The Conners Season 2 Episode 5 Review: Nightmare on Lunch Box Street
Christine Orlando
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Let's make Jackie happy.
Because, let's face it, in this case, making Jackie happy will make us all happy whether her plan is a success or a disaster.
But the more she talked about reopening The Lunch Box on The Conners Season 2 Episode 5, the more I wanted it to be a success.
Jackie said that the best years of her life were those spent running The Lunch Box with her sister and there's something heartbreaking about that, mostly because it's true.
It hit me. I’ve been looking to the future for answers but all my happiness is behind me.
Jackie
Partnering with Becky makes a lot of sense because she feels just as lost as Jackie.
Becky's worked in the restaurant world for a while now so she has some experience and she desperately needs a direction and a purpose.
Having baby Bev is the perfect motivation for Becky to stay away from alcohol and work hard to make The Lunch Box prosper.
Of course, there's always the chance of it failing as there are no guarantees, especially in the restaurant business but Becky has very little to lose as she's already living in her father's basement with her newborn baby.
Becky: If I’m hearing you correctly, you’re going to be putting in all the money and taking all the risk.
Jackie: I am.
Becky: Then I’m in!
It's Jackie who has more on the line. That money is probably all she has in the world but she'll give every penny of it to make this work.
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That this plan would hit a snag somewhere along the way wasn't a surprise, I'm sure it's going to hit more than one, but the obstacle itself was unexpected.
Bev has owned the building where The Lunch Box once resided all along; she never sold it as she claimed.
If that’s true she’s been collecting rent checks this whole time while crying poverty and living with you. God, that’s horrible, even for her.
Becky
This is why it's so easy to love to hate Bev. On the surface, her desire to leave the money to her family sounds noble, but she has no problem making Jackie's life miserable in the process.
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Perhaps she played it this way because she was lonely and she knew her family would never want to take her in without feeling like they had to but this was still manipulative bordering on cruel.
Beverly: I didn’t expect to see you there. You almost gave me a heart attack.
Jackie: You can’t be attacked by something you don’t have.
And now she's dragged Darlene into the middle of it.
Will Darlene allow Jackie and Becky to reopen The Lunch Box? I hope so; both women need a fresh start and this could be it.
But Darlene has a lot of stress in her life, most of it self-made.
Ben: This needs to be rewritten.
Darlene: Wait, I turned this in last week and you said it was fine.
Ben: Yeah, that was last week but now it’s lacking honesty, truth, integrity, morality, loyalty…
Darlene: Okay, I think we have two options here. You can either beat up on me all day or we can get some work done.
Ben: Ooh, I’m an excellent multi-tasker.
Ben has every reason to be hurt and angry and I can't really blame him for making Darlene's life a bit of hell at work. It might not be nice but it's certainly human and understandable.
It's sad that Darlene realized too late what she was giving up with Ben. He's one of the few men in her life to challenge her, respect her, and not fear her wrath.
Unfortunately, Darlene doesn't seem to know how to handle that but Dan had some solid advice.
Here’s a rule of thumb for a meaningful gesture, you have to get your ass off the couch in order to do it.
Dan
Darlene's meaningful gesture was a complete fiasco because she didn't think it through.
Darlene may have thought of herself as divorced but legally she wasn't and that's something that Ben deserved to know, especially once he asked her and her kids to move in with him.
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And telling Ben that David broke up with her first was foolish. Had she put herself in Ben's shoes for even a minute she would have realized that it would make Ben feel like her consolation prize.
That Darlene Conner can be so smart yet so stupid at the same time is what makes me love her but it also makes her extremely frustrating.
DJ was also feeling some frustration when a random woman assumed that Mary wasn't his biological child.
In that woman's narrow view of the world, she probably thought she was saying something kind instead of hurtful.
Was it racism or simply ignorance that didn't allow her to consider the possibility that Mary could have been DJ's daughter in every sense of the word?
Either way, the Conners had one another to help.
Mary was able to talk to Mark, who feels like a constant outcast in the world. It's difficult to stand out for merely being who you are but that's what Mark and Mary are facing and it's beneficial that they have one another to lean on.
And once again, Dan was there with some dependable advice in this The Conners quote...
Dan: You’ve just got to remind Mary that it doesn’t matter what other people say. The only opinions that matter are the ones in this family and the ones in her heart.
Darlene: Wow, how come I never got good advice like that. I just got, you’re a little freak so get used to it.
One of the more constructive things that has occurred since Dan hasn't had Rosie to rely on is that his advice has gotten better.
The only downside to this episode was that I wish it had more of a Halloween theme. The costumes were fine, and baby Bev as a Chicago hot dog was adorable, but I was hoping for a bit more tricks and treats. It just seem to be missing that Halloween magic.
What did you think TV Fanatics?
Should Becky change baby Bev's name to Audrey?
Will Darlene be able to fix her relationship with Ben or is it over?
And was Bev secretly holding on to The Lunch Box property for good or evil?
Check back for my review of The Conners Season 2 Episode 6 and until then, you can watch The Conners online here at TV Fanatic.
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C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.
