Tag Archives: Gilmore Girls

Movie Team-Up: ‘Lady Bird’ and the Teen TV Legacy

1 Mar

Almost six years ago I was paired up with a writer I knew from Twitter to talk Teen TV over at This Was TV. We started with Angela Chase and ended with Rory Gilmore. Now I am back with YA author Julie Hammerle to discuss the latest teen girl sensation; Lady Bird. This is the first time we have deep dived into a movie, but even with the much shorter run time there is a lot to unpack. And a lot to talk about in relation to those previous shows. Join us as we get into the relationships, our own experiences, why the early ’00s were bad for fashion and who Lady Bird would hang out with from those other shows. Emma: One reason I really wanted to talk to you about Lady Bird in our format reserved for the best in 90s/00s teen TV is because this film feels so perfectly suited to the shows we have discussed in the past—My So-Called Life, Freaks and Geeks, Felicity and Gilmore Girls. Obviously we spend at lot less time with Lady Bird than Angela, Lindsay, Felicity and Rory, but even in that short time I think we find out so much about the complex life of this character and the world she inhabits. This is a testament both to Greta Gerwig’s writing/directing and Saoirse Ronan’s performance.

Now a quick bit of background in terms of my high anticipation levels for this film. This was the film I have been long been waiting to see, before it started getting all the awards love. I am a self-proclaimed Greta Gerwig stan. Frances Ha was my favorite film of 2013 and it impacted me on a deeply personal level. I love Mistress America and Twentieth Century Women. Knowing that this was Greta’s first solo writing project and that she was directing only made me want to see it more. Plus Saoirse Ronan is good everything, so that was another bonus. Then it started winning things and my envy at everyone that had seen it grew.

I had that worry that I had maybe over hyped the film and I would end up disappointed. This was not the case and it managed to not only live up to, but surpass those expectations.

Coming-of-age films are completely in my wheelhouse, one that centers on a teen girl even more so. Lady Bird is set in 2002, which was the year after I graduated high school so there is a lot about her experiences that felt very personal right down to the very bad jeans we all wore then. We’ve talked a lot about the transition between high school and college on here, but most of the shows we talked about dealt with one or the other, Gilmore Girls being the only one that did both. And before we get into plot specifics I want to ask you about your experience watching this film, did you have high expectations?Julie: I’m on the exact opposite end of the Greta Gerwig spectrum from you. I honestly haven’t seen much of anything she’s done/has been in. No Frances Ha, no Mistress America, no Twentieth Century Woman. I hadn’t been actively avoiding them; I just missed them. Absent any first-hand knowledge of Gerwig’s work, but also kind of knowing that she was a bit of an internet darling, I had CONCERNS that I wouldn’t like this movie. My husband told me he thought it’d be my favorite movie of the year, but I worried it’d be too precious, too “indie” for me, too “Hollywood’s idea of what it means to be a teen girl.”

It was none of those things. I loved Lady Bird.

I know we’ll get into this as we go along, but this film felt so authentic. (Other than Lady Bird’s obsession with Dave Matthew’s Band, which felt a little anachronistic to me–DMB would’ve been big with people who graduated high school when I did in 1997. By 2002, I feel like everyone had moved on to Ryan Adams or David Grey, Sad Bastard Music-wise. Maybe I’m wrong, though.)

Anyway, this movie exceeded my expectations, and totally fits into our series on high school/college women. How does Lady Bird fit with in Felicity, Rory, and the like? Who would she have been friends with?Emma: Wow! We really are coming at this film from different angles, much like our other teen TV convos when only one of us had seen the show during its original run.

And with regards to DMB, I remember seeing Greta on one of the late night shows talking about this song and “Cry Me a River” being super important to her when she was in high school (she’s a year younger than me), so I guess he was still a thing in 2002 for teens. DMB never really did much this side of the pond and most of my knowledge comes from Mouse Rat on Parks and Rec. This song (which I don’t think I had heard before) felt like the ideal song to cry with your BFF to. And for how awful JT is, that album and particularly that track are so, so good. The first time I heard it was at a party. I did not hook up with a douche that lied about his virginity though.

Lady Bird is completely her own character of course, but there are elements that made me think of Angela, Felicity et al. There’s the dyed hair, liking the band douche (he reads!), falling out with a bestie to hang with the cool crowd, wanting something more. And really these are part of the teen experience. I have done all of these. Again this is part of the reason why this movie resonated.

Someone on Twitter mentioned how they thought Lady Bird was in the same universe as Felicity (brb gonna write some fanfic) and if their paths crossed at NYU (or the University of New York in the Felicity-verse) I could definitely see them hanging out. Felicity is more straight laced than Lady Bird, but she does have her more adventurous side. If only Lady Bird had moved in during season 3 and not British Molly. I thought I had erased that arc. I had not.

What Gerwig captures in the writing and Saoirse Ronan in her performance is the wild swings between seemingly endless confidence and feeling like you’re incredibly worthless. Something still experienced as an adult, but adolescence magnifies these things. At times Lady Bird looks like she could take on the world, but then her first love turns out to be a lie (Danny obviously cares about her, but not in that way) and she’s also embarrassed about where she comes from. And she doesn’t entirely fit in with one specific high school group trope. She’s a theatre kid for a bit, she tries hanging with the band, but she falls between the nerdy and the cool characters. And I think this is how a lot of groups are at school rather than the neat classification. The relationship with Julie is the anchor to the movie and the focus on female friendships is a theme that runs throughout Gerwig’s writing, this is far more important than either boy. What did you make of this portrayal?

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Julie: Are you talking about “Crash Into Me,” as the DMB song? That was a big one around these parts, but I’m thinking sophomore year of college, which probably would’ve been Greta’s freshman or so year of high school, so I guess it all checks out.

(Actually, fact check, “Crash Into Me” was on their 1996 album. I was definitely in high school. So, what do I know? Also, that song is a great “sob with your BFF” song, no doubt. I remember it being a big thing here because it’s a pretty love song, but its lyrics are also kind of dirty in a way that made us all feel grown up to be singing them.)

I will not abide any positive JT talk.

I want to live in a new universe were Felicity met Lady Bird (CHRISTINE) in college instead of that British Molly! I think the big difference for me between Felicity and Lady Bird is that Felicity went to college thinking she had it all figured out. She was going to be pre-med and she was going to make love happen with Ben. Then…things fell apart. Lady Bird/Christine showed up in New York a hot mess. She’d been a hot mess for most of high school, while Felicity was the perfect kid. In a lot of ways, Christine is poised to handle college better than Felicity was. She’s done more. Her parents have very low expectations for her, ha-ha.

Julie was the best. I actually want to see a movie all about her. We obviously share a name, but I just felt so hard for her. I was the overweight girl watching my friends kiss boys. I was the one with the unrequited loves and the out-of-reach crushes. (And I was the one who got good grades and knew I loved theater/music.) And, like you said, groups in high school are never just the “theater kids” or the “swimmers.” There’s a lot of overlap. Friends have varying interests. I liked how this movie portrayed that.

Also, I went to Catholic high school and spent my freshman year at an all-girls’ school. I loved how right this movie got Catholic school. We were friends with the nuns and joked around with them. We wore uniforms (my freshman year), but people did manage to individualize their looks. You could tell who was cool by their Birks and wool socks. We were so classy in 1994. And we were always trying creatively to meet boys–on the bus, at basketball games, through friends. What did you make of Lady Bird’s school life?

Emma: I am talking “Crash Into Me.” And here is Greta talking 2002 and music on Seth. It includes the letters she wrote to Alanis Morissette, Dave Matthews and JT. Did I already mention how much I love her? Because I love her.

And you are so right, Lady Bird (and yes Christine by this point) and Felicity arrive at very different points in their life and with very different parental expectations. I have a lot more parental thoughts, but first I want to discuss Julie because I would also watch a movie called Julie. Their friendship feels very lived in and it is a testament to the film how much it hurts when Lady Bird ditches her. It is the kind of teen moment that makes you feel like shit when you think back to when you did this to someone and when it happened to you. It is something we discussed at length with regards to Angela Chase and Lindsay Weir. It is a rite of passage that doesn’t get discussed as much as the other big teen moments (probably because the nostalgic feelings are anything but warm and fuzzy).

Just as important as love interest chemistry is best friend chemistry, Saoirse Ronan and Beanie Feldstein (sister of Jonah Hill) are amazing together. When Lady Bird goes to Julie after hearing “Crash Into Me” it was better than most climatic kiss moments. They dance around the kitchen eating cheese on crackers (sounds like heaven) and get baked together. I like that she keeps her crush to herself because sometimes you don’t even share this stuff with your bestie. And I love that she thrives in theater, whereas Lady Bird is stuck with the chorus and made up roles (“It is the titular role” made me laugh so hard). I was always in the chorus because I got such bad stage fright, but I really like the whole doing the school play thing.

I did not go to Catholic school, but I did wear uniform for the entire time right though sixth form (senior year). A tie and everything. I never wore my tie properly, for a brief period I wore it as a stumpy length, we’d pull the threads out, put pin badges on it and I wore the thin side for my last two years. And when I could I would wear sneakers and not my proper leather shoes. Such a rebel, ha. My husband did go to Catholic school and he found all of that to be both very funny and also accurate.

The parts that really rang true include falling for the guy in the band. The guy that likes to read and has ‘progressive’ ideas about cigarettes and phones. I have definitely heard both of those conversations a lot. I smoked roll ups so I’m pretty sure I spouted some of those points about fiberglass. It is good to be able to identify the pretentious things we thought made us so superior and acknowledge how eye roll inducing they are now. What did you make of the boys Lady Bird fell for? Have you seen Call My By Your Name? Timothée Chalamet manages to play two very different sides of the precocious coin.

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Julie: I recently went through a whole bunch of stuff from high school and found some notes from friends, basically calling me out for being a dick. I don’t think their words hit me as hard then as they did when I reread them as an adult. Though, I was going through my own stuff at the time, and my friends hadn’t been very understanding of that either. When you get to adulthood, you (for the most part) know who you are, things don’t change very quickly. But in high school, relationships, self-discovery, all of it moves so fast. We all think we’re in the center of things, even though we’re not. And as much screen time is given to romantic relationships on TV and in film, friendships are truly what high school is all about. Toxic ones lead you to make poor choices. True blue ones (like Lady Bird and Julie) can bring out the best in you.

I loved how this movie explored Lady Bird with Julie and Lady Bird with the other girl (what’s her name?). It was kind of like Lady Bird having a Sliding Doors moment. Her life was one way with Julie, and something totally different with the other girl. In high school, people buddy up pretty quickly. By the end of freshman year, your place in the hierarchy is pretty much set. But Lady Bird tested that in this movie. She got to see what life was like on the other side, and…it wasn’t that great.

Timothée Chalamet is a delight. He’s the best worst kind of guy in this film, and he totally said she’d be his first time, too, right? John and I argued over that point. I definitely heard what Lady Bird did. I did see Call Me By Your Name, and he has such an interesting way of using his body–so gangly and awkward but smooth. This guy is going places, but we all knew that already.

He was totally the guy I would’ve been too scared to crush on in high school. He was way too edgy for me! I would’ve been chasing the gay dude or crushing on the teacher, like Julie.

Would you have fallen for the band dude?

Emma: One other thing I want to mention about the school scenes before moving on to boys in the band is the moment that gets Lady Bird suspended. We also had someone that was pro life speak to our class, but there was also a doctor present and suffice to say that no one was afraid of letting their opinions be heard. Not that any minds were changed, but imagine 20 precocious liberal 17/18 year olds presented with someone telling us abortion is a sin and yep we were all Lady Bird in this moment.

So boys in the band. I both dated and crushed hard on this kinda guy both at high school and university. My first proper boyfriend (relationship lasted 3 months) was the drummer in a local band; a lot of my long (and short) crushes were on lead guitarist, bassists and singers. Someone of these guys I am still very good friends with. So I definitely get the Kyle thing. And they all had great hair and liked to read. I am that teen cliché.

And Kyle definitely said “me too” when Lady Bird mentioned she was a virgin. Although considering how quick he was in the bedroom, I do wonder if he was lying about how experienced he was. Also the nosebleed link between Lady Bird and CMBYN. You’re right about how Chalamet moves. One thing that stood out to me clothing wise in CMBYN is now his Levi’s shorts hang off his waist. That he keeps hoiking them up.

I saw a tweet comparing Kyle to Jess from Gilmore Girls, which I get because the reading and the smoldering, but Kyle is way cooler. But at least Lady Bird sees through his shit immediately. Score 1 for Christine over Rory.

What did you make about the Danny relationship? Were you as devastated as I was when he broke down sobbing into her arms?Julie: That abortion speaker took me right back to high school. I remember being a freshman and being persuaded to the pro-life side of things for a brief period during that time. So young and impressionable! I would’ve been the one tsking Lady Bird. I was trying to remember if I remembered anyone getting suspended in high school, and I *think* one of my good friends was, but I don’t remember what she did. Cutting class? I never got so much as a JUG (Justice Under God), AKA detention. I nearly got one senior year for my skirt being too short, but I ducked into a bathroom before the teacher could catch me.

Kyle would definitely not have been my crush in high school. He would have been way too cool for me, and I would’ve known it. Also he’s much too skinny for my taste. I see the Jess comparison, but I have “concerns” about Kyle growing up to be the good guy Jess grew up to be. I see many years of douche in his future.

Danny would’ve been way more my speed, for sure. MY first “official” boyfriend was a theatre nerd. He wasn’t gay, though, and I was the one who ended up being a dick to him, but that’s a story for another day. I loved the moment where Danny opened up to her. It was my second favorite “understanding straight(ish) person shows great compassion” moment after Michael Stuhlbarg’s amazing speech at the end of CMBYN.

(Wow these movies have a lot of parallels. I guess they’re both coming of age movies, so that makes sense!)Emma: Most of the band guys were also theatre guys so they were part Kyle, part Danny. The douche levels were not high, well with the exception of a few. I crushed hard on one of the guys in the year (grade) above, but ended up going out with his friend because I am terrible. I also treated him badly. I ignored him to the point of him breaking up with me. Ghosting before ghosting. And part of the reason I signed up to do the school play was this crush. But also because I really enjoyed doing them. The crush was just a bonus.

The going into the men’s bathroom when the queue for the women’s is so long is definitely something we would do a lot at uni. Luckily I never caught my boyfriend cheating. This moment is so painful for both Lady Bird and Danny, because he definitely cares about her. Just not like that. The red flags went up when he said he didn’t want to touch her boobs because he respected her too much. And I also loved the scene where he opens up to her. Her anger is understandable, but this deceit was not out of malice.

Danny isn’t the only one that breaks down, there’s also the priest that cries on cue without having to even try. It’s one of those “holy shit my teacher is a real person” moment that is awkward for everyone. This examination of mental health was really subtle I thought. Also heartbreaking. What did you make of this storyline? The coach that replaced him was one of the more overt gags in the film (and reminded me of Mean Girls – why yes I do always mention this film, haha) but I think it worked well against some of the more nuanced jokes.

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Julie: That’s one thing this movie captured really well–how mean we are (intentionally or not) to each other in high school. Those four years bring us some of our most intense first relationships (friendships and romances), and most of us were not equipped with the tools for positive conflict resolution.

The Danny stuff was so painfully real. I had a HUGE crush on one my friends during senior year. (Actually I probably liked him before that, too.) But senior year we were in a bunch of classes together, we hung out all the time. People assumed we were dating. I wrote him a pathetic love letter that he never mentioned to me. Then he started dating a girl (his Lady Bird, I guess). They were a thing for several years before he came out. I suppose I dodged a bullet…?

Same with Danny, I don’t think there was ever any malice intended there. He, and I and everyone, was just trying to figure out who he was. People got hurt in the process, but that’s high school.

The priest was absolutely heartbreaking, and I loved that his story gave us a small glimpse into Lady Bird’s mom’s life, and showed us how little LB probably thought about what her mom was up to day-to-day. As a parent, the mother stuff really got to me–the fact that her mom was basically the person LB blamed for all her problems, and that her mom was really a badass professionally, and surely LB had no idea.

The coach thing was good for a laugh, if kind of an overdone trope. I think Saved By The Bell did something like this, too.Emma: I’m glad we’re on to Lady Bird’s mom, Marion because what a performance by Laurie Metcalf. It’s a shame Allison Janney (who I adore) is dominating the Supporting category because Metcalf crushes it (and me) during this movie. There’s a lot of great moments between the pair, but the dress shopping moments really underscore everything that can be complicated by a mother/daughter relationship. There’s an antagonism with so much love sprinkled in. They fight then switch attention back to the dress shopping mission. But the part that really hits home is the “Do you Iike me?” This love is unconditional and yet Lady Bird needs her mom to reassure her.

