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Warning: SPOILERS ahead for The Conners season 7, episode 6!The Conners‘ ending and Dan’s final line have been explained by the sitcom’s executive producers after season 7 brought the series to a close. The final episode of The Conners season 7 marked the end of the long-running Roseanne sequel series, with all the show’s major characters having a party at the house during the final episode. After everyone leaves, Dan (John Goodman) looks into the camera, bidding a “goodnight” to the audience before going into his bedroom. It’s a direct fourth wall break, something the show has never done before.
Speaking with TVLine, executive producers Bruce Helford, Bruce Rasmussen, and Dave Caplan explained why Dan breaks the fourth wall and bids farewell to viewers in The Conners’ final episode. They said that the series finale’s pizza party overall was breaking the fourth wall, considering the emotional reactions everyone was having during the event. Goodman came up with the idea to do so directly, wanting to thank the audience for their dedication to the show for all these years. Check out what Helford, Rasmussen, and Caplan had to say below:
Bruce Rasmussen: That happened during the shoot — that he breaks the fourth wall.
Bruce Helford: Yeah. We’d actually already broken the fourth wall with all the crying because that was real. They were saying goodbye forever. That’s not [how] you’d normally [react] after a pizza party if you’re going to see these people the next day, but we felt that it was really significant to break the fourth wall and let the audience see what they were truly feeling.
Dave Caplan: We also were very self-conscious about not doing a cloying last sitcom episode. It was John’s suggestion that he thank the audience like that, and it felt so authentic and honest. It felt like an anti-sitcom episode, and we ended up really liking that.
What Goodman’s Final Farewell Says About The Conners’ Series Finale
One Last Nod To Those Watching At Home
The cast of The Conners is understandably emotional throughout the final episode, as it marks the end of a series that’s been running on ABC since 2018. In addition, it seems to be the end of the Roseanne franchise as a whole, with the show tying up many of its storylines, leaving little for the series to explore with a continuation. It also wouldn’t be the same if the show kept going without classic characters like Dan, with Goodman’s final statement emphasizing how this really is the end for the sitcom’s universe.
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Roseanne’s Painful Death Resolves 1 Lingering Issue In The Conners Ahead Of Its Ending
The Conners season 7 episode 3 made Roseanne’s death even more tragic with Becky and Dan’s storyline, but this was ultimately a good choice.
Even though the series is over, it managed to offer up a bittersweet finale by focusing on the characters and the last impressions they leave the audience. The Conners‘ series finale gave multiple characters happy endings, while also teasing what the future has in store for others. This multifaceted approach may leave some things up in the air, but the emotional pizza party and Dan’s goodbye demonstrate how final the episode is. It also offers a neatly tied-together ending for the franchise, which began in 1988.
More to come…
Source: TVLine