Unleashing David: How The Conners Transformed a Underutilized Character

The Conners season 5 finale made it nearly impossible for David Healy to return to the spinoff, but the show had already been underutilizing Johnny Galecki's beloved supporting character for years. When Roseanne's revival became The Conners after Roseanne Barr's firing, the spinoff had to find a way to navigate the absence of Roseanne and her supporting characters. Unfortunately, this resulted in David Healy being lost in the mix. Despite making a few appearances on The Conners, the character was never utilized effectively and his potential was wasted.

5 The Conners Forgot Darlene And David’s Love Story

The reason behind David's departure from Darlene and his children, Mark and Harris, was never properly explained in The Conners. Despite their history and the fact that they had two children together, David's sudden absence from their lives was left unaddressed. The show's writers failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for his decision to leave, leaving viewers puzzled about the reasons behind his departure.

4 The Conners Never Finished Ben And David’s Rivalry

Even though Ben had won over Darlene's affections, their marriage in The Conners season 5 was far from content. It would have been expected that Darlene's choice of Ben over David would have made Ben appreciate the progress they had made as a couple. However, both Ben and Darlene seemed to forget about David's existence after he left, only remembering him when Mark mentioned him. While it was heartwarming to hear Mark express that he considered Ben his real father in The Conners season 5, episode 22, "Grad Finale," it would have had a greater impact if he had said it in front of David instead of during his absence.

3 The Conners Didn’t Explore David’s Commitment Issues

David ended his relationship with Blue because she wanted children, and he left Darlene after they had kids together. However, The Conners never explored the underlying reason for David's fear of commitment, which stemmed from his tragic history of abuse in Roseanne. In one of Roseanne's most heartbreaking Christmas episodes, the extent of the abuse David endured from his mother was revealed. Unfortunately, this reality was never fully addressed in the spinoff. David's struggle with commitment was always his biggest issue, so it's not surprising that his character was ultimately left behind by the family he repeatedly disappointed. Interestingly, even Bev's return to The Conners carried more emotional weight and added more to the overall story than David's absence.

2 The Conners Didn’t Give David A Role In Darlene’s Family

David made multiple appearances in the first and second seasons of The Conners, indicating that Roseanne's spinoff did provide a role for him. However, his character was unable to fulfill his potential as a father to Mark or Harris due to the constant struggle of reigniting his relationship with Darlene. In The Conners season 5, Mark expressed a desire to invite his biological father to his graduation, but this plotline was swiftly abandoned. While David may not be deceased like Roseanne, he has become irrelevant as Mark no longer wishes to have any connection with him. Consequently, the opportunity to explore David's role within Darlene's family has been squandered, leaving his character devoid of complexity or personal growth.

1 The Conners Forgot David’s Connection To His Kids

Mark's heartfelt speech in "Grad Finale" solidified his belief that Ben was the father figure in his life, overshadowing David and extinguishing any possibility of the Roseanne character experiencing a redemption arc similar to Beverly's storyline in The Conners season 5. While it may seem improbable for the absentee deadbeat to have been given a sympathetic narrative in The Conners season 5, it is crucial to remember that this character was a victim of abuse who dedicated himself to helping the oppressed in previous episodes. David possessed a fundamentally good nature, but his traumatic upbringing left him with deep emotional scars that The Conners never truly explored.

In The Conners, the relationship between Harris and David was never close, and towards the end of season 5, Mark showed no interest in having a relationship with him. As a result, The Conners only portrayed David as a love interest and not as a father figure to his children. By disconnecting David from his kids, The Conners effectively diminished the significance of his character, unlike Roseanne where the character was killed off. Interestingly, Galecki's character is rarely mentioned in most spinoff episodes. The Conners seems to suggest that David Healy's absence is not significant, which is a surprisingly casual conclusion for one of Roseanne's most troubled characters.