Although The Conners has never really made sense of Jackie’s constant presence, season 4 finally acknowledged this with a joke about the Roseanne alum. The Conners sometimes has a hard time bringing back Roseanne characters. The circumstances of former series star Roseanne Barr’s departure from the show make it awkward for The Conners to reference her character, which in turn can make bringing back cast members tricky.

On occasion, stories like Chuckie’s Conners season 4 plot allow the spinoff to pay homage to its former title character without excusing her real-life actor’s behavior. However, the biggest struggle faced by The Conners is contextualizing the constant presence of Roseanne’s sister Jackie in the eponymous clan’s lives. Ever since Roseanne’s death, Jackie’s closeness with the Conners can seem somewhat strange, something that one season 4 gag perfectly acknowledged.

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When Dan noted that he didn't exactly enjoy having two forty-something children living under his roof while newly married, the comment was a little bitter, but understandable. However, where the conversation really rang true was when he asked Jackie what she was doing spending every day in the Conners family home. Jackie is Dan’s widow’s sister and the aunt of his adult children, so she has a Conners family connection. However, she also has a boyfriend and a full-time job running the Lunchbox (as Jackie and Ben’s misadventures later in the episode proved). This could lead many to reasonably wonder how Jackie is perpetually around in the Conners family home.

Dan and Jackie in The Conners

The actual answer is that actor Laurie Metcalf is a huge part of The Conners' draw, as one of the biggest stars on the series and one of its longest-lasting connections to the original Roseanne. However, the in-universe explanation (“I’m the wise elder everyone comes to for advice”) was a fittingly delusional explanation for Jackie to come out with. The line seemed uniquely true to Jackie’s inflated sense of self-importance, while also justifying the fact that The Conners season 4 relies on her presence without ever really explaining it.

It makes sense for Jackie to be around all the time if she thinks she’s what is holding the family together, and not just another one of its neurotic members. It’s also deeply in character for Jackie — in contrast to the sardonic, self-aware Roseanne, Jackie was always certain that she was the sensible and grounded member of the family when she was actually arguably even more unhinged than her sister. As such, The Conners season 4’s explanation for Jackie’s presence works both to justify the character’s role in the series and as an extension of her likably deluded character. While The Conners has problems the sitcom needs to address, this explanation was a solid one likely to satisfy fans of the Roseanne spinoff.

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