never been recognized for what he knows about being a tradesman. He even mentions this when Ben tries to discredit Dan for being chosen to write an article for the Hardware Magazine. 

It brings into focus just how much Dan loves the work that he does but wishes people could see him as something more than someone who “swings a hammer and hangs drywall.” While it’s not true that Dan is an uneducated man, he doesn’t have a degree of higher learning, which, in a way, Ben is getting at when he discredits Dan’s attempts at writing.

This fact, while not stated, is what hangs over the relationship between the two men as they sling insults at one another and let their tempers and frustration get the better of them. For once, Darlene becomes the cooler head to prevail and brings them back together as father and son.

While Dan ultimately, turns in Ben’s write-up over his own, this whole experience is significant for what it shows us. Despite his age and stuck-in-the-mud ways, Dan is willing to learn something new if he puts his mind to it.

Fortunately for us all, he’s decided to stick to his drywall skills and his “hot wife” instead of pursuing a new career in the written arts. 

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The Conners airs Wednesdays at 9:30/8:30c on ABC.

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