S8 E2 - Golden Girls: Blanche Devereaux – The Miami Maneater

Blanche Devereaux is so many things. She’s the lady of my dreams, your dreams, all of our dreams. But, like, she’s also the branch from Designing Women to Golden Girls. Sometimes we just close our eyes and it’s almost like we’re right back there with our favorite Atlanta siren: Suzanne Sugarbaker. All batting eyelashes and questionable comments.

Join us on our new adventure as we hop from character to character this season, exploring their highs, lows, and frankly, what made us fall in love with them. 

For the purists out there, we’re including below the exact episodes we watched to prepare – so watch along and then tune in to talk all things Blanche. 

Come back Thursday for an Extra Sugar all about the lady behind the lady: Rue McClanahan. 

Blanche’s episodes:

• S1 E9: Blanche and the Younger Man 

• S1 E20: Adult Education 

• S3E14 Blanche’s Little Girl 

• S5 E3: The Accurate Conception

• S4E9 Scared Straight

• S6 E14: Sister of the Bride

• S6 E21: Witness 

• S7 E11: Room Seven 

A smidge more, if you want to dive in: 

• The New York Times’ tribute to Rue McClanahan 

• An Interview with Rue on the character of Blanche

• A Joan Rivers interview with Rue about her life, career and, of course, Blanche

And, as always, thank you for being a friend!

Or listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music.

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Transcript

Salina welcomes you to the second episode of our Golden Girl season

Salina: Hey, y'all. Hey, Nikki. And welcome to the second episode of our Golden Girl season.

Nikki: Hey, Salina. I just needed to speak up. I will say something.

Salina: Yeah, speak up.

Nikki: Just speak up.

Salina: I welcome you to stop being so quiet. Okay. You have a podcast, so you're not that quiet. if you missed out last week, we are on to new things, which you can find in our updated prologue episode. Or of course, we'd also love for you to go back and check out the first episode in season eight. Or hey, if you, if you listen to it, like, listen to it again and again and again and again.

Nikki: Five more times, just two. Do it.

Salina: But those are the kind of a perfect tee up to this season. If you're coming in fresh, coming in hot. Yes. The most important thing to know, like in this very moment, is that this episode, this episode right here is dedicated to the lady of my dreams. Of your dreams, of all our dreams, Ms. Blanche Devereaux. also, go watch. Go listen to the prologue.

Nikki: That's it. I'm the lady of your dream.

Salina: That's beautiful. You know, each week we're gonna cover a new golden gal on Mondays, followed by our traditional extra sugar on Thursdays. And Nikki tells me at the end of the season, we're also gonna have two episodes.

Nikki: Yes, this sounds familiar.

Salina: Dedicated to digging into something thematic.

Nikki: One of, them is like, love and heartbreak, and the other one is like, social issues like aging and maybe. Oh, HIV was one of the issues. So, yeah, we're gonna have two theme based episodes so that we don't miss out on some of the juicier stuff that happens.

Salina: And I'll have you know that when you first came up with all of this, I knew that.

Nikki: So did I.

Salina: And then four months floated by and it was just like you could just see just the whites in my eyes. It's a thing. Yeah. now, Nikki has kindly put together a sampling of episodes for us to watch that captures the spirit of Blanche without us needing to watch all seven seasons before we meet to talk. You know, I think we would enjoy doing that. But whether we want to. You want to wait for us to watch all seven seasons is a whole nother thing. Right? So if you are a bit of a purist and you want to watch what we did, here's your list. Okay. You've got season one, episode nine, Blanche and the Younger Man. I feel like that's explanation enough. Season one, episode 20, adult education. I'm tempted to say that seems like information enough. Let's just say that Blanche finds herself in the, education system.

Nikki: She's getting some adult education at the collegiate level.

Salina: Season three, episode 14, Blanche's Little Girl. This, I think, was an alternate that you shared that I could watch to get to know about the relationship with her daughter. season five, episode three, the Accurate Conception. Also, Blanche's daughter returns. Season four, episode nine, Scared Straight. We meet Blanche's brother. Season six, episode 14, Sister of the Bride, the Return of Blanche's brother. Season 6, episode 21, Witness is kind of a Rose episode, but also a Blanche episode. and very, reminiscent of our Designing Women days. She's trying to get into a group, you know what I'm saying? We all want to be in the. In group. I can't say for myself that I want to be in this in group.

Nikki: That particular in group.

Salina: Yeah. but it's basically like the Daughters of the Confederacy, but they named it something else. and then season seven, episode 11 is room seven. And again, the name is explanation enough. it's. It's more of learning about, Blanche's Southern roots and connection in relationship to her grandmother and where her grandmother lived. At a plantation in Atlanta. Would there have been any plantations in Atlanta in 1985 or 1885? We could talk about it, but for.

Nikki: Now, to be fair, I say I live in Atlanta, and I live 30 miles outside of Atlanta.

Salina: So true.

Nikki: It could have been somewhere else, I'll have you know.

Salina: It's a hop, skip, and a jump in an hour to an hour and a half to three hours, depending on whether a plane has landed in the middle of 85 or the bridge broke. You know what, Nikki? Sometimes bridges break.

Nikki: It's a thing. Especially when they're not maintained. That tends to happen more often.

Salina: Or set on fire.

Nikki: Right. They really break, you know, then they really fall apart.

Salina: It just happens.

