Roseanne is making herself heard on The Conners . The late family matriarch — previously played by Roseanne Barr — will give her husband Dan (John Goodman) a “sign” on the upcoming episode of the ABC sitcom, 18 months after her death was revealed on the Roseanne spinoff.
In a sneak peek clip of the upcoming episode “The Icewoman Cometh” posted by TVLine , Dan tells his daughter Becky (Lecy Goranson) that he screwed up by ending things with his gal pal Louise (Katey Sagal) before she left town to go on tour with her band.
“I miss her, okay? I miss Louise,” the Conner patriarch admits. “Every time I think about the things I’d be doing with her — going to concerts, bowling a few games… anything fun — I feel guilty because I was supposed to be doing that with your mom.”
When Becky says that Roseanne would have wanted Dan to be happy, the widower immediately disagrees.
“Oh, no, no, no. She made it very clear that if she went first she wanted me to be miserable for the rest of my life,” he fires back.
When a bottle suddenly falls from a shelf in the garage, Dan believes it’s a “sign” from Roseanne.
“She’s here,” he says of his late wife.
Of course, Roseanne’s “sign” may have fallen on deaf ears. The synopsis for “The Icewoman Cometh” episode teases that Dan realizes how much he misses Louise and decides to visit her on tour. Sagal is listed as a guest star on the episode, so viewers will see her for the first time since the “Live from Lanford” episode nearly two months ago.
Fans of the ABC sitcom have expressed mixed feelings about the possibility of Dan moving on with a new love. In the comments to a scene posted to YouTube in which Dan talks about why he can’t move forward, viewers weighed in on the Conner dad’s grieving process. Many said they don’t see Dan ever getting over Roseanne after being married to her for 45 years.
Others noted the show seems more realistic with Dan’s memories of his first wife affecting his new relationship with Louise.
The Conners executive producer Bruce Helford previously told Gold Derby that Roseanne Barr’s iconic character would never be forgotten by her family and that she would continue to be mentioned on The Conners . The series has stayed true to that, with Roseanne mentions every few episodes.