Post by jasong on Feb 24, 2018 8:55:47 GMT
"AIDS is not a bad persons disease Rose.. It is not God punishing people for their sins!"- Blanche
The episode starts with Dorothy storming into the kitchen whining about a dinner for saving the wetlands. The invitations for party are late with the menu and wants to serve food which comes from the wetlands. She is overwhelmed by the amount of work she has to do, so Blanche volunteers to help, as she has an "affection for bayous" since that is where "she became a woman in one."
Rose comes in with mail for the girls and is quiet for a couple of seconds. Dorothy asks what is wrong and Rose replies that she has to go in for "some kind of test" because she had her gallbladder removed years before. The letter gets passed to Dorothy and she continues reading it and it says that she has to come in for an HIV/AIDS test. The following day she goes for her test she takes the girls to the hospital and as they sit down Dorothy and Rose walk up to the lady and Rose gives her real name and the lady says she can use a fake name so it can remain anonymous so Rose says "Zbornak" Dorothy Zbornak and then tries to spell it.
When they sit down Rose is scared out of her mind and that Blanche explains that people with AIDS struggle to get work/insurance and that it is super hard for them. Rose then tells a story about the Active St Olaf volcano (because why not..) until Blanche pulls her aside and says that because she sleeps with so many men that she herself was tested and that she now takes down her partners sexual history.
Sophia joins Dorothy in the waiting room, Sophia saying that she was up in geriatrics (possibly making fun of the old people) by saying she singing "anything you can do I can better", Sophia for real? And then she passes Dorothy a bag with condoms in them and makes of joke of putting them "You know where".
In the waiting room Blanche is trying to reassure Rose who is scared and she explains that everything with be okay. As the doctor comes back in, Rose asks for the results, the doctor says she is healthy, but the results will not come back for three days or 72 Hours. Rose then says she expected the results to be there immediately. Rose then stresses how she can get through the next 72 hours.
The next couple of minutes are Dorothy getting cancellations for the Wetlands dinner, and that Rose went to Alabama for the night and saying that she wont go in to get the results. And in Golden Girls style it shows that Sophia is being a little bit selfish in the possibility that Rose has AIDs and she uses Dorothy's bathroom and marks the cups with "R" meaning the "R" is for Rose. Sophia knows she cant catch AIDs but she is having a bad attitude about it and she says that its just "close to home."
Later that day, Blanche enters the kitchen and finds Rose who is upset at herself for not taking care of herself. Rose goes off and in Golden Girls fashion one of the best lines delivered in the series "AIDs, is not a bad persons disease Rose. It is not god punishing people for their sins!" "You're right Blanche" "You're damn straight I'm right", and then Blanche apologises for yelling at her and Rose says that's okay and that she needed it
A couple of minutes later the girls make a pact and say "Whatever the results are that they will be there for her no matter what."
Dorothy is frustrated because she is unable to come up with a slogan for her campaign (Other than save our swamps, no we mean it). Rose tells her that she thinks that what she is doing is important, and tells the story about how she was laughed at when she rallied to get St. Olaf a missile silo because it would help tourism. Dorothy observes that they both have trouble with groups, and the girls take turns regaling stories about the clubs they joined in school to be cool and fit in. They share a good laugh, which Rose needed.
Rose tells the girls that, before, she couldn't wait for the past 3 days to be over just to get her results, but now wishes she could have some of it back since any second the doctor is going to come in and tell her future, saying that she will be fine. The doctor enters and tells Rose that her test results were fine. Rose thanks the girls for being there for her, and tells Dorothy that she wants to go with her to her fundraiser.
Why This Episode Matters-
This episode matters for those who have been scared or have had an HIV/AIDs scare. In the 1990s it was the cause of death for many LGBT people. (Quick tangent, before the Golden Girls started, Estelle was part of a Broadway crew that had its gay members struck down by AIDs because of the "epidemic" in the 70s/80s and that she cooked soup for them just to see them "get better" but a lot of them didn't and she even went to the hospital to see some of them and a lot of them back then weren't allowed to even leave the ICU, because the drugs they had then didn't work, now there are plenty of drugs to suppress the disease.) It shows the stigma between different people in the episode the stigma is shown from Sophia, who is using Dorothy's bathroom instead of hers because Rose used it, and that Blanche explains people who have HIV/AIDs have trouble finding a job and getting insurance. And at the end of the episode the doctor says that even those who are cleared of having HIV/AIDs are still scared and need counselling because it is a life-changing disease.
How Come Some Fans Don't Like This Episode?
Its not because of the topic of HIV/AIDs (as I believe that the AIDs topic was much needed for what was happening in the 90s and years following), its because the other storyline is the Wetlands Benefit, and no one cares about the Wetlands Benefit, and that is what ruined the episode. The Wetlands should've been used for another episode, not this one.
