The Golden Girls is as funny now as it was back when it first started airing. Not many sitcoms can make the same claim. We love Dorothy’s biting zingers, Blanche’s amorous admissions, Rose’s endless supply of “Back in St. Olaf” stories, and Sophia’s savage insults.
But you know what fans don’t love? The glaring inconsistencies and illogical beats peppered over the show’s span of seven seasons. From flimsy continuity to questionable plot points, the series frustrates the more observant and enthusiastic viewers. Bearing this in mind, here are just ten things about The Golden Girls that simply don’t make sense.
Whatever happened to Coco?
In the pilot episode, the audience sees that Dorothy, Blanche, and Rose are already living with a fourth roommate. And that roommate was a gay man named Coco. Although his actor was not gay, Charles Levin says in Golden Girls Forever: An Unauthorized Look Behind the Lanai that he “had no concern” with playing Coco. Coco was intended to be an avatar for gay men in the 1980s. However, the higher-ups at NBC didn’t want Coco’s private life to be made public knowledge. A scene where he and Sophia discussed his love life was cut because “no one wanted to know what he did on the outside.” Coco was gone by episode two.
Rose’s cat allergy
In the season one finale “The Way We Met”, the four Girls share their origin stories. As in, how they all came to live together. We already knew Sophia moved in after Shady Pines burned down, but what about Blanche, Dorothy, and Rose? This anthology includes Blanche recounting how she met Rose at the store. Looking for new accommodations, Rose explains she had to move out of her current place because she had a cat. Yet, later in season 4’s “High Anxiety”, it’s said her allergy prevented her from having a cat. Fans know continuity wasn’t the show’s strong point.
Blanche’s homophobia
The series broached various urgent social topics, but not every Girl was readily progressive. In the episodes featuring Blanche’s gay brother Clayton, Blanche is rather homophobic. She also behaves unbecomingly after learning Jean’s a lesbian in “Isn’t It Romantic”.
We have to remember Blanche is from the conservative South. Dorothy and Sophia were from Brooklyn so homosexuality wasn’t too shocking to them; Rose was very accepting of all kinds of people. So, the story would have only worked with Blanche. Interestingly after Clayton visited her, Blanche tried to explain the difference between “queer” and “gay” to Sophia in season 6.
The house’s layout
The inside of the Girls’ house was inherited from the Patty Duke show It Takes Two. The set was missing a kitchen, though. Layout issues stemming from the pilot were also never corrected. With the kitchen being where it was, observant fans pondered about the exact locations of the ladies’ bedrooms. Going by what we saw, Rose’s bedroom was technically located smack dab in the middle of the backyard. And the garage exit from the kitchen led into Blanche and Dorothy’s bedrooms. In hindsight, assistant art director Michael Hynes admitted in jest, “We don’t know where the garage is.”
Blanche’s children
Throughout the series, Blanche lists the names of her six children: Biff, Doug, Janet, Matthew, Rebecca, and Skippy. But in the third season’s “Bringing Up Baby”, Blanche says she has four children. We met at least three of those kids: Janet, Rebecca, and Matthew. Though Matthew was only seen in the spin-off The Golden Palace. Rebecca was seen the most often, and she was portrayed by two actresses. Shawn Schepps played Rebecca once in “Blanche’s Little Daughter” and Debra Engle took over for the remaining episodes. While she and Blanche had a strained relationship, Janet appeared in “Home Again, Rose”.
Dorothy’s fear of flying
Over time, we learned what makes the Girls tick. For instance, Blanche feared losing her looks, which she thought were the most valuable thing about her. And in season 3’s “Nothing to Fear, But Fear Itself”, Rose reveals she’s terrified of public speaking.
The only way she could perform a eulogy was if her friends came with her. To soothe Rose’s nerves, Dorothy confessed she was scared to fly. In the end, Dorothy overcomes her fear, but fans asked: “Why?” In season two’s “‘Twas the Nightmare Before Christmas”, Dorothy was set to fly without any mention of her phobia.
Phil’s funeral
The series constantly reminds us Dorothy and Sophia are from Brooklyn. Sophia waxes poetic about her life in Brooklyn many times in her “Picture it” anecdotes. When Sophia visits her old Brooklyn apartment to help jog her memory, she and Dorothy talk fondly of their time there. Hence why the episode “Ebbtide’s Revenge” is odd. The reason being is Sophia’s son Phil died, and his funeral is held in Miami. Phil and his family didn’t even live in Miami. The episode is otherwise fantastic, but you’d think Sophia would want Phil buried in Brooklyn. Also: where was Dorothy’s sister Gloria?
Blanche’s middle name
Blanche is known to stretch the truth. It’s part of her Southern heritage. Or so she says. We all know Blanche isn’t remotely honest about her age. She’s gone to great lengths to keep that number hidden. Anyone with basic math skills can figure that out, though, in the “Mother’s Day” episode.
Anyway, it’s highly doubtful Blanche would lie about her middle name. What would be the point? At first, her middle name is Marie. Then in “Hey, Look Me Over”, it’s Elizabeth. Obviously this is a goof, but at least a good joke came out of the new name.
Rose’s biography
One can’t look at Rose Nylund without thinking of her folksy nonsequiturs. She’s an open book that the Girls wish they could close sometimes. Which leads to something the writers missed. When Rose thinks Bob Hope is her father, she mentions being adopted by the Nylunds. The problem is “Nylund” is Rose’s married name; her maiden name is Lindström. In addition, Rose says she was her high school’s valedictorian, but she later admits to never having graduated. Lest we forget she became valedictorian only because she drew the longest straw. So maybe not everything is a lie after all.
The end of Rose and Miles
Unless you’ve seen The Golden Palace, you might want to skip this heartbreaking tidbit. If not, you’ve been warned. In the episode “Miles, We Hardly Knew Ye”, Blanche thinks Miles has been cheating on Rose when she finds his name in the hotel’s guestbook. Well, Blanche was right. To add insult to injury, Miles marries his new gal in Rose’s hotel. This was an exceptionally cruel way to end things between two characters who jumped over hurdles — from Rose’s insecurities to Miles escaping witness protection — to be together. Why would the writers do Rose and Miles so dirty after everything?