The whole home dynamic is an interesting one and I grew up with super rich friends in a house I didn’t always want to invite people back to. Now I know that was dumb and no one gave a shit, but at the time I was embarrassed. When Danny mentions the wrong side of the tracks comment it made me want to curl up under my chair. I was that asshole. We spend so much time comparing ourselves (especially as teens) that it is so easy to not even think about how hard our parents work when there aren’t the fancy things to show for it. And luckily when there were job layoffs at my mum’s work she got a new job pretty quick. Our parents also do a good job of hiding these things from us.

I got strong Patty/Angela vibes from Marion/Christine; it’s far more combative than a Lorelai/Rory. And just like how I came around to Patty on the MSCL rewatch, it is very easy to sympathize with Marion. Especially when they keep the college applications a secret. And I get why Lady Bird didn’t want to tell her mom, but the fact that her dad was in on it. And while I’m on the subject of her dad, Tracy Letts is so wonderful in this part. From the way he gives his son advice about the job interview (that he just tanked) to every scene with his daughter. The compassion, the subtle heartbreak. But don’t lie to your wife dude. Again I love that Danny is the one that drops Lady Bird in it.

And what about the half letters her dad saved for her? I’m feeling teary just thinking about it. What did you make of these complicated relationships?Julie: I just thought of this, but my own daughter has been asking me lately if I like her. I’m not sure what that’s about, but I definitely do! That said, I wonder how much my mom liked me during my teen years. It really comes down to potential for Lady Bird and her mom, and, I’d think, most parents. Is this kid living up to her potential? Isn’t that what we all want for our children?

I also tapped right into the money thing. I went to a private high school in a pretty wealthy suburb, but most of my friends were city kids, like me. My family wasn’t poor by any means, but we couldn’t roll with the big dogs, so to speak. It never bothered me, though, but some of my friends had a hard time–driving crappy cars while everyone else was in brand new white Eddie Bauer Trailblazers. I just thought we were kind of fun and funny in our ancient cars.

OMG the tears at those letters! I have to say, though, I’d kind of love to see a movie/show someday where the dad isn’t held up as a hero by the teen girl while the mom is a harpy. Though I loved Tracy Letts’s performance, and his character was really sweet. Oh, and that scene where the son gets the job over his dad! Plus Lady Bird did need someone in her family who was fully on her side, so I’m glad her dad was there for her, even if he could’ve made better choices.

Also, I’m a big sucker for family dynamics beyond the nuclear, so I LOVED everything happening with Lady Bird’s brother’s girlfriend. I also appreciated that the film felt no need to describe the various relationships or how this family came to be. They were all fully part of the family, with all kinds of baggage.

What else? I’m really excited to rewatch this on Saturday before the Oscars!

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Emma: Yeah I agree with you on the family dynamic stuff and now I’m trying to think of examples where the mother goes easy on the daughter while the dad is the tough one. I am coming up short. That one mention of Marion’s abusive alcoholic mother tells you everything you need to know. Greta Gerwig is very good at revealing so much about a character in such a short amount of words. I’m all about powerful speeches (see Call Me By Your

Name) but there is something to be said about this kind of economy of words.

The family set up and the lack of explicit explanation (beyond one of the letters mentioning about their issues conceiving a child) was wonderful. And it shows how unnecessary that stuff is. I love that Shelly defends Marion to Lady Bird. Pointing out that her mother has a big heart even though to Lady Bird it seems that all she does is criticize. It reveals just how caught up Lady Bird is with her own BS.

One more thing we need to discuss is the costuming. And especially the bad jeans. So many bad jeans. Why were they so baggy and shapeless? Why did we think this was a good look? During Danny’s teary breakdown I couldn’t help but notice the bad jeans. The dress Lady Bird wears to prom is perfect and I definitely had a hair band like the one she has. I miss that hair band. The super tight dress she tries on before settling on the dress is the most early ’00s awful. I loved it.

Also the level of messy in her room gave me flashbacks to the state of my bedroom. And also the pile of clothes I need to sort through in my current adult bedroom. Even after I tidy the clothing explosion will be back within two to three days.

So Lady Bird is up for 5 Oscars, I think it could win one (Original Screenplay), but if you could pick it to win one award out of the five which would it be and why?Julie: I definitely had a similar pair of jeans to the wide-legged ones Lady Bird wears a few times. I thought I looked great in them. Thanks to this movie, I now know differently. That was not a great time for fashion. But, looking back, it never is, right? Not until some designer reimagines it and we’re all like, “YES! Shoulder pads and power suits were a GREAT idea! We were all so smart in 1987!”

I was the biggest slob in high school. One of my friends used to come over and clean my room for me because I disgusted her so. I also had bunch of song lyrics I’d printed out and taped to my door–mostly Indigo Girls and Ani DiFranco.

The husband and I have been debating the Oscars thing. So much is up in the air this year, but I’m feeling them not giving it to Frances McDormand and giving it to Ronan instead. Since there’s been so much time between the last awards show and the Academy Awards, anything could happen–I also wouldn’t be surprised if Janney peaked too early. So I’m saying Lady Bird gets two–both actress awards.

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Emma: I would love to see your Oscar predictions come true! I don’t think this year will be quite as dramatic as the last. But I am very much looking forward to it.

 

Julie Hammerle is the author of The Sound of Us, which will be published by Entangled Teen on June 7, 2016. Before settling down to write “for real,” she studied opera, taught Latin, and held her real estate license for one hot minute. Currently, she writes about TV on her blog Hammervision, ropes people into conversations about Game of Thrones, and makes excuses to avoid the gym. Her favorite YA-centric TV shows include 90210 (original spice), Felicity, and Freaks and Geeks. Her iPod reads like a 1997 Lilith Fair set list. She lives in Chicago with her husband, two kids, and a dog. They named the dog Indiana. Newsletter

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Best of TV Costuming 2016: Work in Other Places

22 Dec

So 2016 has been bit of an emotional roller coaster on a large global scale and a personal one with moments of so much joy and immense sadness.

Writing wise this has been my best year yet as I finally got over my pitching fears (well, mostly) and have a weekly TV and Style column at The Observer where I have discussed numerous shows and costume moments beginning with Girls back in February. I have also contributed to Collider with several Americans essays and a TV themed gift guide (still time to buy!).

Here is a selection of my favorite pieces of work from 2016 including a personal essay, topics I have been obsessed with for a long time, discussing so many different shows from this year (with a dash of the ’90s) and I also got to interview two amazing costume designers.Outlander Season 2 2016Kicking off with the essay that was incredibly hard to write, but also gave me great comfort after my father passed away in July. I got married in September and in the lead up I knew it would be a very happy day tinged with sadness and writing about Outlander, my father and our shared heritage helped.

I don’t tend to be someone who is good with sharing my deepest feelings and personal essays are an uneasy prospect: however connecting to the work of Terry Dresbach and the Outlander team led to an outpouring of words.the americansI wrote about The Americans a lot in 2016 both here and other places. I spoke to costume designer Katie Irish at the start of the fourth season about Coach, the many coats and other costume design disguise secrets.

For Collider I went deep about Elizabeth Jennings and motherhood, why the teens on this show don’t fall into the usual annoying obstacle trap and looked at how the Cold War is making a comeback on TV (this was before other significant events).westworldOne of the most fulfilling experiences of 2016 was talking to Westworld costume designer Ane Crabtree after the season finale. Part of this is because I have been writing about Crabtree’s work since TV Ate My Wardrobe started with Masters of Sex and because of all the anecdotes and insight I got from this phone conversation.fleabagOne of the first pieces I wrote on TV Ate My Wardrobe was about lipstick on TV/film and I expanded upon this idea while discussing the Empire CoverGirl line and how powerful make-up can be.

Other key lipstick essays include two of my favorite shows of the year with how Fleabag paints over the cracks and the portrayal of women working in the tech industry in the ’80s on Halt and Catch Fire. And the time jump on Halt and Catch Fire allowed me to address my own nostalgia and one of my favorite style decades.img_4381In a similar vein, but at the end of the scale the build up to new Gilmore Girls was the perfect time to address all the fashion mishaps of the early ’00s.

BrainDead is one of my favorite shows of the year for being fun, weird, having so much flames chemistry and rethinking how to do a “previously on.” Plus it gave me so many outfit goals and I got to expand on this further here. game-of-thronesAnd now for my most viewed article, which also happens to be one of my favorite costume moments of the year when Sansa made sure Jon knew he was family by making him a very Ned fur.

Also on the subject of Game of Thrones I previewed the “Battle of the Bastards” with a ‘Who wore it better?’ competition and went all in on Cersei’s power move ensemble.

On the pieces I have wanted to write about forever track; Angela singing on Mr. Robot let me go all in on the sadness karaoke essay that has been itching to come out since Eliza sang “Chandelier” on Selfie.

The second season of Mr. Robot was messy in places, but the women delivered and it gave me plenty to write about from a costuming perspective. Oh and everyone looks hotter in sunglasses as the Fug Girls always say.felicity-and-marciaA tale of two haircuts and I am very proud of finding a very strong link between Keri Russell’s infamous Felicity haircut and Marcia Clark’s mid-trial makeover. American Crime Story’s “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia” is one of my favorite episodes of TV this year and exploring the legacies of a style change was incredibly fulfilling.

I binged the first season of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend the week after my dad died and it was a much needed distraction so I will forever be grateful for Rachel Bloom and Rebecca Bunch. Season 2 has also provided some very interesting talking points including portrayals of lady friendships and makeovers. Plus Rebecca’s imagination delivers on plenty of fun costume changes.

Here’s to more in 2017 and for my author pages at The Observer and Collider head here and here.

For individual costume highlights check out Best of the Rest Parts 1 and 2.

 

 

 

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Best of the ‘Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life’ Red Carpet

21 Nov

Last Monday evening I sat in a hotel room and watched the last ever episode of Gilmore Girls, well the last episode until now and the 4-part special Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life special series lands on Netflix this Friday.

While season 7 was definitely flawed – I think I maybe disliked season 6 more – the finale did a fine job of wrapping things up and I definitely ugly cried (a lot of this was to do with Richard Sherman). However, the absence of Amy Sherman-Palladino’s creative voice is noticeable and so thankfully Gilmore Girls is getting another shot.

Here are the best of the red carpet photos/outfits from the premiere that was held in LA on Friday with a bonus new trailer at the end.gilmore-girlsGroup shot! Featuring all your faves – it took me a moment to realize who was standing next to Alexis Bledel and it is Finn – and it might be a total coincidence but everyone seems to have got the same “wear something in the black outfit family” memo. gilmore-womenGilmore ladies make me so happy and I also forget sometimes that they are not actually related. This is a great example of how to co-ordinate without matching and show off individual style. Lauren Graham once again goes classic LBD as she did in Berlin; Alexis Bledel has switched out pleated silver Dion Lee for gold detail Cynthia Rowley and Kelly Bishop is giving off great textured metallic teal. matt-czuchryIt might be the Cary from Good Wife factor or because of the Matt Czuchry charm, but if I had to pick one of Rory’s not so great love interests it would definitely be Logan. Not that Rory (or even we) should have to choose because Team Rory and not trash boyfriends all the way.

BUT Matt Czuchry does scrub up extremely well and I instantly want to rewatch The Good Wife after seeing him in this suit.keiki-agena-and-yanic-truesdaleI’m not sure how Michel would feel about sneakers on the red carpet, I think he could justify it if he saw it on a blog or fashion magazine and Yanic Truesdale is selling the smart/casual vibe well.

Keiko Agena got the black attire memo and gives it a shot of bold color and pattern in a Clover Canyon frock. Love her Miu Miu pumps too.david-sutcliffeAh, Christopher. This is where we enter the Gilmore Girls characters that were also Luke/Lorelai obstacles section of this red carpet and urgh the end of season 6/the whole marriage plot. Anyway, David Sutcliffe looks great and the silver in his beard is working like a charm. Just no more Lorelai and Christopher. vanessa-and-laura-maranoCarrying on with this theme and while it is definitely not Vanessa Marano’s fault, the whole April storyline is kinda the worst. Marano is pulling a full Alicia Florrick here in a zipped jacket and she is joined by her actress sister Laura Marano in a very cute red dress. mae-whitman

Lauren Graham’s other TV daughter, Mae Whitman wears a green ladysuit with a fabulous “I’m With Lorelai” Rachel Antonoff T-shirt. And don’t worry as there will be an “I’m With Rory” version available soon. Can I petition for an “I’m With Emily” tee? Please and thank you.

And to keep you tide over until Friday here is the newest trailer and once again I’m getting all teary at everything Richard.

So grab and coffee and all the snack foods ready for this marathon.

Update! “I’m with Lorelai/Rort” Rachel Antonoff T-shirts are now on sale. A perfect gift for the Gilmore Girls fan in your life or a present to yourself. 

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Out of the Box: Look of the Week

11 Nov

Oh this week and I don’t even know where to begin. It is hard to turn back to the frivolity of picking the best outfits, but here I am with distractions from Gilmore Girls, lots of ladysuits, award show sparkle and magazine cover wonders. In two weeks time the new episodes of Gilmore Girls will hit Netflix and with that Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel are going to be doing a whole lot of fan events in a variety of countries. Last night they were in Berlin and Bledel’s super sparkly pleated number is the Christmas party outfit I am coveting hard. Graham meanwhile goes classic in a fabulous LBD.

The Gilmore Girls catch up for me is going well and I only have another 12 episodes to watch; even if both season 6 and 7 are a big step down I cannot wait for these new episodes. The last few days have pretty much been a blur of me binging this final season and I’m looking forward to being able to read all those revival articles I have been saving.julianne-mooreThe Hollywood Film Awards is not one to mark on your calendar, but Julianne Moore made sure we paid attention by wearing this stunning Tom Ford sequin dream.naomie-harrisFirst of the ladysuits this week and at the Hollywood Film Awards, Naomie Harris goes glitz in Gucci. Harris is a TV Ate My Wardrobe favorite as she tends to try a whole lot of different styles on the red carpet and the cropped pants/slightly longer jacket is just that.ruth-wilsonInterview Magazine is crushing it on the fantastic TV profiles and photo shoot front this year and there’s a couple more this week.

First up Ruth Wilson discussing The Affair, which returns later this month for more mashed-up memory misery and for all its stumbles, I’m looking forward to it coming back. Also Wilson is doing the whole menswear inspired look in Calvin Klein Collection and I am here for it.birgitte-hjort-sorensenI’ve been thinking about Borgen a lot this week; part of this is to do with current events and the other is because of the work the three leads have been getting since this show ended. Sidse Babett Knudsen is currently starring in Westworld, Pilou Asbæk will be back as Euron Greyjoy on Game of Thrones and Birgitte Hjort Sørensen had a brief, but memorable part on GoT and was in the one season and done Vinyl. Basically, HBO loves Borgen and I need to do a rewatch.

In Interview, Sørensen talks about the big breaks she has had with Pitch Perfect 2, Game of Thrones and Vinyl as well as returning to the stage as she takes on Les Liaisons Dangereuses co-starring Liev Schreiber and Janet McTeer. thrThis cover was released on Wednesday and was pretty much the bright spark in a dismal day; Zendaya is someone I am looking forward to seeing so much more of and while I was pretty unenthusiastic about another Spiderman movie, the cast is something to get excited about.

This is a really dreamy looking cover shot and the accompanying “Next Gen” profiles includes recent faves like The Get Down’s Justice Smith and Shameik Moore, Glenn Powell aka the reason I carried on watching Scream Queens and singer/actress Kiersey Clemons (Transparent season 1).beyonceI almost didn’t include this because it was making me feel so sad, but fuck it; I love this photo of Beyoncé in a polka dot ladysuit and her pantsuit wearing dancers from the Get Out the Vote concert in support of Hillary Clinton in Cleveland last weekend.

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TV Rewind: Gilmore Girls, Season 4

2 Nov

img_4436Julie: This is, I think, the best season of Gilmore Girls. Maybe. They’re all good. Who am I kidding? But season four is extraordinarily good. A big part of that is because both girls are thrown so far out of their comfort zones. Lorelai is finally realizing her dream of owning an inn. And Rory is starting college.

I know that the BIG THING happens at the end of the season, but I want to start off talking about Rory, who is now a freshman at Yale. I love how they handle her progression from sheltered high schooler to slightly less sheltered college student. She doesn’t get to school and immediately start partying and hooking up with random guys. She’s still Rory. She’s more interested in taking a full course load than being social.

