[7.6/10] It feels like the show has its voice back. That’s pretty premature to declare three episodes into a new season, but this episode felt like the start of something new, while at the same time recapturing the old.
That’s sort of what Lorelai is doing, as she seems to be embarking on a relationship with Christopher. But more than recapturing the old, Lorelai is reevaluating it. The cold open here is delightful, because it has some great Lorelai-Rory banter, the amusingness of Lorelai cracking jokes, about the little ten-year-old munchkin Emily is training up for cotillion, and another of the show’s classic dinner scenes. But the most important outgrowth of it is the way Lorelai realizes she craves her parents’ disapproval in some way, or that, if nothing else, it affects her.
So over a pop-tart tasting fit, Lorelai starts to wonder if she’s been evaluating things all wrong, if she only gravitated toward certain things because her parents hated them, or kept herself closed off from certain experiences because it’s what her parents expected and/or demanded of her.
That doesn’t necessarily hold up to scrutiny if you stop and think about. There’s plenty of instances in which Lorelai’s likes have seemed genuine or she and her parents have been on the same page about this or that. Still, it makes sense that Lorelai would be in a period of questioning, and start to wonder whether the things she favors or disfavors, that she tries or eschews, reflect her true feeling or are, instead, adulterated by the folks who used to be the ah-dults telling her what to do until she suddenly found herself pregnant and out of their control.
At least now she can give some advice to Lane on what that’s like. The new pregnant young lady on Gilmore GIrls is struggling to tell her new husband about their impending bundle of joy. Only for Lane, it isn’t a bundle of joy, as she’s freaking out after reading details in baby books and more. But when she tells Zach, he seems shell shocked but otherwise disinterested.
And because Zach is an ass, he basically pretends she didn’t say anything after she tells him about the pregnancy. The best face you can put on it is that Zach is freaked out, and doesn’t want to be negative about it around Lane so is trying to keep things business as usual. But it’s really insulting to have him just avoiding the issue and acting as though his wife isn’t pregnant, until she has to drag his genuine reaction out of him. Their shared commiseration over being freaked out is cute, but it’s yet another instance of Zach being the worst husband and partner ever.
Rory, on the other hand, is in no danger of getting pregnant, since she and Logan continue to be long distance, and she’s feeling the impact of the lack of intimacy. After an unbidden (and very open) tip from Paris (who is hilarious as a Princeton Review taskmaster), she tries sending out some sexy text messages. Naturally, she researches the hell out of this (leading to some fun “you’ll eat his comb?” exchanges from Lane), and freaks out when a technical snafu means she’s not sure if he received it or not, but the results work. A late night phone call between her and Logan where they resolve to send more messages is very cute and charming, and shows that something unfamiliar and a little uncomfortable for Rory can give her something she needs.
That’s what Lorelai’s hoping for too. “Lorelai’s First Cotillion” gives its title character a dueling set of mini-mes. One is a proper young lady, embracing the finery and manners her family is trying to instill, and seeming to have a lovely time throughout it. And another is a rebellious little girl who makes trouble and clearly bristles at being forced to do all of this. The implication is that Lorelai walked down one path without ever really considering whether it was what she wanted, or whether the hoity toity path could have had some charms worth hanging onto (as her fun dance with Michel suggests it might be).
So after Lorelai receives a plea from Chris, she considers giving him another try too. It’s a good look from Chris, one where he’s honest about his feelings but not pushy, frank but leaving the ball in her court, and it pays off. Maybe, Lorelai seems to be thinking, Chris is one of those things that her parents tried to inflict on her -- demanding that she marry him, scheming to push Luke away and slot Chris in -- to the point that she didn’t consider whether she might enjoy being with him regardless of what Richard and Emily think.
Now again, this doesn’t stand up to much scrutiny. For one thing, we already had a whole, misguided season-length storyline with Lorelai pining after Chris, regardless of what her parents thought, so it’s not like she hasn’t considered this before. Plus, her reasons for pushing Chris away have rarely felt tied to Richard and Emily’s influence, with the most significant being that he needed to grow up and be reliable before she could have him be that sort of presence in her life.
Still, there’s one county heard from that may be echoing around in her head -- Luke’s. It’s Luke who suggests, in a resigned but accepting fashion, that Lorelai is meant to be with someone like Chris, someone who’s been in the world that Lorelai’s from, not with someone like Luke who doesn’t fit in there.
I don’t buy that. I don’t think the show expects the audience to buy it. But it makes sense, particularly now where Chris has gotten his act together and Lorelai is lonely and in a place where she has little to lose romantically, that Lorelai would at least give this thing a try. Maybe Chris is that dance on the cotillion dance floor she always turned her nose up at, because her parents expected it of her, but one she’d actually enjoy if she tried it.
I’m not holding my breath, or rooting for Lorelai and Chris as a couple, but it’s an interesting theme to build an episode around, particularly one likes this where the dialogue, humor, and character moments are all built so well.
