12 Times 'The Golden Girls' Got Real AF

This show pulled no punches!

The Golden Girls was an unexpected hit that dominated TV in the '80s. Chronicling the lives of four hilarious friends sharing a house in Florida, the show quickly became a cultural staple, and one of the greatest things about The Golden Girls was that it didn’t pull punches. Like many of the best comedies, it was complex, dealing with bigger issues while keeping them wrapped up in laughter so that they were easier to digest. It wasn’t even afraid to have one of it’s girls end up less golden, as the main four aren’t spared from being the ones needing to learn and move past their own prejudices.

To celebrate this gem of a TV series, here are 12 times The Golden Girls got real AF.

Transplant—Season 1, Episode 4

The Golden Girls doesn’t wait to pull out the big guns. In the forth episode of season one, Blanche’s sister Virginia comes to visit. The two haven’t had the best relationship, and Blanche is suspicious that Virginia wants something. She’s not wrong.

Virginia is dying, and needs a kidney transplant. Blanche torments herself over the choice, before heading to donate and save her sister. Luckily, Virginia had found another donor since they found out Blanche’s delicate blood vessels were too small anyway.

Dorothy's Prized Pupil—Season 2, Episode 46

Starring a young, dorky Mario Lopez, this episode features him as one of Dorothy’s favorite students. Dorothy encourages the young man to submit his writing to a competition, feeling he has a decent chance at winning.

And she’s right. However, the attention outs him as an undocumented immigrant. Dorothy deals with her guilt in the situation while the girls do their best to help him out of the situation.

Blanche's Little Girl—Season 3, Episode 65

Blanche’s often rocky relationships with her kin are an ongoing plotline throughout the show, and it’s never hidden that Blanche has her hand in that situation. So when her daughter brings her new fiancée to visit, Blanche is trying to stay on her best behavior to avoid starting any drama between them.

However, when the couple shows up, the Golden Girls realize that Blanche’s new soon to be son-in-law is, for lack of a better word, a giant dick. He constantly puts Blanche’s daughter down and is particularly nasty about her weight, his comments crossing the line and not looking back. Blanche has to decide how to deal with this situation without destroying her own relationship with her daughter.

Isn’t It Romantic?—Season 2, Episode 30

When Dorothy’s friend Jean comes to visit, she and Rose immediately hit it off. Really, really well.

Rose, however, is oblivious to the fact that Jean is a lesbian who is just starting to get back into the dating scene after her long term partner had passed away. The episode deals with the subject from a lesser-seen angle, touching on the lesbian side of the older love lives of women.

Mixed Blessings—Season 3, Episode 74

When Dorothy’s son plans to wed, he warns his mother that his new fiancée is black, but not that she’s 20 years older than him.

Her family, however, has the exact opposite issues, not wanting their daughter to marry a white man, no matter what his age. The two families try to stop the union, before realizing they’re both in the wrong in this case.

Brother, Can You Spare That Jacket?—Season 4, Episode 84

Sophia accidentally donates a jacket with a winning lottery tickets to the thrift shop, sparking off an adventure to track it down that ends at a homeless shelter.

While they find the ticket, they also find a shelter full of people in need that challenge their biases about the homeless. After listening to countless stories and getting to know the people there, the women feel different about their ticket.

Scared Straight—Season 4, Episode 85

Another of Blanche’s complicated familial relationships rears its head when her brother comes to town after getting divorced. Blanche has her own ideas about why, so Rose is floored when he confesses to her that he’s gay and too scared to tell Blanche the truth.

Rose is even more floored when he claims that he’s sleeping with her to throw Blanche off the case.

Sick and Tired—Season 5, Episodes 103 and 104

Dorothy is sick, exhausted, and damn tired of it. Going to doctor after doctor, she keeps getting told nothing is wrong with her while she struggles with this drastic change. Finally getting to see a specialist, she gets told she’s crazy.
At her wits end, she has a break down, before being referred to a specialist who diagnosis her with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Relieved she isn’t dying, they go out to celebrate and run into the doctor who told Dorothy she was crazy.

In a dressing down that is cathartic for anyone whose run into the chronic issue with doctors assuming women’s issues are less drastic and that women make up their pain, Dorothy rips him a new one.

Not Another Monday—Season 5, Episode 109

This article tackles a pretty serious matter, even for this list.

While death is far from off the table in The Golden Girls, for both comedic and dramatic effect, this one hits heavier than most.

In this episode, Sophia’s friend Martha approaches her with a request after a mutual friend’s funeral. Martha wants Sophia to hold her hand as she takes her own life. She is tired of living in pain at the end of her life, and while Sophia is empathetic, the request isn’t easy for her.

A Little Romance—Season 1, Episode 13

In episode thirteen of season one, Rose is acting weird about bringing her new boyfriend home to meet the other girls. So Dorothy invited him over without Rose knowing, and when he shows up, they learn that he is a little person. Blanche promptly makes an ass out of herself, and Rose is torn when she believe her new beau is going to purpose to her.

After a dream, Rose gets hold of her prejudice and decides she’ll marry him when he purposes. However, proposal wasn’t on his mind, as he dumps Rose for not being Jewish. They talk and realize the differences were too much for them.  

72 Hours—Season 5, Episode 121

Rose finds out that a blood transfusion may have exposed her to HIV.

Let’s be real here, dealing with Betty White possibly having AIDS in a sitcom would be daring television today. But this episode aired right as the '80s came to a close. AIDS had barely been around a decade and was a national crisis. The show deals with how the others reacted to this possibility, as well as Rose herself, as they wait for the results.

Sophia's Choice—Season 4, Episode 98

Sophia brings her friend Lillian to live with them when Lillian is moved from Shady Pines to an even worse elderly home. However, Lillian needs more care than they can provide. When they try to pressure the new facility, Sunny Pastures, they learn that the place isn’t morally bankrupt, just literally. There are no funds to support the facility and the administration is just as desperate for help as they are.

Rose manages to find a new home for Lillian that will meet her needs and Blanche donates the extra $150 a month to cover the difference in price, but they realize they have only helped one person, and the problem affect countless many. The blunt limitations of the system are a bleak subject matter and the show deals with them well.