And she struggles with the social, if quietly. While Paris is out there stringing along one boyfriend while hooking up with an elderly professor, Rory is keeping to herself a bit. She tries and fails to go on a date and ask out a guy. She strikes out on spring break. She seems to me a little overwhelmed by the process of dating.img_4428And I think that’s why she inevitably starts chatting up Dean again. (Ugh.) Dean’s a known quantity. Dean is safe. Yeah, Dean is married, but he’s still RORY’S DEAN. (Double ugh.)

There’s a brief almost-dalliance with Jess, which actually feels reasonable in the face of (ugh) hooking up with Dean again, but Rory holds her own against Jess–telling him to get out of her life, while completely letting Dean into both her life and her pants.

I was totally thrown (and grossed out) by Rory losing her virginity to Dean. I actually thought maybe she and Jess were going to hook up in the penultimate episode, when he came to her dorm room and she let him in. I thought we were in for some angry-passionate hooking up there, but no. She stood her ground and kicked him out. And, to Jess’s credit, he left.

But then Dean. DEAN! He (ew, what?) followed her back to her mom’s house, where she was picking up CDs, and then (ew) boning. And then, even more ew, she expected her mom to be happy about the situation, which Lorelai was NOT. Because her daughter is now an adulteress. For Dean. DEAN. Ew.

I think you can tell where I stand on this, though as much as I hate Dean and Rory with Dean, I love that the show makes her such a moron when it comes to romance. She’s a bad decision machine in the love department. Very book smart, but horrible at picking guys.

How do you feel about what Rory got up to this season?img_4360Emma: It’s funny because this is the season that took a few episodes to click with me and I don’t know if that is because I started it just before my wedding and so maybe I was in a distracted head space, but post-honeymoon it all fell into place and I have enjoyed the hell out of this season even with the terrible Rory romantic decision.

I agree with you that taking both Rory and Lorelai out of their comfort zones is a big plus and it keeps everything fresh. Even though Yale is a short drive from Stars Hollow, Rory still has to try new things and she stumbles at times. Part of this is the amount of pressure she puts on herself academically and it is heartbreaking when she has her big spiral while Lorelai is also having her own moment of self-doubt. It doesn’t help that they are playing a game of phone tag and communicating via voicemail, but story wise it is important to show them coping without each other no matter how ineffective it might be. And then the fact that both lie to the other about how fine everything is.

Season 3 ended with a strong non-guy focus and for the majority of season 4 Rory doesn’t have a whole lot going on in that department (as she keeps getting reminded of). There have been a couple of awkward potentials including the preppy guy she wasn’t into and Smith Laundry Room guy who declines her coffee invitation and who she then thinks is spreading stories about how into him she is. Then there is Marty, the guy who passed out naked in her corridor after a party, the dude her grandmother sets her up with and that leads her back to a guy from her past. Jess pops in and out declaring his love and it is no wonder that she tells him to leave. I also half figured they might hook up and I actually thought the Dean thing was going to happen sooner than it did.

Urgh, the Dean thing. Why Rory? Well I know why and he represents everything that is familiar and predictable even though he is married. Not to mention that Dean should never have got married in the first place; especially when he is drunkenly mumbling Rory’s name the night before causing Luke to tell Rory not to go to the wedding (which looks straight out of the late 70s).img_4367Part of me wondered if they would go the Felicity route where her first time is with someone who isn’t a main love interest and I love that approach, but alas it had to be Dean because even though there are so many similarities between Rory and Felicity, Rory is far more reserved/cautious in the love department. Dean continues to be the worst in every way possible and that isn’t even factoring in his terrible facial hair this season. I’m actually pleased both Dean and Jess had such reduced roles this year as we get to see Rory in the full throws of her college experience including her job at the paper and navigating roommate drama. This also felt like the most balanced we have seen Rory’s friendships with both Paris and Lane, part of this comes from both these characters getting their own stuff to do and not just being there to service Rory as a character.

So let’s get into that final discussion between Lorelai and Rory. Was Lorelai overreacting or saying the exact thing Rory needed to hear in that moment?img_4429Julie: That final conversation was HEARTBREAKING for me. Especially looking at it from the mother’s perspective. Lorelai has done such a good job of raising Rory (that hasn’t changed), and I am assuming a big part of her figured she wouldn’t have to worry about Rory making dumb decisions like this. And this decision was so, so dumb. It forces Lorelai to see her daughter differently, and to see Dean differently. And the fact that Rory doesn’t automatically see what a brazenly stupid decision this was makes it that much worse.

That said, I still continue to love that the writers have no problem making Rory not perfect. She gets good grades and she does the right thing, except when it comes to her love life (a theme that continues through the rest of the show…)

I suppose it was inevitable that Rory would do something rash like this. She went on spring break and watched documentaries. The most scandalous thing she did was let her friend drunk dial Dean (Danger! Danger!). She kicked Jess out of her dorm room before making that mistake. She didn’t get in the drunk car with her grandmother’s friend. She made all the “good” decisions, except for this one thing with Dean, which was a doozy.img_4441But enough about Dean. Let’s talk about something nice for a change–Luke and Lorelai and their LOVE. OMG.

I had always assumed that they’d just have a moment where they kiss out of nowhere or something, so I was surprised by how this played out. Luke saw her face while listening to a self-help date, and instead of being upfront with her, he asked her to his sister’s wedding. It was such a Luke move–asking her to the wedding, and then out on another date, without ever discussing what was going on. I loved that Lorelai had to stop and put it all together–is she dating Luke?

And the steps leading up to the OMG first kiss, were so lovely. The dance! Her admitting that maybe the best part of the wedding was the dance!

The kiss itself gave me chills, both the first time and rewatching it. Too bad it had to be spoiled, first by Kirk, then by DEAN.

What did you think about the kiss?img_4432Emma: I figured when Lorelai came home she was going to walk in on the act, not the after but the one they went for was so much better because it is all about Rory doing something spontaneous. In Rory’s mind Dean is still the guy who was her first boyfriend and she feels like she has some sense of ownership in the very pre-school argument of ‘he was mine first.’ This is her justification for the sleeping with a married guy thing and it does not withstand Lorelai’s questions. It’s a real heartbreaker and no matter how much I dislike Dean (and that is a lot) it is still really shitty that this huge thing happened for Rory and it is instantly tainted. But I guess Rory made (and unmade) that particularly bed.

One thing I also want to say before I comment on the romantic thing at the opposite end of this romance spectrum and one issue is how underwritten Lindsay is. The actress playing her is someone who I thought was excellent on an all too brief stint on The Vampire Diaries; super charming and instantly likable. Lindsay is none of these things and is pretty much there to act like the kind of wife Dean was talking about wanting. Except he doesn’t and all they do is bicker or she brings him lunch at the inn. It is also weird that she doesn’t have a job so points to Rory for pointing that out.img_4437Moving on to the thing that I was hoping would FINALLY happen this season and it did! The Luke and Lorelai will they/won’t they dance included an actual dance (which was a season highlight for me) and there’s been a lot of their usual back and forth banter, arguments about significant others (urgh Nicole) and being there for each other in their time of need. It is kinda cute how Luke finally realized how he actually feels and I really like how they ended up getting to this inevitable place.

TV first kisses between will they/won’t they couples are an important milestone and they nail this one. It is full of heat and it makes so much sense that it comes in the middle of this half kind of argument of ‘what the hell is going on between us?’ In true Lorelai fashion another one of her love interests threatens to ruin this early stage and we’ve seen it before with Christopher. Christopher always has a habit of showing up at the wrong time. This time it is Jason who is back to win Lorelai’s heart and while he is another to add to the great Lorelai boyfriends list – unlike Rory, Lorelai gets the interesting guys – he’s no Luke. Thankfully he needs to go to the bathroom and Luke takes this moment to ask what the hell is going on?

Yes Kirk runs through naked and screaming, but I was concerned that either Jason would interrupt or Kirk would before the kiss happened. And we got not one, but two! And I’m so glad they both got to initiate. So kudos Gilmore Girls writers, you made us wait four years but you stuck the landing. The chemistry between Lauren Graham and Scott Patterson is off the charts here.

What did you make of Jason?img_4380Julie: I suppose underwriting Lindsay was a way to justify what Rory did? If we knew her better and sympathized with her more, Rory hooking up with Dean would be unforgivable. That said, I did ache for her. She was TRYING with Dean. She wasn’t working (which was problematic, especially because it would’ve given her something else to with her brain), but she was trying to make her home life with Dean as nice as possible. It didn’t work.

As far as Digger goes, he was a (another) decent guy for Lorelai. He was funny and smart and just as bitter about their rich upbringing as she is. One thing I find so interesting about this show–and both women’s relationships–is how underplayed the notion of “soul mate” is. I think we all believe that Luke is her OTP, but absent him, I could see her ending up with Christopher, Max, or Jason. Maybe that’s a testament to how adaptable and cool Lorelai is, or maybe it’s just a realistic portrayal of how the world is. Things didn’t work out with the other guys because the timing wasn’t right (or because he decided to sue her parents), and who knows how things will work out with Luke. They seem perfect together, but they’re not perfect people.

And Rory, too, if she had stayed with Dean, her life would go one way; with Jess, another.

Speaking of soulmates, we were also treated to Paris’s relationship with Basil Exposition. What did you think about her hooking up with a professor, an OLD professor?img_4424Emma: Let’s start with a game of F/M/K with Lorelai’s non-Luke main love interests? So Christopher, Max and Jason .

It was clear that Jason would be sticking around because the actor was in the opening credits and this brings me to why I love these very traditional credits as I love spotting whom has been upgraded to a regular and what new snapshots from the series are added each year and which ones are irreplaceable (the S1 birthday hug for example).

When he was introduced as a business partner for Richard I was a bit eh on him, but as soon as he interacted with Lorelai the spark sad instant and it became obvious why he might be the kind of dude she might end up with. As you mention they are from the same world and they both have fractious relationships with their parents. He has a cute dog, a sleep issue that means Lorelai gets to spend the night in a guest room full of everything you could ever want (although the TV bed combo is super ugly), he cooks breakfast and he’s a lot of fun. He does have a lot of slightly oversized cream sweaters that he should probably trade in.

Of course there is a time limit on this relationship and I wonder what it is a like as an actor to get a main credits part, but know that it won’t be for the duration of the show?

Jason is at least more developed than Nicole and it really makes no sense for Luke to get back with her other than to give him someone who isn’t Lorelai for a portion of the season. The brief amount of time they are happy is basically a set up for a Luke/Lorelai argument when Luke moves in with Nicole and doesn’t tell Lorelai. It goes south fast because of course and the divorce is a done thing leaving the door wide open.img_4430Ahh yes the professor and Paris is definitely one for going all in even if this means that Jamie gets brutally dumped on his birthday. Rory getting Lorelai to guess the age was fun, but I was generally a bit eh on this storyline and I think Paris deserves more. The best of Paris occurred during the spring break episode and we got our Rory/Paris OTP moment. The episode where he has his health scare was well played as was Rory’s concern that she got a great grade because of who her roommate is.

One other relationship was a bit of roller coaster this season and that was Richard and Emily as business and other skeletons threaten this seemingly rocksteady union. Was this a surprise for you?img_4393Julie: Ha! F/M/K — This is actually tough! I would fuck Max, marry Luke, and kill Jason. No offense, Jason. I actually considered marrying him because he has a lot of fun toys, but then I’d have to kill either Max or Luke, and I don’t want to do that. I wonder if they thought Jason might stick around longer, but just as Richard’s business partner. Obviously, he and Lorelai couldn’t stay together forever, but I wonder if the writers didn’t go into this with the intention of keeping him around as an ex, like Chris. I could’ve seen them going either way with this, but I like where they took the story instead, making Richard kind of a, well, dick.

Since the less said about Nicole the better (and, yeah, Paris needs something new to do). Since I just mentioned Richard, I think the time is right to talk about his relationship with Emily. This stuff was rough and sad, but also completely emotionally compelling. Emily has always been the dutiful wife and that status was challenged this year–with Jason running the social business stuff differently that she would have and with Trix kicking the bucket and Emily finding out that she tried to get Richard to leave her. Emily needs some time to herself, I think, to figure out who she is outside of Richard. And Richard needs to learn to appreciate what Emily does for him and who she is to him.

I thought it was really interesting watching them try to keep the split from Rory and Lorelai. That felt completely real, and also marked the first time they were absent for Friday night dinner. They were just too distracted. And I liked Lorelai trying to Parent Trap them back together — because as frustrating as she finds them, she doesn’t want her mom and dad to split up. The fact that this all comes to a head at the opening of the inn was perfect.

How did you feel about Richard and Emily?img_4426Emma: If we take Luke out of the F/M/K it becomes harder and I *think* I would marry Jason, fuck Max and kill Christopher. Sorry for killing your dad, Rory. As you pointed out, Jason does have the best toys, Max has the heat and Christopher is totally unreliable.

When Richard first laid out the plan I figured he was double crossing Jason’s dad and the whole screwing over Jason was a ruse. Alas, Richard was just being a business dick and in part it feels like a way to clear the path for Luke while also showing the rare non friendly side of Richard. It is a side of Richard we have seen before and it is always so jarring as Emily is normally the schemer.

I found the whole Emily/Richard marriage problems to be really upsetting because they seem like a forever couple, but I also love that they went down this path. Emily is feeling at a loss for a couple of reasons this season; there’s the whole Trix letter and this spiral is so wonderfully carefree. The image of Emily day drinking, smoking and reading a romance novel while sprawled on the couch in her night gown is a Top 5 Emily moment for me (and also my current Twitter cover photo). It’s the most un-Emily while being the most Emily and she’s so unbothered about helping arrange the funereal leaving it all to Lorelai as Richard has also fallen apart.img_4405Richard is a mess because his last conversation with Trix was one that involved a whole lot of shouting and for all the shit Trix has said over dinner it took money and the insinuation that he is kind of a failure to prompt an outburst. I also love that they recast Marion from Happy Days as Trix’s cousin (even if I had to check IMDb to make sure I wasn’t losing my mind).

The real Emily/Richard issue stems from his job and this is the reason for their last period of unhappiness. This time Richard is working too much and rather than being angry that he is being forced out, Emily’s concern comes from his new partnership (later followed by his return to his old firm) and that she is becoming obsolete. Her role as party planner is no longer needed and she’s got to reassess everything. This spirals into a crazy shopping spree and a wonderful scene where Lorelai and Rory take Emily to the mall food court.

And much like the last time they fell out Lorelai uses the inn to get them back together. It worked the last time but right now they are too far gone for a simple trick. I like that there is no simple solution and Lorelai can’t just movie magic this relationship back together.

Let’s talk style and oh the mid ’00s continue to deliver on things I hope never come back including Juicy sweatpants (much to Emily’s horror), a weird take on Cher from Clueless style, bad jeans and a look that is very Rachel Green. These are a few of Lorelai’s big hits and Rory mostly stays safe in a look that is very a Felicity Porter. So many sweaters.

Any fashion highlights for you?img_4381 img_4369 img_4397 img_4376Julie: But Christopher is so pretty! I’d enjoy just looking at him. Before killing him. Because he’s not marrying material.

 I know Emily has her issues, but I’d love for her to be my mom for a day, just so we could go shopping together and she could buy me all the things. I’d accept every handbag happily, Emily!

I know I had a few stashed in my mind for the fashion segment, but things are starting to get mixed up with Season 5, since I’m currently rewatching that. I loved Rory’s one-piece bathing suit and how her mom busted her balls about it. Rory is so delightfully young and modest.

Speaking of spring break, about as sexy and wild as she got, clothes-wise, was her off-the-shoulder shirt. I definitely had her boucle sweater (I’m guessing it was from J. Crew), but in…I think pink. I also had that big turtleneck Paris’ is wearing. Oh, and the turtleneck behind the girls.