Nikki: So, you ready to talk all things Blanche? I am. or as six year old Nikki used to call her, Bladge. My mom always said that I'd say, look, it's Blad. I was a cute kid.

Salina: You've always loved her.

Nikki: I've always loved her.

The Golden Girls star Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux

So, first things first. Blanche is played by the incomparable Rue McClanahan. We're gonna save a deeper dive into Rue herself for this week's Extra Sugar segment. But it's worth noting that Rue came to the Golden Girls, already known for. For being in comedy sort of roles, especially from M. Maude and Mama's Family. Have you ever seen Mama's Family?

Salina: Yes. I didn't show so much care for it. But you know what? I wonder if I would now.

Nikki: Probably not. Oh, I'm gonna guess it doesn't age well, but it's a good show. even before those experiences, she was a stage actor for many years. Plus, she was a dancer of, like, all kinds of. And she sang. A true Renaissance entertainer. So all of that history combined into a pretty unforgettable performance of Blanche Devereaux, archetype, wise. we talked about this a little bit in our first episode this season. Blanche is the Southern belle. She's proud of her heritage. She's flirtatious, she's glamorous, and she's very aware of her m. We'll call them physical gifts. If Blanche were a Friends episode, we'd call it Blanche, the one with the Southern charm. That. That's the character that she is. she is vain, romantic, pleasure seeking, but like all of the Golden Girls, she's a lot more layered than that. A lot of times people boil her down to, like, the one with all the men, which is a big part of her character, but it's also a massive undersell of the character. While she is vain, she is also vulnerable.

Salina says Blanche is the most charming character on the show

So on that note, we can talk about the good, the not so good, and the really not so good of Blanche. And if you have anything that I'm missing in these categories, Salina, just, like, jump in and. And don't let me gloss over them. In terms of the good. She's confident, she's vibrant, and she is unapologetically herself. She's often the comedic relief, but she's also deeply loyal to her friends. She brings sparkle to the group dynamic, and really refuses to let age define her. Something we talked about being sort of revolutionary to see on TV is in the 80s and indeed in 2025.

Salina: Yeah, I think sparkly and sparkling is probably the perfect world word. I had that she's, and thought about this a lot. Like, she's very charming, and I don't want to, under or, like, overshadow any other character on the show. Everybody's bringing something to the table, but I think she's probably the most charming one on the show. Just, like, naturally, you know, she kind of very much so glides in and glides out. I don't know. she's. She's very sex positive. So I think that's definitely a good thing. it's super important. we've talked about this, but she's showing that women are sexual. They can be sexual at any Age. And I think that's awesome. I'm just gonna get that tattooed somewhere on my body, I guess, because I feel like I've said it a lot.

Nikki: Could you do it on your forehead just so the whole world knows?

Salina: Maybe.

Nikki: Maybe.

Salina: Whatever it takes, Nicki Maze. Whatever it takes. And then she's, you know, she's witty, she's quick and I agree she's big hearted. You know, that's definitely in the sauce as well.

Nikki: So in terms of maybe not so shiny parts, she can be shallow, she can be self absorbed. sometimes she's really dismissive of other people's feelings, especially if they don't align with her own needs. her vanity is like to the point of legendary. Sometimes it's really hilarious. Sometimes the little bit cringy, depending on the topic of conversation. she's also fairly old fashioned and I think it's written that way to align with the sort of Southern sensibility that they're giving her. but that's where we're going to see her struggle with social issues like her brother being gay or her daughter wanting artificial insemination. She really has, it's really challenging for her to work through complex feelings about those two things.

Salina: Yes. and if that's. Is that there's anything else, because if that's where you're going to stop, I think that's probably. I had this underneath, like amped up from ugly. But if I'll just go ahead and tack on now that like. Hm. Both with her daughter and her brother, I think she was more so with her brother and less with her daughter. You saw like a little bit of a lack of understanding and compassion there, at least in the beginning, especially when he was going to get married. But I think so. On the one hand, yes, it's challenging to enjoy Blanche in those moments. On the other hand, if her character doesn't have those feelings and also have the opportunity to come around, then there can't be that character growth and development. You know, these episodes acted as a bit of a mirror at the time too, for people who may have felt similarly. and I'm not saying those feelings haven't gone or have gone away completely. They haven't. But it was definitely a different era. without that storyline, some viewers would have missed out on that mirror and that perhaps there could be more compassion for people who may not just be like us. So there was like at least a reason to that choice for her character. And I do think that's, that's important. But it is still like a little bit of a tough watch. I, think mine are sort of my thoughts, other thoughts, or like kind of teasing out the things that you're talking about. You know, it's a little bit more difficult for me. So I do want to say, if you ever think I'm way off base, like, tell me like, oh, but you're not thinking about, you know, once we hit season three, she was this and that and she was. Well, we'll see. So.

Nikki: Well, having only the Golden Girls are nothing if not consistent is what I'll say.

Salina: Perfect. Okay. so she's giving Suzanne.

Nikki: Right.

