(S07E08) Hmmmm......Ya think something's a'brewin' in Gilmore-land?
Lorelai is trying to convince herself as much as Rory that marrying Christopher was the good and right thing to do; meanwhile, she's running to see Luke at the hospital when April has appendicitis. She resists, but then relents when Chris wants to make some changes around the house; meanwhile, she's definitely keeping the name Gilmore, because she doesn't want to be called "Lorelai Hayden Planetarium." And here's the biggest thing: despite the fact that she married Rory's dad, she, Chris, and everyone else knows who the rock is in Rory's life. That's going to be a lot for ol' Christopher to overcome, isn't it?
It really does feel like this marriage is a setup, doesn't it? It's this McGuffin that David Rosenthal has set up to lull the audience into believing that Lor has finally found her man and is ready to settle down forever and ever and ever. If that was the intention, he's doing a really bad job of lulling us.
You can just tell that nothing is right about this whole thing, from the land-speed record of how it came together (20 years my ass... as I've said before, this version of Chris and Lor was built on a rickety foundation to begin with... the version from three years ago was more solid), to the fact that Lor is already resisting the invasion of the love of her life into the safe haven she's made for herself over the last 38 years, it just looks like Lorelai is fixing to run away again. In fact, this time around, she'd be the flaky one in the relationship with Chris, but at this point, it would make more sense than this marriage does right now.
Know how I know? Two things: 1) How quickly she ran to see Luke when April went to the emergency room, and the chemistry they had up until the point where he saw the wedding ring, and 2) the fact that she wants to stay a Gilmore and not become "Gilless." She and Rory have been on their own for 22 years, and it's going to take more than a ring to divert Lor from that path. A marriage to Luke would have continued that, since Luke had nothing to do with Rory other than being a good friend. But Chris is her dad. As uninvolved as he's been in Rory's life, he wants to get involved now, and will demand that his voice be heard. Not sure if Lor's going to like that, considering she's the one who did all the heavy lifting that shaped Rory into the literary, nasty essay-writing, soon-to-be-Yale-alumnus she is now.
By the way, can I say that I've been to a couple of media parties like the one Logan dragged Rory to, and I completely understand why she found them so pretentious and boring? Yeah, she's not "Josephine Six-Pack," but she did have a much less easy road to where she is now than Logan or any of his trust-fund buddies have had. So the fact that she wrote a scathing rebuke of such parties for that online magazine editor (apparently, it's "Slate crossed with the Times' Styles section, before it sold out," whatever that means... they should have just said Salon) seemed to be completely justified.
Logan's reaction to it not only seemed out of character for him -- all of a sudden he likes being a trust-fund kid? When did that happen? -- but it was yet another example that he needed to have control of the relationship. You could especially see that when he said "You're not exactly paying rent, are you?" Yikes. Rory eventually comes to the realization that the essay was mean when her arty friends tell her it was mean, but in a good way. But since she hurt Logan with it, it was a "bad mean."
My take? Screw that; if it was mean and judgemental, then it needed to be published on pseudo-Salon immediately. Mean and judgemental gets attention; just ask Ann Coulter, Maureen Dowd, the editors of Spy, and everyone who's ever worked for Gawker Media. Rory without her mother is such a wimpy character it hurts. At least she's decided to get her own place after Logan moves back to Manhattan.
Oh, it was fun seeing Luke being a real dad, asking April about boy-girl parties and taking a verbal beating when he thought she was too sick to go to that party (you're not a parent until your teenager tells you that he or she hates you, right?). But the story felt adrift as usual until Luke called Lorelai for advice on April's illness. It's amazing that he thought nothing of calling her and she felt no compunction with picking up the phone and answering (she saw his phone number on the caller ID, I'd presume). Something's definitely going on, and you'll see these islands come together more as the season goes along.
Question: was it weird that Chris was OK with Lor going to see Luke and April? Was it even weirder that they didn't make a big deal out of it and she told him before they left?
What's interesting about this episode is that, even though the pace was slower than usual, and the only pop culture references were to Slate and a bunch of mean female essayists, I actually didn't cringe at the dialogue. That's been rare this year. Like I said last week, I'd rather the writers drop the Palladino-esque patter if it makes the episode make more sense. Why bother trying if you can't pull it off? Despite what I think of the storyline in general, the episode didn't make me throw up my hands in frustration, which is a plus. Was it compelling and exciting? No. But my expectations are pretty low this season, so any episode that isn't awkward and weirdly-paced is a good one, as far as I'm concerned.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-21-2006 @ 11:55PM
Erin said...
