Season 6

[Cetacean]

1 hour ago, NYGirl said:

Is this some kind of thing they used to do in those days...introduce a younger kid when the other kid is too old?

I think this was more of a "screw you, see how you get out of THIS mess" from ASP and DP.  They knew they were leaving and were determined to make things as difficult as possible for the incoming writers.  They cared not a wit what the viewers might feel about it.

[chessiegal]

1 hour ago, NYGirl said:

BTW I am a big fan of Mrs. Maisal on Netflix and I just saw the ASP had something to do with it and someone mentioned Gilmore...that's why I started watching.  However Mrs M didn't bug me as much as this does.

I'm so glad to hear this. Amy and Dan had everything to do with Mrs. Maisel. They created it. I really enjoy it. Too bad the pandemic has slowed production.

GG has its moments. I caught it in reruns while on a business trip. This was early 2000s so found out it was still in production. I've gotten many enjoyable moments watching.

[Taryn74]

2 hours ago, NYGirl said:

Ok...so Christopher finally does the right thing and Emily and Richard get mad?  What's wrong with them?  I'm thinking that's the only way they can control the girls.

I believe that's why it upset Emily. Richard, IMO, was just embarrassed because he had thrown a fit over his check for tuition being returned because Rory hadn't even bothered to tell them she didn't need them to pay it. That's 100% on her, truly a spiteful and immature thing to do. (Of course, she learned it from the best, so..... LOL)

58 minutes ago, Cetacean said:

I think this was more of a "screw you, see how you get out of THIS mess" from ASP and DP.  They knew they were leaving and were determined to make things as difficult as possible for the incoming writers.  They cared not a wit what the viewers might feel about it.

Yep. "Squee on this, bitches." I quote that all the time and I don't even remember now who said it LOL. The recapper, I think.

[NYGirl]

I loved the Friday Night Fights episode! 

Rory is confusing me with her love life.  You know?  I like Logan.. I'm not sure what you guys think about him. He seems like he sincerely loves Rory.  He's just what we all picture the rich kids to be like.  He's the perfect actor for that role though.  And then we have Jess yet again...not so brooding and a lot more talkative ... nicer hair .. more mature.

Paris was crazy as the editor but as she says she's not a people person.

Hating this April storyline and I'm sorry I'm not a fan of Luke lately.  WTF why does he bring her to meet Jess and is not letting Lorelai meet her???  She's going to be her stepmother for goodness sake!

I loved Lane's wedding and Zach loving the robe.  Mrs. Kim!!  We have the growth of a character.  She's almost likeable.

[peacheslatour]

I just sitting  quietly over here eating Raisinettes.

[chessiegal]

As my mother used to say about the actor Van Johnson, Matt Czuchry can put his shoes under my bed any night.

[NYGirl]

So where does Rory get off telling Logan's father that he better get to the hospital right away or else???  Who the hell died and left her boss. I couldn't believe it.  I personally didn't see anything wrong with his WSJ story that he hired her to be an intern.  It wasn't a lie. 

Annnnnnd I told you I'm not liking Luke lately and it's going to take something big to make me like him again...How dare he tell Lorelai he didn't want her to meet April because April will like her better than him?  Well she showed him...lol.  April probably does like her better after that cool birthday party!

Then we see bitch jealous Anna...yelling at Luke for having his girlfriend participate in the party.  She made herself out to be Mother Theresa with her kid and yet she didn't care that the kid loved her party.  Where was her fun birthday party for her daughter?  And then being nasty and I might add, stupid, to Lorelai saying being engaged is not important.

Who wrote this crap???!!   This is not the same show I've been watching for over a week or 2.

See?  I can stick up for Lorelai if need be.

A new OTT character?  Michel....dancing and exercising.  Very professional, along with "professional" Sookie.  (insert eye roll)

[Cetacean]

5 minutes ago, NYGirl said:

Who wrote this crap???!!

The dear departing duo.  Forever on my shit list.

[NYGirl]

So Season 6 went very fast!  Rory has some pair in that she yelled at Logan's father in the elevator.  He was right and I guess she realized it.

So did Lorelai get cold feet yet again or did Luke?  The whole thing really annoyed me.  And then she slept with Christopher... ugh.

Not happy with this season.  April chewed up way too much storyline.

I guess I'll be moving to Season 7 now.  See you there.

