S01.E03: Summer

[VCRTracking]

Quote

I do think that one of the problems here, which has nothing to do with character growth, is that they're writing for a 90 minute format, when they are used to writing for a 60 minute show (less than that when you account for commercials). The "normal" show length means you have to mercilessly cull extraneous bits, whereas with a 90 minute format you need enough story line to fill it, or you will be tempted to include too many "precious" bits to stretch it. Say, a full length musical.

It's why the four 90 minute Futurama movies that initiated the revival were meh at best and terrible at worst. Once they went back to new half hour episodes(though most might not have reached the heights of pre-cancellation) it felt like the old show again.

By itself I like the musical, but as part of the rest of the movie it drags. It's like in Star Trek The Motion Picture where they have the long five minute cruise around the new USS Enterprise. I can watch the scene on it's own with that great Jerry Goldsmith score and the still impressive practical effects but watching it as part of the movie makes an already plodding movie more glacial in it's pacing.

Edited November 28, 2016 by VCRTracking

[Clanstarling]

26 minutes ago, VCRTracking said:

It's like in Star Trek The Motion Picture where they have the long five minute cruise around the new USS Enterprise. I can watch the scene on it's own with that great Jerry Goldsmith score and the still impressive practical effects but watching it as part of the movie makes an already plodding movie more glacial in it's pacing.

Like minds! I was thinking of this movie when I wrote about the problem with the GG 90 minute format. In that case, it was maybe a half hour's worth of plot from an old episode filling a full length movie.

[VCRTracking]

Certain things are better in certain lengths of time. The Twilight Zone was perfect in half hour long episodes but for it's fourth season it switched to an hour which was a mistake. Only one episode I feel worked at that length("On Thursday We Leave For Home". It was a story that needed to have more set up and development and take it's time to get to the payoff.  The rest the stories however having those stories be twice as long meant that there was a lot of padding and boring stuff and the pacing off. In the fifth and last season it went back to 30 minutes where it belonged.

Edited November 28, 2016 by VCRTracking

[twoods]

I ffed the musical and this episode was still blah at times. Since when do Rory and  Lorelai drag around poor kids to be their errand boys? I'm surprised with their snootiness they didn't hire help to pass out newspapers. 

Poor Rory, working for free and feeling sorry for herself since she's a mistress. Recycled storyline part two. I need to watch season one again to remind myself why I ever liked this hateful character. Of course Jess saved the day yet again with his scene. Why was there only one scene? And no scenes with Luke yet- I better get one in Fall! Plus, Milo is smoking hot. He looks good on This Is Us but he looks much better without the mustache. 

Lorelai and Michel were nice to see, and I don't like Lorelai not supporting Rory with the book. She really is selfish as well, but that tends to be a Gilmore trait. And of course the L/L scene that needed to be done in the first episode. Why do they keep hiding things from eachother! Why has no one besides Jess grown the fuck up!

[tennisgurl]

I just cant get over that mental image of Lorelai and Rory sitting on their deck chairs, mocking the people passing by for daring to wear a swimsuit showing a touch of skin, or be overweight in public, while two small boy slaves fan them. Its like they distilled every moment of awfulness of Lorelai and Rory, and put it out there in that one imagine. Its almost impressive in its selfish jerkiness. In any other show, in any other context, they would be the villains who would get shoved into a cake or pushed into the pool as karma by the end of the episode. 

[ShadowFacts]

8 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

I just cant get over that mental image of Lorelai and Rory sitting on their deck chairs, mocking the people passing by for daring to wear a swimsuit showing a touch of skin, or be overweight in public, while two small boy slaves fan them. Its like they distilled every moment of awfulness of Lorelai and Rory, and put it out there in that one imagine. Its almost impressive in its selfish jerkiness. In any other show, in any other context, they would be the villains who would get shoved into a cake or pushed into the pool as karma by the end of the episode. 

I hated that.  Also weird that it was so hot but Rory was wearing sleeves and capris, wasn't she?  Go away Khaleesi.

[desertflower]

Quote

Lorelai still hating him is getting old. It's been like fifteen years since he broke her freaking wrist. Presumably Rory never told her that he inspired her to go back to Yale, or Lorelai just doesn't care. I'd hope for a genuine Lorelai/Rory/Luke/Jess scene but given what this revival has prioritized... 

Yes, this bugged me. Jess was shown to have matured and gotten his life on track during the original show. Surely in the past eight years Lorelai would've witnessed his growth or at least heard about it from Luke. So why the sour face at the mere mention of his name? 

