Summer is apparently the time when the problems of Gilmores really show their faces sans make-up or moisturizer and demand to be addressed. Too much sun really does make people crazy.
Tensions are so high in Luke and Lorelai's relationship that it kind of hurt to watch that family dinner without cringing. With not that much revival left I really hope that Lorelai finds some happiness or peace or herself. She admitted to herself and her therapist that it should have always been Luke, but will it be enough for her knowing that she is with the right guy? Especially with her BFF off in the woods or something and Michel leaving The Dragonfly to manage The W and Rory being grown and (theoretically) independent. Luke and their life together needs to be a safe place for her to really feel stable and comfortable and at home. Luke still keeping Lorelai an arms length from April and snapping at her for trying to talk about her or even offering to help is understandably unsettling. 'She's mine. I'll handle it' doesn't sound like the words of a partner. And things get even more confusing when we find out later that he blames her for the distinctions of mine and yours as he is just following her rules.
At least Lorelai and April are allowed to interact now. They even drink wine together and chat about German cinema and pot legalization over dinner. Baby steps, I guess. Of course, the reigning Lorelai isn't really known for being content with taking things slow. She likes to break down doors and smash through walls or run around diners screaming until she's heard. I was as shocked and confused as Luke at her revelation the she is going to do Wild given her open disdain for all things outdoorsy, but I very much see how a woman that was forced to abandon all selfish emotional exploration at 16 would be anxious to have a personal growth moment. It might be too much to ask that Luke will jump on the supportive train, at least pretend to be understanding and show her how to boil her drinking water, but I'm still hoping for it. I'm also hoping that the pair will learn how to communicate before blowing up, because they both deserve that.
Why was the musical advisory committee meeting so long? In the past, we've only seen glimpses of town productions while the story happened around them and it was always plenty. Was it all one big metaphor for how out of sync Lorelai is with the life she is living? In the past, she would have loved the terrible songs and Hamilton rip-offs. She would have poked fun at it all in a corner somewhere but loved it none-the-less. Or was it filler? Maybe both? I found myself fast-forwarding through it on the second watch, because once was more than enough. The extra song mirroring Lorelai's life that ended with the spotlight centered on her was beautiful enough to make up for whatever rubbed me wrong with having to sit through the rest of it, though. If someone had told me that Lauren Graham's facial acting would be even better this many moons later, I don't know if I could have believed it. The girl emotes like it's a superpower.
Rory is back in the hollow. No matter how many times she denies it. It doesn't bode well that Rory thinks just being there qualifies her to run the newspaper. I'm starting to understand why she hasn't made the big splash in journalism that she expected. Not that I can't relate, because wow, if this wasn't taken straight from my life. She put the same effort into asking for the gazette that she did into her interview with the online Sandy magazine that she didn't really want. She keeps expecting people to just give her opportunities to shine instead of putting in the work and really selling herself. Rory might need to stop by Luke's during her next paper run for some humble pie. Just in the span of her first edition, she got rid of the town's beloved poem and had to put it back to appease the upset masses. She thought that Doyle should hold her 'grammatical stylings' in higher regard than the guy who actually pays him. And she took a job without negotiating a salary. Girl, get it together. If you don't believe your work and time are valuable, you can't really expect that anyone else will, either.
Emily is sleeping until noon. The world really might be ending, y'all. I am actually looking forward to Queen Emily throwing
And finally, the big kahuna. The book idea to save Rory's career and reignite her passions. It gave me a little giggle that even when Jess is filling the role of sage advice-giver for Rory, he's still giving Lorelai trouble. And I have to admit that I did not see Lorelai getting upset about it but if there is one thing the Gilmores have in common, it's pride and it's the one thing Lorelai doesn't want to sacrifice for her 32 year old daughter (again). Watching these two lash out at each other always cuts the deepest because as Rory points out, that isn't what they do. Kudos to Rory for not accepting her mom's passive aggressive okay, but she loses points for trying to talk her into something that was clearly upsetting her.
Like I said, I hate when the dynamic duo fight, and this installment gave me Rory moving into the pool house flashbacks.
2 or 3 out of 4 floaty huts?
I'm leaning towards 2. I haven't watch Fall yet, but I think this was my least favorite so far and Summer is usually my favorite.