Before I leave somebody explain.  Did ASP and David get fired?  Did they leave on their own? If so why?

Edited January 16, 2021 by NYGirl

[marineg]

On 1/16/2021 at 3:25 AM, NYGirl said:

Then we see bitch jealous Anna...yelling at Luke for having his girlfriend participate in the party.  She made herself out to be Mother Theresa with her kid and yet she didn't care that the kid loved her party.  Where was her fun birthday party for her daughter?  And then being nasty and I might add, stupid, to Lorelai saying being engaged is not important.

I think what surprised me the most about the whole birthday party thing is that the sleepover was not planned. Every kid at that party (including April) was dropped off by their parents who knew a man was organizing/hosting the party. So when the girls called their parents to ask if they could sleep over, the parents knew it was at Luke's. Either they were fine with an adult man sleep in the same room as a bunch of 13yo girls or they expected him to be in a separate room or they were made aware by their kids that April's father's fiancee (ie. Lorelai) would be with them.

Anna's mainly mad at the Lorelai sleeping in the room with the girls:

ANNA: April said you spent the night downstairs.
LUKE: Yeah well, I spent the night in the storage room. I though it would be a little weird…
ANNA: So when you were in the storage room, your girlfriend was upstairs with the girls.
LUKE: Well yeah.
ANNA: How am I supposed to explain that to the other girls' parents? How am I supposed to tell them that I left their kids all alone with a woman I've never even met? Who does that!

So in the first scenario I listed, if the parents were fine with a grown man they have barely met sleep next to little girls, they would probably fine with his female fiancee doing the same.
In the second scenario, if they expected Luke to sleep in a separate room and the girls alone, they would probably be fine with a female adult watching over their children.
And in the third scenario, if the girls had told their parents that Lorelai would be there, the parents would have agreed to it and wouldn't object after the fact.

[Taryn74]

30 minutes ago, marineg said:

So in the first scenario I listed, if the parents were fine with a grown man they have barely met sleep next to little girls, they would probably fine with his female fiancee doing the same.
In the second scenario, if they expected Luke to sleep in a separate room and the girls alone, they would probably be fine with a female adult watching over their children.
And in the third scenario, if the girls had told their parents that Lorelai would be there, the parents would have agreed to it and wouldn't object after the fact.

Right? Anna's fury was the DUMBEST thing I had ever heard. As a parent, I would have been greatly relieved to hear that at least one female adult was there keeping an eye on a roomful of 12/13 yo girls, rather than one girl's father who she was just recently getting to know. I can't even spin it in any way to see Anna's point on that one.

[chitowngirl]

You would think that Lorelai and Anna could have bonded over the single mother thing....I don’t think I ever heard Lorelai tell Anna “I know exactly how you feel about dating and having a young daughter. It’s hard and tricky, we should have coffee”.

[Oldernowiser]

1 minute ago, chitowngirl said:

You would think that Lorelai and Anna could have bonded over the single mother thing....I don’t think I ever heard Lorelai tell Anna “I know exactly how you feel about dating and having a young daughter. It’s hard and tricky, we should have coffee”.

I think she tried when she went to introduce herself to Anna...she told her she was also a single mom and then Anna cut her off mid-sentence. If Anna had been any less of a psycho about it all, they probably would have reached some kind of accord. But apparently people acting sane and/or reasonably was forbidden for seasons six and seven, so Anna was a hag about her daughter’s great party and Lorelei just schmooped away after trying and failing to make things better.

[peacheslatour]

6 minutes ago, Oldernowiser said:

I think she tried when she went to introduce herself to Anna...she told her she was also a single mom and then Anna cut her off mid-sentence. If Anna had been any less of a psycho about it all, they probably would have reached some kind of accord. But apparently people acting sane and/or reasonably was forbidden for seasons six and seven, so Anna was a hag about her daughter’s great party and Lorelei just schmooped away after trying and failing to make things better.

I couldn't believe it when she showed up in that failed spin off. I did like her on Twin Peaks though

[cleo]

So I started season 6. Just finished episode 2. I didn't expect this to get so bad so fast. There is nothing in L/Ls scenes to indicate there is any connection between these two people. It is just awkward and painful to watch. 

And I don't like Rory so I'm not into her scenes. 

Why am I watching? Really need some light TV where I don't have to pay too much attn or concentrate- (stressed and exhausted). 