I agree with the 99% of posters here who found the musical scenes painfully long. The concept was funny, and yes, a bad musical WOULD be painfully long, but they could've conveyed that to us without actually making the scenes so freaking long. Montage, anyone??

I loved the secret restaurant, and I loved seeing Jess. I liked seeing Doyle, too. I'm hoping he and Paris reunite in Fall. 

Emily's maid looks like Gypsy in a wig. 

[msani19]

10 minutes ago, desertflower said:

Emily's maid looks like Gypsy in a wig.

It was the same actress that plays Gypsy playing Berta! And don't think that I figured that out on my own, it never dawned on me until other eagle eyes pointed it out. 

[desertflower]

15 minutes ago, msani19 said:

It was the same actress that plays Gypsy playing Berta! And don't think that I figured that out on my own, it never dawned on me until other eagle eyes pointed it out. 

Thank you, so I'm not crazy! I've been trying to read through the threads as I watch the episodes but I'm sure I missed some posts and wasn't sure if anyone else had mentioned it. 

[txhorns79]

Quote

Emily's maid looks like Gypsy in a wig.

Part of me would have loved if "Berta" actually was just Gypsy in a wig.  It could be a whole subplot about how business was down at the garage, so she pulled a Tootsie/Mrs. Doubtfire and disguised herself to become a maid. 

Edited November 28, 2016 by txhorns79

[AllyB]

1 hour ago, twoods said:

Lorelai and Michel were nice to see, and I don't like Lorelai not supporting Rory with the book. She really is selfish as well, but that tends to be a Gilmore trait. 

I felt the opposite. I'd never give anyone permission to write about intimate details of my life for a potentially public, commercial project. No way. I value my private life, I don't court celebrity, I'm not at all introverted and have a lot of Lorelai in my personality but I really, really value my privacy. If my child adult child ever wanted to use me like that to further his own ambition I'd be, at best, extremely uncomfortable about it, at worst, heartbroken that he cared so little for my right to privacy. If I told him I didn't want him to do so and his reaction was 'but you're supposed to support me,' I would forever feel I'd failed as a parent because I'd raised a human being so utterly self-entitled that he could think my private life and stories were his to use no matter how I felt.

All Lorelai asked, was that if Rory wanted to write about her life, that she did so from her own perspective and tell her own stories. A completely reasonable request and Rory was unbelievably selfish to think she had any right to more than that.

[txhorns79]

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All Lorelai asked, was that if Rory wanted to write about her life, that she did so from her own perspective and tell her own stories. A completely reasonable request and Rory was unbelievably selfish to think she had any right to more than that.

I was disappointed that Rory had such trouble seeing her mother's point of view.  I thought it was completely fair for Lorelai to say she did not want any part of her daughter's book.  I was also a little surprised that Rory didn't seem to understand what writing a non-fiction book discussing the lives of non-famous living people would actually entail.  She'd likely need releases from nearly everyone she discusses.  And that doesn't even get into how personally difficult rehashing all these events would be for her grandmother and mother.  

Edited November 28, 2016 by txhorns79

[kittykat]

I too picked up in "Winter" that it was Rose Abdoo playing Berta.  Someone said upthread that Gypsy seems to be taking on the role Miss Patty normally would.  I hope Liz Torres is okay but I do love me some Gypsy so I don't mind the extra screen.  On another note I think Berta has officially surpassed every maid ever in Emily's house in terms of lasting employment, which of course means she'll be fired in fall (don't spoil please).

Anyhoo, this is easily the least favorite of the three I've watched so far (my order: Spring, Winter, Summer).  Daniel Palladino has written some of my favorite episodes--but also some of the worst--he has always been very hit or miss even in the regular series.  The pool scenes were painful as everyone else has said.

That said it wasn't all bad...

Lorelai and Michel at the Secret Bar (hee!) was one of my favorite scenes from the revival.  So much raw emotion and brilliantly acted on both ends.  I think it shows a smidgen of growth on her end that she's willing to let Michel go because she can't meet his needs.  As much as I miss Sookie (who I assume finally shows up in Fall) I feel her absence has allowed more time for Michel.

I'm in the minority of those who didn't mind seeing April.  I actually really liked the scene between her and Rory in the bedroom.  We didn't get much of them in the OG run but it only makes sense after nine years that they've somewhat bonded, considering Rory is probably a basis of comparison in April's life.

Aaaaand Luke and Lorelai are a total mess.  I'm hopeful they'll pull this off but there's this little thing successful couples have been doing for generations called COMMUNICATING WITH EACH OTHER.  Might wanna try that kids.