Copper booms
Has poor, hated April Nardini gotten even weirder with age?
Lorelai had a copy of Wild with her at the pool.
I hated the pool scenes. How they got those kids to wait on them must be a joke that I don't understand and stop shaming Pat and his speedo. Live and let live, ladies. The only part that made sense was them hating it. Some people just aren't pool people.
Michel giving his notice at the secret bar got me a little emotional. Actually that whole scene between them was heavy. From him begging her to add a spa that he could manage to her offering up an even bigger chunk of her salary to keep him around.
Should we take bets on how long it is until Rory starts organizing outings for the thirty-something gang?
I used to be team Logan, now I think I'm switching to team Paul or Peter or whatever. Or possibly the wookiee from Spring.
Rory likes Game of Thrones. She has her miniature boy servant at the pool call her Khaleesi and she calls Nat, the co-creator of the musical, a white walker.
I bet Lorelai eventually allows Rory to write her story. And Doyle can turn it into a screenplay and then it'll get picked up by the fictional WB.
Luke: "When did you punch a hole in your face?"
April: "Read the constitution. I'm 22, I get to adorn my body as I see fit."
April: "It's MIT. Noam Chomsky walks the halls. I met him. Chatted with him, laughed with him. He's my idol."
Lorelai: "Well, to Noam is to love him."
Babette: "Name's Kevin, huh? Nice, but I think I'll call you... tomorrow."
Lorelai: "Babette, no."
Babette: "What a clam jam."
I died laughing at this.
Michel: "Lorelai, did you know that I just celebrated a birthday?"
Lorelai: "Of course I did."
Michel: "It was a big one. A milestone."
Lorelai: "You're 50??"
Michel: "I'm not 50."
Lorelai: "You're not 40."
Michel: "I'm not 50."
Lorelai: "Michel, you weren't 17 when we met."
Michel: "This is the problem with knowing people too long. They can back date you."
Babette: "Tevya, move over. There's a new Jew in town."
Rory: "I don’t want to say you’ve been filing that same piece of paper for a long time, but when you started, Nora Ephron felt good about her neck."
Taylor: "Oh, so because Hamilton has rap numbers, no one else in the world can rap? You will be so kind to let RZA and Busta Rhymes know that they're not allowed to rap anymore?"
Gypsy: "How does he know those names?"
Lorelai: "I ain’t saying he’s a gold digger."
and a little later
Lorelai: "I ain’t saying you're a gold digger."
Rory: "That’s not how you and I work. We don’t do the passive-aggressive thing. That’s how you and your mother work. You’re supposed to be on my side."
Lorelai: "I went through this effort for many, many years making sure people only knew what I wanted them to know. Now you’re going to lay it all out in a book?"
Rory: "So that’s it. We’re breaking up. Except we can’t break up, because we’re nothing."
Lorelai: "It's never or now."
 |
| It's never or now, girls. We're almost out of seasons. |
I miss Bunheads, I really liked it and was sad when it was canceled. Sorry, that's all I got. Oh, the running around delivering the newspapers was funny.
ReplyDeleteThe musical was so uncomfortably hilarious. The new number at the end, and Lorelai's face as she was listening to it, made me cry.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely loved the Secret Bar, too. Only in Stars Hollow.
While the song at the end was pretty, and I loved Lorelei's facial expressions, I kept thinking, "They are wasting precious Gilmore Girls time on this?" I wonder if the episode ran short and they added more of the musical to make up for it. It would have been better if the participants were regular cast members, but mostly it felt pretty pointless.
ReplyDeleteThe secret bar was awesome! I live in a dry town that has a bit of a Stars Hollow feel (a bit more preppy than zany, though), and there was much outrage when a local restaurant found a loophole that would allow them to serve a limited amount of beer with dinner.
Katie, I grew up in a dry town, too. It was an island, and there were bars and liquor stores on the other side of all three bridges off the island. My boyfriend used to get beer from the VFW.
ReplyDeleteMy home town was, unfortunately, not anywhere near as charming as Stars Hollow.
If someone had told me that Lauren Graham's facial acting would be even better this many moons later, I don't know if I could have believed it. The girl emotes like it's a superpower.
ReplyDeleteYes.