So one thing on this rewatch- one goal for me was to see if anything was salvageable in these epa for me. So far 1 and 2 are a hard pass, won't watch again.

Also too much TJ and Liz.

Edited February 24, 2021 by cleo

[Oldernowiser]

@cleo, you have my sincere sympathy. This show somehow hooks you in emotionally and then season six comes along and kicks you in the face for it. Stars Hollow was my happy place for months (I only watched it one episode at a time...mostly...when I was on the treadmill) and now it’s taken me ten times as long to get through seasons six and seven. Too much Christopher, April and that whole stupid thing, too much Logan. And I have severe doubts that I’m going to bother with the revival.

Have you tried Great British Bakeoff? Beautiful scenery. Lovely music. Sugar. British people being kind to each other. It’s the best de-stresser I have at the moment!

[Taryn74]

41 minutes ago, Oldernowiser said:

This show somehow hooks you in emotionally and then season six comes along and kicks you in the face for it.

Most accurate description ever!

[peacheslatour]

4 hours ago, Oldernowiser said:

@cleo, you have my sincere sympathy. This show somehow hooks you in emotionally and then season six comes along and kicks you in the face for it. Stars Hollow was my happy place for months (I only watched it one episode at a time...mostly...when I was on the treadmill) and now it’s taken me ten times as long to get through seasons six and seven. Too much Christopher, April and that whole stupid thing, too much Logan. And I have severe doubts that I’m going to bother with the revival.

Have you tried Great British Bakeoff? Beautiful scenery. Lovely music. Sugar. British people being kind to each other. It’s the best de-stresser I have at the moment!

My happy place at one time. Now? No Mary Berry? No Paul Hollywood? The two women that were the hosts? Now they have an incredibly annoying guy and a bunch of forgettable non entities. Makes me sad.

[Oldernowiser]

1 minute ago, peacheslatour said:

My happy place at one time. Now? No Mary Berry? No Paul Hollywood? The two women that were the hosts? Now they have an incredibly annoying guy and a bunch of forgettable non entities. Makes me sad.

Well, damn. I just started watching the early seasons and was just getting over the Noel/Prue/Sue/Mel transition hurdle...and you’re telling me it gets worse? 

Oh, the humanity...

P.S. To get more on topic, at least GG never swapped out, say, Luke or Emily, for another actor and tried to pass them off.

[peacheslatour]

1 minute ago, Oldernowiser said:

Well, damn. I just started watching the early seasons and was just getting over the Noel/Prue/Sue/Mel transition hurdle...and you’re telling me it gets worse? 

Oh, the humanity...

P.S. To get more on topic, at least GG never swapped out, say, Luke or Emily, for another actor and tried to pass them off.

Can you imagine the coast to coast wailing and gnashing of teeth if they did?

[Oldernowiser]

 

4 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Can you imagine the coast to coast wailing and gnashing of teeth if they did?

Given the blithe disregard the showrunners seemed to have for their viewing audience, would it have mattered? Although the show might have survived an Emily swap...but losing Scott/Luke? Probably not.

[peacheslatour]

Just now, Oldernowiser said:

 

Given the blithe disregard the showrunners seemed to have for their viewing audience, would it have mattered? Although the show might have survived an Emily swap...but losing Scott/Luke? Probably not.

I wish they'd found other actors to play Christopher and April.

[Oldernowiser]

23 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

I wish they'd found other actors to play Christopher and April.

Or, you know, actual actors. Neither Smirky One Note Pretty Boy or Painfully Stilted Girl (every line she delivered sounded like she was reading the script out loud) qualified, IMO. 

[Cetacean]

2 hours ago, Oldernowiser said:

Well, damn. I just started watching the early seasons and was just getting over the Noel/Prue/Sue/Mel transition hurdle...and you’re telling me it gets worse? 

Saldy, yes.  It definitely gets worse.  Try to block out the hosts and stick with the contestants.

2 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

I wish they'd found other actors to play Christopher and April.

I wish they'd found a way to kill off Christopher and April.

[Oldernowiser]

2 minutes ago, Cetacean said:

I wish they'd found a way to kill off Christopher and April

I’m with you...but that’s pretty dark for Life in Stars Hollow.

But April moving to New Mexico was a missed opportunity to never see her again...same with Christopher getting Sherry (was that her name?) pregnant. He could have gone back to a fictional phone call every once in a while.

Stupid writers...