Salina: And I think sometimes that means a couple of things. One is it seems like she is driving a lot of her self worth from men's attention. and I don't want to necessarily call that bad, but I don't think it's the best because it's not. If it's not coming from within and it's coming from outside of you, then there's probably something there. Right. you know, I think sometimes her confidence veers into the ego and she has this way of making other. This is like the other side of that dismissive point. She has this way of making other women feel small. And it's usually to prop herself up, which is also. It's so Suzanne. It's like ridiculous. You know, in terms of storytelling, I think this is so important because it sort of feeds into conversations that we've had about the get your bingo cards. The patriarchy and the false narrative that too many women are sold that there are limited seasons at the table. So often women have competed with one another not because they're bad, but for survival. So I, I'm sure there may be someone thinking I'm overreading it, but this is exactly the nonchalant kind of place where a narrative can play out and persist. Something, as funny, as harmless and harmless as a sitcom so feels worth saying.

Nikki: I think that what you're getting at is where I put in the category of like where she falls apart as a character sometimes. So, the fact that she has these southern sensibilities that make it hard for her to persist through social issues or sort of navigate social issues. That's not so shiny because to your point, I think it serves a really useful device in the show. I, think that's not to go on like a sidebar, but I think it's relevant. Where we've found ourselves politically as a country now is that we can't see other people and See their side of things. it's either you. You think black or white, one thing or the other. And if you can't see the middle ground, then somehow you're, like, wrong or uninformed or something. You're supposed to take a hard stance one way or the other. And I think that what Blanche's character does is allow us to sort of see that gray area and why those issues may be hard for some people to navigate. It's how she was raised. So that's more in that not so shiny part for me, in the.

Loneliness and insecurity are the things I struggle with most with Blanche

Really where she falls apart is that loneliness and insecurity that feeds the vanity, and it feeds sometimes not being the best friend she could be. We'll see a couple of, plot lines throughout, the series. I don't think they were these. We'll see some plot lines through the series where there's a little infighting between the women and a lot of time over a man. And it's Blanche driving it, because Blanche needs to blanch, and if anybody doesn't let her shine in that way, she can't. She can't live like that. And sometimes it feels not productive. Sometimes we'll come around to her realizing she's not been a great friend, which I think, again, is helpful because it helps people kind of see a mirror, of bad behavior and, maybe how they can improve that. But I think it's that lonely. Loneliness and insecurity are the things I struggle with the most with Blanche's character because it tends to make her not a good friend. But sometimes it adds a vulnerability to her character that makes her someone you can relate to because she's not perfect.

Salina: Even what you just said, I'm like, loneliness, insecurity.

Nikki: Got it.

Salina: Can relate.

Nikki: Check, check.

Salina: Yeah, not daily or anything, but certainly it's a. There are issues that I think crop up for the average human, which I will slap myself right in that category of average human. so, yeah, I think that that's a great point.

Worship that glorifies Confederacy and romanticizes antebellum south without nuance

Nikki: Do you have any other Where Blanche falls apart sort of observations?

Salina: Just one, which is like, this will be a nice bridge where we can hopefully leave the south, for. For just a while. Welcome back. let me be clear. Southern heritage, in and of itself, fine Southern heritage. Worship that glorifies the Confederacy and romanticizes the antebellum south without at least some nuance. That's tough. So, this is another time, though. I mean, you know, 40 years ago now, so I think where the writer is clearly bringing up something to make a Larger point also needs to be taken into consideration as well. Like, so, yes, we had a lot of time pass since then. Yeah, I. It would be hard pressed for me to think we get this episode today, you know, but they did make a larger point, and I think the show did in a very funny way. but if we're just simply getting down to brass tacks. A character, it was like, worth saying that these parts of Blanche are just parts. and it's a reminder that this is what you're getting at as well. but that everyone, including women, you know, we're all complicated. And I, you and I are just right in the same place. Everybody wants it to be over here, over there. It's pretty, it's ugly, it's black, it's white, it's conservative, it's liberal, it's up, it's down. And the truth is, is that we're all probably living somewhere in between. And I, I thought it was a good reminder that if you are going out in the real world and you're talking with people, their belief systems are not going to fit into pretty little boxes, and neither do Blanches. And, I think that if we're really paying attention, things like this can be a. Both a reminder and a learning ground for those exact kind of things. But it's also a hoot and a holler.

She has some really shining moments across the whole series

Nikki: It's also a hoot and a holler, which gets us into one other, point. I've probably got a couple more points, but one point I wanted to make is that she has some really shining moments across the whole series. But in the episodes that we watched, some of the high points for me, sort of emotionally, Blanche's little girl, like you said, was an optional watch. I suggested it because it was sort of like a companion piece to the other one. But this is really where she confronts her daughter Rebecca about self worth and beauty standards. And she did it in a Blanche way. So, I'm not saying it was the most perfectly executed episode, and I'm not saying that the, story went quite the way I would have taken it, but I think it was a nice. Blanche is a mom. She's a mom and she wants the best for her baby girl. So I think she really, You're reminded of that in that episode, Room seven, where she goes back to her family home. She had a beautiful. Like that entire performance was really beautiful because she was super conflicted about a lot of things, but she was sure about one thing. That's where her heart was and. And it was about to be torn down, and she was really struggling with that. It was also a beautiful performance. and then, when she processes her brother's coming out and then later his marriage in Sister of the Bride, those, moments showed that Blanche is capable of growth, even if she stumbles along the way, and that she is changeable if she gets new information or a new way of looking at something, which I think is one of the most beautiful things a person can be and one of the most beautiful things a person can admit. so I think it's the depth of the character and the depth of the character's experience that earned her the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a comedy series in 1987. For her role as Blanche, this was just the one she won. She was nominated for several Emmys while working on the show, as well as a couple of Golden Globes. Golden Globes or Gloves, whatever. they show how beloved and how skillfully crafted this character really was.

