John Goodman's Heartfelt Performance On 'The Conners'

Let's talk about the episodes of The Conners so far. On one hand, it's truly impressive how the writers and cast have managed to keep moving forward after Roseanne's character passed away. But, on the flip side, we've all been scratching our heads over why we haven't really seen John Goodman's Dan Conner openly grieve for his wife. Sure, we got his anger in the season premiere about her opioid-related death, but after that, it's been sporadic mentions of Roseanne. You can feel the family misses her, but they're clearly trying to move on — something they kind of have to do. But hold up, because in a recent episode, we finally got a deeper look at how Dan really feels.

Dan's Emotional Journey

On Tuesday, Nov. 13, the episode titled "The Separation of Church and Dan" aired, and it was originally set to be the second episode of the season. Here's how ABC describes it: "When Geena discovers that D.J. hasn't been taking Mary to church while she's been away, she insists they go as a family to uphold her traditional values. To make matters worse, Mary refuses to attend unless her cousins Harris and Mark are there too, leaving D.J. in the last situation he wants to be in — at the mercy of Darlene. Meanwhile, Mark's attempt to conduct an unbiased survey on the upcoming election for his school project goes south when Jackie volunteers to help."

Now, let's break this down. The storyline involving Mark is a bit dated now that the election has passed. But here's the kicker: there's no mention of Dan, which is weird because this episode is all about Dan Conner. It's all about how Dan is—or isn't—processing Roseanne's passing. This is best illustrated when he finally attends a support group and says, "My wife died... You know, when you're a kid, they tell you in Sunday school, 'Live right, be a good person, and say your prayers, and God will reward you.' I tried. I mean, I'm not just saying this; I worked my butt off to play by the rules, and here's my reward. I'm 66 years old, and I get to live the rest of my life without the woman I love. God and I made a deal, and he did not come through on his end."

Dan's Struggles

This admission comes near the end of the episode, with everything leading up to it showing Dan's denials, his desperate need to be alone, and his conflicts with Sara Gilbert's Darlene and his friends, particularly James Pickens Jr.'s Chuck, who during a poker game tries to get Dan to open up about his feelings. Chuck comments that they know what Dan's going through, to which Dan snaps, "I'm sorry, Chuck. I didn't realize Anne-Marie was dead." Ouch.