WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for The Conners season 5, episode 19.While Darlene’s personality is part of what made Ben fall for her, The Conners season 5 proves that the Roseanne heroine’s outlook can also be a major liability for her. The Conners season 5 has not been easy on Darlene. Even though Sara Gilbert’s sardonic eldest Conner daughter did end up happily married in The Conners season 4 finale, she soon got landed back into brutal reality when she lost her job in season 5. Darlene stuck by her principles and refused to lie to help Wellman Plastics cover up a history of polluting Lanford, and she got fired as a reward for her integrity.

Although Harris and Darlene’s relationship improved in The Conners season 5, this only happened after Darlene learned to swallow her pride and it that she didn’t know what was best for her rebellious daughter. Similarly, Darlene’s use of dark humor as a defense mechanism alienated numerous potential employers early in The Conners season 5, resulting in the antiheroine losing out on a string of jobs that she was perfectly qualified to perform. While Roseanne’s titular character provided Darlene with her trademark sharp wit, this hasn’t helped Darlene out much in The Conners season 5, and eventually even ended up getting between her and Ben.

The Conners Season 5 Made Darlene and Ben’s Relationship Harder

The Conners Ben and Darlene

Darlene’s standoffish persona makes her a hilarious and relatable sitcom heroine, but this same quality got in the way of her relationship with her husband in The Conners season 5, episode 19, “Text Thread and The Marital Bed.” When both Louise and Jackie mentioned how active their sex lives were while Jackie and Darlene celebrated their anniversaries, Darlene was left feeling out of sync with Ben. Although The Conners season 5 jeopardized Jackie’s marriage for a very different reason, Jackie still provided Darlene with some romantic coaching before it became clear that Darlene's attitude was part of the problem.

The same biting wit that makes Darlene so funny makes her terrible at reaching out to her romantic partner, even (or perhaps, especially) after her and Ben’s wedding. Darlene’s hilariously inept attempts to woo Ben with a bizarre dance and some awkward flirting proved that she is only able to sustain a romantic connection when she is in conflict with her love interest, as was often the case for Darlene and Ben when the pair worked together. When Darlene and Ben were at each other’s throats, secretly hooking up, seeing other people, or officially broken up, Darlene got the dynamic that she wanted with her partner.

The Conners Season 5 Brought Back A Roseanne Problem

Roseanne and Darlene from The Conners

Like her mother Roseanne, Darlene is great at cracking wise but not as good at opening up. In “Text Thread and The Marital Bed,” this jeopardized her marriage to Ben much like Roseanne’s sarcasm caused strain between her and Dan. Credit to Darlene, she did manage to Ben when she learned that his lack of interest in sex had less to do with her and more to do with his depleted self-confidence. However, for Darlene to keep her marriage alive in The Conners season 5, the Roseanne heroine needs to be sincere, which was always a hard ask for the perpetually cynical character.