She was. She's had her moments to shine when it comes to breaking through to someone. As dumb and naive as she could be, she was also intelligent and perceptive at times. They all joke about her stupidity, but she's said smart things before. Even if it was something simple, it was still something she perceived and others missed.
That's what I love about this show. At the end of the day, it's about love. As tough as Sophia is, she has her vulnerable moments, too. She doesn't like to show that side, and often makes sarcastic remarks to mask what she's feeling. I know, I am the same way. It's how I also know that Sophia is a deeply empathetic person.
I love Rose so much for that. Simple and naive though she was, she had moments of brilliance and insight. This is definitely one of the most significant ones.
Originally there was supposed to be a scene where Sophia was by Phil's casket making jokes about him. Estelle flat-out refused to film it, saying no loving mother would mock their deceased son like that....... Hell, even watching this scene now, I start crying.
I dunno. I think it would have been true to Sophia's character tbh. She is someone who makes jokes when she is sad/uncomfortable. It could have worked imo.
I know Sophia is known to be blunt and colorful. However I think Sophia making jokes at Phil's casket would have been inappropriate. I agree with estelle.
Don't feel bad, man. I'm grown myself, and whenever I saw this for the first time when I was a kid, I squalled my eyes out. :( It made me wish that somehow I could "magically" reach through my RV screen and give Sophia a hug.
Not sure if this was before, but the final scene in the episode where she was asked by a friend of hers to be there when she committed suicide (another great performance by Estelle in that one), as she talks to the baby the other three girls have been watching is pretty touching. You get a sense of true real-life wisdom when she tells the baby, "You're just starting out. You're in for the long haul. Keep your seat belt on; there are a lot of twists & turns."
@@ericandy88 There was another where Dorothy was falling sick going from doctor to doctor. She was talking to rose and blanche "Dorothy could be dying"
Logia dude those were two different episodes, but both powerful. Her friend wants to commit suicide because she's old and lonely and wants Sophia to be there when she dies. Sophia talks her out of it and says "you wanted me to be here for your death, how about letting me be here for your life." Alvin is the guy she meets on the boardwalk who has Alzheimer's and Sophia has to deal with the pain of losing another friend. Both episodes go right at your heart.
Yes, she had some other emotional reactions....but non like this!!! This is her best scene, the best writing and it gets us all, even if you admit it or not!
Estelle was said to have been nervous acting alongside of the other three, who were all powerhouses and well known in comedy, especially Bea and Betty. But Estelle brought wonderful acting to the character of Sophia. Without her, this show wouldn’t have been nearly as good.
When Sophia broke down and uttered the words:"my baby is gone." I just break up and cry. I can hear the hurt and ache in her soul as she knows her son, her baby boy is gone.
That’s one of the only parts of the show that I cannot watch because I know I’ll by crying for at least 30 minutes following that moment. I hate seeing any of the girls in pain. It hurts me.
Except, the talent and quality of acting and writing in The Golden Girls easily destroys all those other shows. I like those other shows, but to put them in the same league as The Golden Girls in any way is overdoing it
Second saddest scene to me is the episode Blanche's father dies making her the first of the three younger GG to lose both parents, she started by being in denial thinking it was all a prank and then ended up blaming herself for not visiting him before he died but the real sad scene was when she skipped his funeral and visited both her parents graves and talked to them saying she's nobody's little girl anymore... in the first season Dorothy couldn't fathom being an orphan and having no parents
And in that moment she realised she didn't raise a freak, she raised a great husband and father, and is sorry she couldn't realise it while he was alive. Heartbreaking.
Phil wasn't a freak, just because he had a preference for women's clothes, but Sophia was embarrassed by it! After his death, Angela insisted that he was a good man, as well as a good husband, father, and provider!
It was incredible that A) Estelle saw herself as a lesser actress than her co-stars, and B) she hated death scenes, because she did those death scenes so much justice with a great amount of tenderness. This scene, along with the one in season 5 with Martha's suicide attempt, are two of the most powerful moments in the series and they never fail to give me goosebumps.
That was a theme for an episode I never thought they would tackle for this show it caught me off guard because of how un-comical it is I didn't know how they planned on making the episode light hearted and funny given how serious the whole thing was
There was also the one with Sophia's boardwalk friend who has Alzheimer's. Season 3 I believe? The emotion isn't as raw as the other two but it's still an episode that makes me cry.