As far as Lorelai goes, her pink coat is always everything. I thought she looked perfect in the dress and floral crown at Liz’s wedding.screenshot-2016-10-26-07-13-01 screenshot-2016-10-26-07-13-59 screenshot-2016-10-26-07-16-09 screenshot-2016-10-26-07-18-22Emma: That wedding look is a top Lorelai moment and it very much suited the whole burgeoning romance vibe. And it is nice to see a flower crown before music festivals ruined them for everyone. Otherwise I just wanted to mention a couple of now very familiar faces. First up Rami Malek and he is in Lane’s study group/the most adorable. Oh and while we’re on the subject of Lane, she finally revealed her true self to her mother or rather staying out all night caused Mrs Kim to go through her stuff and Lane moved out. Dave is of course gone because Adam Brody is on The OC now and the college reason is a good one to write him out. Although I don’t think they needed to do the long distance thing as it was obviously not going to stick. The marriage pot plot was a fun one and I love that Mrs Kim made up a story that Lane has held onto for so long that isn’t even a thing.img_4433The Lane/Mrs Kim relationship is an interesting one as it is the complete opposite of Lorelai and Rory and for a moment I thought Mrs Kim was going to be fine with Lane’s dropping out of college demands. I don’t know why I thought that and really Lane has committed the ultimate betrayal. Not because of the things she is into, but because of how long she has kept it secret. Anyway it made me sad, but also I am glad Lane can be Lane. And they got a Dave replacement who looks like he should be in a Bon Jovi tribute band and he is also a delight.

The other familiar face popped up during Dean’s very terrible bachelor party – oh hey Max Greenfield! He did not have many lines and we did not see him again. Also in this group is Kyle and he was one of the bullies in Freaks and Geeks. I only realized this when I was watching the Halloween episode for this piece.

Every teen show is connected.img_4398 img_4364Emma (again): I also meant to ask if you have watched the new Gilmore trailer? I haven’t and it has been hard not to click on EVERY link popping up on my TL. I am very excited about these new episodes (even without having finished the earlier seasons yet).img_8581The other thing I wanted to quickly mention was my trip to Luke’s on my last day in New York. A friend sent me a link of all the locations and one happened to be opposite The Strand. We were already going to be heading down there in the morning so I could get my final book haul from the trip (including Phoebe Robinson’s excellent “You Can’t Touch My Hair,” which came out the day before). The queue wasn’t too bad and it was a glorious sunny fall day; the perfect kind where the air is crisp but you don’t need more than a sweater. I got interviewed for NY1 but hopefully I was so dull it didn’t make it to air. And anyway I guess it is mostly people in hotels (like myself) that watch that channel.img_8583It was fun seeing the staff in the very Luke attire of plaid shirts and backwards caps and it was a fun, but pretty low key atmosphere. We got a couple of coffees and went to Union Square to sit in the sunshine. The rest of the day before we had to go back to The Jane to collect our luggage involved a little bit more shopping, one final trip to Joe’s for a slice, lots more walking (and we managed to crack 100 miles walked in 7 days) ). It was a very good ending to an amazing honeymoon.img_8587Emma (again, again):  This is also where I pull a Columbo with a ‘just one more thing.’

Did the internet suddenly go off in 2004 because it is mentioned A LOT as a BIG thing. A thing to do your shopping on, look things up etc. Richard gets wifi (and this does seem early as I had dial up for at least a few years after this). I noted down every time someone mentioned that they used the internet or suggested it to another character and it stuck out. As did everyone finally having cell phones with pagers almost fading into oblivion (other than the one Lorelai was given for when Sookie went into labor). It is funny seeing such a big change in tech and how much has changed in 12 years.img_4365Julie: I have watched the GG trailer, and I may have cried. I’m so excited. That’s going to be my Thanksgiving weekend, for sure.

I forgot about the Rami Malek sighting. He plays such a cute dork. And I totally missed Max Greenfield this time around (probably because I was watching the show while cooking or something). And the Dave replacement is Sebastian Bach, of Skid Row fame. I love him on the show, actually. His rocker/family man/sandwich store owner schtick is perfect for the small town vibe.

I’m so jealous you went to Luke’s! I could’ve been proactive and taken my ass to a neighborhood here where one had popped up, but I was lazy. You’re lucky that the Lukening happened while you were in New York. And your husband is definitely A+ for indulging this 🙂

The internet stuff was all over the place, which I thought was fitting. Richard and Emily (thanks to Jason) are just getting started on wi-fi, which feels right. I think they may have been slightly ahead of the times–trying to remember where I was and my computer situation at that time.

 

Hi, there! Like Julie’s writing? Buy her new YA novel, THE SOUND OF US, right here!

Julie Hammerle is, according to Klout, an expert in the areas of both Morgan Freeman and glasses. Her writing can be found at chicagonow.com/hammervision and you can holler at her on Twitter as well.

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TV Rewind: Gilmore Girls, Season 3

13 Sep

img_4257Emma: Season 3 is a big year in the Gilmore house as it is Rory’s final year at school, there’s a boyfriend switch-up and Lorelai has a lot of work and some romance stuff going on. And she finally kissed Luke… Or rather Lorelai dream kissed Luke in the opening scene of this season and I screamed even though I figured it wasn’t really happening.

There is plenty to talk about and it might seem like a strange place to start but I’m going to skip to the end because I was thrilled to see that it didn’t finish on a romantic cliffhanger or moment of devastation like last season. It was about everything Rory and Lorelai had achieved personally and as a mother/daughter unit. There was no way a dude was going to overshadow Rory’s academic success and Lorelai’s new and huge business purchase. Dreams had just been realized and no matter how much I want Luke and Lorelai to have a non-dream kiss, this finale was far more satisfying for focusing on the women. Jess called, but didn’t derail Rory or her success. She got to unload on him without having to hear his lame excuses because he is too much of a coward to give her any. And they wouldn’t suffice anyway.img_4205I realized when Rory decided on Yale that I have an emotional reaction to Rory’s academic success and I got teary when Lorelai found out that she was valedictorian and I got to sob levels during her speech. I love romance and all those kind of things that come with teen shows but ultimately the things that resonate with the likes of Rory Gilmore, Angela Chase, Felicity Porter and Lindsay Weir are the personal victories that don’t involve boys. The boys are just the bonus. Maybe not for Rory as Dean is the worst and so far Jess isn’t much better. But Dave can stay (although I’m guessing he won’t because of The O.C.).

What did you make of watching Rory’s final year at school and her decision to go to Yale over her original dream school?img_4220Julie: I loved the college switch-a-roo. I don’t know if that had been the writers’ plan all along, but I suspect it was. There would’ve been different drama if Rory had chosen to go to Harvard–being farther away from her mom, oh, and closer to her dad, who I think is still in Boston? But with her going to Yale, it sets up all this drama with the parents, which is marvelous. Of course Richard and Emily love that Rory is going to Yale, and it certainly has to burn Lorelai’s britches that her daughter is following in her grandfather’s footsteps. This whole situation makes her dad so happy, and that is never on Lorelai’s agenda.

I’m so with you about seeing the teenage girls accomplish things for themselves and not because of a boy. Rory’s graduation was all about her and her mom, and I definitely got teary. Lorelai getting to see her daughter accomplish so much while about to embark upon this new phase of her life where she won’t need her mom so much, EMOTIONS.img_4258And yay for Rory getting out of Stars Hollow. She needs to meet some new guys. Cast a wider net. I think Dave is nice for Lane, but what did you think about the whole “I’m a drummer!” storyline? I feel like that came out of nowhere. We’ve known all along that Lane likes music, but we had no idea she could actually play. And it felt kind of farfetched, like, “I’m gonna be a drummer!” even though I’ve never drummed in my whole life.

I think I needed to get that off my chest. It really bothers me.img_4250Emma: The college thing felt to me like it was maybe always planned for logistics, but I love that Yale didn’t come into play until this season. The trip to Yale underscored everything that is still fragile in Lorelai and her parents’ relationship and shows once again that Richard is more than just a sweet grandfather. It’s a sneaky move and it was good to see Rory explain exactly why it was so shitty. She is not her mother and she would’ve gladly taken this meeting, but to not let her prepare and just spring this on her sucks. Bad form, Richard.

The Yale trip is fun up until that point as we find out more about Emily and Richard’s courtship (there was another woman!) and see them a little giddy. Plus Lorelai gets to bond with her mother over skirt fixing solutions and everything is lovely until Richard pulls his “oh look where we are” meeting.img_4222For Lorelai as we saw last season there is a pang whenever college comes up as this is her path not taken. Rory is her everything, but she still wonders what could have been. Everyone thinks Harvard is still the one, but the pros/cons list says otherwise and rather than go against her parents, Lorelai puts those differences aside. It is a huge step in the compromise column and really the person that matters here is Rory. And of course there are still big bumps in the Lorelai/Emily relationship with the loan repayment.

The girl in a band thing is fun, but yeah it would’ve maybe made more sense for her to go the Almost Famous route of music journalism. She could’ve still met Dave this way and it wouldn’t have felt so out of left field. It is another case of them not being entirely sure what to do with Lane. Although I did love her brief change of hair colour. The doing something drastic to your hair with dye is an ultimate teen rite of passage. Lane also ticked off the getting drunk and vomming box this season and I liked how not crazy that house party was. Well until the fight. It looked like a lot of our parties, which is never the case on screen as they are always so big and so loud.

Sex chats came into play this season and it is interesting to see how Lorelai navigates this stuff. What did you make of this?img_4223Julie: Yeah, teenage sex hasn’t really been an issue on the show to this point, even though Rory has had two boyfriends (one very long term). Her thing with Dean always seemed kind of chaste. The two of them didn’t seem to have much romantic chemistry. They hardly ever seemed to be alone together, and the few times they were alone either ended in fighting or with them surrounded by other people.

But with Jess, there’s more heat. He’s a “bad boy,” and he seems way more experienced than Rory. That said, it appears he’s cool with taking things at her pace. So, yay for Jess on that.It has to be a big relief for Lorelai (who finds out about her daughter’s virginity status after accidentally overhearing a conversation between Rory and Paris), that Rory is not there yet. As cool as she is, and as cool as I’m sure she’d be with her daughter becoming sexually active, there has to be a part of her that’s like, “Please let us get out of high school,” since she’s the one who wound up pregnant at sixteen. I love that she wants to keep the lines of communication open with Rory, and asks Rory to please tell her whenever the sexing happens.img_4248Now, the unlikely one who has had sex is Paris, and I think they handle this pretty well. She’s very matter-of-fact about it, and when she first talks to Rory she sounds like they were safe, it was good, no big deal. But then her rejection letter comes from Harvard, and she deals with that by blaming the sex on some level–like she, Paris Gellar, could only have one of those things, not both. I think there are just a lot of emotions she’s dealing with, and I kind of like that they make Paris a basket case about sex, because of course she’d freak out. She freaks out about everything.

What did you think about Paris’s sexual escapades?img_4206Emma: The Rory/Lorelai chats about sex are great because even though they are super close there is still that super awkward vibe that comes from discussing this subject with a parent. Rory is very aware of her origin story and there is a sense that she doesn’t want to follow her mother’s path even if what came of it is really great. A subject that Lorelai has trouble navigating when she is asked to give a talk about being a successful business woman at Rory’s old high school. She doesn’t suggest getting pregnant at 16 is a good life plan, but she definitely got a good end of this deal. Lorelai rarely gets flustered and it doesn’t help that Luke is there to witness this display.

Lorelai wants Rory to be upfront and I get that so the initial part of the Paris/Rory convo is terrifying followed by quick reassurance. I also think she is very proud of how Rory responds to the Paris reveal and she sounds both like a teenager and good friend. Paris is typically Paris and I think part of the meltdown that follows comes from her belief that she isn’t worthy of being loved. Which sucks and is completely not true, but the environment she has grown up in can’t have helped with how she sees love. Her best friends are guy crazy and are never short of dates whereas Paris lusted after Tristan and was left with a solitary kiss and no further interest. In fact in the first episode of this season Rory is the one who tells her that she just got asked out on a date by Jamie.img_4228The speech meltdown made me all kinds of sad because of course she would equate romantic happiness with the Harvard rejection. It is like a version of the horror movie thing where if you sleep with someone then you are going to get killed. But this time it is with the college of her dreams. Jamie is also the thing that comes between Rory and Paris; not in the traditional way but because of a student government power battle and Francie might be least favorite character so far. I like her less than I like Dean (so that is saying something). Despite these fallouts the Paris/Rory relationship is strong and Rory is the one who helps pull Paris out of her funk. Paris is a high level of intense and yet Rory knows exactly how to bring these levels down and I can’t wait to see this friendship develop even further.

Back to Rory and sex because it does look like she is edging there as things were getting hot and heavy with Jess. As you mention with Dean it was always pretty chaste and the chemistry between Rory and Jess is undeniable (maybe because of IRL stuff slipping in *phrasing*). Rory is edging there and the house party was the almost point. But rightly so Rory tells Jess to stop (and he does) because of things like the door not being locked and because Jess is clearly distracted. This leads to an almighty fight between Dean and Jess which trashes half the house and pretty much spells the end for Jess and Rory. Also Dean has now proposed to his girlfriend which is pretty much the dumbest way to try and get Rory’s attention and he is the worst.

While we’re on the subject of sex, what did you think of the flashbacks to young Lorelai and Christopher?img_4236Julie: Dean is terrible, and his new fiancee should RUN far, far away. And then Dean should chase her and get the hell out of Stars Hollow.

I’m glad that Rory stops things with Jess before they go any further. She deserves better than a party hookup in an unlocked bedroom. And I think Jess knows that. As “bad” as he thinks he is, I really don’t think he’s even remotely that bad.img_4242I think we can all agree that Rory and Paris are OTP, especially during this season. Maybe it’s a little unbalanced: Paris seems to need Rory more than Rory needs Paris, but they’re really two sides of the same coin–the good girls with big dreams. As far as the speech goes, I feel like the YA publishing community would pooh-pooh Paris’s handling of it–she’s slut-shaming herself; she’s Paris Gellar, guys shouldn’t matter–but I thought Paris’s reaction was painfully real. By her account, she should’ve been a shoo-in for Harvard. She’d done everything right. What was the one thing she did “wrong?” She slept with her boyfriend. It was like karma and tempting fate, and I think she was just looking for an easy explanation.

As far as Lorelai and Christopher go, I loved the flashback episode with Rory’s conception and birth. We got to see so much here–how her relationship with Emily has been strained all along, how her parents handled the situation as best they could while Christopher’s didn’t, how everyone was worried about his future, even Lorelai. And then to bookend it with Chris’s new daughter, Gigi, tears. He’s going to be there for this kid from day one, unlike how he was with Rory.

Speaking of pregnancies, how about Sookie and Jackson?img_4240Emma: My main gripe with the Lorelai flashback is down to the actress playing Lorelai as she ended up irritating me. It’s a hard line to play with a character that is so quippy and self aware and sadly she was no Lauren Graham (a tall order for anyone). I loved seeing Emily in late eighties attire and it was fun seeing the foundation of all this drama. It did also break my heart a little for Lorelai’s fractured relationship with her parents and the difference between Christopher now and then.

It is also interesting how the Christopher stuff kind of fizzles, which I guess makes sense now that he has another kid and Sherri while being sweet also seems like hard work. Also organizing a birthing party sounds like a really terrible idea. Lorelai also has another flash from the past with Max coming back to town and the two share a couple of awkward moments and a kiss. There is still chemistry there but a lot of this feels like the writers stalling until something happens with Luke. Same with Alex who (as Lorelai even said) just fizzled. He was fine, but nothing spectacular. And the actor has gone on to crazier things with Zoo (I need to catch up but l love this bonkers show).img_4213One other potential suitor who really didn’t last long was Jon Hamm with a bad haircut. Lorelai liked him (well who wouldn’t) until she found out how dull he was and this caused all kinds of issues for Emily as he also happened to be the son of one of her society friends. Awkward. This has been one of my favorite guest star spots so far.

Luke meanwhile also has a new love interest and she happens to be Taylor’s lawyer. I don’t see this going the distance particularly as Nicole has picked up on the strong Luke/Lorelai vibe. Plus they haven’t really crafted much of a character for her. Also I figured that when they got the extension in Luke’s apartment he and Jess would at least have their own rooms, but nope.

Ah yes, Sookie is pregnant which is lovely but not a surprise. I do find Jackson to be a bit much on occasion including his reaction to the pregnancy news especially after his whole wanting a crazy amount of kids thing. I get the back and forth bickering is part of their thing but sometimes it is a lot to deal with.

The other big Sookie news involves Lorelai and their inn dreams. What did you think about the progression of this storyline and the maybe convenient fire at their workplace?img_4229Julie: Yes, with the stalling! It’s kind of fun seeing Lorelai out and dating, but the writers are VERY slow about getting her and Luke on the same page. The Max thing feels like a bone thrown to the Max-Lorelai truthers. (They’re out there.) She did sort of dispense with him quickly, and there was nothing wrong with him. Max Medina is great!