Rue talks about misconceptions about Blanche in Extra Sugar interview

I'm going to leave this section with Rue wisdom about Blanche. So I'm going to talk more about this in Extra Sugar. But I always find it fascinating to hear from the actor themselves how they envision the role or the character, and certainly how much of themselves they brought to the role. fortunately, Rue answered that question directly. she said, quote, well, people asked me if I was like Blanche, and my standard answer is, get serious. Just look at the facts. Blanche is man, crazy, glamorous, extremely sexy and successful with men. Sexy Southern belle from Atlanta, Georgia. And I'm not from Atlanta. I think that was her silly way of answering the question, because I found other interviews where she said that Blanche was the only character she ever played who was an extension of herself. She poured a lot of her own self into the role, which is probably why Blanche feels really alive as a character, even in 2025. oh, I also wanted to mention one funsy that I found. An interview from the Joan Rivers show in 1987. She addresses misconceptions that she wishes people would stop writing about her and talks about Blanche. and in doing that, she said she wishes people would stop talking about how promiscuous Blanche is. She said she's really not. She's only had four dates in two years. She talks about it a lot, but she's not really promiscuous. And I thought that was just a really interesting perspective on the character because, she does. She talks a lot. But how much do we actually, like. See and no, is actually Happening.

Salina: Yeah. That's fair.

Did you have anything more you wanted to add about the character of Blanche Debereau

Nikki: Did you have anything more you wanted to add about the character of Blanche Debereau?

Salina: You pulled the quote that I pulled.

Nikki: sorry about that.

Salina: No, no, no. It's just. Actually, I think the quote that I got is, like, kind of off. Like, it's like, all synonyms of everything that you said, which I think is hilarious.

Nikki: I found it in a couple of places, so that doesn't surprise me.

Salina: The shiny moments. the way she handles the Prof. Or the Dean. In, Adult Education, I think is. Is. Is really good. and I think that she is wittier than I was anticipating her character to be and more strategic than I was. considering that her character might be just because so much gets put on, like the sexual piece of it. so I just want. I'm just really enjoying that across all of these performances, she seems to really know how to come out on top.

Nikki: and a couple of ways.

Salina: Hey. Hey. and that's really lovely, you know?

Nikki: Yeah, she. She's great.

Salina: So it's time for our watch party, though.

Nikki: Not a real watch party, just our notes from where we watch them individually asynchronously.

Salina: Yeah. so, yeah, we should definitely turn that into a song.

Let's talk about the top three moments that stuck with each of us

Let's talk about the top three moments that stuck with each of us. You want to kick us off?

Nikki: Sure. So I mentioned this a second ago. Room 7. It is not the best that Golden Girls has to offer, but I put it on our list for a couple reasons. One, one, I thought it would give us some Southern references we could talk about, sort of pulling us back to our original, our OG programming. but it is also a straight up Blanche storyline. The whole episode is about Blanche. But in rewatching it, the other thing I really remembered is how tender Rue's performance is, especially toward the end of the episode. She's in, like, full on meltdown drama mode for much of the episode to the point of, like, handcuffing herself inside the house. But the end is really tender. So, like, I think it resonated so much with me because I'm going through a little bit of a rough patch right here in my midlife. Obviously, Blanche is a little older than me. but in my midlife, I'm having a lot of those bittersweet memory moments, like remembering Christmas or whatever while I was growing up. and one of my favorite parts was how she's downstairs at the house getting ready to leave, having her final moment, and she hears these little echoes of laughter through the house. And she's sort of chuckling to herself, remembering all those memories coming through her head. And I just thought that very brief performance, like, I genuinely believed this was a woman whose family house was about to be torn down, and she's just trying to cement all of those memories in her head before they're gone. I thought that was beautiful.

Salina: I love that. I, also like the end of that episode where it's, like, all sweet, and she's like, oh, Grandma, I'm so glad you're here. I can hear you in the chimes. And then she's like, that's enough.

Nikki: Shut up, Grandma. I'm trying to sleep.

Salina: It's all very realistic, and I do think this show really knows how to end. On a funny note, they're very good at that.

Nikki: Yeah.

Salina: I also wanted to point out one thing while we're having this talk about, like, picking out their moments, I think is going to be a little harder for me. and I think sometimes that's because they do such a nice job sharing the episodes. That, was not always the case with Designing Women. And here it is, like, there have been times where I'm like, is this. Whose episode is this?

Nikki: I know.

Salina: You know? so all to say, too, good job, because that must have not been easy to kind of mark this.

Nikki: It was not. It was not. and I did have to rely on a couple of compilations. Like, people have put together compilations of best episodes. So then I would find the compilation, and then I would try to remember the episode, and if I couldn't remember it, I'd go read the summer. And then if I really couldn't remember, I'd watch the episode. So it wasn't easy, but it wasn't the worst assignment in my life.

Salina: Yes.

Nikki: Go watch your favorite television show.

Salina: Okay. Whatever it takes.

Nikki: Whatever it takes, man.

Salina: Yeah, for sure.

My favorite Blanche episode of season six is episode 21, M

So my thing. My thing is this season six, episode 21.

Nikki: Okay.

