The Heart Attack

Death is a common theme on Golden Girls. It will come up a lot throughout the series, but they take a slightly different spin on it each time. It's completely understandable that death is a theme of the show given that the characters are all over 50. As my grandpa said to my father on dad's 50th birthday, "It was when I hit 50 that I realized I probably had more birthdays behind me than ahead of me!" The look on my dad's face was priceless--but I digress! As I said, the show looks at death from a few different angles. This episode evaluates it primarily from a mother-daughter perspective, but Blanche and Rose throw their 2 cents in as well. Naturally, the show does an excellent job of balancing a difficult topic like death with a few hearty laughs. I know I've said it before, but it's really fantastic how the writers of the show can take something like death and make it comical without being irreverent. Obviously, the actresses are a part of making that work, too.

Personally, I find myself thinking of death more often than I think of growing old. I suppose this is because death is an absolute guarantee and being old is less of a certainty than death (but then again, I don't believe there's anything more certain in life than death...). Of course, the girls find themselves thinking of the things that they love most about life and the people that mean the most to them. Betty White does a beautiful job with her interpretation of Rose's feelings towards her late husband Charlie's death. According to the show's timeline, Charlie has been dead for 15 years. The story of how Charlie passed away is actually very fitting for Rose's character and very funny...you'll have to check that part out for yourself if you haven't already! ;) Regardless, Rose tells the story in a way that's funny but completely heartwarming and she only tears up slightly at the very  end. I think it's the golden moment of this episode, really (pun intended as always! Haha). While Rose is remembering the difficulty of losing someone close to her, Dorothy is grappling with the fact that she may lose her mother very soon. She notes that this is upsetting not simply because she will be losing someone she loves, but also because she will be an orphan. Plus, she has the additional fear that the loss of one's parents "pushes you up to the front of the line." Losing your parents seems like a bit of a trifecta of fear: loss of a loved one, becoming an orphan, and realizing that you're probably next. I'm not looking forward to crossing that bridge...let's move on to some concepts that are less depressing!

Listening to Blanche and Rose discuss how they want to be buried once they're dead is great! I love their ideas about the afterlife, too! Blanche is obsessed with whether or not there are men in heaven, and Rose reveals that she believes there to be separate heavens for each denomination. Sophia just wants them to shut up, of course, but she does tell the girls how much she loves them. She also tells Dorothy that she is her favorite child--a claim that she retracts immediately when she discovers that she's not actually having a heart attack and will, in fact, be fine. This makes me wonder, though, do parents really have favorites? They always say they don't, but...I guess I'll find out someday for myself! :)

So what about all of that food?! Overeating caused Sophia to feel sick to her stomach. Understandably, the doctor scolds her for overeating, but I think at her age...who cares? She's over 80! I say, if you've made it that far then you may as well just throw all caution to the wind, as it were. Additionally, I find it very annoying that (once again) they have a boat load of food and not a single piece of cheesecake in sight. In later seasons of the show, it shows up in almost every episode! Oh well...we'll get there. Finally, I just love how the girls almost use death as an excuse to gorge themselves on chocolate cake! It's something that I've thought of plenty of times! You never know when your last meal is going to be...do you really want it to be a watercress salad?

***Cheesecake count: 1

St. Olaf vs. Sicily: 0 to 1

References:
Princess Di and Pavarotti

Quote of the day:

Blanche: I want to lie in state and then be buried in Arlington Cemetery.
Rose: Why Arlington Cemetery?
Blanche: 'Cause it's full of men!