The ghost of Roseanne was present throughout the entire half-hour premiere.
Roseanne's death was quickly addressed on The Conners Season 1 Episode 1, and the spoiler of Roseanne passing away due to opioids was revealed to be true.
Many people will have a problem with the way Roseanne was killed off her own show, but it made the most sense when you think back to Roseanne Season 10 Episode 9.
Roseanne was shown to have issues with opioids, and the most organic way for her to pass on would be from an accidental overdose of pills. It didn't matter if Dan threw away all the pills he thought she had.
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Roseanne was hiding her pills throughout the house even placing them in the ice pack she used for her knee. You can't just take away an addicts problem and hope it will be fixed overnight.
Dan's anger over Roseanne's death was heartbreaking. He wanted to take it out on someone, anyone, and didn't want to believe his wife had a problem.
John Goodman did a hell of a job playing a man grieving his wife and trying to figure out the why behind her untimely death despite knowing he'll never get answers.
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Dan will never know why Roseanne continued to use the pills despite him trying the best way he knew how to get rid of the pills. Dan and Roseanne came from an era of throwing away the problem and hoping it didn't come back.
It's unfortunate Dan didn't know how bad of a problem Roseanne had because you all know he would have tried sending her to a facility to help her out.
While Dan's grieving process was anger, Jackie's process involved trying to clean and organize the house, but it offered some much needed comic relief.
Jackie cleaning and organizing the kitchen was exactly how I envisioned Jackie to deal with Roseanne's death. There was no way she was going to go home and hide — she needed to be around her family and actually do something to help out.
When she was coming up with the idea of putting the coffee maker on the kitchen table I couldn't help but crack up — it was certainly an interesting way to fix the flow of the kitchen.
It was cathartic when Jackie finally revealed why she wasn't going home because she would have to let go of Roseanne. Darlene reminding Jackie whenever she comes back to the house Roseanne will always be there brought tears to my eyes.
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That was the subtle nod a certain percentage of the audience needed to hear. Just because the show has changed names and Roseanne is gone doesn't mean she is truly gone from the show.
Roseanne will always be a part of thee characters' lives, and as the show continues, there will still be moments Roseanne will get mentioned. There's no way around it.
The entire half hour wasn't all about Roseanne's death — it also touched on Mark's sexuality. It was wonderful seeing Mark coming out to Dan. There was no way Dan wouldn't accept his grandson — he loves him unconditionally.
Dan helping Mark decide who to sit with on the bus was adorable. Was anyone surprised he would choose the dark one? Darlene is the one who raised the kid.
Let's be honest; it's just gratifying that Mark finally made friends.
Of course well knew it would be Darlene taking over Roseanne's mantle — it's the best choice.
Darlene is far more mature while Becky still doesn't know what she wants, and DJ is busy with his own little family considering his wife isn't around a lot because of the army.
Speaking of Becky, please don't continue to make her dumb. I can't be the only one who rolled their eyes when she got upset the pills she found were taken from her, right? I'm not a fan of this Becky at all.
Becky has always been a smart woman, and I really hope they don't continue to rely on her as the deadbeat child in the Conner family.
All in all, this was a solid premiere, and they hit things out of the park. The heart of the series is still beating despite Roseanne being gone. I'm looking forward to seeing what is next.
Now it's your turn to tell me what you think.
Do you think they did the right thing in having Roseanne die due to drugs? Do you think The Conners have a chance to survive multiple seasons?
Let me know in the comments below.
Don't forget you can watch The Conners online now via TV Fanatic to catch up on anything you may have missed.