I remember one episode where she and Dorothy went to their old apartment in New York where she saw/imagined the ghost of her dead husband who said something along the lines of “one day you’ll join me”. I can’t imagine how she must’ve felt in that scene
this aired for the first time in 1990, after the 'height' of the AIDS crisis. And I just have to wonder, how many old mothers this scene resonated with. How many older women saw Sophia, confused and angry and ultimately broken over losing their queer child, and could say "I've been there". Countless mothers, undoubtedly. I think it really speaks to how deep and visceral this show was willing to be in the name of progress: here, it acknowledges all the emotions that come with mourning a 'different' person whom you love, something which a lot of people were dealing with and very few outlets acknowledged.
Phil was not gay. He was married to Big Angie and had kids. He was a cross- dresser. Blanche's brother was gay, though. And so was Dorothy's best friend.
We're all heartbroken over Sophia in this scene, but I just want to point out how perfect I think Dorothy's stoic pose is in the final shot. Her head is down, and it looks as though she's steeling herself with her hand on her knee. Very few times do you ever see Dorothy get really overcome by emotion, and I think in this moment she's actually truly devastated both for her mother's sake and for her own feelings of loss, but she can't allow herself to express that for the sake of letting Sophia finally have her moment to grieve. A very subtle but beautiful acting touch from Bea Arthur.
Bea had a special connection to the gay community. Even during the 80's, 90's when this was filmed. She probably saw this upfront with AIDS killing our ppl in record time
She did. The episode where the girls remember moments with their late husband. Rose was in her kitchen before she left for Miami. It was her birthday and she was rembering all the good times with Charlie. She says I have to leave now Charlie and I won't forget you. Something to that effect
@@TheCoreyd1086 I always liked the one where Dorothy's lesbian friend falls in love with Rose, and rather than taking offence to it, Rose says that she's flattered that she thinks of her that way and hopes that they can still be friends if not lovers. She took the crush as a compliment, even though she wasn't gay herself.
There was one scene I remembered in which all three of them were locked up for being mistaken as Hooker and Rose talked to a girl out there who lived near St Olaf and asked her to do something better, later on in that episode all three of them were discussing how horrible the previous night was and that girl stopped by at their house thanking Rose for guiding her. The smile on Rose's face in that scene said it all. Rose (Betty White) was and still remains my favorite Golden Girl. She taught us that always be kind, its Ok to be naive but kindness always win. I wish we could have more people like Rose in our daily lives this world would be such a better place...
Sophia has loads of empathy, like me. We just hide it a bit behind sarcasm. That Boardwalk episode was also good, too. I think her friend's name was Alvin but I may be wrong.
Estelle should have won SEVERAL acting awards for this scene. And I've never even seen an episode yet, I just like these clips. So I can't imagine what I havent seen from her.
"My baby is gone!" It just violates the natural order of things for a mother to have to bury their child. And Estelle Getty acted this to perfection, Emmy material right there. RIP Estelle, Bea and Rue. And long life to Betty White, girl's in her 90ties and still a gem. What a jewel this show still is while others from the same time have aged pretty badly. Golden Girls is ETERNAL!
Funny you mention that. The costume designers often did this on purpose, though not always, along with clothing styles to reflect the different personalities of each character. Rose was the most noticeable, as she was often dressed in yellow or bubblegum pastels to accentuate her downhome innocence, while Dorothy often wore dark boxy outfits with pants or long skirts, and Blanche wore flowing outfits in tropical colours, especially greens and corals. It works well, I think. It was also an attempt by the designers to show that older women can still dress in attractive outfits while still dressing for their age. They really put a lot of thought into the clothing styles and fashion.
So irritating that people are such sensitive snowflakes these days, that they can't enjoy humor in a sitcom. Their precious little feelings get hurt over everything. No wonder why movies/tv are so bland and mediocre these days. Because any real humor gets cut out to appease emotionally incontinent killjoys
@@Attmay There's a video on here that features a small clip from Meet The Parents - I think it's the clip where they play volleyball in the pool. Anyway, almost all the comments are from people who say they "can't handle" watching the movie, and that the movie causes them anxiety and trauma, and is too upsetting for them to watch because they can't handle Greg being bullied etc🙄 It wasn't just one comment - it was a multitude. Not sure why people these days can't differentiate between real life and reel life and just enjoy a movie without bringing their own emotional baggage into it
That's what I love about sitcoms. The purpose of a sitcom is to a make you laugh through the day to day life but when there were those moments that were so serious and emotional, it became so powerful. It was almost like saying life is not just a bunch of laughs and that sometimes we have these moments where things can just turn serious and emotionally devastating
I am not a parent so I don't know the feeling of losing a child but this scene hit close to home. You see my mother died from cancer and my grandmother had to come for my mother's funeral. Seeing her saying goodbye to her only child daughter was the most heartbreaking moment for all of us. A year later my grandmother passed away, doctors gave us medical reasons but we all knew that she died of a broken heart. RIP mom and mammang, we all miss you and we will never forget. Muah!
