Veteran actor Monte Markham makes the first of two appearances as Blanche's brother Clayton, one of three other siblings who were introduced during the show's run. She tries to set him up with a female co-worker, but that's not the gender he's romantically attracted to. This wasn't the first time that "Golden Girls" had a gay character on the show, but it takes the plot further by making it a sibling of one of the major characters, and shows Blanche's objections and refusal to accept it even though Clayton has no reason to lie.
I wouldn't consider Blanche as homophobic, even if her behavior exudes that. A lot of times, family members are accepting of certain things as long as it doesn't impact their family directly. Considering that Blanche works in the arts, dresses flamboyantly and is basically a drag queen with female anatomy, she would most likely have a lot of gay male acquaintances.
Rose may be naive, but she accepts everybody for who they are, and Dorothy is a less vocal version of the very liberal "Maude". As for Sophia, her line, "The man's as gay as a picnic basket!" indicates that she's ok with homosexuality but finds certain aspects of it to be worth making fun of.
This episode briefly deals with Sophia's belief that she's going to die, but that is barely dealt with fortunately. This is a practically perfect episode that has a few flaws, particularly Clayton's announcement that he slept with Rose, Blanche's obnoxious reaction to that lie, her making a fool out of herself in a bar, and her decision to change restaurants after Clayton expresses an interest upon hearing how the waiters are dressed. Then there's the ridiculous setup of Sophia's fedora wearing friend Mildred and the lines which made Sophia think she was dying. And honestly, who wears a fedora while bowling?
I wouldn't consider Blanche as homophobic, even if her behavior exudes that. A lot of times, family members are accepting of certain things as long as it doesn't impact their family directly. Considering that Blanche works in the arts, dresses flamboyantly and is basically a drag queen with female anatomy, she would most likely have a lot of gay male acquaintances.
Rose may be naive, but she accepts everybody for who they are, and Dorothy is a less vocal version of the very liberal "Maude". As for Sophia, her line, "The man's as gay as a picnic basket!" indicates that she's ok with homosexuality but finds certain aspects of it to be worth making fun of.
This episode briefly deals with Sophia's belief that she's going to die, but that is barely dealt with fortunately. This is a practically perfect episode that has a few flaws, particularly Clayton's announcement that he slept with Rose, Blanche's obnoxious reaction to that lie, her making a fool out of herself in a bar, and her decision to change restaurants after Clayton expresses an interest upon hearing how the waiters are dressed. Then there's the ridiculous setup of Sophia's fedora wearing friend Mildred and the lines which made Sophia think she was dying. And honestly, who wears a fedora while bowling?
