The Conners Season 6’s Weird Storyline Proves One Roseanne Character Is Hard to Fix in Season 7

While Roseannes spinoff The Conners Will end with its seventh season, the weird ending of season 6 makes it hard to see how the show will handle one character. The Conners has a large cast of characters, most of whom also appeared in the show’s predecessors, Roseanne. Roseanne was a successful family sitcom that ran from 1988 to 1997, only to be revived in 2017. Roseannes revival was a ratings success, series star Roseanne Barr’s racist tweets saw her fired before the series was renewed. Roseanne was killed off-screen, and the series became The ConnersFocusing on her surviving family.

now, The Conners Season 7 is set to wrap up the family’s story for good. The Conners has added a host of new supporting stars since Roseanne’s exit in 2018, among them Darlene’s love interest Ben, Becky’s partner Taylor, and Dan’s second wife Louise. However, the series still centers most of its storyline around members of the titular family. Dan, Jackie, Darlene, Becky, and Darlene’s children, Harris and Mark, are the sitcom’s main characters, although some of the names in the lineup get more focus than others. In particular, Harris rarely gets the story focus she needs from the show.

Conner’s Season 6 wasted Harris’s lunchbox subplot

Harris never actually took over the restaurant in The Conners Season 6

Harris is introduced as Darlene’s rebellious teenage daughter in Roseanne Season 10, where the character was mostly a mouthpiece for complaints about Generation Z. Disrespectful to her elders, imprecise, rude and impulsive, Harris’s primary goal in early episodes was acting as a walking embodiment of entitlement. When Roseanne was killed off, Emma Kenny’s character gradually grew more compelling throughout the early seasons of The Conners. These outings saw her struggle with romantic relationships, numerous failed career paths, a canceled engagement and a miscarriage. Although she was directed, Harris’ version felt more rounded and believably human, rather than cartoonish.

however, The Conners Season 6 fumbled a great opportunity to give Harris a clear target. In the Season 6 premiere, the family stages an intervention of sorts when they convince a TV chef to visit Jackie’s failing restaurant, The Lunchbox. The strict guest star notes that Jackie does not care about her restaurant’s shortcomings, but that Harris has many ambitions, compelling plans for the place. Jackie admits she wants to retire, giving Harris control of the lunchbox as the episode ends. The series inexplicably proceeded to effectively ignore this storyline for the following twelve episodes, barely mentioning Harris’s existence.

The Conners season 6 struggled with Harris’ storyline

An ADHD diagnosis complicated Harris’s character arc

Her character arc is frustrating, however Harris’s character problems are baked in RoseanneThe original picture of Darlene’s daughter. While the writing of the revival is not as bad as Roseannes worst season, season 10 relied heavily on lazy characterization. In the early episodes of the revival, Harris is simply shiftless and lazy, so she needs to get more ambitious and focused. She had to prove that Roseanne was a better mother than Darlene and a better person than her granddaughter, so she got little character development of her own. The Conners He had this domestic character and never knew what to do with her.

The Conners Season 6 gave Harris a restaurant to run, but her next major plot point in the series was standing in her brother’s dorm room. Since Harris is primarily defined by her lack of ambition, her storylines are inherently limited. In season 6, episode 8, “Toilet Hacks and the Management Track,” Harris immediately ignores her work as soon as Jackie agrees to help her fulfill a huge order. However, just one episode later, episode 9, “Manifesting, Marriage Testing, and Cheeseball,” saw Harris receive an ADHD diagnosis that proved her issues with focus weren’t necessarily her fault.

Roseanne Season 10 set Harris up for failure

Darlene’s daughter is introduced as an obnoxious entitled stereotype

This revelation seemed to set up a sea change in her history, however The Conners Season 6 never mentions Harris’s ADHD diagnosis after “manifesting, marriage testing and cheeseballs.” This was especially great since the series had already established Harris’ ambitious plans for the restaurant at the beginning of the season. The Conners Season 7’s ending needs to explain how Harris can be shiftless and ambitious at the same time, since Season 6 never resolved that contradiction. In episode 10, “Campaign U-Turn and a Hard Write”, Jackie officially handed over the restaurant to Harris when she retired.

However, the rest of the episode’s plot focused on Jackie’s boredom over her newfound free time instead of Harris’s new role. Harris is very young to be the sole owner of a restaurant, and she has precious little experience outside of her years working for Jackie. Unfortunately, the series doesn’t seem to care about the plot. This is largely because, ever since Roseannes season 10 first established her as a Gen Z stereotype, The Conners Has never known how to make Harris into a rounded character. The Conners Season 7’s shorter pace now makes it even harder.

The Conners season 7 needs to give Harris a satisfying ending

Harris’s character arc is nowhere to be found in recent seasons

Despite all the dramatic events she has faced in recent seasons, Harris remains a stagnant character. Kenny’s charming portrayal of the heroine makes her easy to root for, but it’s clear that the series itself has no plans for her future. how so The Conners Season 7 must center on Harris’s management of the lunchbox and the challenges this entails. The sitcom explores how Harris’ ADHD diagnosis impacts her life, both in terms of her work struggles and her growing independence from her family. Harris must finally become self-sufficient, an ambition she has harbored ever since Roseanne Season 10.

Although The Conners The end of season 7 can redeem Harris and make her a character worth caring about, it won’t be easy. She needs more screen time and a more clearly defined role in the series, with a character arc that feels complete. This can be achieved by centering your storyline around the lunchbox. After both Jackie and Roseanne tried and failed to run the restaurant, it would be fitting and sweet for Darlene’s daughter to successfully take over. so, The Conners Season 7 may finally make it to the 2017 Roseanne The weakest character of the revival.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter