Recap / The Golden Girls S 06 E 21 What A Difference A Date Makes

"What A Difference A Date Makes" is an episode in the sixth season of The Golden Girls.

John Noretti (played by Hal Linden), an old high school classmate of Dorothy's, who also stood her up for her senior prom, contacts her for a date, bringing with him some hitherto unknown information that would drive a wedge between Dorothy and Sophia. Meanwhile, Blanche goes on a diet in order to fulfill her annual tradition of fitting into her wedding dress.

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Tropes in this episode:

• Added Alliterative Appeal: Blanche's insult of choice to Rose as the result of Rose consuming the rest of Blanche's "sensible meal" (tuna quiche and shake) on the previous night without Blanche being informed before she needs food is "babbling, bubble-headed, bleach-blond baboon", though Sophia gives the "baboon" suggestion when Blanche is drawing a blank.
  Sophia: She [Blanche] needed a "B"!
• Diet Episode: For Blanche, who hopes to lose weight in order to fit into her wedding dress, which is her annual tradition. The episode starts with her clearing everything that might cause her to gain weight out of the refrigerator.
• Hypocritical Humor: As Dorothy begins her one-on-one talk with Sophia, she claims that she would believe whatever her mother tells her. Sophia only gets to start with "well..." before Dorothy shouts "LIAR!" at her.
• Inciting Incident: As Dorothy angrily tells Sophia, her making John leave on Dorothy's prom night without telling Dorothy afterwards was the reason she ended up going with Stan and consequently getting knocked up as the result, for Dorothy lost all her self-esteem when John didn't show up and went with Stan, the first guy who showed any interest in her.
• Jerkass Ball: Rose holds it in this episode. She not only consumes Blanche's diet food for no reason and with little remorse, but once she sees that Blanche's wedding dress that she was so desperate to fit into again is ripped in the back, she snaps a photo of it with no intention of telling her about the rip or the picture, an act that even Sophia is surprised at.
• Lady in Red: It turns out Blanche's wedding dress is red, once she wears it late in the episode. She has this to say when Rose asks her why she didn't wear a white dress for her wedding:
  Blanche: Me in white? Even I couldn't keep a straight face!
• Not the Intended Use: Upon witnessing Blanche taking out and throwing away every food item that could induce weight gain, Rose requests to take the gummy bear candies from Blanche. The reason she wants them, as she tells Blanche, is not to consume them, but to have those candies positioned all around her as she pretends to be tied down like Gulliver in Gulliver's Travels.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When Dorothy returns home and sees Sophia, Dorothy greets her with some unusually sweetened tone, with the revelation about her prom date's supposed absence still fresh in her mind. Sophia immediately reacts with alarm and tries to leave, before Dorothy beckons her back for a one-on-one conversation.^note  Sure enough, it doesn't take long before Dorothy drops her sweet demeanor and lashes out on Sophia over her not telling Dorothy the full truth about her prom night.
  • To drive the point home further, Dorothy requests for Rose, who is sitting near Sophia at the time, to leave them be for their talk. Rose obliges and notes that she knows what's coming.
    Rose: Sure. I'd recognize that tone of voice anywhere. *in a sing-song voice* Somebody's gonna get it.
• The Prom Plot: The episode has Dorothy making a date with her would-be senior prom date who was in town to see her and who had ostensibly stood her up. It turns out Sophia turned him away due to his lousy outfit and attitude to match, which infuriated Dorothy (as she blamed her for losing confidence after this and settling for Stan, who soon got her pregnant) and she momentarily stops speaking to her mother. Soon after taking the man to be her date as she chaperoned her school's senior prom, he admits to wanting to apologize for not treating her right back then and being an overall jerk as well as thanking Sophia for calling him out and forcing him to grow up. Essentially, she makes up with her and the end of the episode has Dorothy happily telling Sophia about her lovely evening.
• Shout-Out: To Gilligan's Island, as the singing employee in the restaurant where Dorothy and John have dinner sings its theme song while they're there.
• Verbal Backspace:
  • Dorothy attempts to plot revenge against the boy who ostensibly stood her up for her senior prom where she planned to dress up nice and then lie about them having plans to go out and stand him up. She wanted to try it out, but upon seeing him again, her plan quickly folds:
    John Noretti: Why Dorothy, you look great. You haven't changed a bit.
    Dorothy: I love you! I mean, I'd...love you to meet my friend Rose.
  • And again a short time later:
    Dorothy: Take me!...out for dinner.
• Wandering Minstrel: An employee in the Medieval-themed restaurant that Dorothy and John dine in has this vibe. Not only does he dress the part, he also plays a lute as well.