As far as Bookgate goes, I see both sides.  I get Lorelai not wanting all her business out there for fear Emily will use it against her (and let's it, she would) but I do feel for Rory that she finally feels inspired and it getting shut down.  I was kind of hoping she would just make it fiction and change names and exaggerate stuff.  I'm hopeful everything will turn out well for our girls and at least this is a more believable rift than what we had to deal with in S6.

[Taryn74]

1 hour ago, txhorns79 said:

Part of me would have loved if "Berta" actually was just Gypsy in a wig.  It could be a whole subplot about how business was down at the garage, so she pulled a Tootsie/Mrs. Doubtfire and disguised herself to become a maid. 

And made up a language to boot.  Ha.

[dubbel zout]

3 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

get shoved into a cake

Hey, now, what do you have against cake?

[JayInChicago]

Back fat Pat and I have the same physique! And patches of back hair. :D

i am determined to believe this means *I* could have been fat headless extra #4

[Kohola3]

God. they were ridiculously disgusting in that whole scene.  On what planet did ASP think that would be amusing.

[rho]

On 11/27/2016 at 6:43 AM, Bec said:

I know right? That rubbed me the wrong way, too. I would understand it if they were belittling her for not being more successful or something (like some of my relatives like to do whenever I visit them, which is close to never thanks to that shit - if Rory ever has to be around people like that I bet she would cry).

But no, the townies are just super happy to have her around. They don't care where her career is at. I would love for people to be that ecstatic to have me around.

I get that she feels bad about running out of career prospects and moving home, but don't take it out on people who simply adore you for no apparent reason. Sheesh, I'm sorry, does it inconvenience your highness to be so beloved?

Yeah, the gang seem so friendly. I would totally hang out with them. Though I get the feeling the show is trying to imply they're a bunch of losers. If so, the writer is as much of a snob as Rory is, with head firmly lodged in ass.

I'm sure I'm not the only one of this opinion, but I was never sold on Rory as the golden child. I know everyone feels a little bit like they raised her because teenaged Lorelai showed up with a baby and needed all the help she can get, but I always wonder what the other kids her age in town thought. It's not like she had a lot of friends, just Lane and a couple randos who remembered her at that party where Jess got in a fight. 

Except for Lindsay, everyone worships Rory. And even Lindsay admitted she looked up to her in school and was jealous later in life. I would have loved to see her creep up. Now that I think about it, the biggest problem with Rory is that she thrived on friendly competition but the only antagonist in the reboot is herself. The floundering now is totally unfounded given she had every opportunity to succeed and virtually no hurdles. Even Ol' Man Huntzberger is willing to vouch for her now.

Edited November 29, 2016 by rho

[Corgi-ears]

Quote

It was the same actress that plays Gypsy playing Berta! And don't think that I figured that out on my own, it never dawned on me until other eagle eyes pointed it out. 

I mean, why would a show that has gotten criticised for the whiteness of its world hire two actresses of color to play two roles of color, when it can just hire one, right? Ugh.

[cailinoBAC]

Like most people I found the musical too long, but I was so surprised to find myself bawling during the last song. It must have struck a chord.

[dubbel zout]

The last song was definitely the emotional highlight. Everything before it was played for laughs.

[MatildaMoody]

Can someone explain to me why Rory is broke? Didn't her great grandmother set up a trust fund for her? In the same vein, do we honestly think Richard didn't set up a trust fund for her? I seem to remember Rory and Logan having a big argument about an article Rory wrote about "trust fund babies" and Logan having to point out to her that she, Rory was also a trust fund baby. Did she just blow through both trust funds? What money was she using to rent her Brooklyn apartment before moving back to Stars Hollow while couch surfing? I have so many questions about the whole broke, no underwear, no car/drivers license thing. And if she was so broke, why was she still able to travel to London and stay in hotels in New York for what were both essentially spec pieces that she didn't get paid for?

Then, there is Jess. While I will be the first to admit that I have always wanted to punch him in his stupid Jess face, I wasn't bothered by him this go around.

What I was bothered by was that once again, it was Jess who reminded Rory that she is smart and talented and needs to get her ass in gear. How nice would it be for her to come to her own realization without having an ex-boyfriend once again tell her to get it together? I would have preferred for her to come up with writing her own story and going to Jess as a publisher to pitch it, than for Jess to have to give her the idea and her jump on it from there.

One other thing, it is a good thing that Miss Patty has a signature voice, because I would not have recognized her in these episodes otherwise. 

