Spoilers ahead for the April 10 episode of the Roseanne revival on ABC.
The Roseanne revival managed to bring back the majority of the original cast for the new batch of episodes, but there was one notable absence for a tragic reason. Glenn Quinn, who played Mark Healy in the original run of the series, passed away back in 2002. We've known for a while that Roseanne would honor Quinn's contributions to the show by electing not to recast the role for the revival, and the premiere revealed that Mark was out of the picture because he passed away (unlike David). Now, the latest episode has found an additional way to honor Glenn Quinn, and it was quite touching.
The episode ended on a closing card showing a photo of Glenn Quinn, saying this:
Dedicated to the loving memory of Glenn Quinn(1970-2002)
Given that this was not the first episode of the revival season, fans were likely not expecting to see the tribute to Glenn Quinn. If the show was going to include such a tribute, it would have made sense for it to appear at the end of the premiere, after it was first revealed that Mark Healy had died in the years between the original series finale and the revival premiere. Roseanne apparently chose to save the tribute to Quinn for a later episode that more directly dealt with his character's absence.
Becky's biggest arc in the revival revolved around her decision to serve as a surrogate for a woman (who happened to be played by Becky 2.0, a.k.a. Sarah Chalke) who wanted a child. It was a deal that would have resulted in a big payday for Becky, but she lied to Andrea that she was only 33 years old. When Becky went to a doctor, she learned that her eggs were those of a woman older than 33 and she has less than 5% chance of getting pregnant in the future. Andrea backed out of her arrangement with Becky, leaving Becky suddenly without the prospect of the $50,000 and facing the likelihood that she'll never conceive a child. It was after this heartbreaking twist that we learned Becky's secret about Mark.
After getting drunk in the wake of the terrible news, Becky called Darlene for a heart-to-heart. She confessed to her sister that she and Mark tried to have children before he died but were never able to conceive. Becky wanted to be a mom and raise children with Mark. Sadly, Mark died before they were able to conceive, and she never met anybody after Mark she'd even consider having a child with. Now her odds of pregnancy are low.
Of course, longtime fans know that Roseanne Conner had a child while in her forties, and she told her daughter not to give up on becoming a mom someday. The revival did score a renewal for a second season, so it's not out of the question. We'll have to wait and see. Whatever happens for Becky, at least we now know a little bit more about her relationship with Mark before he passed.
New episodes of the Roseanne revival air on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. For more of what you can watch now and in the not-too-distant future, check out our midseason TV premiere schedule and our summer TV premiere guide. Our rundown of TV renewals and cancellations and fill you in on what shows that have and have not gotten the axe this season.