Sofang this is one of the most heartbreaking comments I've ever seen on RU-vid. I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sure that you mother and grandmother are in Heaven as we speak, watching over you.
I always felt really badly for Dorothy in this episode. She had to be the strong one, for Sophia, for Angela....she couldn't really grieve bc she was the one keeping everything together and going. But that was really Dorothy in a nutshell; always keeping everything going. Sophia saying my baby's gone always hits so hard.
This episode has been said to have been Bea Arthur’s favorite. This scene in particular. She felt that in this scene, audiences got to see Estelle Getty’s tremendous acting range. They were close in real-life and she actually called her “Ma.” Just a little GG trivia. ❤
The tears that come up during this scene are hot, painful tears. The kind that you see when you see a character you love at there most vulnerable. When you see them cry, especially like this, it reminds you that they're human. Sophia is my favorite character in t.v history. She was tough, funny, old but strong, and great. There will only be one Sophia Petrillo. There will only be one Estelle Getty.
Cuz Rose is the heart of the show. It made sense for her to be the one to help Sophia reconcile with Angela and be able to let herself grieve for her son
As a person that is transgender and whose mother is also not accepting, this story hit home when I was a kid in the 80s and now all of these years later continues to hit home. If you are parent of a LGBT kid, please do not wait until after the funeral to finally have that emotional break. Your kid needs that love and compassion before the their casket is being lowered into the ground.
"my baby is gone" that when it really got to me. those words have to be one of the toughest words for a mother to say. losing a child is always a painful thing. when i see this episode, i think of what sophia said about a child dying before the parent when dorothy had that unknown sickness. its gotta be the most painful thing in the world. i only hope if i ever become a parent, i wont have to worry about that.
My mother lost her son, my brother. And to sit there and even see your father cry, knowing you can’t do anything about it, I can tell you was probably the most painful experience of my life. Yes, it was 10 years ago but something like that stays with you forever. I hope you never experience that either-or anyone here on RU-vid. My love to all
Godzillaman of course they are, they're all loving devoted mothers too so they feel Sophia's pain. She's also their friend so her grief is their grief. 🙏😭💔💙
As a close friend, I would have mourned with my grieving friend, too. It's called empathy. Hell, this episode always makes me feel plenty of it even though it's fiction.
Yeah. I always wondered how much of this scene was acting and how much was genuine. I really want to know how Rue, Betty, and Bea actually felt about this scene
@@aaronhernandezburleson2974 It must have been such a difficult scene for them to do. Sophia's devastation was absolutely palpable, I actually felt her pain and her loss.
First class acting from everyone. You can tell how effective Getty was, whether it was scripted or not, when McClanahan covers her face with her hand, then takes hold of White's hand for support, and White touches Arthur for support, too.
It's just absolutely amazing how Golden Girls could have you howling with laughter one minute, and on the verge of tears the next. This is one of the most powerful episodes in the entire series.
I'm glad they didn't. Let us use our imagination. They could have brought him and made him a fool or a joke and it would have killed the powerful emotion of a scene like this
He couldn't have lived up to the hype. They made so many jokes about him that nothing could have fit the character. Same reason why Frasier never showed Maris
@@Dimensioneer88 Or like the final episode of "All in the family" (Archie Bunker) when Edith had passed away. Archie arranged for someone else to go into Archie and Edith's bedroom & remove all of Edith's clothes from her closet because he just couldn't bring himself to do it. The final scene shows him reluctantly walking into their bedroom, he sees the empty closet, & sits down on the side of the bed. It was clear he wanted to cry (understandable) but he refrained....until at one moment, he feels something on the floor down by his feet. He reached down to see what it was and he picked it up. It was one of Edith's slippers. That did it & he went to pieces. Awhile back, I read that this episode has never been aired again *ever* on TV, because of how emotional & heartbreaking the "slipper" scene was to the viewing audience.