[Lady Calypso]

1 hour ago, MatildaMoody said:

Can someone explain to me why Rory is broke? Didn't her great grandmother set up a trust fund for her? In the same vein, do we honestly think Richard didn't set up a trust fund for her? I seem to remember Rory and Logan having a big argument about an article Rory wrote about "trust fund babies" and Logan having to point out to her that she, Rory was also a trust fund baby. Did she just blow through both trust funds? What money was she using to rent her Brooklyn apartment before moving back to Stars Hollow while couch surfing? I have so many questions about the whole broke, no underwear, no car/drivers license thing. And if she was so broke, why was she still able to travel to London and stay in hotels in New York for what were both essentially spec pieces that she didn't get paid for?

Then, there is Jess. While I will be the first to admit that I have always wanted to punch him in his stupid Jess face, I wasn't bothered by him this go around.

What I was bothered by was that once again, it was Jess who reminded Rory that she is smart and talented and needs to get her ass in gear. How nice would it be for her to come to her own realization without having an ex-boyfriend once again tell her to get it together? I would have preferred for her to come up with writing her own story and going to Jess as a publisher to pitch it, than for Jess to have to give her the idea and her jump on it from there.

I agree with these points. First off, Rory being broke is very odd. If anyone is left money from Richard aside from Emily, it should be Rory. There's no way she blew through the money from her grandfather in a couple of months, nor would it be that easy to blow through Trix's trust fund money in seven years. I think ASP just didn't make the connection, nor did DP while writing these episodes. Rory should have some money from her grandfather, enough to get her by for the next few years. I think ASP and DP just wanted to show Rory struggling. This factor might have worked better if Richard was alive. Unfortunately, ASP has decided that she wants it both ways with Rory, in that she's part of a rich family but she's still a struggling thirty something. There's definitely mistakes that do not make much sense when you look at it further. Not to mention the license thing doesn't make sense either.

I am an avid Jess fan, but I agree that it's disappointing that she can't figure it out on her own. Rory's always been the most dependent person ever. First on her mom, then with her grandparents, and also with all of her boyfriends in some way. Whether it's emotionally, financially, or in other ways, I do think that Rory has not quite changed from the original series. Again, this would make much more sense if this was shortly after Rory's graduation, when she's in her mid twenties. It makes little sense in her thirties to be led down this path and also have her react in the exact same way you'd expect her to if this was a year after her graduating from Yale. 

But at least they're consistent with Jess basically giving her the answers to her future. 

[CalamityBoPeep]

3 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

Rory's always been the most dependent person ever. First on her mom, then with her grandparents, and also with all of her boyfriends in some way. Whether it's emotionally, financially, or in other ways, I do think that Rory has not quite changed from the original series.

This. This is why, when I heard Logan's line about Rory not needing anything from him, my jaw dropped. And MC seems to buy into that interpretation, too, as he's acting the part. Does anyone writing the show, or reading their lines, actually watch it?

[candle96]

On November 26, 2016 at 1:58 AM, rho said:

Very few high points in this episode. The only bit I really loved was Carole King getting shut down for not writing catchy tunes...but I don't think I needed to sit through the 20 minutes hellfire that was Taylor's musical in order for it to land. So far I think there's a serious shortage of Miss Patty. Wish we got way more of her in the town scenes. She was always a fave and her absence is especially apparent as Taylor's putting on a musical.

I know ASP desperately wants to write Rory and Lorelai as quick-witted and charismatic darlings but I'm not seeing it. Frankly, they come across as selfish a-holes. My 16yo self would feel so betrayed but I now firmly believe that Emily is my fave Gilmore girl! 

Happy to see Jess! I was never a fan before but he's one of the few characters on this show who has learned from his mistakes and grown into a better human being. Good to see him happy and seemingly successful. I still don't ship him with Rory. Frankly, he's too good for her.

Eh, you know more than you did at 16. I am curious to see how people's perspectives of the show change with age. I was about 30 when I first started watching it (in reruns) and have always found Rory and Lorelei to be kind of selfish assholes to some degree. Emily has never been without her faults, for sure, but I never bought into the idea that Lorelei was usually in the right. She's never quite outgrown the sarcastic teen persona in her family. A good coping skill when you're 16, not so much at 35 and beyond. 

I'm glad they're at least addressing some of this (was always disappointed about the lack of closure in that final season) and hope we find out more about this supposed letter Emily thinks Lorelei wrote to her. 