[alexa]

I didn't dislike the actor that played Chris, I just disliked his constant meddling at all of the wrong times.  There were times I didn't mind him, and the times I did were more storyline related and not so much to the actor or how he played it out.

As for April, I kind of liked April.  I think more in the rewatches as I was prepared for what was to come and could enjoy the show differently.  I thought the actress did a good job with what she was given.  But I understand why some don't like her.  I am not saying I love the storyline but in my latest rewatch I tried to watch the show differently and not focused on the big annoying stories, but each episode with all of its bits and pieces to enjoy.  

[peacheslatour]

3 hours ago, alexa said:

I didn't dislike the actor that played Chris, I just disliked his constant meddling at all of the wrong times.  There were times I didn't mind him, and the times I did were more storyline related and not so much to the actor or how he played it out.

As for April, I kind of liked April.  I think more in the rewatches as I was prepared for what was to come and could enjoy the show differently.  I thought the actress did a good job with what she was given.  But I understand why some don't like her.  I am not saying I love the storyline but in my latest rewatch I tried to watch the show differently and not focused on the big annoying stories, but each episode with all of its bits and pieces to enjoy.  

I could have liked her in a different context. But I felt like her character was such an obvious plot device that it really made me dislike her. I don't know if recasting would have helped but she was just kind of a drag.

[Oldernowiser]

On 2/26/2021 at 1:28 PM, peacheslatour said:

I could have liked her in a different context. But I felt like her character was such an obvious plot device that it really made me dislike her. I don't know if recasting would have helped but she was just kind of a drag.

She wasn’t likable, IMO. She shows up, yanks a hair out of Luke’s head and it was downhill from the jump. She was weirdly self-assured...like a young Paris but without the entertaining viciousness and underlying vulnerability. In order for that to have worked at all they should have made her someone you actually liked to see show up. Like Lane, for example. It was impossible for me to get past, “here’s that actress who’s supposed to be Luke’s daughter.” (Fast forwarding.)

 

[peacheslatour]

19 hours ago, Oldernowiser said:

She wasn’t likable, IMO. She shows up, yanks a hair out of Luke’s head and it was downhill from the jump. She was weirdly self-assured...like a young Paris but without the entertaining viciousness and underlying vulnerability. In order for that to have worked at all they should have made her someone you actually liked to see show up. Like Lane, for example. It was impossible for me to get past, “here’s that actress who’s supposed to be Luke’s daughter.” (Fast forwarding.)

 

Yeah, I never could buy that she was Luke's daughter. A different actor could have sold it but not her.

[Hera]

April and Anna are basically an alternative universe Rory and Lorelai (but with a larger age gap and less focus on their relationship with each other), and I think @Oldernowiser is right that there are elements of Paris in April's characterization as well. I don't have strong feelings about the actress since I don't think anyone could have salvaged that story line. They could have had the most talented, charismatic 12 year old ever in that role, and I still think we would have resented the character and the arc. The goal was to write the show into a corner as revenge against the network (although it was the fans who suffered), and it sure worked.

It was especially egregious because didn't fit with what we previously knew about Luke or Stars Hollow. No one in town seemed to have heard of Anna before, even though they all knew all about Rachel (and Rachel's jacket that Lorelai found in season 1 could have easily been Anna's, except that the writers weren't trying to destroy the show at that point, so Anna and April didn't exist). Only Liz seemed to know about her (and to have met her when she and Luke were dating), even though the Luke/Anna relationship would have taken place after Liz had moved away and Jess was born (I say this because it doesn't seem like Jess had ever lived in Stars Hollow prior to his arrival in season 2).

Besides that, Anna and April weren't living very far away, and it just seems impossible that no one in Stars Hollow ever ran into her and found she had a kid, or that she had no mutual friends or acquaintances with Luke who would have mentioned it in passing. Even if she had moved away for a little while, it seems like it wouldn't have taken long for someone to find out once she was back in the area.

[Taryn74]

4 hours ago, Hera said:

I don't have strong feelings about the actress since I don't think anyone could have salvaged that story line. They could have had the most talented, charismatic 12 year old ever in that role, and I still think we would have resented the character and the arc. 

Yep.