The "What did I do wrong" is something a lot of mothers feel when their sons are gay (in this case a transvestite). Listening to Sophia elaborate so well on that made me sob. It broke my heart when my mom asked me those things, no son deserves to be treated like broken and no mother should feel guilty for their kids sexuality.
Yeah, you don't forget moments like this in such a great sitcom. When Estelle wails, "he was my baby, and now he's gone," it's one of those instances the tears fly to your eyes so quickly they hurt. What's also true is that Bea Arthur was right that seven was enough, as far as seasons went, and bowed out. In their own moments, Roseanne, Murphy Brown and MASH were equally excellent series, but they stayed too long till they were running on fumes. Arthur, Mary Tyler Moore and Carol Burnett all knew better, that the time to leave is while you're on top, and they still love you.
Vlad Sicoe I disagree totally with that. Friends was way past its prime. FFS that Joey character was played out many years before Friends ended in 2004 and he even did a spinoff. The only reason I would even tune in to Friends was to see Jennifer Aniston and sometimes Courtney Cox.
blackice That's your opinion, and I respect it. I always put FRIENDS in the same category as The Golden Girls and Seinfeld. It's the writing that makes it funny for me :D and yes, Jennifer Aniston was definitely the highlight. :)
@@SuperN1ntendoChalmers agreed with friends, it was on top for the first 5 seasons and consistently good but around season 6 it was showing its age and the last 3 seasons or so were hit or miss. The final season especially seemed to struggle painfully to get laughs and seemed so forced.
When the funniest side charcter breaks into tears, it just tugs on the heart strings. I know there were MANY emotional scenes in previous episodes before this, but this scene ACTUALLY had me softly crying on the couch. Gosh darnit that was strong...
Powerful scene, yet heartbreaking to watch Sophia break down like that which is something very rare to see on Golden Girls. This scene I think reteaches us to where when we become parents, we should love our children regardless.
The GG story lines came from real events in the creators and writers of the show. When Dorothy had the chronic fatigue syndrome it was actually something Susan Harris went through. I bet that someone within the show experienced that kind of loss with a cross dressing son and they used that as a story line. The entire cast looked so impacted by that scene that it had to have happened to someone they all knew in real life. Hats off to all the actors. This scene is definitely a heartbreaker.
Awww poor Sophia. :( She may have been a sassy Sicilian senior who always spoke her mind but she was human too. Her tears seem so real. Estelle nailed it during this scene. I've never been a father so I wouldn't know the pain of losing your child, but it must hurt so much. When I was a senior in HS less than a month before graduation, one of my classmates got killed in a head-on collision on the highway, some dumbass driver who was on drugs was driving the wrong way. Seeing his mother cry hysterically when his parents came to the school for a mini memorial service was one of the worst things I've ever had to see and hear. I was right next to him in class, so I would've been the next person in line after him to get my diploma.
+Stephen R Well two sayings come to mind. One famous one and one that my neighbor once said. The famous one is "There's no greater curse than to out live your child." The one my neighbor said, "If I ever lost my daughter my wife and I don't know what we would do. We might blow our brains out!"
This just may be Estelle Getty's finest acting moment in the entire series, and in 7 seasons of outstanding performances that is really saying something. This scene breaks my heart *every* single time.
Shame is a hard thing to overcome, i believe sophia felt responsible for how phil turned out and she felt embarrased to love him, but like every parent..well most parents her love was stronger for her child thats why she finally broke down. its heartbreaking to see this.
Tears, anyone? What a powerful scene. I remember driving my mother and my little niece to town. I turned to mom and said, "Mom, I'm bisexual; I like some boys and I like some girls." My mother responded, "Papi, you're my son. That doesn't matter to me. I will always love you." I was driving, and I started to cry. My little niece ask my mother, "Why is Tio Javi crying, grandma?" My mother wiped the tears away and responded, "Because he's happy, mami." That kind of love cannot be faked or manufactured. That's the love of a mother and folk who really love you for who you are.
+Joseph Hernandez I think that's why Estelle Getty was such a great actress. When she played comedy, it was never just slapstick. She really tapped into the whole person and the whole spectrum of emotions, including the sadder ones. Making Sophia much more relatable and loved.
