Blanche & The Younger Man

Dirk and Blanche

If you know anything about me, you know that this episode will be a favorite of mine just based on the title alone. ;) I apologize for the lack of deliberation on my part in keeping these postings updated. I really will try to be more proactive in getting them up! I wouldn't want to disappoint all of my adoring fans! Haha!




Anyway, I know it's kind of cheesy, but I just get a warm, calming feeling every time I hear the theme song for this show. I can be in the crabbbiest of moods, but when I hear, "Thank you for being a friend..." I just start to feel happy and relaxed. This brings me to a sad note, Andrew Gold passed away this week. He wrote the theme song featured on the show. It got me to thinking, though, that I truly hope that someday when I'm gone, I will have left behind something that is a source of happiness to someone else in the way that his song is for me. How perfect is it that his last name is Gold, by the way? Interesting coincidence, I think.

This episode is titled after Blanche's subplot, but I actually think the subplot with Rose and her mother stands out as the central plot for this episode. If you've been following my posts at all, you know that I prefer to start with the darker themes and then get into the lighthearted, funny stuff so that we can end on a happy note (as nearly all of the episodes end on a happy note, it only seems appropriate!). Ergo, we'll take a look at the issue with Rose and her mother and then get into Blanche and her cougar-happy ways!

Rose and her mother (Alma)

If I ever have a daughter that treats me the way Rose is treating her mother...Lord help her! I was annoyed for Alma (Rose's mom) within the first few moments of her visit. Alma is perfectly capable of taking care of herself and Rose insists on babying her to death. Of course, Rose's intentions are good (when are they anything less?), but I feel embarrassed for elderly people when other adults speak to them as if they are children. Granted, sometimes elderly people believe themselves to be more capable than they really are and they require assistance to get through the day. This is perfectly understandable and I would imagine that it would be very difficult to have to tell someone (especially someone you love) that they are simply not able to live as independently as they have been accustomed. Ideally, adult children would have the ability to discern to what extent their elderly parents are capable of living without assistance and react accordingly.

Actually, this represents yet another reason why I love this show so much. I spend very little time thinking of my parents' and my twilight years, but that time will someday come and it is better to be preparing yourself for what may lie ahead. Golden Girls gets me thinking about how I would react in their situations, and I don't believe that I would spend much time contemplating my life after 50 and beyond if it weren't for some of the themes I see on the show.

I enjoy looking at the mother-daughter relationship from the "later in life" angle. Mother-daughter relationships are often depicted when the daughter is a teen, but seeing it from the perspective of two older women is definitely more rare. I also like how Rose and Alma's relationship is contrasted with Dorothy and Sophia's. I think the writers did a good job demonstrating the differences and similarities here: the desire to protect one another versus the inclination to be overprotective, for example. Rose and Dorothy's attitudes towards their mothers are actually very appropriate given their characters. Rose is more nurturing and as such it is more understandable that she would become overly protective of her mother. Dorothy is more practical. She sees that her mother needs assistance in some ways, but is generally quite independent and Dorothy gives Sophia adequate freedom and space. The conversation that ultimately remedies the friction between Rose and her mother is so touching! I think we all dread the day that our parents will someday leave us. It can be a haunting thought and it is no wonder that Rose can't even bring herself to think about it.

Stop! Cougar time!

The entire subplot with Blanche and Dirk (the cougar bait) is perfect from beginning to end! To start with, it creates a perfect comedic counterbalance for the graver Rose and Alma subplot. Additionally, it is an easy way to work in one-liners that allow the girls to slam Blanche for her vanity. Finally, hearing Dirk tell Blanche, "You remind me of my mother," toward the end of the episode just wraps it up perfectly! I like that Alma had a 3 year relationship with a younger man, too. It gives the 2 subplots some overlap and allows the episode a bit more uniformity/solidarity. I think the best part of all of it, though, has to be how relentless Dorothy is when she teases Blanche about Dirk.

Blanche: A man [Dirk's] age is used to a trim body with good tone.
Dorothy: So buy him a princess phone.

You can't beat that stuff!