Salina: This is Witness. M was my favorite of all the Blanche episodes. Oh. Even though technically this is a Rose episode, I think. But, like, this is her storyline finding out. this is her storyline trying to get into this Southern, like, Daughters of the Confederacy type organization. so this is the tee up here. But, like, her storyline in it, she finds out that she's not purely Southern, but also Northern and also Jewish. And that bumps into Estelle's storyline of losing her glasses. It's just. It is just as delightful. Estelle thinks her glasses were stolen or something, and she uses her dead husband's old prescription. And on the hills of her protesting to Dorothy that she can see just fine. She looks at Blanche in the kitchen and says, who's that black guy? In this same scene, Blanche finds out someone in her family history is Jewish and says, oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, no, it can't be. I can't be Jewish. To which Estelle says, I'll be damned. The black guy is prejudiced. And I just about fell on my seat. I, like, even, like, stopped it and took. because, like. Oh, actually, I was watching that one on the boat. Oh. With my AirPods in and cracking up, and I had to stop and tell everyone on the boat what was going on. Yeah, that's my commitment to this podcast, y'. All. I don't think it sounds like a sad story. I just need you to know that the commitment is there.

Nikki: High commitment.

Salina: High commitment.

Blanche unknowingly dating a bad guy named the Cheese Man in one episode

the larger episode again, is really more roses, where she's unknowingly dating a bad guy named the Cheese Man. And when their next door neighbor, also a cop, is looking for handcuffs to restrain him, everyone turns to look at Blanche and she says, oh, okay, you can borrow mine, but please be careful with them. They're a gift. And I don't remember what episode it is. This is my last shining moment. Maybe Blanche and the younger man. But there's a scene where she's giving Dorothy flirting tips and blows in her ear as Sophia walks in. This is always gonna be good to me. You know what I'm saying? Like, it's all, like. Because it's a lot of face acting, and I'm always going to love that. So it's definitely giving, like, Mary Jo and Charlene and the fake boobs, you know, I mean, it's just good. It's just good stuff. You like to see the unthrowable, the unshakable characters get a little shaken, but then recover.

Nikki: Yeah.

Salina: And it's always pretty perfect.

Nikki: Yeah.

One of the criticisms of the show is that it overlooks mothers and grandmothers

I had two more to share. you said in our first episode, you know, one of the criticisms has been that the show kind of conveniently forgets that these women are, mothers and grandmothers. And your point was that? that's not the point of the show. Totally agree with that. I do think sometimes diving into the mother of it all, makes it possible to remember just how complex these women are and how many lives they've lived to this point. So I felt like Blanche really shined in season three, episode 14. Again, it was an optional episode, but Blanche's little girl, I feel like she went through all of it in 30 minutes. Like, she rued not talking to Rebecca for the first bit of the episode. Then she struggles to hold it all together, respecting Rebecca's space and decision making. Then she has to step in when the boyfriend is just being a monster. And it was really kind of beautiful to watch. From my experience, I could very much. That was a very relatable mom experience, where you're like, God, I gotta let them make their own mistakes. And I got it. But he's also straight up disrespecting my baby girl. And she deserves so much more than that. and I thought that was a, really beautiful journey to watch. And it felt very real to me. and then in Scared Straight, season four, episode nine, again, she's learning this brand new thing about her brother that she's never known before. And she. It was a combination of good writing and also a good performance. but she vacillated from being, like, an absolutely horrible friend, which I think I have more about in my notes further down. but then she became an absolutely understanding sister. And then she became back to, like, normal Blanche, where at the end of the episode is, like, where she says, I've done the impossible. I've converted one. And it just is, like, all of what makes Blanche Blanche in one episode.

Salina: It's very Suzanne.

Nikki: Very Suzanne 100.

Salina: just. What about, like, we're gonna. This next thing is just gonna be observations at large, but we'll give some guideposts. So favorite outrageous Blanche quotes go in.

Nikki: The Witness her whole performance at the Daughters of the Old South Club, but really where she goes, yes, I am a Yankee, but hath not a Yankee eyes? Hath not a Yankee hands? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? It was just so over the top. And then she ends it with basically, like, one more like, but please, can I, Please? And they're like, no, get out of here. So I just thought that that quote in general and that whole scene was very funny. And then the other one I really liked was the Accurate Conception, Season five, Episode three. This is the thanks I get for dragging myself out of bed, dragging myself downstairs to call the governess, where she's, like, complaining about her daughter not appreciating her more. I just thought that was very cute.

Salina: Ah. those are good. I. So, okay, this is from the one where she dates the younger guy. She says, this is strictly off the record, but Dirk's nearly five years younger than I am. In what Blanche? Dog ears, y' all guess who it is.

Nikki: You know, I had that one in my peak. Blanche quotes that that interchange is so. Or that exchange between the two of them is so funny.

Salina: Yes. she goes, however, I have decided to overlook that minor detail and succumb to the Vesuvius of passion that is about to erupt from me. Stand back. We're gonna get something honest.

Nikki: Something honest us.

Salina: Then later on, she says, oh, my date with Dirk was a disaster. He was looking for a mother, not a lover. It was humiliating. And Rose says, I think it's sweet you would Betty Crocker also. Why not? Sweet. No, Rose, no.

There was one line in Scared Straight that I thought was really funny

Nikki: since you're bringing up that episode one more that I thought was really funny, maybe not as a line itself, but, again, a nod to Rue's delivery. I do believe the man said, gorgeous.

