
SPOILER ALERT: On ABC‘ reboot of Roseanne, the spin-off, The Conners, Darlene’s gender non-conforming son has dropped not-so subtle hints about his sexuality.
On the latest episode, A Kiss is Just a Kiss, Mark officially comes out to his parents as gay.
“We have to go see the principal tomorrow because your school has a no PDA rule and somebody posted a picture of you kissing your friend Austin at school.
So, Austin’s your boyfriend? How come you didn’t tell me?”
Mark tells his mom that the kiss happened spontaneously after the two were so excited when they found out their school was going to have personal pizzas. He tells his mother,
“That was the first time… He only told me he was gay last week.”
Then he learns during the episode that not everyone is accepting of this kind of thing.
Darlene and Austin’s grandmother have an argument at a school meeting after she denies her grandson is gay.
“Maybe you don’t want to accept the fact that your grandkid might be gay, but you scaring him into denying… it’s just gonna ruin his life.”
Later that evening Mark starts removing his signature nail polish, telling his mom,
“You told me I shouldn’t hide who I am and look what happened. My life would be so much easier if I wasn’t gay.”
After talking with both his parents, Mark starts to feel better about coming out.
“I love myself! I’m glad I’m gay!”
Sara Gilbert told Entertainment Weekly, about creating Mark’s storyline in 2018.
“It represents the world. This is a show that’s always been able to represent the world and talk about it without being so issue-heavy. We can do it through the dynamics of the family.”
The Conners are on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Watch.
(Photo, ABC; via Distractify)