***Cheesecake count: 1...still...

St. Olaf vs. Sicily: 0 to1

References:
Andy Griffith, John Cameron Swayze, and Walt Disney

Quote of the day:

Blanche: Dirk is nearly 5 years younger than I am.
Dorothy: In what, Blanche? Dog years?
Blanche: However, I have decided to overlook that minor detail and succumb to the Vesuvius of passion that is about to erupt from me. 
Sophia: Stand back. We're going to get something on us!

Break In

Before I get started, let me just say that I had the pleasure of watching this episode with Brittany, one of my best friends! For me, that's a huge part of what makes "The Golden Girls" so special: bonding with your best girl friends (and guy friends, too!).

Discovering that they had been robbed.

Boy, this episode hits on a bunch of issues that are truly relevant! There's intimidation of women/elderly, the presence of a man as a perceived sense of security, and finally gun safety. Of course, this is "Golden Girls", so there are plenty of fun and lighthearted moments, too! Let's talk about the dark stuff first so that we can end on a fun note, shall we?

Rose is probably the central character in this episode, but Dorothy's attitude and display of character completely steal the show in my book! She really proves that she's the strong, reasonable one of the bunch time and time again. I love how she handles herself when that creep of a salesman tries to scare the girls into buying a 10,000$ security system! His nonsense about how 1 in 4 people will be the victim of a violent crime is such an obvious ploy to squeeze money out of them. As a woman, I find it offensive and disgusting that a man would try to take advantage of a woman by making her feel afraid and vulnerable. Additionally, they are all older women and I am always sickened when I hear stories about elderly people getting scammed. Dorothy keeps the girls from making an imprudent decision, however. She tells the man that they will buy a security package from a competing security company and then kicks him out of the house!

Rose's encounter in the parking garage.

I am also interested in the girls' debate about whether or not the presence of men makes a group of women safer. Rose says that she feels safer if a man is present, but Dorothy calls it a false sense of security. Of course, Dorothy's assertion is more logical, but personally I feel safer when I am with a man, too. I think this is a social construct that is hard to escape sometimes. Girls are raised to be very cautious of strange men. In fact, sometimes I don't think men realize that a woman walking at night by herself is going to be very suspicious of a man if he approaches her abruptly or comes too close to her. I've had discussions about this very thing with my girl friends and there seems to be a consensus that when we're alone we are more suspicious of others. Walking with a boyfriend, brother, father or male friend (etc.) tends to lessen this feeling, however.

Rose is such a sweet character! It's very hard to watch her be so helplessly afraid because she's easily the gentlest spirit on the show and the one whom the audience will feel the greatest need to see protected. The idea of Rose wielding a gun is just totally disturbing. If one of them has to handle a gun, it should definitely be Dorothy! Rose is truly lucky to have such a good friend in Dorothy. Rose is able to break down in her friend's arms as she does without fear of being judged or harshly criticized. I'm glad that Rose is able to put her fear aside finally, but I wonder if she would have been able to do so if she had not had that encounter in the parking lot. I also wonder how long her fear would have crippled her if she had not had that encounter, though. It's kind of a sad prospect if you think about it in more realistic terms and outside of the context of resolving something in a 30 minute story.

"I'd rather you shot Lester!"- Blanche

Enough of the tough stuff! There are some great moments in this episode. First of all, I love that the girls were at a Madonna concert the night they were robbed. I like how they are painted as hip and trendy despite their age! Additionally, I love how Dorothy quotes Dirty Harry in order to try to intimidate the robbers! You don't even have to watch the episode! Just imagine Bea Arthur's voice quoting Clint Eastwood's most famous line from that movie. It's just too much! Oh...and Blanche maces herself in the face.

One minor thing--Blanche makes fun of Dorothy's mink stole for being out of style, but it's the same stole that Blanche borrows on her date with Harry in the very first episode. Maybe styles changed very quickly at that time?

***Cheesecake count: 1

References: Madonna...I'm not linking anything to her name. You know who she is!

St.Olaf vs. Sicily: 0 to 1

Quote of the day:
Rose: [The robbers] were probably looking for drugs!
Dorothy: We have Maalox and estrogen! How many junkies have gas and hot flashes?