Salina: I'm gonna live forever.

Nikki: The way she delivers it is just so over the top, Blanche.

Salina: All the delivery in the show is. It's so good. So this is not Blanche's quote. That's the funniest. But she provides the setup. I asked my teacher for help like you all told me to. He said the only way I would get an A on his final is if I sleep with him. No. Oh, yes. I just don't know what to do. Get it in writing. and then this is my last set. My last little set. Here. Rose says, you know, I've read that you can even buy, the sperm of Nobel Prize. No noble Nobel Prize winners. Or is it Star Search winners? And Blanche says, bye. Well, sperm used to be free. It was all over the place. And Rose says, what does one wear to a sperm bank, Dorothy? Something attractive in rubber. I have that. I have that. It's just not how you expect people in their 50s and 60s to talk. I love it.

Nikki: This is what makes us so great.

Salina: Yes, absolutely. And you have some M Peak, Blanche. So tell us. Tell me about it.

Nikki: going back to adult education. The talent to drive men crazy with the body men have said should have come with a warning label. and then when she told off her professor, I, sir, am a lady. Maybe not the smartest lady in the world, but I do know that my self respect is more important than passing your damn course. So you, sir, can kiss my A. It was wonderfully, Blanche. in that she had total confidence in herself, but also, like, respected her own boundaries, which I really appreciated. it reminds us that Blanche is not again, she's not promiscuous. She's very like. She does things when she thinks they're right to do not. Because it's like men everywhere.

Salina: Her archetype is the lover. She is the Aphrodite.

Nikki: There you go.

Salina: You know what I'm saying?

Nikki: You don't need to raise your eyebrows at me as you say it.

Salina: I do so. I don't. I honestly, I. Everything is peak Blanche for me, so I couldn't pick one apart. I felt like was more peak than the other.

Nikki: Don't worry, I got a few.

Salina: But you, I think. I don't think you're wrong. When the handcuffing herself to the radiator was pretty. That was pretty dramatic. what else do you have?

Nikki: Pretty dramatic lady in room seven. the way she went right back into her story after Sophia's telling about her near death experience. You know, like Sophia is talking about seeing her, dearly departed husband. All these things gets quiet for a moment. She goes, so anyway, Dorothy, as I was saying about Grammy's plantation.

Salina: And then.

Nikki: Her recounting that the boys used to serenade her at her window, I see London, I see France, I see Blanche's underpants. and then finally, she was the over the top sister who is closed minded about social issues again in Scared Straight. Get away from my baby brother, you cradle snatching, empty headed, two faced dummy. And then later, she says, because he was seduced by a bubble head whose hair looks like it was colorized by Ted Turner. This is where she's such an awful friend. But peak Blanche.

Salina: Yes. Oh, my God, that's so good.

All very Southern and very Suzanne. Um, her shade toward Brooklyn. The fat shaming of Becky throughout the whole episode

Speaking, of so something, how about so 7? What?

Nikki: Room 7? Why room 7? Her entire diatribe about Grammy Hollingsworth's plantation. her shade toward Brooklyn. She says, dorothy, I just don't believe you. When you were a child, didn't you have some beautiful, fantastic place where you'd go and it would just seem like a fairy tale and, oh, that's right, you grew up in Brooklyn. She says real Southerners are compassionate people. They're wise and gentle and they sit around on porch swings regaling with stories of Abraham and Moses and all the other people who worked on the plantation. All very Southern and very Suzanne.

Salina: Very much so. lower key, to me was when she's dating Dirk and she's attempting to mold her, herself into him. Initially, there is, that is a wider, unfortunate woman experience. But my experience is in the South.

Nikki: Pure woman experience.

Salina: That's where not this woman's experience, I'm not very good at molding m. But, just this idea of, like, he liked it, she liked it. He didn't like it. She didn't like it. You know, that all felt very Southern to me. And what I really like was the hill turn in that episode where she realizes I don't have nothing in common with him. I'll take the duck. Just bring me the fat on the plate, please. And I'm like, yes, yeah, get the duck. Or whatever it was. I can't remember.

Nikki: duck Lange.

Salina: Okay. And then we got that Southern fried exchange between her and her brother when he first showed up. She goes, clayton, baby brother, sister. Oh, my, look at you, all gussied up. Prettier than a spring blooming peach tree on a dewy April morning. Well, you ought to talk. All fresh scrubbed and rosy cheeked like a country parson at a September hoedown. Why do I get the feeling they had a maid named M. Honeybee or something?

Nikki: Did you notice that Julia and Suzanne's sometimes brother in Designing Women was named Clayton? Is that in your category?

Salina: I have it noted somewhere.

Nikki: Okay.

Salina: Along the way. But, yeah, I thought that. So the way it happened, when they said Clayton, I was like, wait a second.

Nikki: What a specific name.

Salina: Right. To come up twice.

Nikki: Maybe I've never met a Clayton in my, I know one Clayton, and I think we both do. Said, I know you know two. I know two.

Salina: Then there you go. Can't say that. And. And they know, too.

Nikki: Yes.

Salina: oh, and then the second time her brother appears in an episode, the women start making all the incest jokes because that well never runs dry in the South. Ah, yeah, so there's that one. Then we have. Whoops. Ah, that didn't age well.

Nikki: What you got, in Blanche's little girl. did you end up watching that? That was an optional episode.

