It's not easy to upstage Archie Bunker, but Maude pulled it off, as Bea Arthur hit a home run with her excellent performance. Even before her first appearance on the episode, there's some very funny moments, as Archie, Mike, and Gloria are all sick, and poor Edith tries her best to tend to all of them. When it's too hard for her, Maude comes to the rescue, much to the chagrin of Archie! He can't stand her or her liberal ways. I won't get into the banter between the two of them, but it is legendary; besides, it's probably the first time I ever heard the word "socialist", which was uttered by Archie about FDR, whom Maude loved. I would say this is among my top overall episodes for this great show, and if you're a fan of Arthur's, make sure to catch her wonderful performance here.