Spoiler Alerts from "The Conners" Series Premiere
I was 5-years-old when, on Thanksgiving Day, my mother got a fatal phone call that my father, whom I wasn't in much contact with, had overdosed and passed away. My brother and I were both under the age of 10, so my mom found it best to tell us the cause of death was unknown, as to not ruin our image of our father, and so she wouldn't have to explain drugs to such young children. I would say I was about 9 or 10 when we finally got her to tell us the true cause of death, and let me tell you. It was a whirlwind of emotions. She was correct that I was too young to understand the situation, but I am glad she was honest and open to any questions my brother or I had about the situation.
If you have been following social media lately, you have probably seen mention online that the spin-off of "Roseanne" has the plotline that Roseanne passed away from an opioid overdose. There are plenty of jokes in this series premiere, including Becky saying, "Awh, that was the only thing I wanted from mom's closet" when Dan takes away a bottle of pills she had found while organizing her mother's things. That being said, there are also several scenes that show true grief in this scenario.
Roseanne's sister, Jackie won't leave the Conner's house and begins to reorganize everything she can find in order to have a reason to not leave because that feels like leaving her sister behind. Dan and Darlene blame a character named Marcy because they believed she was the only "dealer" Roseanne was getting pills from, until they found more stashes around the house.
The fact of the matter is, you can never blame a "dealer" or "friend" that sells or gives drugs to an addict. Addiction is a disease, and an addict will always find a way to get their fix until they admit they have a problem and get help. The family knew that Roseanne had been on painkillers, but they did not know she was still taking them past the prescribed dosage that was given by her doctor. The reboot of "Roseanne" alluded to her having a pill problem and may have been headed in this direction of the plot as well, but the world will never know.
Many people are upset by how the writers chose to kill Roseanne off because this is such a heavy topic and they believe that topics like this shouldn't be brought up by sitcoms or media in general. As someone who lost a parent to this same addiction, I am glad that TV is finally bringing this situation into their plotlines AND letting it be more than serious and sad. It is OKAY to make jokes in time of grief. It may seem wrong to an outside eye, but to the grieving family, jokes are often a way to cope and feel better sooner. If you do nothing but focus on the sadness and continue to let the dark cloud of death rain on you then you will not be able to move on with your life.
My father's death is coming up on its 15th anniversary. When I bring it up, I don't always go straight to sadness. It's funny because many of my friends are floored by my reaction when I tell them my father is dead, especially when I mention his cause of death like it is nothing, but to me, it is so normal I don't think about it anymore. So, please, before you go attacking "The Conners" for killing off Roseanne by addiction, talk to someone who has dealt with a similar situation so you can understand that it isn't wrong for a TV show to touch on such a common occurrence in our country. It just might be what our society needs to see.