Salina: Okay.

Nikki: The fat shaming of Becky throughout the whole episode.

Salina: Me, Nikki Mays. I think you know that I'm extra. Well, I like extra assignments.

Nikki: You said that you were getting anxious and running out of time, so I want to give you the space, but.

Salina: That was for my notes.

The dean was trying to get Blanche to complete the sexual harassment form

Nikki: Okay, well, the fat shaming of Becky was a, pretty tough watch.

Salina: Yes, yes.

Nikki: And then the other one that I had is a little bit of spin on this. It's actually something that did kind of age well. Okay, so the dean was trying to get Blanche to complete the sexual harassment form in season one, episode 20, adult education. Oh, Lord, I can't even ask my wife these questions, though I'd like to. And it just.

Salina: That's.

Nikki: We haven't come much further than that where people really aren't comfortable talking about those things. The mixed company.

Salina: It's funny that you say that. Well, didn't you just give away the whole kit and caboodle with the mixed company? But the whole. I don't want to deal with this, and can we ruin a man's career off your word alone?

Nikki: Yes.

Salina: that said, the redeeming.

Nikki: The redeeming factor for me was that he was willing to at least take the harassment form and help her fill it out. So I feel like he changed his mind.

Salina: It's a step, right? You have to at least get the form.

Nikki: My bar is really low.

Salina: Well, I was going to say. Well, you know, 2025 does that to people. What I was going to say is, sometimes I think the only difference today is they're not dumb enough to say out loud what he said. Out loud. Out loud? Yes.

Blanche's weirdness around her daughter's decision to do ivf

my other, didn't age well. Thing was Blanche's weirdness around her daughter's decision to do ivf, which we've already talked to. Talk. Well, maybe we talked to it, but we talked about it. but then it got worse with Dorothy's story, actually. So I don't know if you remember this part or not. Maybe I misread this. You can tell me. But she said Stan must have impregnated her while she was unconscious. And when Dorothy said, he must have slipped me something, I swear Estelle said, I'll say like it was a joke, only m to be bested by Blanche saying, at least this was natural. And I just want to say, wowzer. Oh. Like, that whole time, I was like, what? Oh. Oh, you know, so.

Nikki: I have to re. Watch that.

Salina: Probably didn't hit me that way, does it? Now?

Nikki: Stan's kind of a terrible person.

Salina: Well, I think all this proved that. But just like I. It just goes to show we have made some progress.

Nikki: I don't know. I think people are still getting roofied.

Salina: Yes. Well, yes, people are definitely still getting roofy, but I'd like to think that some people would not call that natural today.

Nikki: Oh, right. Fair point.

Salina: That some people might think that maybe IVF is better than.

Nikki: Fair point. Yeah.

Salina: Than a. Ah, a marital rape. Okay.

Nikki: Actually, premarital. Right. Was that our first pregnancy? Yeah.

Salina: Yeah. So, rape.

Nikki: Rape cheese.

Salina: Cheesecake moment. Should we define what that is? Oh, yeah, we need to. Let's do it.

Nikki: Let's do it.

Salina: Okay, you do it. I bet you'll do it pretty.

Nikki: Oh, it's more. It's just like a special moment of friendship. A Special time they came together over cheesecake or not. The cheesecake, I think is optional. Some of their best moments are over cheesecake. but actually, I think two of mine weren't even over my two weren't even over cheesecake.

Salina: Can I just say, before you get into yours that aren't over cheesecake, because I don't think mine are either. Anytime you're about to say something nice, can you just show up with cheesecake?

Nikki: Oh, yeah, sure.

Salina: You know what I'm saying? Yeah, you'll like Pavlov's dog.

Nikki: Me.

Salina: Oh, you know.

Nikki: Okay. Okay. I brought cheesecake today, so I think that's serious. She's very happy. She's been very happy today.

Salina: Yeah, I'm a happy gal.

As a parent, how do you say sorry to your child? Piece hit me hard

Nikki: So. I loved the moment on the lanai during season five, episode three, the Accurate Conception, when Dorothy and Rose spoke some sense into Blanche about her relationship with Becky. I loved how the women pep talked her into letting her daughter make her own choices. It was a lovely moment of both vulnerability and friendship. plus, as a parent, the whole like, how do you say sorry to your child? Piece hit me really hard. That was one of Blanche's, like. It was like an identity crisis for her. She was like, I'm a parent. How am I going to apologize to my kid? And that is actually really hard because you're a little worried that you're going to give away some of your authority or some of your, like, your leadership by saying you're sorry. And I think the way Blanche was raised in her generation, that is absolutely how she would have felt. But I think the way our generation is approaching kids, I can't speak to, like, the, Gen Xers, but the way millennials are looking at their kids is, like, trying to reverse course on that a little bit and be. I tell my kids I'm sorry all the time. I have outsized reactions all the time to things that they have no reason to know why I would be that way, or no reason to. They don't have anything to be sorry for. I had an overreaction, so. Or sometimes I just parent badly. Sometimes I'm like, things are chaotic and I do something wrong and I apologize to him.

Salina: Like, you're a human or something. Thing.

Nikki: This is the thing. And so that was what I really loved about this whole interaction, was you have these three women who have very different experiences parenting, very different experiences being a person in the world, and they're coming together to pep talk one of their own to help her make a good choice. She and Becky have always had a rocky relationship. This is a moment that doesn't need to be rocky. Becky's just making a decision. Let her make the decision. She might have consequences. Help her through the consequences. That's life.

