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The Golden Girls Season 4 Review

The fourth season of The Golden Girls is another strong season of sitcom television. It is uneven, but most episodes were terrific.

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“Blanche was right! She said you were incorrigible.

I guess I deserved it. I always say she’s a cheap slut!“

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We Have No Havanas introduced this very fun rivalry between Blanche and Sophia, both being so funny here. The Days and Nights of Sophia Petrillo is all about the idea that just because you are old doesn’t mean you can need to have a boring life as Sophia gets to be more proactive in this episode than the rest of the girls combined. The One That Got Away is so much fun in Blanche’s subplot as she desperately tries to seduce a man who rejected her while Rose’s UFO story was itself quiet charming. Yokel Hero has a great message and it’s by far the grandest tribute to Rose’s kind heart, high morality and her St. Olaf upbringing.

Bang the Drum, Stanley featured a very amusing scheme made up by Sophia and Stan. The two have never had a more amusing time together. Sophia’s Wedding is a great two-parter. Part 1 is definitely funnier while Part 2 is more meaningful. The ending was especially moving and a touching look at Sophia’s grief over her diseased husband. Brother, Can You Spare That Jacket? is way too serious for this show, but it was still a highly emotional look at homelessness and a great teaching lesson to our favorite older girls.

Scared Straight is such a beautiful episode about Blanche discovering that her brother is gay and realizing that this actually makes them even closer than before. Stan Takes a Wife is one of the best and most emotional Dorothy-centric episodes. She realizes how Stan is caring when Sophia becomes ill, but she eventually lets him go and be with his soon to be wife in that touching, but also hilarious final scene between the two women. The Auction is your standard scheme story that mostly worked while Blind Date was another great plea for tolerance and open-mindedness.

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The Impotence of Being Earnest makes great use of Sophia’s Italian heritage while Rose’s dating a supposedly impotent man also made for a solid storyline. In Love Me Tender Dorothy gets to have this passionate, only physical relationship with a man to very funny results. Valentine’s Day is another filler compilation episode. Two Rode Together further made great use of Sophia as this strong older woman who doesn’t need cheesy, forced activities to have a quality time with her daughter.

You Gotta Have Hope started off in an overly dated way as the talent show premise instantly made this episode far from timeless. Still, many acts were funny and the eventual Bob Hope cameo was terrific. Fiddler on the Ropes is this very forgettable, unfunny episode about stereotypes. Till Death Do We Volley is phenomenal. Dorothy gets to compete with her highly competitive high school friend and the two’s cruel practical jokes were hilarious throughout. High Anxiety was a surprisingly realistic, moving look at the dangers of pill addiction.

Little Sister is only solid in the subplot about Rose’s terrible sister, but it was very entertaining in Sophia’s dog subplot. Sophia’s Choice is familiar in both stories, though very well told overall, Rites of Spring is a rare compilation of adventures episode that worked because it wasn’t a filler, but it consisted of new material. The gym and hairstyle sections were particularly funny. Foreign Exchange is a reasonably diverting, sweet situational comedy while We’re Outta Here is a very disappointing two-part finale as it’s basically just filler material composed of their previous adventures bookended by Blanche’s decision to remain and not sell the house.

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