 

4 hours ago, Hera said:

It was especially egregious because didn't fit with what we previously knew about Luke or Stars Hollow. No one in town seemed to have heard of Anna before, even though they all knew all about Rachel (and Rachel's jacket that Lorelai found in season 1 could have easily been Anna's, except that the writers weren't trying to destroy the show at that point, so Anna and April didn't exist). Only Liz seemed to know about her (and to have met her when she and Luke were dating), even though the Luke/Anna relationship would have taken place after Liz had moved away and Jess was born (I say this because it doesn't seem like Jess had ever lived in Stars Hollow prior to his arrival in season 2).

Yep.

 

4 hours ago, Hera said:

Besides that, Anna and April weren't living very far away, and it just seems impossible that no one in Stars Hollow ever ran into her and found she had a kid, or that she had no mutual friends or acquaintances with Luke who would have mentioned it in passing. Even if she had moved away for a little while, it seems like it wouldn't have taken long for someone to find out once she was back in the area.

Yep. No way in hell would Babette and Miss Patty not have been all up in that woman's business. Which brings me to -

 

4 hours ago, Hera said:

The goal was to write the show into a corner as revenge against the network (although it was the fans who suffered), and it sure worked.

YEP.

[cleo]

Agreed no actress could have saved s 6 and I feel bad a young actor got stuck in a pile of crap.

Watching the ep where Rory does the USO event. I know the takeaway from season 6 isn't supposed to be Rory would be suitable as a society wife but that's pretty much my takeaway, much better than a journalist.

So far Paris is one of the bright spots in S. 6.

ETA I love Paris going from- I want to work- to Karl Marx in like an hour.

Edited March 14, 2021 by cleo

[peacheslatour]

Quote

ETA I love Paris going from- I want to work- to Karl Marx in like an hour.

Right? She was like "Up against the wall you rich MFers!"

[Hera]

On 3/13/2021 at 8:23 PM, cleo said:

So far Paris is one of the bright spots in S. 6.

For my money, Paris is one of the few consistently great parts of the show, especially in the post-Chilton years. I hated what they did with Rory and Lane, but I never got tired of watching Paris be an intense overachiever. Even when she made dumb choices (like the whole Asher Fleming affair), it never seemed totally out of character to me, and she was certainly never dull.

[Taryn74]

2 hours ago, Hera said:

Even when she made dumb choices (like the whole Asher Fleming affair), it never seemed totally out of character to me, and she was certainly never dull.

Honestly I didn't mind her with Asher. Granted, if it were my daughter I would want to kill them both, LOL, but they strangely worked as a fictional couple.

[cleo]

I watched Balalaikas and will skip the next eps and watch the episode where they all fight. Then I'm done with 6 and will jump to season 7.

I liked the subplot with the soccer girls.

In general I found Logan and Rory both more tolerable in season 6. It is really the whole Yale thing with Marty and the LDB in season 5 that I have zero interest in.

ETA Rory being slightly tolerable lasted like 5 mins. 

Rory- I'm so grown up I can get my daddy to pay for school and I won't even take responsibility and tell my grandparents I'll just let them send in an unnecessary cheque that will be rejected and they won't understand why.

She is honestly the worst. And I know she was ticked at them, but as the saying goes- it's not about them but about her and being a grown up.

Edited April 3, 2021 by cleo

[ahpny]

On 5/21/2016 at 3:34 PM, cuddlingcrowley said:

But there's a lack of empathy all around. Luke leaving a message on Lorelai's machine that they ought to meet in the diner after April's gone? Come on! I know a lot has been said that Lorelai should have been more open to Luke about being unhappy but I really feel like Luke shouldn't have put her in that position in the first place.

Here's my take on an appropriate apportionment of blame, from most to least: Anna, Lorelai, Luke, and April. Just viewing the entire series for the first time now. About to start season 7.

