It was a dinner party done Conners’ style when Darlene invited her boss to visit her at home on The Conners Season 3 Episode 4.
There were fish sticks made from unspecified seafood, Mark doing a double-take at the stranger who appeared to be his mother’s friend — probably because Darlene doesn’t have friends — and Becky being openly hostile to their guest.
Clearly, Robin didn’t bring nearly enough wine to make this meal go smoothly.
Despite all of the tension at the table, Robin never got flustered or lost her cool, but perhaps sending Becky that write-up via email at the dinner table didn’t show the best of manners.
Making the effort to approach Robin at work and invite her over for dinner shows how much this supervisor’s position means to Darlene.
Darlene: What do you think they pay supervisors?
Becky: They drive cars that are painted all one color, so more than us.
As Darlene pointed out, she had put all of her effort into launching the magazine, and it failed before it began. Then she put her heart into having a baby, only to learn that there’s little to no hope of that happening.
So if she’s stuck at Wellman’s Plastics, she might as well make it work for her and her family by taking home a healthy paycheck.
Apparently you’re smart, diligent, other employees already hate you. You’ve got real management potential.
Robin
Darlene is smart, and she’s got a college degree, and her people skills aren’t completely horrible when she’s willing to put in the effort.
However, I don’t think she realized that the employee who would hate her the most was her own sister.
Darlene was put in a difficult position. First, Becky asked Darlene to leverage her new-found friendship with Robin to make one of Becky’s write-ups disappear. Then Robin tasked Darlene with looking at Becky’s situation objectively.
It was a test of Darlene’s leadership skills, and whether she passed or failed was largely based upon whose side you were on.
Was it fair of Robin to have Darlene evaluate her own sister? No, but depending upon how the supervisors are scheduled at Wellman, Darlene could end up acting as Becky’s boss, and she’ll need to be objective.
But Becky using Darlene to try and weasel her way out of a write-up wasn’t fair either.
I know Becky is missing Beverly Rose, but if she’s blowing off almost an hour of work each day, outside of lunch and other breaks, it’s unrealistic to expect Wellman Plastics to continue paying her for that time. It’s also not fair to the other employees who will have to pick up the slack.
Could Darlene have spoken to Becky about the issue before agreeing to dock her pay? Yes, and maybe she should have, but sometimes it’s challenging to come up with a third option when your boss is only giving you two.
Also, in Darlene’s defense, she convinced Robin to only dock Becky the 45 minutes she wasn’t working instead of pulling her off an entire shift.
But Becky doesn’t see it that way. The fact that Becky only sees her side of this and refuses to see her role in this problem highlights a certain amount of immaturity.
And it was cruel to point to Darlene’s inability to have more children as the source of their conflict, but Becky was hurt and looking for an easy weapon to hurt her sister. Unfortunately, she found it.
Darlene will likely get this supervisory position, and she deserves it.
Robin: Look, if you’re going to be in management you can’t show favor. Everybody gets treated the same unless your name is Wellman. Then you get to get coked out of your mind and have the conveyor belt take you all over the building naked.
Darlene: They do that?
Robin: I signed a document that says they don’t.
The downside of getting the promotion will be continued tensions both at work and at home, and that’s going to make things miserable for everyone.
Speaking of miserable, Jackie’s efforts to convince Neville she wasn’t worth his time quickly went from humorous to irritatingly over-the-top. The theatrics with the giraffe were particularly eye-roll worthy.
After that spectacle, it was hard to blame Louise for encouraging Jackie to lie to her brother to get him to move on.
But despite Jackie’s histrionics, Neville really seems to like her, and he’s right about one thing; Jackie deserves to finally have someone who is crazy about her.
Jackie: The last thing I need right now is a boyfriend but I could use a nice friend.
Neville: I would be honored to be your friend.
Jackie: Good.
Neville: Could I agree to be your friend but secretly adore you and want more?
Jackie: Well, what you do on your own time, that’s your business.
It was a relief to have Jackie let Neville into her life as a friend. It’s time that Jackie finally has someone who cares about her, but given all that’s she’s been through with bad relationships, it probably is best to take things slowly.
And on the upside, the Conners will have free veterinary care for their chickens.
But the bigger question is, will this dust-up between Becky and Darlene blow over or turn into an all-out war?
The odds are good that Darlene will be offered the new position, and she should take it, but Becky probably won’t take that well.
Hurtful things were said, but if these two don’t figure out a way to make peace, I can picture a future where one or both of them lose their jobs.
That won’t just make things uncomfortable for everyone else living under that roof, but it could put the house itself in jeopardy.
So, what do you think, TV Fanatics? Was Darlene right to give Becky that third write-up? Should Becky have expected her sister to have her back? Does this feud mean their days at Wellman Plastics might be numbered?
Hit that big, blue, SHOW COMMENTS button down below and let us know what you think, and until next time, you can watch The Conners online here at TV Fanatic.
C. Orlando is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.