Alex is fine, too, actually, and I love seeing Billy Burke in stuff. (I watched every episode of My Boys, one of those Chicago shows–like The League–where I’m not sure if the writers have ever been to Chicago.) And I know I squealed (and probably tweeted) about Jon Hamm making an appearance. This was the kind of one-off journeyman actor role he apparently did a lot before landing Mad Men. Since it was JON HAMM, I went in expecting a lot of out of that character, but he didn’t really get a chance to sparkle in any memorable way.img_4225I CANNOT with Nicole. While Lorelai gets some decent suitors, Luke is stuck with this lawyer chick and there really is no there there. She appears only to be a vehicle for change for Luke–he starts thinking about new places to live and new menus. And she certainly feels threatened by Lorelai, so she can kindly step away from the show.

I agree on Jackson. While this show his heightened in its language, the actors tend to bring a lot of groundedness to the roles. With Jackson, maybe we just don’t get to see him enough, but he’s often too much. I can buy him stressing out over the new baby and him not having the reaction to the pregnancy that everyone assumed he’d have, but it felt more schticky than real. Asking a chef to get rid of her knives for a baby who won’t even be moving on its own for a while? Stop.

That fire was very convenient, but I do love that the ladies are talking about their own inn now. And I like how the show deals with it realistically. There’s a lot to consider here–Lorelai is about to be paying for college, Sookie is about to be a mom. Is this best time? How do they work it financially? What will happen to Michel?img_4212Emma: A lot of the time I want to tell Jackson to chill the fuck out and that hit new heights in season 3. I think my favorite Jackson moment came in the season finale at the graduation when he’s chatting about the Chilton building with Luke. More of that Jackson please.

The cause of the fire itself is also never really explained with a suggestion it was maybe electrical. For some reason I thought they might do an arson thing and blame Jess. Regardless it did lead to some good moments including Lorelai realizing the severity of it and what could have been if they hadn’t got everyone out. A very near miss. And it does help with their future plans except it scuppers their chances of getting the inn at first as both Sookie and Lorelai lose their jobs and can’t afford their new inn.

I find the way they deal with money issues on the show to be pretty realistic particularly with things that can cost a lot like education. Money is one of the major sticking points between Lorelai and her parents and you can tell what a relief it is for Lorelai to pay them back for Chilton. And of course Emily sees this repayment as the ultimate fuck you; it wasn’t a loan in her eyes and it was also the only way she could guarantee seeing them on a weekly basis. The problem here is that Emily shouldn’t have to make an arrangement like this, but she also thinks that it will go back to the lack of contact they had for all those years before Chilton.img_4245It is another case of both Emily and Lorelai refusing to listen or talk to each other; ultimate stubborn WASP behavior. Lorelai has been on her own for so long and she clearly hates being indebted to her parents in this way so it is the ultimate irony that paying that money back means she can’t pay for Yale (as financial aid is no longer an option). Rory then makes her own deal and she has less qualms about these strings than her mother ever did. I feel bad for Rory as she is very much in the middle of all this and tells both her mother and Emily how ridiculous they are being. After relatively smooth sailing the Gilmores are back to uneven territory.

While we’re on the subject of the Gilmore ladies, have you seen the photo EW posted yesterday from the new series? I’ve been trying to avoid everything but this one was all over my Twitter feed yesterday. It is crushing and instantly made me tear up (this sound vague as I’m not sure you’ve seen it).

img_4218So what about standout episodes? The first one that springs to mind is the 24-hour dance event that saw the end of Dean and Rory and was also peak Stars Hollow events. I love that Lorelai ends up asking Rory to be her partner and all the drama. Even if Dean is the worst. Plus there is Dave and Lane adorableness, Kirk dominating and forever Lorelai/Luke flirting. The four Thanksgivings was also super fun and if anyone can get through that much food it is Lorelai and Rory. Also Jess getting beaten up by a swan was pretty magical even if it did put Rory in a difficult position because he wouldn’t tell her what happened. Emily appearing all super chill with Rory about Jess and then going off at Lorelai is peak Emily.img_4238Julie: I totally haven’t seen the new Gilmore Girls picture. Somehow I managed to avoid it. Yay for being too busy to stalk social media!

I find it really interesting how comfortable Rory is straddling the line between her mother and her grandparents. She, obviously, does not have the same qualms her mother does about their money and owing them anything. It’s much easier being a granddaughter than a daughter, I suppose.

img_4219Standouts for me–I also really liked the 24-hour dance. I love when the whole town comes together, especially when Kurt is there and feeling competitive. I actually loved the stuff with Sookie and her old friend. It’s nice to see Sookie being recognized as the hot piece she is. Luke helping Lorelai with fishing, and Lorelai busting his balls about the new menus–there’s such an undercurrent of “You let HER change the menu” there. I liked the progression of Rory and Paris’s friendship. And I like that Dean has a new girlfriend, so he can finally MOVE ON.img_4216Emma: The dance episode also gave us some A+ 1940s style attire and hair from Rory and Lorelai, which I am so here for. Which brings me to my next important question; any notable fashion moments?img_4252For me this show continues to showcase how terrible this period was for jeans. So many bad jeans. And for some reason Jess travelled to see his dad dressed like he was auditioning for Grease: Live ten years too early. Gilmore Girls features a lot of dudes wearing bad leather jackets.

I’m sad we didn’t get the full Rory prom experience because Jess is the worst at going to school so we missed out on fancy gown fun. But I did love seeing Emily trying on outfits for Rory’s graduation and how sparkly her final choice is.

img_4256Julie: Now that you mention it, Rory’s lack of prom dress was a bit sad for me. I am firmly in the “more dresses” camp. Whenever a show can give us more dresses, it SHOULD.

I’ll add, too, that while I’m staying away from new Gilmore spoilers, I saw the show on the fall calendar in Entertainment Weekly, and I am SO EXCITED.

 

Hi, there! Like Julie’s writing? Buy her new YA novel, THE SOUND OF US, right here!

Julie Hammerle is, according to Klout, an expert in the areas of both Morgan Freeman and glasses. Her writing can be found at chicagonow.com/hammervision and you can holler at her on Twitter as well.

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TV Rewind: Gilmore Girls, Season 2

24 Aug
N.B. Since the Gilmore Girls revival is just around the corner (squee!), we decided to speed up our discussion of the show. Here are our thoughts on the entirety of Season 2.
img_4114-1Emma: So it has been a while since we last talked Gilmore and we return with the rest of season 2 as with the announcement of when all new GG will hit Netflix (November 25) I realized I don’t have a lot of time to catch up on 5 more seasons. Where we cut off last time is actually a good breaking off point (we watched the first four episodes of S2) as it covers the summer of Gilmore and these shows tend to start back with the new school year. Episode 5 is where we return and it also happens to be Rory’s first day back at Chilton and the introduction of another terrible love interest for Rory.

Before I get yelled at regarding Rory’s terrible love interests this opinion might change, but so far I am very eh on Jess. However, he is already better than Dean who I still think is The Worst and his behavior in these episodes does little to alter this title.

All I knew about Jess before his introduction is that he is played by Milo Ventimiglia and that he IRL dated Alexis Bledel. The Luke connection was a surprise and it turns out that Luke’s sister can’t handle her son at the moment so ships him off to Stars Hollow. That is enough to make anyone crabby especially as Luke’s place above the dinner is a studio apartment with not a lot of space for uncle and nephew. It would be fine for a couple, but this is not a great living arrangement. Jess smokes and steals, but I barely get a hint of actual bad boy. It is also posturing, back chatting and taking a beer from Lorelai’s fridge without anything to back it up. On the scale of teen bad boys he barely registers and he’s no Ryan Atwood (who is actually really sweet/from the wrong side of the tracks).img_4074The one thing Jess has going for him is he really likes books and instantly has a connection with Rory based off this (although he pretends to know nothing at first as some kind of flirting dumb boy shtick). Rory is intrigued by him and while things are fine(ish) with Dean to start with when she meets Jess it seems like something else altogether. Their chemistry grows throughout the season and of course I am wondering when they got together IRL.

Not that Jess is the only ‘bad boy’ in her life as Tristan is still around at the start of the season until The WB’s started their next phase in their quest to make Chad Michael Murray happen and “Run Away, Little Boy” marks Tristan’s departure as he gets the classic ‘shipped off to military school’ ending so he can go be terrible on Dawson’s Creek (where I first encountered him). Graduating school to go to college and he somehow sleeps with both Jen and Joey.

“Run Away, Little Boy” actually helps highlight the worst of Dean as he insists on sitting in on Rory’s rehearsal for Romeo and Juliet. This is for a school project, a school Dean doesn’t go to and Rory is Juliet with Tristan being her Romeo. This brings up a lot of old resentments and Rory talks to her mom about whether she should tell Dean about her Tristan kiss. Lorelai is firmly in the no camp as all it will do is cause pain. It doesn’t matter as Tristan tells Dean about that night and it all kicks off. Tristan gets booted before the performance and Paris has to play Romeo just as my notes were crying out for. So long Tristan, we hardly knew/cared about you.

What were your initial impressions of Jess? And did you change your mind as the season went on?img_4102Julie: I was in the same camp as you regarding Jess. I only knew who played him (and even that only because I watched the first season of Heroes and remember the fact that he was on Gilmore Girls was a THING), and that he had dated Rory IRL. Did he also date Hayden Panatierre or however you spell it? Am I remembering that wrong?

Anyway, my biggest memories of early days Jess was that his character felt like such a cliché. He was the “bad” boy who liked poetry. I found that kind of annoying and a little manic pixie dream boy. Without the manic. My feelings about Jess did evolve over time, but I never did feel he was really right for Rory.

I did like his relationship with Luke, though. So much of the early seasons is Luke learning how to deal with other people, so the fact that he ended up having to share his apartment with a high school kid was made for drama. And it also gave him something to talk to Lorelai about (and to fight with her about) because she knows about raising teenagers, though Rory is not your typical teenager.

Dean, yes, is terrible as always. I’ve seen so many “Who’s Rory’s best boyfriend?” posts over the past few months, and I’m inclined to say no one. While Lorelai has had a bevy of worthy suitors (Max, Christopher, Luke, ROON), Rory has had garbage. For the most part. We’ll talk when you get to Logan, whom I had no idea existed until I watched this show myself. It was always Dean and Jess. What about Logan? I’ll be interested to read your thoughts on him.

I do love that season two really started to understand who Rory’s true love interest is, however. We all know that’s Paris.img_4109Emma: Yeah we pretty much knew the same amount about Jess including who he dated IRL (and yep Hayden Panatierre was also on that list) and he definitely feels like a version of a MPDB. Holden Caulfield is definitely his idol and I’m glad he also gets called out for this BS. But Rory of course like his whole version of no one understanding him and he is different enough from Dean to be seen as really interesting. Rory, the writing notes in the pages of your books is an instant cause for dismissal and yet this causes her to moon even more. Dean has always tried to get into the book thing and yet this is not his passion.

I think this is one of my issues with Dean is he always tries to make out that he is a good guy, but he also complains a lot about letting Rory do the things she wants. I also think we’re meant to think Dean is a good guy, but so much of what he does is passive aggressive and the underlying lack of trust/jealousy is pretty much everything that is wrong with the nice guy trope. See also Noel Crane (although I would take Noel over Dean any day). The car accident is a perfect example of this because instead of asking Rory if she is okay after reading her letter he instead double checks that Jess is really gone.

In terms of Rory’s love interests so far it is very much Jess > Dean but urgh it is not much of a competition. I am looking forward to Logan and I only know there is a Logan because he is played by Matt Czuchry of Good Wife fame (to me).img_4093Jess is more palatable with Luke even though a lot of the time he is being a bit of an ass to him, but it does give good back and forths because they are both just as terrible at saying what they feel beyond a few words at a time. I am surprised it took so long for Luke to look for a bigger place for them to live in because this situation looks like a nightmare. Putting a sledge hammer through the wall looks like a lot of fun and it is always enjoyable when Luke goes up against Taylor.

One thing I do find really interesting about this whole dynamic is Lorelai as she digs Dean as a boyfriend choice and is pretty anti-Jess (for good reasons) and it also throws a spanner in the works with Luke. They have minor disagreements and then the BIG disagreement and I can’t believe that we reach the end of this season without so much as a smooch between the pair. LOTS of flirty banter and pretty much everyone around them spelling out what we already know, but this is one hookup that is getting dragged out for all it is worth. To be honest I don’t mind that they haven’t got together yet as it is still relatively early and the whole Christopher stuff is interesting enough. How do you feel about how the whole Christopher thing played out?img_4104Julie: I just realized that Dean reminds me of Scott Eastwood. (I was just reading Lainey during breakfast.) He keeps insisting he’s one thing, when really he’s another. Like, if he tells us enough times that he’s a good dude, that will make it true. The difference between Noel and Dean, I think, is that Noel never tried to hold Felicity (or Hannah) back. He seemed to like being with a smart, driven, talented woman. That’s what drew him to Felicity in the first place. Dean appeared to only like Rory at the beginning because she was cute. And he probably perceived her as a “nice girl,” too.

Okay, Christopher. I love Christopher. I was, like everyone, very Team Luke right from the start, probably because that’s what you’re supposed to be. It’s Luke and Lorelai, not Chris and Lorelai.

But kudos to this show for making Lorelai’s competing love interests (FOR THE MOST PART, foreshadowing future bogus love) so compelling. Max was a delight, and he would’ve been a great choice for her. And there’s just something about Christopher. He’s adorable, first of all, and, while he and Lorelai are a little toxic together because their upbringings are so similar, they get each other. And I think it’s romantic that Rory’s parents could end up together, happily. Christopher doesn’t feel like a concession. He’s not a Paulo or a Julie, filling time until Ross and Rachel can get together. He’s an actual, bonafide alternative to Luke.img_4113But then Sherry comes in and gets all knocked up. That device, at the time, felt very forced, but I think, in future seasons, it ends up working. This show does not drop stuff. Christopher is going to be a full-on dad now, for the second time. And where it goes from here is compelling. It’s too early in the show for Luke and Lorelai to get together, but it’s also, in a lot of ways, too early for her and Christopher as well.

How about the supporting stories? What did you make of Sookie and Jackson?img_4096Emma: The Dean comparison is so spot on and you’re right that Noel didn’t hold his love interests back. He is definitely better than Dean (even if he did stalk Tyra – to this day that storyline still mystifies me).

And I love that you talk about Christopher as more than an almost ran because there is very much a sense that he could be the one for Lorelai, even if Luke is the long term plan. They have so much history and flirty chemistry combined with the whole Rory of it all. The writers also did a good job of drip feeding Christopher and how much time he was spending with them from Rory’s formal introduction into society to the more serious side when she was in the car accident. It was important to re-establish his involvement in their lives beyond just a quick hook up on Lorelai’s old balcony a la old times like in season 1.

We know the heat is there, but the other stuff is just as important and we also know that Christopher can be pretty flaky. Not that his flakiness is all him; he did try and settle down with Lorelai but hey they were 16 and that was too soon. Now he has a Sherry (who I was not a fan of thanks to her “we don’t have to be friends” chat with Lorelai) and things are going great until they’re not. That’s when the big thing and seeming commitment between Lorelai and Chris happens, but then surprise pregnancy alert and he doesn’t want to miss out on being a dad again. Which is understandable but probs terrible in the long run.img_4117Seeing Lorelai so happy and then so crushed in the finale is super sad, but then again I also want her to get with Luke. But also at this point they’re not really talking. Bad times with dudes for Lorelai.

Supporting stories wise I do like Jackson and Sookie, but it’s all pretty much conflict free, which is fine but also makes me less invested. Yes there is the moment where Jackson hints at wanting to move in together and there’s a gender flip with how this pans out but generally they seem pretty solid. I do like the Lorelai/Sookie friendship and I’d like more of that. They had more of an argument to do with Lorelai freaking out about their new inn idea and what has happened with that plan? They have become rather silent on the matter.

The town as a whole still seems equal parts crazy and fun and I am so here for any Luke versus Taylor battle. Any standout town moments for you in season 2?img_4115Julie: I forgot about Noel stalking Tyra! How did this devolve into a Felicity discussion? Everything always comes back to Felicity–and Tyra!

I do love how much the town is fleshed out. It feels like there are so many stories bubbling just below the surface–Gypsy, Kirk, Taylor, Miss Patty. Any time the town has to get together is great for me. And Taylor and Luke are the best frenemies. Taylor is so insufferable, I love it.

I’m also way on board with Lorelai and Sookie opening the inn, but I do kind of get why the subject gets dropped. It feels real–just like how Lorelai’s possible suitors feel real. It’s a big step for the two of them, who are comfortable in their own jobs for the time being. Opening the inn seems like the obvious next step, but I totally see why it would take them a while to pull the trigger.

