Seth Green’s appearance in The Conners’ best episodes have included major guest stars. Candice Bergen, Jane Curtin, Joe Walsh, and Jason Alexander are just a few of the big names who have blended seamlessly into the show’s dynamic.

Unsurprisingly, many of these guests have also created major issues for the Conners family. But what made them stand out is that the issues they created for the Conners were generally new and unique to their individual characters. The reality is that, like many sitcoms when left to their own devices, The Conners' story sometimes wears out repetitive plotlines worse than Ben wore out that burnt-orange shirt that he kept on for the better part of two seasons. And Seth Green’s Chad threatens to rehash one of the most frustrating storylines in the series.

Seth Green’s Chad Character In The Conners Explained

Darlene Might Have More Love Interests Than Becky At This Point

Long-time fans are probably familiar with the Lobo. Although it took until season 5’s William H. Macy episode to appear in The Conners, the Lobo used to be a prime hangout spot for many of the original Roseanne characters. And, as it happens, the Lobo will be the spot that introduces Seth Green’s Chad to Darlene. Details are currently slim, so it’s not entirely clear whether he’ll appear as one of the lounge’s staff or if Chad and Darlene will simply happen to run into each other there.

Either way, the two are set to become fast friends. According to Deadline, their friendship will develop to the point that “Chad and Darlene confide in each other and bond, a little too closely, over their similar biting humor.” This sounds like a fitting description for a Seth Green character, but the problem is that Seth Green’s character description implies that Darlene and Chad will border on developing an extramarital relationship. And for fans who have stuck with Ben and Darlene through thick and thin for half a dozen years now, that’s an extremely troubling premise.

The Last Thing Ben & Darlene Need Is Another Marital Issue In The Conners

Ben’s Patience And Darlene’s Morality Have Been Tested Enough

Part of The Conners’ charm is that the series has never shied away from the reality that the people you love the most are also the people you fight with the most. However, much like the concept of a man wearing the same orange shirt every other day throughout a two-year pandemic, some things just get too sad to meet TV viewers’ desire for escapism. And since Darlene and Ben have already broken up twice over other men, Darlene meeting a third probably wasn’t on anyone’s bingo card for The Conners season 7’s potential storylines.

Any show can get away with a character forgiving their significant other’s cheating at least once, and The Conners did just that when Ben got back with Darlene after she slept with David. However, when Darlene hid her plans to visit Hawaii with Jeff after saying she’d sell the tickets, many of us weren’t even sure they wanted him to take her back. And while Darlene bonding “a little too closely” with Chad doesn’t necessarily mean the final straw in Ben’s patience, it creates other issues from a purely narrative standpoint.

Darlene Will Likely Stay With Ben, But Chad’s Arrival Wastes Their Final The Conners Story

They’re Spending 3 Episodes On This In A 6-Episode Season

Because of its woefully small episode order, there likely won’t be any shortage of unanswered questions in The Conners’ final season. However, one thing fans can likely count on is that Darlene and Ben will finish the series with their marriage intact. Their continued relationship was a given the moment Jay R. Ferguson received main cast billing, and it’s too established at this point to go anywhere. But the best route to keep them together is for Darlene to be the one who recognizes her issues with Chad and pushes him away herself, and even that creates problems.

First, Darlene’s been with Ben long enough that this shouldn’t be a lesson she needs to learn anymore. Second, with Seth Green’s arc taking up 50% of the final season, rehashing any old storylines at all feels like a wasted opportunity. Most fans saying goodbye to The Conners want to see the show sent off in a Viking funeral, a blaze of glory. Having Darlene finally learn a lesson that we trusted her to have learned twice already feels more like saying goodbye to a distant relative after watching the same slideshow they’ve shown us every time we visited.

Source: Deadline

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