Recap / The Golden Girls S 06 E 14 Sister Of The Bride

"Sister of the Bride" is an episode in the sixth season of The Golden Girls.

Blanche, upon receiving a letter from Clayton that notifies her of "a big surprise", expects his surprise to be a female romantic partner, even though Clayton is gay. She is less than thrilled when he shows up with a man named Doug and announces his plan for a commitment ceremony with him. Meanwhile, Sophia and Dorothy are working on setting up the banquet for the upcoming Volunteer of the Year award, which Rose expects to win.

---

Tropes in this episode include:

• Be Careful What You Wish For: Because her rival for the Volunteer of the Year award this year is dead, Rose fully expects to be announced as the winner and goes so far as to practice delivering her acceptance speech and receiving the award trophy. Come the award banquet, she does get to receive the award trophy and deliver a speech, but only because she's asked to accept the trophy on her rival's behalf due to the trophy being awarded posthumously to her rival, which comes as a major letdown for a Competition Freak that Rose is.
• Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick: Once Dorothy realizes Sophia has been using her as a bargaining chip for deals for the banquet, her list of things she noticed from the staff comes across as this trope.
  Dorothy: Now it all makes sense: why the hatchet guy serenaded me with "Moon River", why the chef gave me that extra large cut of beef, why the busboy did that thing with his tongue...
• But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Referenced for comedic effect when Dorothy suggests for them to sleep in Blanche's room as Blanche panics about sleeping arrangements for Clayton and Doug:
  Blanche: Are you crazy? What will the neighbors think if they see two men in my bedroom?
  Sophia: They'll think it's Tuesday.
• Comically Missing the Point: Rose initially thinks Clayton was saying he was going to marry Blanche when he announces his and Doug’s engagement.
• Double Entendre: Clayton makes a statement regarding the love he shares with Doug:
  Clayton: I’d do anything for Doug, and he’d bend over backwards for me!
• Preemptive "Shut Up": Right after Clayton makes a potentially sexually provocative statement regarding the love he shares with Doug, Dorothy, anticipating Sophia saying something rude in reaction, quickly covers her mother's mouth with her hand.
  Dorothy: Sometimes, I just love to hug my mommy.
• Reading the Stage Directions Out Loud: Before the award banquet starts in earnest, Rose, fully expecting to be the winner of the Volunteer of the Year award, goes to a corner to practice her acceptance speech, at one point saying "smile for the photographers" and "wave to the fans" before donning a smile and starting to wave, before she stops after seeing Dorothy and Sophia, who came looking for her, waving at her.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Clayton gives one such speech to Blanche after she causes a mass panic with a false alarm by yelling "Fire!" right as he was about to introduce himself and Doug to an acquaintance of Blanche's.
  Clayton: Blanche, how could you do that? What did you mean when you said you accepted my being gay? That it was fine so long as I was celibate? So long as I didn't fall in love? Doug is a member of the family now. My family! And if you don't like it, you don't have to be a part of my family.
• Right Behind Me: Blanche is not pleased when Rose invites Clayton and Doug to the award banquet and speaks of the prospect of random strangers seeing them together in public in unflattering terms, only for Clayton, having entered the living room with Doug at that very moment, to make it clear that they have heard her.
  Blanche: Don't you understand? They will be together.
  Dorothy: But, Blanche, they're here together.
  Blanche: Dorothy, that's different. We're talking about going out in public. What are people gonna say?
  Clayton: Probably nothing we haven't heard before.
• Sequel Episode: To Season 4's "Scared Straight".
• "Shaggy Dog" Story: Rose fully expects to win the Volunteer of the Year award now that her rival for said award is dead, only to discover at the award banquet that her deceased rival has won the award posthumously, much to her immense indignation.
• Sore Loser: Rose, being a Competition Freak without the necessary refinement to compose herself, makes a scene when her deceased rival is announced as the posthumous winner of the Volunteer of the Year award.
  • For starters, she shouts in protest as reaction to the announcement.
    It's a fix! She's dead! She doesn't need it on her mantle. She's on her mantle!
  • Then, when she's tasked with accepting the award trophy on her dead rival's behalf, she keeps hold of the trophy even as Sophia, as the announcer, tries to take it from her, until Sophia orders Rose to let go — on stage, no less.
• Speak Ill of the Dead: Rose speaks of her rival for the Volunteer of the Year award with a flippant attitude solely because she expects to be the shoo-in for said award now that her rival is dead.
  Rose: Yup, dead, dead, dead. Coffee?
• Straight Gay: Aside from being a gay couple, neither Clayton or Doug display any stereotypical behavior. Doug's even a cop, a typical "manly" profession, making him a Manly Gay as well.
• Tempting Fate:
  • In the process of setting up the Volunteer of the Year award banquet, Sophia lies to those who provide for the banquet by claiming that Dorothy would go out with the service providers in exchange for getting the services in question for cheaper prices. Dorothy, not being in the know, remarks about Sophia's dedication in helping with the banquet, along with the deals she manages to get for said banquet:
    Dorothy: I wish I worked this hard for charity.
    Sophia: You will, pussycat.
  • Upon Clayton's arrival, Blanche, who's still in denial about Clayton being gay and expects him to show up with a female romantic partner, asks him for the big surprise. Cue a man showing up at that moment.
    Blanche: All right, now, baby brother, I've waited all week. Where is it? Where's my surprise?
    *Doug shows up at the door with luggage*
    Sophia: Surprise.
  • Rose fully expects to be the shoo-in for the Volunteer of the Year award because her only rival for it is now deceased. Unfortunately for Rose, her deceased rival ends up winning the award posthumously anyway, which greatly disappoints her.