But Luke and Lorelai do need to kiss already.

Favorite moments? Looking back through the episodes, there weren’t a ton of moments that stuck out for me. I did love Lorelai’s graduation and her parents’ reaction to it. They are really proud of her, deep down. I also love, love, love the idea of the picnic lunch auction. I feel like that could be an entire YA book I should write 🙂

I also liked the Bracebridge dinner, because who doesn’t love a good bottle episode? I would’ve liked some more inappropriate hooking up to have happened, but oh well.

What about you?img_4099Emma: They so need to kiss and just as they get closer something or someone always happens. A lot of my notes when it comes to Luke and Lorelai do just say KISS. It has not worked so far.

They are pretty much a couple as it is, but without the extra fun stuff and I’m glad that everyone in the town can see that they are clearly into each other. The only two people who aren’t willing to totally admit it are Luke and Lorelai. This is why there big argument after the car crash is such a big deal because they have been edging closer and then Jess comes between them. Lorelai has been iffy on Jess since the start and this just supports all her biggest fears and the fact that Luke has been a bit too lackadaisical in delivering any kind of parental discipline doesn’t help.

I wouldn’t say this is a favorite moment as such, but the crash (which we don’t see – budget reasons?) is a huge turning point for Rory and Lorelai. It underscores just how terrible Rory and Dean are as a couple because she clearly is into Jess and Dean is more concerned that Jess has gone than asking if Rory is okay. Rory isn’t completely innocent in all of this, but Dean is still the worst. Also I am so here for Rory showing just how imperfect she can be when it comes to matters of the heart. After all, everyone fucks up sometimes. The writing is on the wall for Dean and Rory from the fact that she doesn’t notice her missing bracelet for two weeks, her spontaneous (and skipping school) trip to NYC (amazing how easily she finds Jess) to kissing Jess at Sookie’s wedding. This doesn’t sound like a relationship that will last.img_4100I also really love the Bracebridge dinner episode and it is the most Stars Hollow bottle episode. It also brings the whole Richard and Emily rift to a head and I think it was really interesting to see such a strong relationship wobble and that it addresses what happens when you retire. Routines are disrupted and Richard questions his worth. I’m also really glad this wasn’t a two episodes and resolved arc. It actually went deep and the best teen shows can handle problems that don’t just relate to the teens. I never considered that they would break up, but it did take these characters to some unexpected places. What did you make of this turn?

Another Emily and Lorelai highlight is their trip to the spa which includes all the ups and downs of an Emily and Lorelai extended hangout. They argue, they have fun and old shit gets brought up. And it always seem fresh and interesting the way they do it.

As you mention the graduation is a highlight (even if Seth MacFarlane plays the worst dude) and underscores so much of what is so compelling about Lorelai and her parents difficult and yet loving dynamic.

There are so many Stars Hollows events and they somehow get even more random as the season progresses, but the picnic is fun and I would definitely read a YA set at something like this.

Any Lane or Paris thoughts? Also any standout early 00s outfits or old references? David Letterman’s stalker, “Anne Heche crazy,” and the Emily the Strange sticker Lane puts on Rory’s cast are ones that spring to mind.

Oh and Kirk’s black and white experimental film starring Mary Lynn Rajskub is AMAZING.img_4111Julie: I do love that the writers don’t make Rory perfect in her romantic choices. It almost seemed like they were going that way from the start–her hooking up with “nice guy” Dean, but she is kind of a mess when it comes to guys, and it gets worse before it gets better, I will say.

She could so easily be a wet blanket goody-goody, but somehow they do manage to give Rory a bit of an edge. I appreciate that.

I love all the Richard and Emily stuff. Shows so often neglect to think about older couples and their evolving relationships, but retirement is such a big step, especially when one partner has been home alone for years and the other has defined himself by his work the whole time. It’s also really interesting to see how it affects Lorelai and, in turn, Rory. I can imagine Lorelai’s position, like, “Crap, I have my own stuff to deal with and now I have to babysit my parents.”img_4107Spa episodes are always great–see 90210 and Designing Women. Throwing women together like that, so vulnerable is great. Also, I adored the scene at the bar and Emily’s reaction to someone thinking she’s still a hot piece. Good for Emily.

The writers never know what to do with Lane. I wish she’d get a better storyline than “I really like this guy, but I know my mom will approve, so no.” Right now she feels like she only exists to serve Rory’s story, and only when necessary. Paris, on the other hand, is a treasure, and actually challenges Rory to be better/try new things.

As far as fashion goes, the spaghetti strapped bridesmaids dress was very close to one I wore around the same time–and never wore again, which was what I was promised!img_4101Emma: Lane does get totally short changed and what was that brief cheerleader moment which has since been dropped?! I get showing that they have grown apart and I’m cool with Lane being a cheerleader, but I can’t imagine Mrs Kim would be thrilled with this and also don’t just forget this was a thing.

And yeah Paris is great as and I love all these socially awkward moments like how she hasn’t had mac and cheese. That whole night with Rory when she flunked (got an A-) a test and covered for Rory by saying she was into Jess was a delight and I’m looking forward to more of this.

The other thing this season has is a wedding and when planning such an event (which is now a month away for me – eek) you can’t help but focus on this stuff when it comes up on a show you have been watching. So slight anxiety because of Sookie’s planning, but also it is fun seeing someone else’s fancy day. In the end the wedding was kind of the set piece for the burgeoning relationships and how they might fall apart. And for Emily to point out a pity invite.img_4077I have definitely done my bridesmaids good – no spaghetti straps and they can definitely wear their dresses again (and not feel bad).

Oh and when Lorelai mentioned she was 32 I paused because that means she is younger than me (at this moment). Minor freak out.

Clothes wise there is the usual mix of bad/slightly baggy jeans and Lorelai animal tees. Also I realised I might be slightly sympathetic to Jess as he wears a lot of similar things to the boys I was friends with in 2001. Like he was in the band Incubus.img_4116Julie: Oh, yeah, that cheerleader thing lasted a minute. They did it for one episode, and that was it. It felt like the writers were throwing stuff at the wall, but that storyline happened not to stick.

I’m not currently in wedding mode, but I do love a good wedding or prom on a TV show to get the drama going–putting all the players in the same place to Make Things Happen. Kind of like a bottle episode. Apparently I’m a sucker for forced social interactions.

Off GG topic, but I based my bridesmaids’ dresses on Liza Minelli’s wedding to David Gest. I let them all pick whatever black dress they wanted. It was like a fashion show. Not sure if any of them ever wore the dress again, but that was on them, not me.

 

Julie Hammerle is, according to Klout, an expert in the areas of both Morgan Freeman and glasses. Her writing can be found at chicagonow.com/hammervision and you can holler at her on Twitter as well.

Hi, there! Like Julie’s writing? Buy her new YA novel, THE SOUND OF US, right here!

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TV Rewind: Gilmore Girls, Season 2, Episodes 1-4

6 Jun

Gilmore Girls, Episodes 2.01-2.04
“Sadie, Sadie…,” “Hammers and Veils,” “Red Light on the Wedding Night” & “The Road Trip to Harvard”
Original Air Dates: Oct. 9, 16, 23Gilmore Girls 2.04 Harvard hatsEmma: We’re back! And we’ve taken a much longer break than I intended and this has been in part to do with how busy this last month has been. But my excuses aside, I am very glad to get back to talking about all things Gilmore.

When we last talked Lorelai had been semi proposed to by Max with a buttload of flowers in a scene that if you have the sound off plays more like a horror movie than a rom com. Luke realized he had feeeeeeeeeelings for Lorelai (well, duh) and Dean and Rory declared their love for each other (snore). And we pretty much pick up the action right where we left off, which is rare for a show of this kind as they tend to do the skipping the summer to coincide with the air date.

The first episode deals with Lorelai’s proposal choice – does she want to marry Max or not? Well we know the actual answer to that by the end of episode 3, but right now she is swept up in the romance of it and getting to experience something she hasn’t necessarily considered would be something she would experience. We see her peaking at wedding magazines and the grandness of Max’s gesture also goes some way in getting her caught up in this moment.

Gilmore Girls 2.01 bridal magazinesOther big news in this episode is that Rory is in the top 3% of her class, which isn’t really a surprise but it does lead to a very awkward celebratory dinner. Rory is allowed to bring a friend and instead of making the sensible choice with the soon to be departed Lane or evening trying to make up with Paris this way, she chooses Dean. Which also makes sense seeing as they’re back together.

What this does is give an insight into the kind of father Richard maybe was when Lorelai was younger because boy does he not like Dean (I get you, Richard), but even Emily is taken back by how rude he is. So what this feels like isn’t so much a snapshot of what Richard was like when Lorelai was young, but rather a reaction to what happened with Lorelai and Christopher. And Lorelai says as much explaining that Rory is the great white hope of the Gilmore clan and Richard just had a vision of the ghost of pregnancy past. It doesn’t excuse Richard’s rudeness, but it does explain it and I love that we get to see this side of him every now and then. He’s not just the fun grandpa.

 How did you feel about the season 2 premiere?
Gilmore Girls 2.01 Gilmore dinner

Julie: I do love that the show jumps right back in after the season premiere. More shows should do summer episodes, like 90210 did back in the day. Those were the best.

Since we’re in season two, it’s time for the writers to start getting deeper with the characters, and the one they start with this year is Papa Gilmore, Richard. He is such an interesting character to me. There’s a lot more nuance to him than I think we saw during season one. He’s not just the bumbling grandfather. He’s not just the mean, rich daddy. He feels like a real character who has real emotions, even if those emotions sometimes get overlooked by the women in his life, who are so deep inside their own heads that sometimes they forget about him. In a lot of ways, I think he sees Rory as a do-over, or maybe he sees her potential success as a way to make everything right. If Rory can grow up to be amazing, maybe he can finally get over Lorelai getting knocked up when she was a teenager.

But I am CERTAINLY Team Richard when it comes to dealing with Dean. He read that guy perfectly from the start. Go back to your hole, Dean.

Now, the Lane thing. I’m not sure what all this was about. Do you know? I’ll spoil it for you (because the actress coming back for the Netflix series)–Lane doesn’t stay in Korea forever. (Did you already know that? Does she come back in the first four episodes?) It’s such a weird thing and has no real repercussions. Was Keiko Agena not available for part of the season? Were they trying to write Lane out, but decided against it? They really have given Lane short shrift so far, and she was starting to take a back seat to Paris at this point, so I’m just wondering.Gilmore Girls 2.01 Richard and EmilyEmma: I agree very much on the Richard thing and it is interesting to see how both Emily and Richard view Rory as their second chance. This is a lot of pressure to put on a teenage girl, but it is natural that they will see this as their time to correct their parenting mistakes too. And I agree with being Team Richard on the Dean front and in the next episode Dean gets annoyed at Rory because she wants to concentrate on her extracurricular activity to help get into Harvard and not hang out with him. I would much rather build houses with an angry Paris (who is still upset about the whole Tristan stuff).

Dean is the worst.

And Lane returns in episode 4 and it transpires that they bought her an open ended ticket to save money as they didn’t know exactly which day she would be back. Which is what I figured and for someone so smart Lane’s fears that they were sending her to Korea seemed way over the top. But hey at least she got some good bootlegs out of it. But you’re right that it does seem a little out of nowhere.

At the end of the first episode Emily finds out via an invite from Sookie to the engagement party/wedding shower that Lorelai is engaged and it goes down as well as expecting and the tears in Emily’s eyes shows exactly how hurt she is by hearing about it second hand. What I love about this relationship is that it could easily feel like they are having the exact same fight on repeat, but it never does and they somehow make each new deep cut as raw and different as the one before it.

Gilmore Girls 2.02 Lorelai, Max and EmilyHere it feels like Emily maybe viewed their relationship as much stronger than it used to be, which is true and yet there is still a rift in how much Lorelai thinks she can tell her mother. When Lorelai does tell her in “Hammers and Veils” Lorelai takes Emily’s reaction of indifference about seeing if they’re free that weekend as confirming her worst fear. Instead this is Emily acting out about being told way after everyone else. This is meant to be a huge moment in a mother/daughter relationship and all it does here is bring out the worst in both of them. Emily is mean and Lorelai reacts with anger and it takes a huge blowup fight like this for either of them to admit exactly how they feel. For how good the Gilmore’s are at talking they are also terrible at explaining their actual feelings.

Lorelai wanted to feel good about this engagement and it is why she didn’t tell her mother as Emily’s words have a huge impact no matter how much Lorelai pretends otherwise. Which is why I am so glad they have the veil trying on moment, which includes a very Emily criticism swiftly followed by the touching tiara offer. Yes I cried because I always do with this pair.

What did you make of this new falling out/making up between Emily and Lorelai?

Gilmore Girls 2.01 Lane

Julie: Yeah, the Lane thing was too short to be any big deal. It was weird. It’s not like we would’ve noticed if Lane were to have not been in two episodes. That’s not out of the ordinary for Gilmore Girls. Poor Lane. She deserves better. Like, maybe she should’ve been building houses with Rory and Paris! (And talking to cute Henry.)

As Lainey says, “Girl shit is the best shit,” and that’s what we get a lot of between Lorelai and her mother. But all of this goes so deep. I think there are several levels to Lorelai not telling her mom about her engagement — 1) The most basic, she has been estranged from her family for so long, they are not her first stop with good news. It was an honest oversight. 2) She subconsciously wanted to stick it to her mother, to make her feel bad, to reinforce that she and Emily are not close. 3) She knows her mom is a walking truth bomb, and she figured Emily would question her motives for marrying Max. I think it’s all of those things. There is so much depth to this relationship.

I pin most of the blame on Lorelai here. It would’ve have been very easy to just tell her mother about the engagement, and it would’ve saved everyone a lot of pain and trouble. Then, on a whole other level, by not telling her mom, Lorelai was able to start planning her wedding without her mother’s interference, which is not nothing. So messy! Which is why the moments of affection are so gut-wrenching.

Speaking of second thoughts about Max…”Red Light on the Wedding Night.” Did you see this coming?Gilmore Girls 2.03 Rory, Lorelai, Max

Emma: It was definitely an easily avoidable situation and I agree that the ball was very much in Lorelai’s court and with every step forward they take something else causes them to revert to their original positions.

One thing I did love is the bachelorette party in “Red Light on the Wedding Night” which pretty much underscored what I figured would happen; the wedding would not go ahead. Over cocktails Emily tells a super romantic story about how excited/nervous she was to marry Richard and that she tried her wedding dress on every night in the lead up. It’s a great insight into Emily and Richard’s relationship and now I want a prequel series of young Emily and Richard. What this does is tap into Lorelai’s biggest Max fears in that she isn’t actually all that in to him. This is made even more apparent by her phone call to ex Christopher mid party when everyone thinks she has sneaked off to call Max.Gilmore Girls 2.02 Luke and mini bridesIf this wasn’t a bad enough sign well then he still doesn’t have house keys and yeeeah this is one doomed relationship. It all happened so fast and while I’ve grown to like Max they do not have half the heat/chemistry of Luke and Lorelai. It is also worth mentioning that my notes from this episode include in all caps KISS ALREADY. This is after Luke has made the wedding chuppah and they have a moment while discussing the notion of the right person. The right person is standing in front of you, Lorelai.

For some reason Dean gives Max a lesson in all things Gilmore ladies. Another sure sign that this relationship is doomed and this time jump from the last episode would feel jarring if I didn’t already know that Max and Lorelai are not going to go the distance.

What is harsh is that when Lorelai flees with Rory in tow is that she hasn’t discussed any of this Max. Instead she is doing what she tends to do and that is run and while I’m so up for a Gilmore road trip she should probably tell him first.

Were you as certain as I was that the relationship with Max would be dunzo?Gilmore Girls 2.03 Emily

Julie: Ooh! I love the prequel series idea. Maybe after the new Netflix series.

Did you think the Christopher call was out-of-the-blue? I did, but now I think I get it. He’s the guy Lorelai calls when she’s stuck, when she doesn’t know what else to do. I think there’s some thing safe for her about Christopher. Maybe it’s because she knows he’ll always be there, in some way, no matter what, since he’s Rory’s father. Calling Luke would mean, whoa, taking a big step, but calling Christopher is like taking a walk down memory lane.

The one I feel for most in the Max/Lorelai messiness is Rory. It was kind of shitty for Lorelai to jump into an engagement so quickly (with her daughter’s TEACHER), when she wasn’t sure. Plus, Max is great to Rory and they seem to get along so well.

