This was a pretty original episode, in that I don't think I've seen this particular subject raised on TV before or since. Gloria buys a black wig, puts it on, and asks Mike how he likes it. You can tell he is completely turned on. Frank and Irene, the neighbors, ask Mike, Gloria, and Edith if they would like to go to a movie. Archie is away. Mike uses the excuse to Gloria that "Citizen Kane" is going to be on TV that night to stay in, but as soon as the others leave he starts hinting that he would like to have sex. So they head upstairs. But when Mike comes out of the bathroom ready for action, Gloria is in bed without the wig! He hints and hints that he would really like her to wear the wig. Gloria gets the hint and is insulted. She says that what he really is turned on by is the opportunity to sleep with another woman without actually cheating on his wife. The argument continues into the next day, where Archie hears about it. Of course he is disgusted by the whole thing, in part because Archie is never really comfortable discussing anything sexual with anybody. In the end Mike convinces Gloria that it is she he is attracted to, not the wig, and they reconcile.
This is a very good example of the original writing that was the first five years of All in the Family.
This is a very good example of the original writing that was the first five years of All in the Family.