Salina: Yeah. Yeah, I love that.

Nikki: So I really liked that. And then the other cheesecake moment I had for Blanche was Season 6, Episode 14 Sister of the Bride. Blanche and Sophia's heart to heart in the kitchen in the middle of the night over Clayton and Doug. Blanche says, oh, look, I can accept the fact that he's gay, but why does he have to slip a ring on this guy's finger? So the whole world will know. And Sophia asks her, well, why did you marry George? Well, we loved each other. We wanted to make a lifetime commitment. Wanted everyone to know. That's what Doug and Clayton want too. Everybody wants someone to grow old with. And shouldn't everyone have that chance? You don't always get that sort of like, sensitive stuff from Sophia. And she was, in my opinion, the least likely person to have that conversation with Blanche, which made that moment all the more special.

Salina: I agree. That was a really good one. So I picked one that I felt like, because sometimes it's about lifting people up and sometimes friendship moments are about just laying down some truth, you know, and, and some of them are like hard truths, but some of them are like, just hoping that maybe you can see yourself and who you are for how it really is versus this warp perception that we sometimes have, this like, narrative that we've made for ourselves that may or may not ring true. And, I know you and I wouldn't understand that, but for everyone else, not a thing. In this one, I'm specifically mentioning and referencing season one, episode nine, when Blanche is complaining about being old and disgusting or whatever after, like, things fall apart with Dirk. Oh, I think, you know. And Dorothy reminds her to be grateful for all she does have. She's beautiful, she has a lot of friends and a little coin in the bank. And when she walks away, she's like, I really do. And sometimes you just need someone to give you that push. It doesn't have to be like, hey, you're being a piece of crap right now. Sometimes it's just like, hey, look at what you have. and I thought that was pretty beautiful.

Extra sugar about Rue McClanahan would be delightful

What about just like any other thoughts that you had? just generally about Blanche or anything out there under the sun as it pertains to this corner of the world?

Nikki: Oh, gosh, I think I poured all of my additional thoughts into My extra sugar about Rue McClanahan. so, yeah, I don't know.

Salina: Should my other thoughts not be an extra sugar about Rue Mcclanahan?

Nikki: That would be delightful if they were. Or if they are.

Salina: Fine.

Nikki: Have a seat, let's go.

Salina: Or Salina, if you'd like to do another extra sugar, that would also be helpful.

Nikki: Go for it.

Salina: Whatever you want.

Does she love her thighs or hates them? Depends on the day

so my other thoughts were, does she or does she not like her thighs? Oh, yeah. There's a lot of bouncing back and forth.

Nikki: Well, as a woman, you understand they're.

Salina: Big, they're small, she hates them, she loves them.

Nikki: Depends on the day. It depends on how tan they are.

Salina: Yeah, okay, fair enough.

Nikki: Depends on how many leg days I've missed recently.

Salina: There's a lot.

Nikki: There's a lot that goes into it.

Salina: That might be the problem with bouncing around between episodes. I'm like, does she love them or hate them?

Nikki: Oh, yeah.

Salina: So I know we pivoted from the south, but it felt worth noting that that is a real accent, I guess. And I'm not going to say any more than that because it could feature into your extra sugar. That is just a little teaser, a little. A little tease.

Nikki: You're always doing that to me. Teasing. Are we ready to go? Next up.

Salina: Yes.

Nikki: You done?

Next up, we're going to talk about Dorothy Zabornak

Nikki: Next up, we're going to talk about Dorothy Zabornak, correct?

Salina: yeah.

Nikki: Okay. I started preparing for our next recording session and I jumped right into Rose and then I was like, oh, wait, I think we're Dorothy next, so. Dorothy next.

Salina: Oh, so you're ready for the Rose episode.

Nikki: I am not. I started preparing. Anyhow, we'd love everyone to follow along with us and engage. Instagram and Facebook. SweetTV. We're on TikTok, eeettvpod, YouTube, SweetTV7371. You can email us sweettvpodmail.com it's been a little quiet email front for me lately, so if anybody wants to shoot me a little message, I'd be happy to get it.

Salina: Do you want me to email you?

Nikki: I just said anybody.

Salina: Is it possible? Quiet. Because we haven't done anything.

Nikki: Well, yeah, but.

Salina: But still, you. I want to know.

Nikki: I still live in people's hearts and minds.

Salina: You get sad, I get sad. Okay.

Nikki: My fan mail. and our website is www.sweettv.com. you can visit that website and click the Support Us page to find additional ways to support the show.

Salina: Or you can.

Nikki: You can tell your family and friends about the show and you can rate and or review wherever you listen. And then Thursday's extra sugar since Salina already ruined it is all about J.K. j.K. it's all about. See, this is the thing. People think the Golden Girls are mean. They're not spending enough time with us. You know what I mean? Yeah.

Salina: You need to be cracking up with your lady friends. You need to be making fun of each other just a little bit. Keeps you ready. Ready for the world.

Nikki: Stay ready. You don't have to get ready.

Salina: That's right.

Nikki: But we're going to talk about all things Rue McClanahan.

Salina: I'm very excited. Let's do it.

Nikki: So that's the end of this week's episode.

Salina: So thank you for. For being a friend. Thanks. Bye.