Starting with most guilty: Anna. She is the tap root of this trouble. While I'm not aware of any law she violated in concealing Luke's parenthood for 13 years - and apparently intending to continue that concealment forever - she certainly violated a lot of other things, including any sense of common decency and morality. She may have the exclusive right to decide whether to have her child, but once that child is here, the father has rights too. Anna violated those rights, and did so in a stupid manner almost preordained to blow up in everyone's face. First, it's not like she and April live thousands of miles away, or even in a different state. She lives in a neighboring town, very close - close enough that the Stars Hollow locals could figure out the likely father if anyone really had in interest in solving that "mystery." Second, she knew her daughter was bright, inquisitive and resourceful. That, plus the geographic nearness, made it inevitable that April would solve this "mystery" all on her own at some point. Anna did nothing to prepare anyone for that eventuality even after she learned that April was doing her “research” project. It's not Anna’s place to "decide" that Luke doesn't like kids, apparently based solely on one comment more than a decade ago that she may or may not recall accurately about Luke “disliking” kids. As she quickly found out, precisely the opposite was true now, at least with respect to April. Further, the "rules" she recited to Lorelai are not Anna's to make for Luke. That she might want to conceal her boyfriends from April does not mean she has an absolute right to demand that Luke conceal his girlfriends. Legally, she might be able to get away with enforcing those "rules" now (as April's exclusive "legal" parent), but if Luke were to get even partial custody, Anna could not control to whom Luke introduces to April absent a specific Court order otherwise. And what is Anna’s rationale for her bright-line between "wife" and "fiancée" anyway? Wives become ex-wives all the time. Neither Lorelai nor Luke should have let Anna run the show, but clearly only Luke really had standing to challenge Anna.

Next in line would be Lorelai, though I think she and Luke share similar levels of blame. I put Lorelai first because, given her experience as a parent of a precocious daughter, she knew how freaked out Luke was and how this turned his world upside down. In short, she was better prepared to understand his feelings than perhaps he was to appreciate hers. She was neither truthful nor disclosing of her feelings and the issues that mattered to her most. She was selfish and impatient. She felt threatened - in a similar way that Luke has always felt threatened by Christopher - but Luke more or less got over that, at least up to this point. Lorelai should have been more supportive and less rigid. Moreover, an ultimatum like "marry me immediately or else" is rarely well received. How that ultimatum grew out of her in-the-car impromptu therapy "session" was also bit curious. Plus, sleeping with Christopher and then telling Luke about that was some pretty self-hating gamesmanship right there. That was also a precisely-fired cruise missile aimed at Luke’s most vulnerable spot. Target destroyed. It seemed like she was engineering her own unhappiness because she knew no other path. She should not have gone to Lane's wedding with Christopher. That was never going to end well – both of them should have known that. She should have gone alone, screw Lane's mom, and her “whorish” concerns. Lorelai stands up to Emily all the time, why not call out Lane's mom's “couples-only decree” for the idiocy that it was? I didn't see any armed guards at Lane's wedding, what was Lane's mom going to do if Lorelai showed up alone, especially after explaining that Michele cancelled just moments before? If Lorelai had to piss off either Lane’s mom or Luke, why would she choose to endanger her relationship with Luke instead of endangering her relationship with Lane’s mom? Who cares about Lane’s mom? And Michele should be fired – or something – for standing her up at the last minute.

Next, Luke was a coward. That he thought about telling Lorelai far earlier than he did isn’t worth much without the follow-through of actually, you know, telling her. But couldn’t he at least have told her that he tried to tell her when she swanned down in that wedding gown, but he just couldn’t find his balls and burst her wedding bliss in that moment. At least that had a chance of conveying to her that he knew he was wrong and had been trying, however ineptly, to fix that. He should have stood up to Anna and defended Lorelai more than he did. He should have threatened legal action against Anna and said her exclusive control over April ends now and that he is the aggrieved party and he now calls at least some of the shots too. While he may need a Court to assert his parental rights, Anna seemed smart enough to know that that would be inevitable, if disputes arose, and she should have given him a wider berth. While Luke is just as “never-married” as Lorelai, he should have intuited that concretizing the wedding plans was more important to her because he supposedly knows her better than anyone, other than Rory. And I don’t quite understand the linkage that Luke made between April and the wedding date. The two don’t really have that much to do with each other. What did he plan to do, or not do, with April in the near-term that would be affected by his wedding date anyway? And as Anna made clear, having the wedding would simplify certain things anyway. For a supposedly manly man, he was a bigtime wuss.

Lastly, I don't see anything for which 13-year old April can be rightly be blamed. She's a perfectly normal-seeming teen with perhaps several purposefully-similar traits to Rory (but less annoying, more consistent, and thoroughly believable). She gets no blame in my book.

[Hera]

43 minutes ago, ahpny said:

And I don’t quite understand the linkage that Luke made between April and the wedding date. The two don’t really have that much to do with each other. What did he plan to do, or not do, with April in the near-term that would be affected by his wedding date anyway?

