Transplant

One surprising thing about the girls is that not one of them speaks glowingly about any of her sisters. You would think that out of four women, at least one of them would have a sister to whom they were very close, but that is simply not the case. I find it hard to really relate to this aspect of the show because I have a very good relationship with my sister. Frankly, such discord between sisters looks miserable!

The girls comforting Blanche.

We meet Blanche's sister (Virginia) in this episode. Blanche has another sister named Charmaine, but she never makes an appearance on the show. Interestingly, Blanche never mentions having a brother and when she speaks of her childhood you only hear of her two sisters, but in later seasons we discover that she has a younger brother named Clayton whom she adores. That is not the only plot inconsistency in this episode. Rose asks Blanche, "She's your sister. How can you hate your sister?" However, in later seasons we learn that Rose has a sister (Holly) whom she also claims to hate.

Regardless, this episode is especially grave because Blanche is struggling to decide whether or not she will donate a kidney to Virginia whom she has disliked for her entire life and toward whom she harbors much resentment (and who will die without a transplant). To me, this seems like an absolute no-brainer, but I suppose that decisions like these are a lot easier to make when the situation is only hypothetical. I also think that this episode challenges the viewer to ponder their own relationships--"Who would get your kidney?" It's almost impossible not to ask yourself the same question. I like that Blanche and Virginia are able to resolve some of their hostility. It adds perspective to the situation.

Virginia and Blanche

 The following points are almost completely irrelevant, but in the scene where the girls are in the back room babysitting an infant and Rose is going through the baby's things, she picks up a brown stuffed dog. I had the same dog growing up! His name was Samuel Spaniel. Also, it bothers me that Dorothy never supports the baby's head when she's holding him! I understand that they're not using a real baby, but the woman raised two children! She should know how to hold a baby!

Cheese cake count: 1! We finally see cheese cake 16 minutes into the 4th episode!

Quote of the day:

Rose: [My dog Fluffy] was loving, he was loyal, he was fun, he never left my side!
Dorothy: I wish my ex had been like Fluffy. It would have solved a lot of problems.
Sophia: You could've had him fixed.