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During the course of “Of Missing Minds and Missing Fries,” Jackie and the Conner clan come to realize that Bev has begun to display signs of dementia. Testing confirms that Bev is slipping slowly into the past, and Jackie is left alone with a mixture of grief and anger. As she begins to realize that her mother will not recall any of her successes, she tries to act as a conscientious and caring daughter when she’s around Bev, but explodes in anger around Darlene (Sara Gilbert) and the rest of the family. “I’m never going to have the satisfaction of telling her that she was wrong about me!” Jackie cries out at one point. Dan (John Goodman) urges Jackie to confront Bev when she’s lucid.
She tries one more time to tell Bev that she is married to a fabulous man and is happy and successful — wanting her approval, censure, or ire, or even more importantly, to not need any of those things. But Bev simply emotionally withdraws from the scene, saying she’s about to head off to a sock hop with Jackie and Roseanne’s then-future father, Al. It’s a heartbreaking scene that’s easy for fans to relate to, and it definitely leaves a bitter taste in Jackie’s mouth. But it also gives her something close to closure, as she comes to realize her mother needs her now more than ever.
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While it’s not the end of the road for Bev as “The Conners” fans feared, It definitely puts the long war between Jackie and Bev to rest. And it takes the burden of always being the family screw-up off of Jackie’s shoulders — even though the family jokes that they’ll take over the job of mocking Jackie now.