I had never really clocked this before, but it's a good point. My best guess is that the discovery of his long-long daughter was enough of an upheaval that he didn't want the upheaval of wedding planning and being a newlywed on top of it. It doesn't make much sense or really stand up to scrutiny: Lorelai was already on top of the planning, and if your life/relationship with your partner changes drastically just because you got married then that doesn't say great things about the solidity of your relationship in the first place. It's not like they were getting married and moving to another country or even another city.

49 minutes ago, ahpny said:

I put Lorelai first because, given her experience as a parent of a precocious daughter, she knew how freaked out Luke was and how this turned his world upside down.

I have to disagree with this. Having a kid (precocious or otherwise) wouldn't have prepared Lorelai for what Luke was going through, especially given that he didn't tell her about it right away. What's more, Lorelai never hid Rory from Christopher or anyone else, and as far as we knew, never had any rules about which of Christopher's girlfriends could be introduced to Rory, so it's not like she would have been able to provide any insight into Anna's frame of mind.

[chitowngirl]

14 hours ago, ahpny said:

Michele should be fired – or something – for standing her up at the last minute.

I don’t think you can fire someone for standing you up to accompany you to a wedding! lol

[Taryn74]

17 hours ago, ahpny said:

And I don’t quite understand the linkage that Luke made between April and the wedding date. The two don’t really have that much to do with each other. What did he plan to do, or not do, with April in the near-term that would be affected by his wedding date anyway?

I'll always defend Luke on this one. Having a very similar personality to him, I totally get it. I cannot handle trying to focus on more than one thing at a time, I just can't. That's part of the reason I never did well in the work force and never plan to go back to it (I've been a stay-at-home mom for over 20 years now, LOL) -- any time a boss would give me more than one task outside of my usual routine it would be so overwhelming to me I would start feeling panicked and have difficulty getting any of it finished. Doesn't make for the greatest employee. It's part of the introverted personality, as crazy as that may sound. (And finding out, as an adult, that there is so much more to being an introvert than just avoiding people was an extreme relief to me. It finally gave me answers to things about myself that I knew drove people crazy but I couldn't not be that way. I just felt like a freak because of it, LOL.) Even attempting to clean house without breaking it down mentally into steps is difficult. Something major like adjusting to finding out you're a father while simultaneously adjusting to being married for the first time (to someone not related to the child)? Forget it. It doesn't matter if Lorelai was the one doing all the wedding planning or not. The wedding itself would be a side issue, tbh. Adjusting to married life is something else altogether.

Anna was an absolute nutcase. There's no excusing her.

Lorelai started out meaning well, but her personality is such that she can't handle not being involved (or the center of attention *cough*) for more than a short time, and the more it felt like Luke was dragging things out, the more she took it personally. She handled it all wrong, and I don't condone the things she did, but I'm able to objectively stand back and understand why she felt that way.

[Kirsty]

I've watched a bunch of episodes from seasons five and six on Netflix over the past week. I should say rewatched, as I watched these back when they first aired on TV.

I've been enjoying them. But one thing that stands out a mile to me -- and it would stand out even more to a younger viewer seeing the show for the first time -- is that this show was written at a time when mental health wasn't spoken of. So when Rory is clearly suffering in season five,  or Paris is clearly in a bad mental place in season six, these characters don't even have the language to talk about it. They don't talk about it with each other. Joking is the often the only way to refer to it. It's very twentieth century!

[andromeda331]

11 hours ago, Kirsty said:

I've watched a bunch of episodes from seasons five and six on Netflix over the past week. I should say rewatched, as I watched these back when they first aired on TV.

I've been enjoying them. But one thing that stands out a mile to me -- and it would stand out even more to a younger viewer seeing the show for the first time -- is that this show was written at a time when mental health wasn't spoken of. So when Rory is clearly suffering in season five,  or Paris is clearly in a bad mental place in season six, these characters don't even have the language to talk about it. They don't talk about it with each other. Joking is the often the only way to refer to it. It's very twentieth century!

It really was. Lorelai seemed shocked that Rory had to speak with a therapist when returning to Yale. As if Yale was crazy to think that a sophomore/junior getting one bad criticism, steals a boat and drops out of Yale should talk to someone. 

I hate that Paris is clearly spiraling or something in season six but its never once commented on except for jokes. Rory never bothers to find out if anything is wrong with her neither does Doyle either.