“This is it for me. You’re it for me.” Perfect timing, after all these years... I was always rooting for them but now they’re mature enough to give this a serious try
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2018-01-15T01:52:14Z
[7.6/10] It feels like the show has its voice back. That’s pretty premature to declare three episodes into a new season, but this episode felt like the start of something new, while at the same time recapturing the old.
That’s sort of what Lorelai is doing, as she seems to be embarking on a relationship with Christopher. But more than recapturing the old, Lorelai is reevaluating it. The cold open here is delightful, because it has some great Lorelai-Rory banter, the amusingness of Lorelai cracking jokes, about the little ten-year-old munchkin Emily is training up for cotillion, and another of the show’s classic dinner scenes. But the most important outgrowth of it is the way Lorelai realizes she craves her parents’ disapproval in some way, or that, if nothing else, it affects her.
So over a pop-tart tasting fit, Lorelai starts to wonder if she’s been evaluating things all wrong, if she only gravitated toward certain things because her parents hated them, or kept herself closed off from certain experiences because it’s what her parents expected and/or demanded of her.
That doesn’t necessarily hold up to scrutiny if you stop and think about. There’s plenty of instances in which Lorelai’s likes have seemed genuine or she and her parents have been on the same page about this or that. Still, it makes sense that Lorelai would be in a period of questioning, and start to wonder whether the things she favors or disfavors, that she tries or eschews, reflect her true feeling or are, instead, adulterated by the folks who used to be the ah-dults telling her what to do until she suddenly found herself pregnant and out of their control.
At least now she can give some advice to Lane on what that’s like. The new pregnant young lady on Gilmore GIrls is struggling to tell her new husband about their impending bundle of joy. Only for Lane, it isn’t a bundle of joy, as she’s freaking out after reading details in baby books and more. But when she tells Zach, he seems shell shocked but otherwise disinterested.
And because Zach is an ass, he basically pretends she didn’t say anything after she tells him about the pregnancy. The best face you can put on it is that Zach is freaked out, and doesn’t want to be negative about it around Lane so is trying to keep things business as usual. But it’s really insulting to have him just avoiding the issue and acting as though his wife isn’t pregnant, until she has to drag his genuine reaction out of him. Their shared commiseration over being freaked out is cute, but it’s yet another instance of Zach being the worst husband and partner ever.
Rory, on the other hand, is in no danger of getting pregnant, since she and Logan continue to be long distance, and she’s feeling the impact of the lack of intimacy. After an unbidden (and very open) tip from Paris (who is hilarious as a Princeton Review taskmaster), she tries sending out some sexy text messages. Naturally, she researches the hell out of this (leading to some fun “you’ll eat his comb?” exchanges from Lane), and freaks out when a technical snafu means she’s not sure if he received it or not, but the results work. A late night phone call between her and Logan where they resolve to send more messages is very cute and charming, and shows that something unfamiliar and a little uncomfortable for Rory can give her something she needs.
That’s what Lorelai’s hoping for too. “Lorelai’s First Cotillion” gives its title character a dueling set of mini-mes. One is a proper young lady, embracing the finery and manners her family is trying to instill, and seeming to have a lovely time throughout it. And another is a rebellious little girl who makes trouble and clearly bristles at being forced to do all of this. The implication is that Lorelai walked down one path without ever really considering whether it was what she wanted, or whether the hoity toity path could have had some charms worth hanging onto (as her fun dance with Michel suggests it might be).
So after Lorelai receives a plea from Chris, she considers giving him another try too. It’s a good look from Chris, one where he’s honest about his feelings but not pushy, frank but leaving the ball in her court, and it pays off. Maybe, Lorelai seems to be thinking, Chris is one of those things that her parents tried to inflict on her -- demanding that she marry him, scheming to push Luke away and slot Chris in -- to the point that she didn’t consider whether she might enjoy being with him regardless of what Richard and Emily think.
Now again, this doesn’t stand up to much scrutiny. For one thing, we already had a whole, misguided season-length storyline with Lorelai pining after Chris, regardless of what her parents thought, so it’s not like she hasn’t considered this before. Plus, her reasons for pushing Chris away have rarely felt tied to Richard and Emily’s influence, with the most significant being that he needed to grow up and be reliable before she could have him be that sort of presence in her life.
Still, there’s one county heard from that may be echoing around in her head -- Luke’s. It’s Luke who suggests, in a resigned but accepting fashion, that Lorelai is meant to be with someone like Chris, someone who’s been in the world that Lorelai’s from, not with someone like Luke who doesn’t fit in there.
I don’t buy that. I don’t think the show expects the audience to buy it. But it makes sense, particularly now where Chris has gotten his act together and Lorelai is lonely and in a place where she has little to lose romantically, that Lorelai would at least give this thing a try. Maybe Chris is that dance on the cotillion dance floor she always turned her nose up at, because her parents expected it of her, but one she’d actually enjoy if she tried it.
I’m not holding my breath, or rooting for Lorelai and Chris as a couple, but it’s an interesting theme to build an episode around, particularly one likes this where the dialogue, humor, and character moments are all built so well.