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The Golden Girls
Golden Girls has the best cast of all time, period. Four leading ladies, all ferociously funny, and all Emmy winners. Every single episode has a gut-busting zinger from Blanche, Sophia, Dorothy, and Rose, which is exactly why it’s still essential TV 30 years after it first aired. Thank Hulu for being a friend and keeping Golden Girls on our TVs and tablets!
To celebrate Golden Girls (for really no reason at all other than the fact that this show should be celebrated every day), we’re giving you a list of the absolute best episodes focusing on everyone’s favorite southern belle, Blanche Devereaux. Rue McClanahan didn’t play Blanche like a tawdry Miami single. No, she infused her character with the dignity and confidence that was more than strong enough to withstand endless digs from her roommates.
Like we did for Betty White’s lovable dimwit Rose Nylund, here are some of the best Blanche moments you can stream on Hulu. Bingeing these episodes is more fun than a combination I Love Lucy marathon and Elvis funeral!
"Second Motherhood" (1x19)
Throughout Golden Girls’ seven seasons, Blanche met many a suitor. Heck, she almost got married in the first episode! She fields yet another marriage proposal in “Second Motherhood,” this time from a rich man with his own private jet–and young kids of his own! Not only does Blanche have to wrestle with the thought of raising teenagers, she also has to wrestle an aggressive recliner.
"Adult Education" (1x20)
The best thing about Blanche is her unapologetic sexual agency. Girl knows her worth and she knows what she’s worth! Blanche’s self-confidence is really tested in this Season 1 episode when her night school professor tries to trade an “A” in his class for sex. If you don’t think this episode has the best Blanche Devereaux monologue ever, then–to quote the queen–you can kiss my “A.”
"Strange Bedfellows" (3x7)
Blanche’s promiscuous nature does her no favors in this Season 3 episode, one involving a Florida political scandal that’s incredibly tame compared to whatever’s going on in Florida literally right now. When Blanche gets falsely accused of having an affair with the candidate she’s working for, she’s dumbfounded to learn that her best friends don’t believe her claims of innocence. Fun fact: McClanahan submitted this episode for consideration when she was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress at the 1988 Emmys.
"Scared Straight" (4x9)
In this trailblazing episode, Blanche learns that she has more in common with her brother Clayton than she previously thought: they both have a way with men! McClanahan really had to act in this episode, playing up Blanche’s conservative southern roots despite the actress being an ally to the gay community in real life. But that’s what makes McClanahan such a treasure: she’s able to make ignorance sympathetic, and make us believe that Blanche truly does want to learn and do better by her brother.
"The Accurate Conception" (5x3)
Blanche’s conservative streak strikes again in this Season 5 episode. We meet Blanche’s daughter Rebecca as she arrives in Miami, looking to visit a sperm bank so she can be artificially inseminated. The notion of making a life without making love makes Blanche deeply uncomfortable, and the sight of the girls in a sperm bank results in some fantastic jokes. But Blanche, of course, wins the whole episode with her comment on buying sperm: “Buy? Well, sperm used to be free, it was all over the place!”
"That Old Feeling" (5x8)
It might come as a surprise knowing her frisky nature, but Blanche never once cheated on her husband George. They had a true romance up until he passed away–and then Blanche had a whole lot of mini romances. In this episode, one of those mini romances ends up being with George’s brother Jamie, a man who’s a dead ringer (yikes, bad pun) for Blanche’s late husband!
"Mrs. George Devereaux" (6x9)
A year after playing Jamie Devereax, George Grizzard returned to play the George Devereaux–Blanche’s not-so-dead husband! Dun-dun-DUN! In addition to a totally gagged and gooped Blanche, this one co-stars Lyle Waggoner and Sonny Bono as potential suitors for Dorothy. A resurrection and a celeb triangle–what’s up with this episode?!
"Stand By Your Man" (6x11)
Just because you can’t talk loudly in a library doesn’t mean you can’t flirt in a library. Blanche pushes past a stack of books and puts the moves on a studious man, a man that turns out to be in a wheelchair. You bet Blanche fixates on this detail, putting herself in quite the tizzy. She gets so nervous about this date that she drags Sophia along as her “mother” and chaperone. This episode delivers the rare Blanche/Sophia plot, and that makes it totally essential.
"Sisters of the Bride" (6x14)
Clayton returns to Miami with a friend in tow–actually, he’s more than a friend. Blanche has to grapple with the fact that her brother’s getting married again, this time to a man. Blanche really has to deal with her homophobia in this episode, but not before she screams “Fire!” in a crowded banquet hall to distract everyone from her brother’s gayness. This episode is more than just funny, though; it presents a surprisingly deep brother and sister relationship that rings true.
"Journey to the Center of Attention" (7x19)
It’s a marvel that Golden Girls saved its absolute best Blanche episode for its final season. In this one, Dorothy pays a visit to Blanche’s favorite hookup spot and ends up stealing the spotlight. What choice does Blanche have? She has to get back on the radar of all those single men, and she does so with a hilarious routine that’s way more clumsy than sultry. No one can take their eyes off Blanche, but for all the wrong reasons.
