'Roseanne' finished its Season 1 revival run. (ABC)
The revival of “Roseanne” has come to a close, but the Conner family is hardly done. When a big storm hits Lanford, Dan and Roseanne need to figure out how to keep food in the family’s mouths while also paying for her expensive surgery.
It was revealed in last week’s penultimate episode of the revival season that Roseanne’s knee pain had led her down a path of pill addiction in order to manage the pain. Dan insisted that she schedule a surgery that they can’t afford, telling her that he’ll figure it out. The finale opens with Roseanne asking him point-blank how they’ll cover the cost while they're in bed together.
Dan admits that he’ll be forced to risk his union membership by hiring undocumented workers for his next project. Not only will this mean risking his union status, but it will mean he can’t hire his friend of 30 years, Chuck.
“I don’t want you to sacrifice anything for me Dan, that would give you the upper hand and that’s not how this marriage was built,” she jokes.
After seeing how much it’s tearing Dan up inside to see Chuck and know that he’ll need to put him out of work soon, though, Roseanne asks Jackie to help her dig through their mom’s old stuff in the basement in the hopes of finding something valuable. When they go, they discover their mom’s old doll. After making some fun out of the fact that their mom treated it better than them, Jackie discovers it could be worth $5,000. The sum would solve a lot of the family’s problems.
Sadly, it doesn’t go her way. When they go to try and sell it, they learn that its body had been repaired, bringing its value from $5,000 to about $100. Just when it seemed like things couldn’t get any worse, they did.
Dan calls up his wife to tell her that the basement has flooded. She asks if he grabbed essentials like the kids’ birth certificates. Dan assures her that he did, but it’s revealed that he’s holding a singing fish robot and some bowling trophies while knee-deep in water.
While he’s putting things on high shelves, Chuck stops by to talk. He tells Dan that he’s aware he’s planning to use undocumented workers and he’s very upset. He thought their friendship was worth more than just being treated as one of the more expensive options for a job. Dan, clearly fighting off losing his temper, explains that he’s got a lot of mouths to feed since Darlene moved back.
He goes on to confess that Roseanne is fighting a pill addiction and that he’s having trouble figuring out how to make ends meet in his old age. Chuck, though, isn’t buying it. The two reach an impasse and Dan finally has to be frank with his friend.
“I always told you if I’m eating, you’re eating… I’m not eating.”
Chuck storms out.
Meanwhile, upstairs, Roseanne is trying to keep everyone calm and not worrying about money the storm will cost them. While they do, Darlene checks her phone and notes that the president is about to speak. She notes that the storm has caused a lot of water damage throughout the state and the governor is asking to declare a state of emergency.
Dan comes upstairs seeing opportunity. If the government declares a state of emergency, FEMA will pay for the repairs to the house. That would mean that he could pocket half of the money to use for Roseanne’s surgery and make up the labor costs himself.
The family rejoices as a state of emergency is called and their problems are solved. In addition, Dan is able to mend fences with Chuck as the amount of damage to the state means there’s plenty of work to go around.
The episode ends with Roseanne praying for a successful surgery when her family calls her into the kitchen having prepared a feast of all her favorite foods. As it began, the revival season ends with the family sitting around the familiar Conner household dinner table.
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