Spoilers below for the latest episode of The Conners, so be warned if you haven’t yet watched!
Even though The Conners bears the surname name of its central clan, the ABC sitcom still often works best when the stories are tied to the Roseanne-emboldened stories of being a strong and proud parent in the face of opposition. That aspect has already fueled some powerful episodes in Season 5, particularly those tied to Harris’ miscarriage and Bev’s past as an abused wife, though perhaps not to much by way of Darlene being banned from Chuck E. Cheese. Becky was the one in the emotional hot seat in “Text Thread and the Marital Bed,” thanks to some non-careful text messaging from the overtly judgmental Louise.
The always delightful Lecy Goranson spoke with CinemaBlend about the episode’s central beef for Becky, who would probably be the first character on The Conners to admit her own faults before speaking ill of someone else. And when I asked about her character dealing with the ultimate family taboo of judging any woman’s qualities as a mom, here’s what she told me:
From experience, when I’ve been insulted, it’s kind of worse when you’re unconscious of something, right? You’re either elevated or you’re really into something, that you kind of get out of yourself, right? So I think Becky was feeling really good about herself for taking Beverly Rose to see the Easter Bunny and being a good mom. She’s sending pictures to everyone: ‘Look at this. Look at my perfect child. Look at how beautiful she is. We were doing this ritual together.’ And then she gets this text; Louise texts her accidentally that she’s a bad mom, and it just completely crushes her and throws her for a loop.
There are few things quite so jarring in life as hearing unexpectedly harsh criticisms from loved one, particularly when there weren’t any underlying reasons to think there was a reason to be critical in the first place. The addiction-friendly Becky has been known to thrive on seratonal rushes, as her recent gambling stint showcased, and probably thought it was the safest bet in the world that nothing bad would come out of regularly sharing adorable pics of Beverly Rose with the family. It can be majorly stressful to take a kid out for a full-blown Easter celebration, especially as a single parent, so for that esteem-building experience to get sniped by Louise’s selfish comments was a big blow. Goranson continued:
Then you can see how she kind of becomes undone in terms of her relationship with Louise, and there’s like a mistrust there, a self-consciousness, and it’s horrible.
Even though things obviously spun back around to being more friendly and genial — oddly enough, via others in the family being put on blast for their own too-harsh and insulting text opinions — I do wonder if this particular hurdle can ever be fully removed from the track. I can’t imagine Louise could ever say anything again about someone being a mom without Becky feeling the remnants of a twisting blade in her back. Now that we’ve met Louise’s mom, as portrayed by the great Jane Curtain, maybe Becky can reach out to discover some of the skeletons in her mother-in-law’s closet.
Lecy Goranson Explains Beverly Rose’s Age Jump
Given the subject of the latest episode, I asked Lecy Goranson if she thought the focus on Becky as a mom had anything to do with the idea that Beverly Rose is gone most of the time, which somewhat unintentionally makes it appear as if the character just doesn’t hang out with her kid all that often. (It’s obviously a necessary issue from a production perspective, but I digress.) The actress said she doesn’t think that point of view is what inspired the storyline, but took a moment to address some of the fan questions that’s she’s seen about Beverly Rose seeming to magically age twice as fast as everyone else in the family. In her words:
I don’t think so. I mean, one thing that I can tell you is that it is extremely hard to cast a child. Because I’ve seen a lot of people who watch the show say, ‘Well, Beverly Rose aged very quickly.’ Well, you try acting with a 2, 3, 4-year-old. [Laughs.] I hope everyone out there, ask your two- or three-year-old to do a scene with you and focus. So yes, she aged pretty quickly. But you know, she’s really young, and it’s important that Charlie, who plays Beverly Rose, has a little bit of a normal life. If you haven’t read the horrible books or seen child actors look back and hear their horror stories. We encourage her to have a life.
I feel safe in making a blanketed assumption that just about every parent of a newborn has mentally salivated over the idea of being able to instantly age their child up to an age that isn’t dominated by screams, constant feedings, and gnarly poops. So even as jarring as it can be for a younger TV character to jump from toddler to grade-school age in the blink of an eye, it’s the kind of illogical narrative device that I don’t mind getting some vicarious comfort out of.
Also, to circle back around to the in-universe reason why Beverly Rose isn’t around either of the Conner family abodes, Lecy Goranson shared this as well:
Also, she has divorced parents, so sometimes she legit is with her dad.
Given that audiences watched Becky making some legitimately terrible decisions as a mother in Season 3 when she succumbed to her alcoholism and put Beverly Rose in potential jeopardy — for episodes that were made all the more poignant without having a studio audience around during filming — it’s perhaps not the most debate-worthy issue why Emilio seems to have the bulk of the custody. But that doesn’t mean I’m not still on Becky’s side 100%.
Whose livelihood and confidence in themselves will get chewed up and spit out next? Find out when The Conners airs new episodes on ABC on Wednesday nights at 8:00 p.m. ET. While waiting, head to our 2023 TV premiere schedule to see what other big shows popping up in the meantime.
