"The Engagement (The Pilot)"

This show is just so well written! I think "The Pilot" does an excellent job of setting the tone for the rest of the series. The dialog wastes no time in establishing the banter between the characters and establishing their personality quirks. It was wise of the writers to drop Coco the cook, however. I feel that in a show designed to demonstrate and applaud the independence of women living out their golden years, having a hired assistant detracts from this sense of independence. Plus, having a male as a recurring main character takes away from the femininity of the show. 

Left to right: Blanche, Dorothy and Rose. Sophia front center.

In a single episode, the writers managed to establish a great deal about the characters' backgrounds. Rose and Blanche are widows and Dorothy is a divorcee. You learn that Rose, Blanche and Dorothy were married to Charlie, George and Stan (respectively) and that Sophia, Dorothy's mother, survived a stroke and was living in a retirement community until it burned down (presumably just shortly before she makes her entrance on the show). Blanche is revealed to be the owner of the house and Rose and Dorothy became her roommates after responding to an ad that both had read at the supermarket. A few things that will become staples of the show that are not established in this episode include: Rose's St. Olaf stories, the girls' shared love of cheesecake, and Blanche's sex drive. Also, Sofia is painted as more of a supporting role in this episode, but is written as a main character in the episodes to follow.  


The Golden Girls digs a little deeper, too. Aging is (understandably) a recurring theme of the series and Dorothy and Rose's conversation in the kitchen at the beginning of the episode sets the tone for the nostalgia that the girls all feel for their former youth and beauty. You see it again when Blanche refers to herself as an "old fool" later in the episode. The loss (or perceived loss) of beauty as a woman ages has certain psychological consequences and Blanche is often used in the series as a basis for representing this struggle for women. 

Coco the cook. His only episode.

There are a few inconsistencies in the episode. In the scene above, Coco is present when Blanche reveals that she has agreed to marry Harry, but when the next scene commences, Coco is no longer present. Additionally, the police officer refers to Blanche as Blanche Hollingsworth rather than as Blanche Devereaux. Hollingsworth is Blanche's maiden name and all of the girls go by their married names throughout the entirety of the show, even Dorothy (a divorcee). 


***Cheesecake count and quote of the day***
The girls eat more cheesecake than most people do in a lifetime! I want to tally the number of times you see cheesecake featured in the episode. Also, I will post a quote from the episode that stood out to me. 


Cheesecake count: 0


Quote of the day:


He left me 38 years later for a stewardess that he met on a business trip to Hawaii. It was her first flight. They said on arrival, "Give the passengers a lei." She got confused. -Dorothy Zbornak