The episode starts with Dorothy storming into the kitchen whining about a dinner for saving the wetlands. The invitations for party are late with the menu and wants to serve food which comes from the wetlands. She is overwhelmed by the amount of work she has to do, so Blanche volunteers to help, as she has an "affection for bayous" since that is where "she became a woman in one."
Rose comes in with mail for the girls and is quiet for a couple of seconds. Dorothy asks what is wrong and Rose replies that she has to go in for "some kind of test" because she had her gallbladder removed years before. The letter gets passed to Dorothy and she continues reading it and it says that she has to come in for an HIV/AIDS test. The following day she goes for her test she takes the girls to the hospital and as they sit down Dorothy and Rose walk up to the lady and Rose gives her real name and the lady says she can use a fake name so it can remain anonymous so Rose says "Zbornak" Dorothy Zbornak and then tries to spell it.
When they sit down Rose is scared out of her mind and that Blanche explains that people with AIDS struggle to get work/insurance and that it is super hard for them. Rose then tells a story about the Active St Olaf volcano (because why not..) until Blanche pulls her aside and says that because she sleeps with so many men that she herself was tested and that she now takes down her partners sexual history.
Sophia joins Dorothy in the waiting room, Sophia saying that she was up in geriatrics (possibly making fun of the old people) by saying she singing "anything you can do I can better", Sophia for real? And then she passes Dorothy a bag with condoms in them and makes of joke of putting them "You know where".
In the waiting room Blanche is trying to reassure Rose who is scared and she explains that everything with be okay. As the doctor comes back in, Rose asks for the results, the doctor says she is healthy, but the results will not come back for three days or 72 Hours. Rose then says she expected the results to be there immediately. Rose then stresses how she can get through the next 72 hours.
The next couple of minutes are Dorothy getting cancellations for the Wetlands dinner, and that Rose went to Alabama for the night and saying that she wont go in to get the results. And in Golden Girls style it shows that Sophia is being a little bit selfish in the possibility that Rose has AIDs and she uses Dorothy's bathroom and marks the cups with "R" meaning the "R" is for Rose. Sophia knows she cant catch AIDs but she is having a bad attitude about it and she says that its just "close to home."
Later that day, Blanche enters the kitchen and finds Rose who is upset at herself for not taking care of herself. Rose goes off and in Golden Girls fashion one of the best lines delivered in the series "AIDs, is not a bad persons disease Rose. It is not god punishing people for their sins!" "You're right Blanche" "You're damn straight I'm right", and then Blanche apologises for yelling at her and Rose says that's okay and that she needed it
A couple of minutes later the girls make a pact and say "Whatever the results are that they will be there for her no matter what."
Dorothy is frustrated because she is unable to come up with a slogan for her campaign (Other than save our swamps, no we mean it). Rose tells her that she thinks that what she is doing is important, and tells the story about how she was laughed at when she rallied to get St. Olaf a missile silo because it would help tourism. Dorothy observes that they both have trouble with groups, and the girls take turns regaling stories about the clubs they joined in school to be cool and fit in. They share a good laugh, which Rose needed.
Rose tells the girls that, before, she couldn't wait for the past 3 days to be over just to get her results, but now wishes she could have some of it back since any second the doctor is going to come in and tell her future, saying that she will be fine. The doctor enters and tells Rose that her test results were fine. Rose thanks the girls for being there for her, and tells Dorothy that she wants to go with her to her fundraiser.
Why This Episode Matters-
This episode matters for those who have been scared or have had an HIV/AIDs scare. In the 1990s it was the cause of death for many LGBT people. (Quick tangent, before the Golden Girls started, Estelle was part of a Broadway crew that had its gay members struck down by AIDs because of the "epidemic" in the 70s/80s and that she cooked soup for them just to see them "get better" but a lot of them didn't and she even went to the hospital to see some of them and a lot of them back then weren't allowed to even leave the ICU, because the drugs they had then didn't work, now there are plenty of drugs to suppress the disease.) It shows the stigma between different people in the episode the stigma is shown from Sophia, who is using Dorothy's bathroom instead of hers because Rose used it, and that Blanche explains people who have HIV/AIDs have trouble finding a job and getting insurance. And at the end of the episode the doctor says that even those who are cleared of having HIV/AIDs are still scared and need counselling because it is a life-changing disease.
How Come Some Fans Don't Like This Episode?
Its not because of the topic of HIV/AIDs (as I believe that the AIDs topic was much needed for what was happening in the 90s and years following), its because the other storyline is the Wetlands Benefit, and no one cares about the Wetlands Benefit, and that is what ruined the episode. The Wetlands should've been used for another episode, not this one.