[peacheslatour]

6 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

It really was. Lorelai seemed shocked that Rory had to speak with a therapist when returning to Yale. As if Yale was crazy to think that a sophomore/junior getting one bad criticism, steals a boat and drops out of Yale should talk to someone. 

I hate that Paris is clearly spiraling or something in season six but its never once commented on except for jokes. Rory never bothers to find out if anything is wrong with her neither does Doyle either.

The were signs long before Yale. Remember her meltdown when she didn't get into Harvard? Her parents were totally negligent. Poor girl needed help.

[scarynikki12]

Lorelai's shock should have come from the school giving a damn about that in the first place. I would guess that colleges and universities only care that the check has cleared when the student decides to return. Maybe it's a thing Yale does in real life when a student returns to school after taking time off but I doubt it.

That said, the Ps definitely look down on therapy and treated it like a joke the few times it came up in the show. Rory's session was presented that way since she broke down at the possibility of never having coffee again and then was cleared to return to school. 

The most frustrating thing about their dislike of therapy is that almost every character on the show desperately needed it. Lane and her mom didn't but that's because Lorelai had been acting as their amateur therapist for years so they got the benefit despite not dealing with a professional.

[SJC]

10 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

Lorelai seemed shocked that Rory had to speak with a therapist when returning to Yale.

Lorelai could be such a muttonhead at times. Clearly Rory needed help. Clearly Lorelai thought that Rory had no flaws.  SMH 

Edited August 1, 2021 by SJC

[junienmomo]

On 7/31/2021 at 10:43 PM, Kirsty said:

is that this show was written at a time when mental health wasn't spoken of.

The best mental help aid I can recall is Terence, Paris' life coach. He was silly enough for TV, but he really helped her. Too bad the girls mocked it. 
Rory really needed help after the Dean adultery. Running away to Europe wasn't bad, but that only helped her decompress. She needed more than that.

Edited August 2, 2021 by junienmomo

[SJC]

3 hours ago, junienmomo said:

Rory really needed help after the Dean adultery. Running away to Europe wasn't bad, but that only helped her decompress. She needed more than that.

This !
If only she had gotten help then.

[andromeda331]

Like @scarynikki12 mentioned almost every character could have used therapy. The whole Gilmore family Lorelai included really could have used it. Paris because of season 6 and in general her crappy parents.    

[Girl in a Cardigan]

On 2/27/2021 at 3:15 PM, Oldernowiser said:

She wasn’t likable, IMO. She shows up, yanks a hair out of Luke’s head and it was downhill from the jump. She was weirdly self-assured...like a young Paris but without the entertaining viciousness and underlying vulnerability. In order for that to have worked at all they should have made her someone you actually liked to see show up. Like Lane, for example. It was impossible for me to get past, “here’s that actress who’s supposed to be Luke’s daughter.” (Fast forwarding.)

My biggest problem with the genesis of this storyline and everything that came after was how Luke didn't say anything about this part. A pre-teen girl came into the diner (that was full of people) and rip hair out of his head and took his photo. How the fuck does that not come up during their nightly "how was your day honey?" Like I know, Luke and Lorelai famously have poor communication, so maybe they never did the couple-y download at the end of the day over dinner or whatever, but like 20-30 people saw that happen and no one mentioned it to Lorelai? It didn't come up at the town meeting? That strange girls are wandering into town businesses and assaulting the employees?

And I'm sure I read it on TWOP recaps or somewhere else, but it was kinda annoying that Luke's kid is ALSO like a super nerd who loves school, but she likes science instead of books, so that's totally different. Like wouldn't it have been more interesting to make her (or him) a jock or musical theatre kid or something else than Rory 2.0?

Like everything that comes after is dumb and terrible and Luke and Lorelai both suck at talking (like perhaps neither of them really healed after their S5 breakup or even looked at what those issues might be besides Emily Gilmore - because she invited Christopher, but Christopher couldn't have broken them up if Lorelai hadn't already lied about the tequila night, etc), but I've just never gotten over the initial moment of April's appearance. Before Luke knew he was her dad, before postponing the wedding for whatever reason - just he had this super weird thing happen, in public, in the business where his fiancee and nearly everyone in town goes every day and NO ONE mentioned this super weird girl with a wild bike helmet pulled Luke's hair and took a photo? I don't buy it.

[peacheslatour]

Quote

or musical theatre kid or something else than Rory 2.0?

OMG, I would loved to have seen Luke with a theater kid.