Leave it to The Conners Season 2 Episode 19 to dive into the not so romantic realities of taking a relationship to the next level. 

For Dan and Louise, we didn't see a candle lit dinner with soft music. We never saw the foreplay or the actual sex.

Instead, we jumped to the sleepy cuddling which was ungracefully interrupted when Dan couldn't breathe!

Ed: What’s a CPAP mask?
Dan: It’s a mask attached to a hose that forces air down my throat so I don’t stop breathing in the middle of the night.
Ed: So you look like Tom Cruise in Top Gun if he was an old man who couldn’t breathe on his own.

• Permalink: So you look like Tom Cruise in Top Gun if he was an old man who couldn’t breathe on his own.

Yeah, there's really nothing sexy about a CPAP mask so I understand why Dan didn't want to bring it along for his first night spent with Louise.

But you know what's even less sexy? Waking up to someone who has died in their sleep!

For much of the first half of The Conners Season 2, I wasn't sure about Dan's budding relationship with Louise. It was clear he wasn't over Roseanne, and in some ways he probably never would be. 

Yet over time, I've come to enjoy them. Dan and Louise are adults who have lived full lives before they started down this road together. 

They care about one another but have no naive notions about being together. They know it's going to take some work. They know it might not always be pretty, and they're smart enough to know how fleeting and difficult life can be so they're going to enjoy every minute of it. 

Plus, Dan telling Louise she still looked hot with her glasses, under-eye face mask, and mouth guard was the perfect response. 

Elsewhere, Ben and Darlene faced their own challenges.

Let me take this moment to vent about Darlene...

I love Darlene Conner and I have since she was that sharp, sarcastic kid on the first run of Roseanne which makes it all the more infuriating when she acts stupid and selfish as an adult.

First, Darlene was caught texting while driving...yes, I know she said it was at a STOP sign but it's still illegal. 

Then she couldn't just accept the ticket and move on, she had to mouth off to the cop which is never, ever smart. 

I know they didn't discuss it, but Darlene probably doesn't have the money to pay the ticket, in which case she wouldn't have the money to pay for any court fees that will probably be involved in going to jail for the night. 

All of this put Ben in the position of having to make a judgement call about Mark's sleepover...with a girl.

Ben: Hey, you’re still gay, right?
Mark: Yup, all day, every day.
Ben: Good for you. You stay the course.

• Permalink: Good for you. You stay the course.

This wasn't an easy call, especially for someone who isn't a parent and has never before had to consider decisions like this. 

Mark is gay so I can understand why Ben made the decision he did, but Darlene was right in that kids this age are all about experimenting, which is exactly what happened. 

It’s not what you think. Harper has a new boyfriend and wanted to practice kissing. The next thing I knew she went all Twilight on my neck even though she knows I’m team Jacob.

Mark

• Permalink: It’s not what you think. Harper has a new boyfriend and wanted to practice kissing. The next...

Darlene would have made a different decsion but she's been a mom for almost 20 years, Ben's not even officially a step-dad and did the best he could when he was unexpectedly thrown into the parenting deep-end.

It all led to the inevitable conversation about where Ben fits in Darlene's life. 

I've mentioned in previous reviews that it bothered me that we've never witnessed a conversation between Ben and Darlene about the possibility of getting married, but given that Ben mentioned that Darlene doesn't want to get married, such a conversation must have taken place off-screen. 

Not being married, or even wanting to be, not living together, and yet trying to have a baby together is an odd situation and it's clearly one that Ben isn't completely happy with. 

Darlene is terrified of getting hurt again and that causes her to act foolishly or lash-out at the people who care about her.  

This time, Ben needed more than Darlene's sardonic quips, he needed to know how she felt. It took him packing up his one cardboard box--and how sad is it that he doesn't even have a drawer--and walking away.

Darlene can't stand the thought of failing again. She and David failed spectacularly but I'd say the blame was pretty evenly placed between the two of them. 

What's different this time is that Ben is capable of standing up for himself but he's not going to give up on Darlene without a fight. 

Ben: I know you’re screwed up and I still want to live with you. That makes me even more screwed up so if it fails it will be my fault.
Darlene: That shouldn’t make me feel better but it does.
Ben: That’s because you’re screwed up.

• Permalink: That’s because you’re screwed up.

And then there's Becky...

I don't envy Becky trying to make this decision about marrying Emilio.

She doesn't love him and they barely know one another. They were nothing more than a drunken tryst that produced a baby.

But from the moment Emilio learned Becky was pregnant he was there for her. Her worked three jobs to provide for Becky and their baby even though he knew it put him at risk.

Now he's been deported to Mexico and he's never even seen his baby girl in person. That's beyond sad. 

But does that mean Becky should marry him and give up on finding a love of her own for the next two or more years?

Maybe. It's complicated but it wouldn't surprise me if Becky heads down to Mexico and marries Emilio so that Beverly Rose will have her daddy in her life. 

Now for that cliffhanger of an ending...

The bank is planning to foreclose on the house and the stress on Dan is breaking my heart.

He and Rosie raised their own family in that house while struggling to make ends meet every single week. Now he's opened that home up to both of his daughters and their children. 

But when he couldn't afford the medical bills and his old truck needed work, Dan took out a second mortgage on the house and never told anyone.

Dan has taken care of everyone else but he needs help. But as much as Dan doesn't want to be a burden to anyone, will his pride let him ask for it?

So tell me TV Fanatics, are you unboard with the romance between Dan and Louise?

Are Ben and Darlene finally on stable ground?

And should Becky marry Emilio or just get on with her life?

Hit that BIG, BLUE, SHOW COMMENTS BUTTON down below and let me know your thoughts.

Then check back in for my review of The Conners Season 2 Episode 20 and until then, you can watch The Conners online here at TV Fanatic.

C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.