When it comes to timeless comedies that elicit laughs, cries, and thought-provoking moments of silence, not many match the power of The Golden Girls. With four iconic comediennes at the helm, the 1980s sitcom allowed viewers into the homes of Dorothy, Blanche, Rose, and Sophia. The mid-50s women (and one in her 80s) lived their lives like they were still in their youth, and they also tackled issues that were very much ahead of their time. Sitcoms of this decade typically didn't dabble in serious topics, but The Golden Girls never failed to make audiences think about contemporary problems in a new light. Here are the Golden Girls episodes that were ahead of their time!

1. “Old Friends” (Season 3, Episode 1)

Sophia meets a man at the park who has trouble remembering essential people, such as family and friends. When Sophia realizes he's struggling with Alzheimer's, the episode becomes a sobering and vital insight into the devastating impact of this disease. Shows in 2023 rarely discuss these health problems, and they certainly didn't touch these topics in the 1980s. 

2. “Scared Straight” (Season 4, Episode 9)

Blanche has lived her entire life thinking her closeted gay brother adventured through heteroerotic escapades like her. When Clayton finally reveals his sexuality to Blanche, his sister doesn't take the news well initially, but she comes around to his authenticity. For a show with a strong LGBTQ+ following, the episode shows the difficulties queer people had with coming out in the 1980s, and it broke new ground to have this type of representation on TV. 

3. “Sick and Tired” (Season 5, Episodes 1 and 2)

A two-part episode to launch season five in which Dorothy struggles with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and the stigma of such an illness. Dorothy can't find a doctor who takes her seriously at first, leading to mental health frustration on top of the original issue. The Golden Girls episodes delicately navigate the ways middle-aged people struggle with medical diagnoses. 

4. “Whose Face Is This, Anyway?” (Season 2, Episode 20)

Blanche gets teased for being vain throughout the series, but anyone would get sad if their former classmates called them old at a reunion. Blanche gets a facelift to boost her confidence, demonstrating the lengths people must go to when they no longer feel sufficient in society. 

5. “End of the Curse” (Season 2, Episode 1)

Blanche often convinces herself she's immune to the natural aging process; therefore, when she starts going through menopause, the changes she undergoes are more than physical. This storyline broke barriers in the 1980s by pointing out how tough women must accept this landmark moment in their lives with dignity and lean on the support of others. 

6. “Not Another Monday” (Season 5, Episode 7)

Sophia feels devastated when a friend tells her she no longer wants to live and will take her own life to end the suffering. Suicide represents a taboo that not many TV shows will ever get near. The Golden Girls summoned incredible courage to put onto screen how arduous mental health battles can be for lonely and depressed seniors. 

7. “Mixed Blessings” (Season 3, Episode 23)

Dorothy's son plans to marry an older black woman, and tensions ensue between the in-laws over the disparity in race and age of the couple. The show daringly makes jokes about the cultural differences seen in the newlyweds, but everything working out in the end proves the moral goodness of the characters. 

8. “Isn't it Romantic?” (Season 2, Episode 5)

Dorothy's lesbian friend, Jean, takes a liking to Rose when she comes to visit the girls in Miami. In turn, Rose explains that she doesn't feel the same way about Jean, but the plot line explores the emotional heft of being gay in the 1980s. Lois Nettleton brings Jean to life with significant development atypical of how LGBTQ+ characters were conveyed at the time. 

9. “72 Hours” (Season 5, Episode 19)

HIV scared the life right out of most Americans during the late 20th century. Many people stereotyped the disease as only being relevant to gay people and drug addicts. Still, when Rose finds out she might have contracted it from a blood transfusion, it sheds light on the possibility of carrying illness regardless of sexual orientation or behavior. 

10. “Rose the Prude” (Season 1, Episode 3)

Most of the characters in The Golden Girls are widowed, which allows for many interesting romantic plotlines in the series. One of the most important remains the early-series episode “Rose the Prude,” in which Rose feels she shouldn't ever sleep with another man after her husband's death. The episode teaches viewers how to handle guilt and remembrance of a loved one, along with female promiscuity. 

11. “The Days and Nights of Sophia Petrillo” (Season 4, Episode 2)

Dorothy, Blanche, and Rose often spend their days doing much more productive things than most 50- to 60-year-old retired women during the 1980s, but they hit a wall in season four. Believing they live monotonous daily routines, they look to elderly Sophia for inspiration. The 80-plus mother shows audiences that age is but a number. 

12. “Stand by Your Man” (Season 6, Episode 11)

“Stand by Your Man” puts the focus on physically handicapped people when Blanche falls for a man confined to a wheelchair. Her beau turns out to be a backstabbing liar as he already has a wife. The show brilliantly deflects from the man's physical traits by showing them as less valuable than his morality and lack of devotion to his spouse. 

13. “The Bloom is Off the Rose” (Season 6, Episode 13)

Blanche dates a man who decides to physically abuse her when he doesn't get what he wants, bringing up the vital discussion around domestic abuse in the United States. The show handles the plot with care and emotional integrity, with Dorothy stepping in and defending her best friend at the end of the episode. 

14. “A Little Romance” (Season 1, Episode 13)

Much like the episode in which Blanche dates a person in a wheelchair, this one focuses on Rose's difficulties going out with a person of short stature. As the half-hour ends, Rose realizes the man may not be who she initially thought.

15. “Like the Beep Beep Beep of the Tom Tom” (Season 5, Episode 17)

Rue McClanahan puts in another otherworldly effort as Blanche when the self-proclaimed sexiest member of the friend group has to cope with a pacemaker installation. The medical issue brings forth important representation for older people getting medical intervention and how it might affect specific parts of their lives, like intimacy or exercise. 

16. “Sister of the Bride” (Season 6, Episode 14)

Blanche already accepted her brother being gay in “Scared Straight,” but now she has to understand the concept of gay marriage. Same-sex matrimony wasn't legal in the United States during this time, so seeing gay men have their own ceremony before it became accepted demonstrated the progressive nature of The Golden Girls episodes. 

17. “Blanche and the Younger Man” (Season 1, Episode 9)

Blanche dates a man much younger than her, much to the humor of her roommates. The plot shows viewers that women have every right to date whomever they want, regardless of age, especially in a society that focuses so much on female vitality and youth. 

18. “High Anxiety” (Season 4, Episode 20)

Rose struggles to overcome a prescription drug addiction, a devastating issue plaguing the United States both now and back during the original airing of the show. The characters use tender emotional support to help Rose and never make it seem like prescription drug addicts need criticism but rather sympathy. 

19. “Where's Charlie?” (Season 7, Episode 5)

Rose claims her deceased husband speaks with her in death, something not all of the characters fully understand. While the episode uses a lighter tone, it reinforces the difficulties older people have coping with loved ones passing away, even years after the fact. 

20. “Comedy of Errors' (Season 5, Episode 9)

Dorothy decides to fulfill a lifelong dream of becoming a comedienne after a friend dies. The episode lets viewers know it's never too late to chase your dreams. Even if you think you're too old, try things and see where it goes!

21. “The Accurate Conception” (Season 5, Episode 3)

Blanche copes with her daughter wanting to use artificial insemination methods to conceive her child. Blanche wants her daughter to find a man first but soon realizes she deserves the freedom to choose how to bring a child into the world. 

22. “And Then There Was One” (Season 2, Episode 16)

Blanche and the girls get used to caring for a baby they believe to be abandoned after a walk-a-thon in Miami. The episode tackles issues like loneliness and the desire for middle-aged people to still care for young people as they age.