Leon convinces Jackie and Nancy to open the restaurant for breakfast, causing Roseanne to fear he is planning to force her out. Roseanne's car is stolen - by DJ, and her unhappy reaction frightens her that she may repeat the pattern of her own abuse as a child, while Dan blames her anger on work stress.
The show portrayed a working-class family struggling to get by on a limited income in the fictional town of Lanford, Illinois. Many critics considered the show notable as one of the first sitcoms to portray an American family in which economics necessitated two parents working jobs outside the home.