Triggered is the fourteenth episode of Season 4 of The Conners, also the 65th episode overall.
Summary[]
This special edition of "The Conners" continues the show's legacy of handling difficult subjects when the family is locked down in their home due to a shooting incident in the neighborhood.
Plot[]
Shootings occur dangerously close to The Conner Family. First Emilio and Beverly Rose are attacked at The Landford Woods Shopping Mall. A Shooter, James McNolty, heads towards their house next, which sends everybody into Chaotic Peril. Harris and Mary are accustomed to such tragedies yet have different approaches about the situation. Mary, who feels her life is in danger more than ever, begins to organize a cause of her own. The Conner Family is on the waiting lists for Counseling.
In-Depth[]
Louise returns from Nashville. Beverly Rose is with Emilio are at the Lanford Woods Shopping Mall. They receive an alert about a shooter found at the mall.
Becky wants to go to the mall yet is stopped by the police from even going outside. The shooter is on the way to 7th And Delaware. Louise wonders if there is more than one shooter. Emilio gets Becky's message and returns her call. He says that they are safe.
Mary enters the living room from upstairs after moping all day because she was bullied earlier. They do not want to tell her. However, she instructs them to block the door and then goes to get her Check List which is issued by her school.
They are overwhelmed that the school gave her a Shooting And Bombing Evacuation course. Dan says that if the police are there nothing could possibly go wrong. He supports her decision anyways in order to make her feel safe. As they talk amongst each other, Harris says that she accepted that everything is doomed.
Still watching television, there are no updates to report. They watch the Bird's Eye View which Harris comments about the helicopter being directly above them. They see their roof which was patched in a hurry.
Louise hates the waterbed. Dan is not concerned about it at the moment. He loads a gun and is frantic because he is dreading what is going to happen next.
Beverly Rose is staying with Emilio. Darlene is watching the television. She is surprised that the shooter's name is released, and that it is James McNolty. Becky is equally surprised. Harris also joins in being surprised, saying that other students have trauma issues much more severe. Even Dan is surprised. Harris sees Dan's weapon, and opposes it. Darlene and Becky demand he gets rid of it. Dan tells them he is ready to shoot McNolty. Darlene says that it is impossible for Dan to be armed all the time. Becky says that he is much more likely to fire and miss and instead strike one of The Family instead of The Shooter. Mary enters the moment that they try to apprehend McNolty. There is a Showdown where McNolty loses.
Becky does not want to let go of Beverly Rose while Jackie is unable to sleep. They stay at The Conner House for a while.
Becky is upset when Emilio returns for her. Ben has finished roofing. Emilio tells Becky about counseling for her to attend.
Darlene finds Mary who does not want to go to school any more. She tries to explain how much she understands Mary, who knows it is not true. Mary expresses how she is feeling. Darlene admits the truth that some things happen even if they should not have are not supposed to make sense. Mary is petrified that she is going to be next. Darlene actually tells Mary that they are going to be perfectly safe all the time, even lying about guaranteeing it. Mary knows that Darlene is not a Psychic and tunes her out.
Darlene tells everybody else that the school psychologist is booked for many weeks. Becky says that it is impossible to go to the Free Clinics. Becky wants to know what happened to Dan's gun while Jackie says that Dan does not know how to keep it safe. They are right. Harris grabbed the gun and sold it, attempting to Change The World One Gun At A Time. She hands him a Wad Of Cash, He immediately suspects that she kept some for herself, and orders her to repay him while looks for his gun.
Since everybody including the former Life Coach Jackie needs to have counseling, Dan tells everybody to sleep in the same room and stay together as much as possible. This provides support for Mary.
The next day, Some People are panhandling supposedly on behalf of The Victims. Mary likes them and decides that she can start her own causes to help as well. She orders everybody around to start being more Active.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- John Goodman as Dan Conner
- Laurie Metcalf as Jackie Harris
- Sara Gilbert as Darlene Conner
- Lecy Goranson as Becky Conner
- Michael Fishman as D.J. Conner (credit only)
- Emma Kenney as Harris Healy
- Ames McNamara as Mark Healy II (credit only)
- Jayden Rey as Mary Conner
- Jay R. Ferguson as Ben Olinsky
Special Guest[]
Guests[]
Trivia[]
- This is the first episode to be written by Lecy Goranson, who plays Becky Conner. She had previously had a "story by" credit on "Throwing a Christian to a Bear" from Season 2.
- After "Live from Lanford" (Season 2 ) and "Trucking Live in Front of a Fully Vaccinated Studio Audience" (Season 4 ), this is the third episode to not include a title sequence. This is however the first non-live episode to not include a title sequence.
- Despite being credited, Michael Fishman (D.J. Conner) and Ames McNamara (Mark Healy II) do not appear.
Quotes[]