Recap / The Golden Girls S 07 E 16 Questions And Answers

"Questions And Answers" is an episode in the seventh season of The Golden Girls.

Upon discovering that an audition for Jeopardy! contestants is about to take place in Miami, Dorothy eagerly signs up for it. Rose takes a rescue dog named "Jake" that the other girls got for her to the local hospital in which she volunteers, where an elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Hubbard, take a liking to said dog.

---

Tropes in this episode include:

• All for Nothing:
  • Dorothy prepares for the Jeopardy! audition and actually manages to answer every question correctly, only to end up rejected as a contestant because of her Insufferable Genius attitude.
  • Dorothy doesn't fare much better even in her own Dream Sequence, as she wagers everything in Final Jeopardy!, only to end up losing it all when the answer she gives is considered wrong, and Merv Griffin insists on upholding the ruling that goes against her.
  • Mrs. Hubbard's hospitalization is looking better as the episode goes on, only for her to end up dead late in the episode, prompting Rose to give Jake the rescue dog away to Mr. Hubbard for company.
• As Himself: Alex Trebek, Johnny Gilbert^note  (voice only), and Merv Griffin all make an appearance in this episode, in the Dream Sequence Dorothy has with herself being in Jeopardy!.
• Bait-and-Switch: After Dorothy and Blanche take exams to become Jeopardy contestants, they call the house and Dorothy picks up. She is told their results and reacts in the same, excited tone: she was approved for the show, but Blanche flunked.
• Bait-and-Switch Comment: Not long after Jake is introduced to Rose, he takes off with Blanche's slippers, prompting Blanche to chase him. Cue Dorothy's remark:
  Dorothy: Will you look at that? Man's best friend... chasing man's best friend.
• Black Comedy Pet Death: Rose's account with Rusty the dachshund that she and Charlie used to have as a pet ends with Rusty dying... after running back into the burning house that everyone escaped from in an attempt to fetch the TV.
  Rose: I mean, he was a dachshund, for God's sake. What makes him think he could carry a TV?
  Sophia: You know how pigheaded the Germans are.
• Dream Sequence: Dorothy has one, in which she's a contestant in Jeopardy! and Rose is the returning champion.
• Dogs Are Dumb: Played with regarding Rusty the dachshund that Rose and her late husband Charlie used to have, as, according to Rose, Rusty was the one that managed to get everyone in the house out alive when their house was on fire one night, though she recounts that Rusty would have survived the house fire had he not gone back inside the house to fetch the TV.
• Hope Spot: Played for Laughs. Dorothy enthusiastically voices her intention to be the first person to audition for Jeopardy!, only for Blanche to tell her to "make that second" because she fancies being with a "Canadian who wasn't on skates". Unfortunately for Blanche, the pre-audition preliminary written test proves rather challenging for her. When the girls receive the phone call from the audition judge, Dorothy takes the call, expresses joy at being accepted for the simulation audition, confirms that Blanche is her roommate, and claims to have received another wonderful news... before telling Blanche that she flunked.
• Hypocritical Humor: When Dorothy tries to kiss up to Merv Griffin after losing the Final Jeopardy round, Alex Trebek informs her that he really hates being sucked up to...right before he calls him "His Excellency" and curtsies to him.
• Lethal Chef: Mr. Hubbard's remark upon meeting Jake for the first time has this trope in mind.
  Mr. Hubbard: I see you've brought along the hospital chef.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Played for Laughs. Rose hands Dorothy her high school yearbook with the intention of helping Dorothy prepare for the Jeopardy! audition, but Dorothy dismisses Rose by saying that she doesn't need it. Feeling affronted, Rose leaves and tells her not to complain should Alex Trebek ask about something relating to St. Olaf, only for Dorothy, who normally treats Rose's St. Olaf stories with indifference or disdain, to recite some correct trivia regarding St. Olaf, which impresses Rose.
  Dorothy: I intend to win this.
• Oh, No... Not Again!: The other girls, as well as the elderly couple Rose meets at the local hospital where she volunteers, all react to Rose beginning to tell the St. Olaf story of Rusty the dachshund with this trope in mind.
  Dorothy: Oh, God, not the Rusty story again!
• Once Done, Never Forgotten: When learning in her dream sequence that Rose is the returning champion of Jeopardy:
  Dorothy: "Champion"?! This woman is an idiot!
  Johnny Gilbert: (announcing) Oh, really? She didn't get knocked up in high school!^note This is made even better by the smug look on Rose's face after he said this
• Take That!:
  • When Rose claims Jake the rescue dog can find anything:
    Sophia: Anything? (points away) A viable Democrat for president. Go!
    *Jake runs to the lanai, with Rose running after him*
  • When Dorothy tries to appeal to Merv Griffin after losing the final round, she says how smart and beloved he is by America and even goes on to call him "the anti-Trump."
• Tempting Fate: As the Jeopardy! audition is drawing to the end, Dorothy, fully expecting to be selected to be a contestant, tells the fellow audition participant next to her to watch her on TV. Unfortunately for her, her Insufferable Genius attitude ends up causing the audition judge to reject her instead, which comes as a serious blow to her.