To be honest, though, I really wasn’t sure what was going to happen between Lorelai and Max. I mean, I knew they must break up at some point, but I didn’t know if the show would pull a Friends and actually have them get married. The way Lorelai handled the actual breakup was terrible and childish and really highlights how she still does have some growing up to do. Max deserved better. He was a total stand-up guy.

Now, Dean, on the other hand, Rory could leave him in the middle of the night and we’d all be fine.

What have we missed?Gilmore Girls 2.03 Rory pagerEmma: I figured she was going to ring Luke, but as you mention there is so much more there there. With Christopher it is the safe option and I also think she knows he will tell Rory and Rory will ask why. She’s dealing with her cold feet in a very long way round and this also matches how she bails on the whole thing.

There is all this talk of Lorelai running away from situations and this is the first time we’re getting to see her do it on a big scale. In a way she’s been a bit of a self fulfilling prophecy as this is exactly what she said would happen and it has. It’s no good marrying someone you don’t want to marry but there are ways of calling things off and this is not it. Rory is always Lorelai’s number 1 priority and it’s why she didn’t want to date Max in the first place, but she committed and now there are consequences and a random road trip is maybe not the thing to do. Rory calls her on her shit pointing out that they made plans – they made space in the closet – and it’s not just Lorelai in this relationship.

I am very much Team Rory when she confronts her mom in the very intense B&B about the running away and I get that they need mother/daughter boundaries but Rory is spot on here.

During this trip they do drop in at Harvard and this is pretty great. Rory gets all excited about learning and Lorelai gets wistful about the life she could’ve had. Instead of wallowing she instead decides to go all in on the inn she wants to open with Sookie. What did you make of this college visit?

Gilmore Girls 2.04 HarvardJulie: As horrible as the Max situation ended up being, at least Lorelai seems to have learned something from the situation. She can’t keep running from life. Life goes on, no matter what. The people she should’ve graduated from college with have moved on. Eventually Rory is going to move on, too. Lorelai needs something just for herself. So, I love that she talks to Sookie about getting a move on with the inn.

I can’t imagine how surreal it must be to visit a college with your high schooler and know that he or she is going to leave you one day. I know I’ll be excited about it on a lot of levels, but I also totally get Lorelai’s wistfulness regarding the passage of time — her baby is growing up, and has she, Lorelai, accomplished everything she’d hoped to have accomplished by now. And in her case, since she never went to school, what did she miss out on? How is she going to be able to be there for Rory when college is completely foreign to her?

And now Lane is back and Lorelai has a chuppah in her front yard.Gilmore Girls 2.03 Lorelai and LukeEmma: There are so many layers to this college trip and unlike on The Sopranos no one gets killed. First of all there is the Max avoidance and then there is the growing up of Rory and what Lorelai didn’t experience. It also made me realize how Rory and Felicity Porter would be the ideal crossover besties.

It’s nice to take a moment to escape Stars Hollow as while I really like that town it can get super claustrophobic at times. As claustrophobic as the Cheshire Cat. I also love that Lorelai told Sookie to tell Miss Patty about the engagement getting called off because it would be the quickest way for everyone to find out and it works. Luke doesn’t find out until the next time Lorelai rings Sookie and his super shitty mood suddenly turns into being nice to Kirk and giving everyone free coffee.

When they get back and Rory sees Lane this gives Lorelai the chance to go see Luke, which she does and yep those feelings are back. And now I’m wondering when something will happen. It’s been a slow burn and I’m guessing it will still be another good 8/12 episodes before a smooch. At least.

I also love the moment when Emily finds out the wedding is off as it is far less devastating than when she found out about the engagement. At first Emily thinks Lorelai has eloped and she’s mad because she got a new dress and then when she finds out the real story her first thought is returning the gift, which is so Emily Gilmore. It’s a playful exchange between the two and I like this lighter dynamic.

There’s a lot of the usual aughts bad fashions but one thing I noticed was Lorelai’s Porn Star tee which is so 2000/2001. Any standout outfits for you?

Gilmore Girls 2.02 LorelaiJulie: This was a much safer trip than when Meadow went looking at schools. That’s one thing missing from Gilmore Girls–the threat of violent death. Perhaps that’s something the writers can add into the new Netflix series.

I could totally see Felicity and Rory hanging out. And I could DEFINITELY see Noel the RA hitting on someone like Rory. In fact, I think he’d actually work better with Rory than with Felicity. (But Rory would totally go for Ben instead.) Now I’d like to see this crossover universe. Where’s my Gilicity fanfic?

One thing I do love about this show is the cluelessness of both Luke and Lorelai. They’re standing right in front of each other, but they’re both too chicken to make the first move. It could (and should) get old, but for some reason it doesn’t. At least not totally.

That porn star T-shirt was so of the period. Everyone was wearing inappropriate, dirty stuff on their person in the early aughts. I had a tee that said “Hamme(red).” Which was fun because of my last name, but also advertising potential drunkenness. I also appreciated Lorelai’s pug tee and faux necklace tee.

I’m pretty sure I wore to Lilith Fair basically the same thing Rory wore to build a house. It was an attractive time.

Hi, there! Like Julie’s writing? Buy my new YA novel, THE SOUND OF US, right here!

Julie Hammerle is, according to Klout, an expert in the areas of both Morgan Freeman and glasses. Her writing can be found at chicagonow.com/hammervision and you can holler at her on Twitter as

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TV Rewind: Gilmore Girls, Season 1, Episodes 16-21

21 Apr

Gilmore Girls, Episodes 1.16-1.21
“Star-Crossed Lovers and Other Things,” “The Breakup: Part 2”, “The Third Lorelai,” “Emily in Wonderland,” “P.S. I Love You,” & “Love, Daisies, and Troubadours”
Original Air Dates: Mar. 8, 15, 22; April 26; May 3 & 10, 2001Gilmore Girls 1.17 Lorelai and roryEmma: We have a lot to cover as we’re going to be discussing the last six episodes of the first season of Gilmore Girls and a lot happens. So I figure it is best to kick off with the love story that I am least interested in or rather the love interest I am least interested in and that is Dean. In the first of our six episodes “Star Crossed Lovers and Other Strangers” Rory and Dean have hit the big three month anniversary. 3 months is a big deal when you’re a teen (and even as an adult) and especially if it is your first relationship – pretty much all my teen relationships fizzled at this point – and it is especially telling that Rory does not even realize they’ve hit this point. Dean goes ALL in with a fancy dinner and then a grand gesture.

First he shows her a car that he has bought for her and that he will be restoring. This is a very thoughtful gift, but also too, too much at this early stage. He leap frogs the too much when he tells Rory he loves her. Rory was not expecting this because it is too soon and then he is a complete brat when she doesn’t say it in return. This is the point where I realized that Dean really isn’t the dude for Rory because while it must suck to lay your heart out and not get the same in response don’t be a total dick in return. My notes for this point in the episode simply says “Dean is an asshole” and I am sticking with that as he goes after Rory’s relationship with her mother as a reason for why she doesn’t say “I love you” back. No Dean, it is because you are the worst. Yes I know Lorelai worries later on that she has maybe stunted Rory’s capacity to love a guy, but nope, nope, nope.

I didn’t realize how angry I still am about Dean’s petulance in this moment until I was rereading my notes. Nice turtleneck, bro.

So Dean and Rory break up and Rory goes through an expected whirlwind of emotions where she tries to not be the mopey girl even though some moping is incredibly healthy and all it takes is for Tristan to lay one on her for the tears to hit because who wouldn’t cry after that? Okay probably Paris. Other stages include a very grumpy Rory and one that sees her argue with her mom and flee to her grandparents’ house much to Lorelai’s dismay.

What the latter does is bring up all the Lorelai and Emily tensions which continue to simmer and provide Gilmore Girls with a deep, deep well of material that is one of my favorite parts of this show. But before we get to that, what say you about Dean?Gilmore Girls 1.16 Deam and RoryJulie: So, pulling off the bandage of lameness first, huh?

Oh, Dean. Dean is terrible, and I give the GG powers-that-be a lot of credit for making him kind of objectively terrible. On paper, he seems like the perfect boyfriend, the perfect gentleman. He’s kind of quiet and sweet and simple, and maybe he might be good for some other girl, but not for Our Rory. I think Dean has his own expectations of what their relationship is supposed to be. He’s all in. He’s a Real Romantic, which is supposed to come off as swoon-worthy, but really comes off as kind of try-hard and too much. Rory, to her credit, is feeling out the relationship, navigating the initial months with her first boyfriend, not putting too much pressure on the thing, but for Dean it’s true love or nothing.

I wonder if Dean was expecting more from the car than just a little making out, which, ew.

I do think Dean’s right that Rory’s relationship with her mother has influenced her outlook on boys. Her mom fell in love at age sixteen and wound up with a baby. That’s not lost on Rory. She’s a smart girl. It’s going to take a lot for her to open up (ew, no pun intended) to someone.

I always love everything with Lorelai and her mother, and the ways her mom uses these Friday dinners to her advantage are always great. There’s so much formality and procedure involved with each dinner. They always start with drinks in the living room, then advance to dinner in the dining room, and a post-dinner aperitif in the living room. The writers (and Emily Gilmore) always find ways to play with this form. (And I definitely wonder about the drunk-driving coming out of these nights. I hope everyone eats A LOT of food at dinner.)

In this episode, Emily brings in a man for her daughter. Lorelai hasn’t had a serious boyfriend in a while, and Emily wants to help (in the form of a terrible, boring date). What do you think about Lorelai’s love woes? She’s pining after Max, which, did that seem out of left-field for you? It was for me. They’d spent the past few episodes playing up her past with Christopher and teasing stuff with Luke, and then all of a sudden…Max Medina is the one she’s dreaming of. Did that ring true?Gilmore Girls 1.17 fightEmma: Dean is definitely someone who would describe himself as being a nice guy.

I get what you/Dean/Lorelai are saying about Rory’s outlook on love and I do think it is more to do with what Lorelai was like when she was 16 rather than what Lorelai is like now. Repeating her mom’s ‘mistake’ is definitely not on the getting into Harvard plan. One thing I do find interesting is unlike her mother she runs to the house in Hartford when things go to shit as it represents warmth and safety to her, whereas for Lorelai it was everything that was stifling her.

The Max stuff does come out of left field and this is not a woman who has been pining. Yeah she’s just had a crappy set up date situation but I don’t buy this sudden Max shift. I think they just remembered that they need some romantic tension and Max makes sense as an opposition to Luke. I do love that her dad is totally with her on lame this other guy is and I’m glad things have been resolved since we last saw them.

Everything Luke and Lorelai makes so much sense to me, but they are keeping at this super slow pacing and it’s not just Lorelai that gets a love interest from the past acting as a Luke barrier because Rachel is back! And Luke is surprisingly chill about it considering how angry seeing Lorelai in her hoodie made him. Like they just slide back into coupledom without a hint of tension and that I don’t buy either.

Luke holds Rachel at a distance and in a way I think he is going through the motions as he expects her to get bored and leave again. Plus he is also fine with this because he is beyond into Lorelai even if he can’t admit it at first. Lorelai for her part befriends Rachel and is also reluctant to acknowledge any kind of feelings for Luke even if it is clear to everyone else. Including Rachel.

What did you make of the return of Luke’s ex so quickly after Lorelai’s first love has also been on the scene?Gilmore Girls 1.16 Lorelai and RachelJulie: Dean is totally an “I’m a nice guy” nice guy. Exactly. And then he’d mansplain all sorts of nonsense.

Yeah…this part of season one feels like a bunch of filler, a lot of getting from A to B. Sometimes shows really do benefit from shortened seasons. That said, I wish they would’ve mentioned Max at least once in the episode prior to this one. The moment was just, like, “I’m Lorelai, I’m completely hung up on someone.” And I thought, oh, it has to be Luke or Chris. But then it was Max. I really do like Max, but I think he was shoehorned in here.

Obviously I knew we’d see Rachel again (just like I knew we’d see Chris at some point), but I thought maybe she’d make a big entrance in the finale or something. But here she is, flitting back to Stars Hollow, out of nowhere, which can’t make Luke feel too comfortable.

I some ways, she’s just a vehicle to get Luke to recognize his feelings for Lorelai, which is great. They’re adult humans who should recognize how perfect they are for each other. It’s amazing that nothing has ever happened between them before, like even accidentally.

I will say, though, that even though we know Luke and Lorelai are OTP, the show does a pretty good job of making the relationships on the way to their probable pairing seem real and natural. Luke is a hermit bachelor who needs a training woman in his life so he can be ready for Lorelai. That’s all Rachel is. She’s that and she’s a way for him to deal with his past nonsense.

Going back to Rory for a second, since we’re on the breakup episode, how about Stars Hollow’s reaction to her and Dean splitting up and then Rory kiss with Tristan?Gilmore Girls 1.17 Tristan and RoryEmma: I did jump ahead with Lorelai and Luke and while we’re on the subject of Luke I love how protective he is of Rory even if it is a bit much that he gets into a vague scrapping match with Dean. As Lorelai points out he is a grown man and Dean is a teen boy. Living in a community like this would be a lot and especially when it is someone who is as beloved as Rory is. Patty gets it when Lorelai tells her to spread the word about mentioning Dean because who wants all those comments and prying on top of feeling like shit?! Even if Rory is trying not to feel like shit. Kirk doesn’t get it because of course he doesn’t.

So the big party and I’m so glad they laid the seeds of this event in the previous episode. It is also just as ridiculous as I hoped it would be and I’m sad there was never the chance for a Gilmore Girls/Gossip Girl crossover (GG squared) as Paris versus Blair would be so much fun to watch. Madeleine (thanks to my notes I now know which one is which) has also invited Dean because he’s hot but of course the breakup has happened and so Rory takes Lane instead, which I am all for.Gilmore Girls 1.17 Lane and RoryLane happens to meet a Korean guy she actually likes and is mad at herself for being attractive to a guy her parents (she says parents but I assume she means just her mom) would approve of. She resists at first but the offer of dancing is too much to say no to. Oh and side note – while the fashion of this period is BAD, the music is much better. If Paris didn’t race out of the party at the earliest she could I have a feeling that the Rory/Tristan situation would have been very different but alas Paris hates parties and she is a very unlikely school queen bee. She’s got all that power but hates social events and I find this whole hierarchy to be fascinating.Gilmore Girls 1.17 partyBecause it has already been established that Rory always has a book with her it doesn’t come as a surprise that she find a quiet nook to read in to get away from the party. Tristan who has been having girl problems also does the same and this is where things get messy and my notes are all caps NOOOOOOOOOO for several lines. Rory cries and runs out; kissing a terrible dude reminds her of her breakup and the wallowing can commence.

In the next episode Rory apologizes for crying and suggests he take Paris out on a date. This is never going to end well and it doesn’t. I get what Rory is trying to do and I love their bonding over what Paris should wear so I guess we should be thankful Tristan led to this moment. But he’s also the reason they go back to being non-friends and I am far more upset about this than the Dean breakup.Gilmore Girls 1.21 ParisJulie: A GG/GG crossover would be amazing! There’s still time, especially since Netflix is reviving the Gilmores. Maybe Blair can stop by.

Minor spoiler (can you spoil a lack of information?) I’m on season seven now, and I still don’t know a thing about Lane’s dad. Okay, I know exactly one thing, but I don’t know what happened to him or where he is. I’m guessing we’ll never know. Unless this is something they decide to explore in the new series. Lane’s dad: Where the hell?

I love Lane’s cute Korean boyfriend, Henry, and I think it’s fitting that she would balk at dating him simply because her mother would approve. Rory may be Lorelai’s daughter, but Lane is her teenage soul sister. I think it’s pretty masterful how Lorelai and Lane are basically dealing with the same issues, but those issues manifest themselves in different ways. Their mothers both want/wanted them to fit into their particular societies — Lorelai rejected her mom’s social climbing and Lane is rejecting her mother’s cultural/religious demands. Lane is lucky to have Lorelai around, to talk to and to go to bat for her.Gilmore Girls 1.18 Rory and ParisTristan-wise, ew. He’s the worst, but good for Rory for kissing a horrible dude. She’s been too perfect up to now, so I love that she had a moment of complete stupidity. Tristan is a douche and he’s been spoken for by Paris and Rory has only been separated from Dean for a minute.

The setup between Tristan and Paris had “bad idea jeans” written all over it, but I like that we got some real Paris/Rory bonding out the situation. And, as obnoxious as Tristan was for telling Paris about him and Rory, it’s probably for the best that it came out now. Soon, both girls will hopefully be rid of Tristan.