I never wanted to believe it but there are only two unbearable things for me. Seeing children crying and seeing elderly people crying. Estelle Getty proves here why it is so heartbreaking to watch that. Bless that very fine actress and may her rest in pieces! But in my heart she will live on forever! And may it be just in this single part she played as Sophia! Because that's all I need to know what for an amazing actress this woman has been! Her art and devotion will never be forgotten!!!! EVER!!!!!!!!!
fireball2985 i also agree with you, seeing children and elderly people cry, it breaks my heart as well, i start to choke up everytime it happens but i know they have a wonderful heart
fireball2985 never shall she she be forgotten in my book. This woman was one of the most talented actresses in the history of Hollywood. She'll be remembered for a long time to come.
christ if seeing children cry is unbearable to you then you need to grow a skin- kids cry all the time and 99 percent of the time in my experience it's over absolutely nothing but some trivial issue.
Both my great grandmothers went through it. My great grandma on my dad's side lost 4 of her kids, and she's still torn up about it. My GG on my mom's side lost her son and daughter before she died. You're right. No parent should have to go through that.
My grandmother and I love watching this beautiful, timeless TV show. I know that these ladies are in heaven laughing and loving each other. Poor Sophia, she may have been a ultra tough little dynamo but she had a very loving,sweet soul. #rip2all😔😔😔😔
I went to the mall for an almanac and paid it off after my family and I went to the grocery store. Later on, my stepdad told me that Betty White died. I was like, "No way!" I looked online.
We lost my uncle back in June, my grandma sobbed out "my baby boy!" after the doctor confirmed he was really gone. I really felt "My baby is gone" here
This scene shows you what every mother fears is losing a child. The powerful acting by everyone just brought tears to my eyes. I am a father but years ago I was a young boy watching these with my grandmother when they were new. She laughed I laughed as well didn't understand what I was laughing but the sad scenes I understood that life is tough but when you are around family and friends it is ok to have a good cry. The two episodes where they talked about Alzheimer's where Sophia befriends the elderly African American man on the boardwalk and when she breaks Lilian out of the nursing home but can't care for her due to the Alzheimer's. Well life is tough alright and sitcoms tackle life but I just say when something effects you for real it goes to show you to stay close to your family. Now of us are getting any younger and we are all different but our families love us for who we are. RIP Estelle, Bea and Rue
What a great actress Estelle Getty was, I don't know what life occureneces she was channeling but it always brings tears to my eyes when I watch this scene. She nailed it.
Before GG she played the mother of Harvey Fierstein’s character in his play Torch Song Trilogy off Bway then when it transferred to Bway. During that time she saw a lot of gay men she knew or worked with in that milieu get sick and even die during the AIDS crisis. She has always been a strong HIV/AIDS advocate and LGBTQ ally. One of her original costars in the play died from complications due to AIDS a few yrs after the Bway production opened when he was in his 40s. I’m sure she must have channeled a lot of those emotions watching loved ones she felt were like her own kids fight then fade away before the prime of their lives.
Pink Diver My own mother just went through a loss like that a couple months ago when my older sister died unexpectedly of an undiagnosed heart condition. It killed me inside to see my mother hurting like that. I know how Dorothy feels.
This is one of many reasons why I love this show. It was ahead of it's time, tackling real issues while making us laugh and cry. I still watch this show, over and over, and I still find it relevant to today. It's a great comfort to watch it, for me, anyway, at least. The greatest lesson this show teaches is to love and that it doesn't matter who you love, whether it's a cross dresser, the same sex, different race, or someone not related to you. This is what I find relevant to today, because it is what's needed most.
The way Bea was interacting in the back was breathtaking. She was a such a great actress. All of them really! may their beautiful souls rest in peace ❤
Unlike today's TV shows, they're just trash with nonstop and gratuitous stories about sex, violence and they have absolutely no substance whatsoever!!! That's why I really miss the old days of television!!!
I cry EVERY SINGLE TIME I watch this! And it never gets old. Sophia is one of my favorite characters, and it broke my heart to watch this episode. It reminds e of when my parents and my family is gone. Who will be there? Not only that, but there will never be show as good as this one. They just don't make shows lke this anymore.
Even if she didn't understand or approve of her son's cross-dressing and always bad mouthed him, at the end of the day he was still her child and Sophia admitted she loved him and grieved for him like any real mother would. Even if the world relentlessly seems or tries to convince us otherwise, love will always be stronger than hate, ALWAYS.
THIS SCENE TEARS ME UP... I LOVED SOPHIA... ROSE makes a lot of sense in this.. but Estelle Getty did awesome in this scene... LONG LIVE THE GOLDEN GIRLS... A legend Show forever
This scene hits close to home, my mother lost her son last year and I've watched her grieve and cry I've done my best to be strong for her, losing a child is the worst thing a parent can go through.