I don't think Rosenthal could fool anyone into thinking that Christopher and Lorelai are going to last. And the fact that Lorelai said she didn't tell Rory before they eloped was because she knew she'd talk her out of it shows that even Lorelai could see that marrying Chris probably wasn't the wisest thing in the world (and sensible Rory would only point that out), but for whatever reason, she did it anyway.
Also, I think it's good that Rory is going to move out and find a place on her own. Since Logan's moving back to the States, it would be a little weird for her to continue living in one of his apartments while he lives in another. I think she realized that she needed to work out her living situation for herself, and that only strengthens her independence, in my opinion.
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11-22-2006 @ 12:03AM
Tim said...
Philadelphia Story? Awesome.
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11-22-2006 @ 12:23AM
Cheryl said...
I find this season enjoyable and realistic. Luke threw Lorelai away and she's moved on. It won't last but maybe Luke will learn something along the way. He was truly stupid to keep his secrets and not include Lorelai in his life. He's getting the payback now.
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11-22-2006 @ 12:17AM
Julia said...
Wow. We were watching two different shows.
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11-22-2006 @ 12:30AM
Joel Keller said...
Uh, Julia... can you elaborate on that?
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11-22-2006 @ 12:59AM
Ryan said...
Luke will truly be stupid if he takes back this Lorelai-pod person. She doesn't deserve him.
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11-22-2006 @ 4:38AM
Addie said...
I enjoyed some parts of this episode. Also liked the fact that the dialogue was more natural and didn't seem to be trying so hard to sound like AS-P. Loved the Luke-Loralai exchanges. BUT hated the fact that Rory never mentioned Luke when discussing Loralai's sudden marriage. She said she knew Loralai and Chris loved each other (like Luke never existed). Also hated the fact that Loralai never told Rory that she saw Luke in the hospital. I don't think this is the way it would go in real life - that was a big deal
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11-22-2006 @ 9:33AM
SamMalone said...
"and she felt no compunction with picking up the phone and answering (she saw his phone number on the caller ID, I'd presume)."
We don't know for sure. She was also desperately wanting to get a call back from Rory, and she answered that phone pretty quickly.
Either way I was glad to see Luke back to being a part of the story, and not just some tacked-on plot.
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11-22-2006 @ 10:59AM
e said...
Yeah, Tim, when I saw the clip from "Philadelphia Story", I wondered if Luke sees himself as C.K. Dexter Haven. I could see the similarities, except Lorelai is now married so it's too little too late.
Or is it?
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11-22-2006 @ 1:36PM
Karen said...
Me, I thought Logan was right when he turned on Rory. By attacking the people at that party she *was* attacking him, and there's no other way to spin that. It would be one thing to snark on Mr. Tortola in the privacy of your own home; to publish that snark can only serve to portray Logan (it was his party) in the same light.
And, quite frankly, I found myself thinking the same things as he said: yes, Rory's early days were rough, although she and her mother found safe harbor at the Inn before Emily and Richard came along to pay for Rory to go to an elite prep school, and to pay for Yale as well, until Christopher came along to do so, guaranteeing her an Ivy League education without a dollar of student loan debt. She comes from heavy money on both sides of her family. She may have been raised with different values, due to Lorelai's influence, but she is still absolutely one of these people. As is the man she claims to love, which had to have hurt him deeply.
Rory often likes to pretend she's a poor little outsider, when she's as deeply connected as any of the people we've seen on this show.
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11-22-2006 @ 2:46PM
La-di-dah said...
Maybe I am respecting Luke more because we finally (albeit suddenly) see him growing out of his loner-phase (although I thought that made him special) to having to take care of somebody else and maybe that will make him ready for a relationship, but I definitely am respecting Lorelai less and less for pulling this Chris stunt. To me, it is a dumb plot device on the part of whoever is in charge of this show. I used to not be able to miss a single episode of GG, and now, I watch here and there to see when they are going to return to sanity, smart and sassy. I hope soon.
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11-22-2006 @ 4:05PM
Emma said...
Ok, so three main things anoyed me with this episode.
1. The whole Luke - April thing. Seriously after less than a year of them knowing each other, she is already calling him dad. I just think it's strange. Plus its stranger that Luke dosn't MIID. PLus the whole calling her sweety every 3 seconds is really starting to grate my neves!