Nestled among the whole Paris/Rory/Tristan nonsense, we met Richard’s mother. What did you think of Trix, and how much did you love her throwing Emily off her game?Gilmore Girls 1.18 Gilmore ladiesEmma: Rory was definitely trying to do good with that date set up and also relieve a bit of guilt for having smooched Tristan as she knows that Paris is way into him. The getting ready stuff was really cute and this episode also reminded me that water bras were a thing that existed at one time. What was with the early aughts?

This is a really big friendship step as they not only discuss Paris’ date/what she should wear, but also the whole Dean stuff. I am looking forward to when they get over this big Tristan hiccup.

Random observation but the fact they are studying the feudal system gave me so many flashbacks to school. Not that we had to do a project like this or come in on a Saturday (thankfully).

Ah yes the third Lorelai (who goes by the name of Trix) and I love how much it causes Emily to spiral. Her mother in law is no fan of Emily and Richard seems blissfully unaware of how shitty his mom is to his wife. Everything Emily does is not good enough and even though I adore Emily like her daughter I am enjoying seeing her being put under the same level of scrutiny as she puts everyone else under.gilmore girls 1.20 breakfastThis includes making sure she has all the gifts she has stashed away for years on display including a very ugly coat stand she regifted to Lorelai.

Trix is very particular and she also drops a huge money bombshell which causes Emily to spiral even further. The money is for Rory and it is a HUGE sum ($250,000) covering college tuition and much more. It would be surprising that Rory hasn’t met her grandmother prior to this but she lives in London and up until recently Rory and her mom have spent very little time with any extended family. Trix wants to make up for lost time and missed birthdays with this generous offer and I didn’t think Lorelai would accept such a huge fund from a relative as she has pretty much done everything by herself up until Chilton.

But she is very grateful for Trix’s offer and it makes sense to secure Rory’s academic future through this trust and if Lorelai had a point to prove to her mother with how she has brought Rory up then she has certainly done this. Emily is upset that Lorelai is more than happy to take this offer and this is linked to what this money might mean for the future of the Friday dinners. Money is how Emily got her daughter and granddaughter back in her life and if Lorelai no longer needs her for this then she fears they will stop coming by. Money means freedom; freedom to choose what to do but also freedom from spending time with them.

If Emily told Lorelai about why she is so against the trust I think Lorelai would a) understand and b) reassure her mother that they will still see them. This is where the lack of communication between the pair comes into play and it is something we see strongly in the episode that follows. Instead Lorelai calls her mother ‘petty, controlling and mean’ and my heart breaks with how at odds they can be when if they simply said how they felt then they could work through things. But then they wouldn’t be showing their ultimate WASP behavior. In the end Trix withdraws her offer and everything is back to where it was.

“Emily in Wonderland” really gets to the root of the Emily/Lorelai relationship strife and the ‘Emily won’t listen and Lorelai won’t talk’ description is super accurate. Rory’s Stars Hollow tour starts off well with Emily borrowing some sneakers as her heels won’t do for all that walking, but it turns sour when Emily sees where Lorelai lived with Rory when she was a baby opening old wounds in a fresh way. What did you make of Emily’s reaction and can they ever get over this painful moment from their past?Gilmore Girls 1.19Julie: The mother/daughter relationships, in all their permutations, are my favorite part of this show. (Also waiting for Luke and Lorelai to just kiss already.)

The Trix and Emily situation is such a fraught mother-in-law relationship. In some ways, yeah, it’s kind of great to see Emily spin her wheels with Trix, but at the same time it’s hard to watch this character, who we have a much deeper relationship with than Trix, not be able to get the upper hand at all. Trix is just as manipulative and conniving as Emily, but she has the advantage of Richard’s unrequited love. Emily, whose entire life revolves around Richard, can’t say anything for fear of upsetting him, so she just takes beating after beating.

The Rory trust fund thing is an obvious power grab, and I completely get Emily’s reaction. Trix is beating her at her own game, and it truly seems like she’s giving the money to Rory for the express purpose of annoying Emily.

Emily’s insecurity does feed right into “Emily in Wonderland,” where Emily gets a taste of life in Stars Hollow. I love her interaction with Mrs. Kim, because the two of them are fairly evenly matched, and they also play the twin roles of “overbearing mother” on this show. They are one in the same, Emily and Mrs. Kim.

Rory taking Emily to see where she grew up is heartbreaking. There’s so much there there. You can see the wheels turning for Emily. Because she wasn’t a more supportive mother to Lorelai, her granddaughter was raised in a shed. Because her relationship with her daughter was so strained, Emily missed this entire phase of her granddaughter’s life. She had no idea this was how they were living. She missed it. There’s a lot of regret and sadness there, even if Emily plays it off as appallingly disgusted.

In this episode, we also get the return of “Roon,” whose name I always thought was spelled “Rune,” probably because of Harry Potter. “Roon,” makes more sense because it’s probably short for “Rooney.” He’s notable for being the only man who can resist the charms of Lorelai Gilmore. He’s now working at the inn and living in the Lorelai’s old shed.

We also get more Luke and Rachel and what is possibly the most overt acknowledgement of Luke and Lorelai’s attraction for each other so far. What did you think of Lorelai’s advice to Luke. Were you screaming for her to just kiss him already?Gilmore Girls 1.16 Luke and LorelaiEmma: It’s crushing when Emily sees their first home as she takes this not only as a reminder of how much she missed, but it also as the physically embodiment of how terrible her relationship was with her daughter when she needed her most. All of Lorelai and Rory’s memories of this place are good; to them it isn’t a shed but their first home and a loving one at that. No matter how unhappy Lorelai was with her family, in this place she was happy. I’m sure there were terrible, fraught moments but this far away from that time the only memories that remain are the good ones. The opposite of how Emily feels when she sees it.

Emily is pretty reactionary so her answer to seeing this is giving Rory her own room at her house which is why she wants to know whether Rory likes the Backside Boys. Emily is of course clueless regarding this kinda stuff and Rory is much more into indie music over pop, but it is very sweet and she even fills the room with flowers. Lorelai thinks there must be an ulterior motive, but I actually think this one comes from a very genuine place. And it does happen to come in handy in the next episode.Gilmore Girls 1.19 new roomIt leads to another argument and this exploration of this very deep rift is one of my favorite things about this show. They aren’t just going to suddenly be fine because that is not who these characters are.

In her trip around Stars Hollows I also very much enjoyed how much Emily got on with Michel because that also made perfect sense.

It’s kinda weird that Rachel wants Lorelai to talk to Luke for her because by this point she must have already sensed something is up, but either she has and she’s ignoring it or she hasn’t and girl needs to put her camera down. And yes there was plenty of yelling at them to kiss. Just do it already. In fact I just looked at my notes and I’ve written “goddamnit you guys” at this scene.

I believe that Lorelai believes she is giving good advice because at this point she is in heavy denial about what they are to each other. I like that in general there is no animosity between Rachel and Lorelai as that would have been the easy route, but I never really considered Rachel to be someone who would stick around as she has guest arc written all over her. She’s fine, but I don’t have any other feelings about her other than that. Did she provoke a greater reaction in you?Gilmore Girls 1.19 Emily and MichelJulie: Another GG mystery for me (along with the whereabouts of Mr. Kim) is Michel’s personal life and sexuality. I think he mentions dating a woman once, but that’s it. It’s left pretty ambiguous after that, and I like the idea of Michel having this whole life beyond Stars Hollow that no one really knows about. And he and Emily are perfect for each other.

As far as Rachel goes, she barely existed for me. She was simply a vehicle for Luke and Lorelai to start considering their feelings for each other. She was obviously never going to stick around, and there was really not much all that dynamic about her, for all of Luke’s pining in the past.

Sticking with the rest of Lorelai’s romantic story, it’s Luke vs. Max for the rest of the season (Where for art thou, Christopher?). Rachel thinks Luke should open up to Lorelai about his feelings, which he doesn’t even know he has yet. Max is feeling insecure because Lorelai hasn’t told anyone about him. He wants to get married because…he wants more of a commitment from her? I guess that’s it. The whole thing moves a little fast. She doesn’t want a half-assed proposal. She wants the real deal, so Max gives her a ton of daisies in the Independence Inn.

Also happy and in love are (barf) Rory and Dean, which, really, since her other option was Tristan, is the lesser of two evils? Ugh. Rory needs some better love interests.Gilmore Girls 1.20 Paul Frank[Ed note. the above Paul Frank pajama top is the most quintessential bedwear of the early aughts and I am very jealous of this] 

Emma: Rachel is very much there to get the plot moving, which is a shame as I thought the actress did a good job with the material she had. Luke knows she isn’t going to stick around and so do we so there is no attachment there. Because Luke doesn’t seem to have strong feelings either passionate romance or passionate anger because of the way they broke up it was pretty much a non-starter.

My issue with the Max stuff is tided into what we have already discussed and that is the sudden nature of his return. They are dating again and as has been the pattern with them in the past it is complicated due to Rory, his job and timing. This all comes up while Rory is off at her grandparents’ house and Lorelai is distracted for good reasons. In the following episode they somehow go from actual dating for real this time to this semi-proposal and woah this is far too fast to be a good idea.Gilmore Girls 1.21 flowersPart of Max’s reasons come after an encounter with Luke in which he senses the vibe that everyone other than Luke and Lorelai can sense. He thinks they are exes or at least something has gone on between them, but Lorelai reassures him that they are just friends and Luke just likes to fix up her house out of the goodness of his heart. It is by this point that Luke has been forced by Rachel to admit that something is there and I was expecting a big gesture of some sort from him to put a spanner in the Max daisy works, but alas he did nothing (yet). This finale felt like it was missing the cliffhanger aspect; the classic who will Lorelai pick and even though the final scene between Lorelai and Rory was cute, it also lacked that something extra to hold you over until the next season starts three months later. Or in our case when we can stick in the next DVD.

One of the topics covered pre-proposal is the matter of if they slept with anyone while they were apart. They both did and while that has got to hurt a little on both sides, I don’t think either of them can be mad at the other for not wallowing alone. Lorelai’s hook up has a lot more weight as there is history there and Lorelai makes sure she points out this fact. This is a very weird time to propose, but Max goes for it leap frogging so many other dating steps.

With Rory her Dean feelings turn into anger; anger at her small town, at her mom, at everything and she flees to her brand new bedroom much to Emily’s delight. I like Rory and her grandparents scenes and the breakfast discussion with Rory in half pajamas/half school uniform is a lot of fun. Her argument with her mom wasn’t on the full on screaming at each other scale, but it is easy to see how Stars Hollow could feel suffocating.

Winning Dean back is very much on the agenda for some reason and this includes going to his house and inadvertently making his sister cry and stalking his place of work. Dean is definitely better than Tristan (who doesn’t even know that PJ Harvey is a woman), but yeah he is still nowhere near a Ben/Noel/Pacey or even Jordan Catalano on the lusting/dream boyfriend scale. But apparently they are also in love. Hmm.Gilmore Girls 1.21 Max, Lorelai and LukeJulie: The writers definitely gave short shrift to both Rachel and Max, the latter of whom I really do like. I think the actor is quite charming and Max has/had the potential to be an asset to Lorelai’s life. But he’s marking time, obviously. He’s not OTP, so every scene with him feels a little wasteful. Like all of Ross’s wives and girlfriends on Friends 🙂

The proposal is certainly way too soon, and comes from a place of insecurity about Luke, so that’s never a good thing. Jumping into marriage to mark one’s territory is probably not the best reason to do it.

The lack of cliffhanger thing is one of the great parts of Netflix, one season flows seamlessly into the next, which is a good thing, Gilmore-wise. The show, as you’ll discover, doesn’t follow the usual pattern of “season ends in May, next season picks up in the fall.” Oftentimes, the next season picks up right where the last one ended, and we get a few “summer” episodes before we see Rory going back to school, or whatever.

One thing I really love about Rory is that she’s the product of her mother, but she’s also willing to let herself be influenced by her grandparents as well. She doesn’t have the same history with them as Lorelai, so she’s much more open to experiencing the Hartford Gilmores’ lifestyle. She doesn’t automatically reject everything they give her. She doesn’t see them as trying to butt their way in. She just likes being with her grandparents. And I completely love her relationship with Richard. She softens him up so much.

But, yeah, Dean. He’s back. Again. And it sucks, because Dean sucks.

What did we miss?Gilmore Girls 1.18Emma: I don’t have much to add other than some general season 1 feelings and those feelings are positive. When starting a show that is this beloved it can be letdown, but Gilmore Girls lived up to those sentiments and this is a really good first season. Occasional certain storylines are dropped and then picked up out of nowhere, but that is as much down to the 20+ episode structure as anything else. The important stuff like the Gilmore ladies dynamic is super strong throughout and I’m really excited to see how this progresses. Same with Luke and kissing.

While Rory’s love interest situation is on the eh side, her lady relationships from her mom and grandmother to her friends are my fave and I hope Rory gets back in with Paris soon. The dramatic display on the steps by Paris and her minions was rather wonderful and so very high school.

I’m also excited to hear they don’t do the usual lack of summer set episodes. I’m always bummed out when pretty much every teen show/and show skips those few months of story.

I am also excited to venture further into the early aughts and see what other terrible fashion we have in store. There will be many.

Julie Hammerle is, according to Klout, an expert in the areas of both Morgan Freeman and glasses. Her writing can be found at chicagonow.com/hammervision and you can holler at her on Twitter as well.

 

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Out of the Box: Look of the Week

8 Apr

Last week spring fever was in the air with a whole array of bold patterns and color; this edition of “Out of the Box” is a little bit more varied with some very fun outfits, fancy awards wear and more magazine cover stunners.Danai GuriraDespite my white clothing reservations – because I am a spiller – Danai Gurira crushes it at Black Girls Rock! in this very cool Cushnie Et Ochs jumpsuit number that wouldn’t look out of place in Studio 54’s heyday. Gurira is on a red carpet hot streak and all I can say regarding Walking Dead is Michonne better not be the one on the end of Jeffery Dean Morgan’s bat. Caitriona BalfeMore white and Caitriona Balfe does the whole casual ladysuit thing with aplomb at the Television Academy’s Outlander panel discussion. A simple and super cool twist on one of my favorite trends and I’m looking forward to all the incredible costumes when Outlander returns tomorrow (Saturday 9). Alison PillAlison Pill in a very cute outfit at the premiere of The Night Manager and one that a) is perfect for someone who isn’t in the project of the event they are attending and b) something I would like to see in my closet.Uzo AdubaAt the Olivier Awards Uzo Aduba took a break from performing in The Maids and looked elegant in this orange off the shoulder Elizabeth Kennedy gown. And now all I want is a bag shaped like a ball. Kit+Harington+Olivier+Awards+Mastercard+Red+8rQo6n8ircnlMaking their official debut as a couple at the Olivier Awards, which makes this sound like we’re stepping out of a society novel and also maybe trying to shift attention from the question Kit Harington has been asked repeatedly since the Game of Thrones season 5 finale.

This isn’t news for anyone who follows celeb dating stories (which I do), but I am always thrilled when IRL couples walk the carpet together especially when their characters were also together on screen. I’m not a hundred percent in love with the shape of Rose Leslie’s gown, but the color and pattern is stunning.Sarah Paulson and Sterling K BrownAnd by Look of the Week I mean look of the week. The shipping of Marcia Clark and Chris Darden was the biggest surprise to come out of American Crime Story (something I wrote a little bit more on in my Observer column this week). Here are Sarah Paulson and Sterling K. Brown at an American Crime Story For Your Consideration event earlier this week; up close I really like Sarah Paulson’s frock, but that level of sheer in the wide shot and lining does not do it for me.Lupita Nyong'oAnother striking Lupita Nyong’o magazine cover as part of Variety’s annual “Power of Women” issue celebrating her work with Mother Health International. Excellent trench and background color elevate this shot, but Lupita’s face is what really makes this a standout image.Gilmore GirlsThe Gilmore Girls revival is in full swing and because I am only just finishing up season 1 (I know) I am avoiding reading this Entertainment Weekly article and looking at the photos until I’ve caught up; it is going to be hard but also that is totally on me.

They both look great and I particularly like Alexis Bledel’s ensemble and lipstick (of course). It’s weird seeing them in clothes that don’t give me all the flashbacks to early aughts fashion nightmares.Emilia ClarkeEmilia Clark put a sparkly bird on it wearing Gucci on her Glamour cover and there’s a lot of chat about nudity on Game of Thrones including Michiel Huisman’s “perfect bottom.”

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