2. What was with Luke just calling Lorilie out of the blue like that. Even weirder, she acted as if the past 6 months hadn't happened. I mean, there was no "Oh luke is calling me after he made it clear he chose April over me. How dare he. I feel totally used". It was just, "Oh hi luke, Aprils ill. Too bad, try taking her to the hospital, I'll meet you there". In my opnion, after something like that, there would at least be a little uncofertableness (if thats a word). At least when luke saw the wedding ring there was some attempt at acting there.
3. Rory and Logan. I think Rory should have left the artical. So what if it slagged off his so called friends. I remember a time just last season when he was complaning after Rory told him he had all these door open for him (episode 608. He said, "What doors?!? All I see is one door and I'm Being forced through it!". So now all of a sudden he enjoys being the trust fund kid? What is with that?Plus the make up thing was unrealisitc.
Random thought: Since when did Paris become the 3 second argument segment at the paper - which is she's even fortunate enough to appear in an episode at all.
On the whole, not the best episode to date. Please could someone ask the writers to at least LOOK at the older episodes so thay at least no what the story is all about.
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11-28-2006 @ 4:06PM
Leeanna said...
Okay. I think I'm the only person who likes Chris and Lor together. Luke blew it! Period. He acted so stupid last season and what we should take a blind eye to it. He wasted the women time. He is a grown man and at his age if he can't handle a relationship its just sad. Chris and Lor have way more in common and they work off each other much better. Luke is BORING! They should just find another love interest for him. And yes i do think the Chris and Lor thing happen fast but I always liked them together.
I do agree with the above comment that Rory needs to wake up and smell the coffee. The girl comes from money. She had a good education that somebody else was paying for and she's talking about connections . . . . the only reason she got a chance to make that article is because she went to a dinner with her rich boyfriend who made the introduction. And Logan was right to mention she does not even pay rent. The girl has had it made since she was about sixteen. And now that Daddy's rich she will just fine in her upcoming years.
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11-25-2006 @ 3:03AM
Stevie said...
every single detail about the show just seems forced all the time. luke & april? forced. chris & lor? forced. rory & logan? lane & zack? and mrs. kim? all of these people seem like strangers pretending to care about each other.
and i think it's a mistake to keep throwing in clips from brilliant films like TPS; the contrast really highlights the crappiness of this show.
why do i keep watching and complaining every week? a question for a really good analyst, which i'm afraid i don't have.
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11-25-2006 @ 10:41AM
courtney said...
My god, Rosenthal has truly sucked all the charm out of this show. Besides the ridciulous Chris and Lorelai nonsense, there isn't one bit of dialogue that zings any longer. What a sad ending to a once great show.
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11-26-2006 @ 8:09PM
bluekidcory said...
I've really noticed the lack of Gilmorisms lately too and I just wonder, why couldn't they leave the show in better hands? Character plots are slowly dying and so is the excitement. I hatr admitting this since I've been obsessed with this show from day one, but GG isn't in my number one spot anymore.
TOODLES
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12-01-2006 @ 8:00AM
Lisa said...
This is the worst season ever. After watching all this time, waiting for Luke and Loralie to get together,evem watching reruns just to see Luke and Lor together,it really sucks that she turns around and marries Chris.What Chris and Lor had was a child together 22 years ago. This is no bases to get married. Luke was there for Rory from the beginning showing how much he cares.I'm losing interest with the show because I've been a faithful viewer for to long to watch Lor end up with Chris. There has to be some way to get Luke and Lor back together again. Maybe Sherrie and Chris could have an affair and think it's best he be with his impressionable daughter's mother. Just get Luke and Lor back together and maybe Rory won't seemed screwed up and off balance with her character. I want Rory to want Luke and Lor back together again. I'm hoping this will happen before I lose all interest in watching.Instead of the show being a grabber that leaves you wanting more it just makes you wonder why you just waisted that hour.Just something to think about.
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12-16-2006 @ 2:05PM
Rebecca said...
I have been watching Gilmore Girls for years, and I am getting a little annoyed this season. Not because Lorelai and Chris got together, but because they are making it annoying. I mean it was pretty much a given from the beginning that she would end up with either Luke or Chris, but for godsakes pick one! And I know most people think her and Luke were a given and Chris is now kinda of a random thing, but if you look back at her bachlorette party when she was about to marry Max, she called Chris. So I saw equal oppurtunity for either guy. But at this point I'm about to pull my hair out. She's annoying with Luke because she won't tell him her feelings about the wedding, and she's annoying with Chris because him and her are like children together. To quick to get mad and sometimes to quick to forget. I just need her to pick someone and for it to work for more than 5 min. without a break up. btw I love that Lane is having twins. I think its cute, a little unexpected but nice.
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