[MatildaMoody]

Seriously, guys. Why is Rory broke? The vast majority of people get through life without a trust fund and she had at least 2. Neither of which had anything to do with her education. Richard and Emily paid for Yale. Richard made a stipulation that if Rory wanted to go past undergrad that would be paid for. Hell, Christopher picked up her Yale payments during the show. Why is Rory complaining about being broke when she can fly to London, spend nights in New York (and have a hotel room for her and her mother where they can get pot roast delivered), rent an apartment in Brooklyn, and still come back to Stars Hollow to crash?

I can suspend a LOT of disbelief, but I can't get past this whole "Rory is so broke she can't buy new underwear" thing. Did Amy just let Dan write the episodes? Because, for the price of her ticket to London, Rory could have hit up a Target and gotten some new underwear, without convincing a kid to follow her around and call her by a GOT name. 

[Kohola3]

Finances never made any sense whatsoever in the original recipe Gilmore Girls.  It's best not to think too much about the inconsistencies lest your head explode.  I don't think the Palladinos have ever heard the word "continuity".

[starri]

1 minute ago, Kohola3 said:

Finances never made any sense whatsoever in the original recipe Gilmore Girls.  It's best not to think too much about the inconsistencies lest your head explode.  I don't think the Palladinos have ever heard the word "continuity".

I mean, Richard and Emily are supposed to be incredibly wealthy, but they balked at having to pay for first-class airline tickets to Europe last-minute when their summer house rental fell through.

[JayInChicago]

This show has always been deeply flawed regarding money. This is not new to the revival and probably is why it doesn't bother me. Lorelai can't pay for chilton or Yale and has to stop buying magazines and start clipping coupons (which irrationally enrages Rory) yet she is constantly shown to order take out, buy new clothes, other luxuries one could easily cut before education. She thinks Rory will pay for Yale with ... scholarships? 

Basically money only exists for plot points and that's it. It's probably my least favorite thing about the show.

[Jack Shaftoe]

If I hadn't been spoiled about Rory's "brilliant" book idea I would have facepalmed so hard I would probably have knocked myself out. That's stuff a 12 year old fanfiction writer would be ashamed to write. The plot about the book, not the book itself, I mean, though the book is a stupid idea in itself - I don't know what to with my life, oh, wait, let me write a book about myself and my family and make it non-fiction, thus eliminating even the slightest chance of anyone but the people who already know me having any interest in it.

As mentioned so many times Rory being broke makes no sense even in the weird Palladino world where finances depend on the current plot needs. They should at least have someone ask her about her trust funds and stuff, if only for her to offer some silly excuse.

Why did every joke had to be repeated at least five times? Most weren't funny even the first time but the endless repetition would have been annoying even they had been funny. Less is more when it comes to wit.

Lorelei's expressions during the musical were perfection, she had some funny lines, I liked seeing April again but overall this was just bad, bad, bad.

[David Selig]

It is really apparent that the Palladinos have no experience writing and directing 90 minutes episodes. The pacing of all episodes so far has been horrendous. Jokes are repeated ad nauseam all the time, scenes last way longer than they should, conversations which start well devolve into a rambling mess towards the end...During the original run even in the weaker episodes the rhythm and the pacing were much better.

Lauren Graham is an amazing actress and her expressions during the musical were the best thing about the episode by far. The Michel scenes were nice too. The rest was pretty bad. I couldn't care less about Princess Rory's ridiculous money problems and all of her "woe is me" stuff.  Lorelai deciding to "go Wild" was simply nonsensical. It ruined the effect of the very good song before that. That musical should have been way shorter.

[ichbin]

20 hours ago, rho said:

I'm sure I'm not the only one of this opinion, but I was never sold on Rory as the golden child. I know everyone feels a little bit like they raised her because teenaged Lorelai showed up with a baby and needed all the help she can get, but I always wonder what the other kids her age in town thought. It's not like she had a lot of friends, just Lane and a couple randos who remembered her at that party where Jess got in a fight. 

Going by the Stars Hollow classroom scene in the first or second episode (when Julianne Hough was one of her classmates) she seemed to be considered an oddball and didn't fit in.  Not sure who among her peers in Stars Hollow, besides Lane and Dean really liked her in her high school years.  For that matter, she really didn't have any close friends at Chilton either.  I mean whatever she had with Paris wasn't exactly besties in the true sense there, or ever?

[rho]

10 hours ago, starri said:

I mean, Richard and Emily are supposed to be incredibly wealthy, but they balked at having to pay for first-class airline tickets to Europe last-minute when their summer house rental fell through.

I recall Emily making a few comments about how random expenses "costing a fortune!" to punctuate her point. I get the feeling it's a bad habit she picked up around her bourgie friends. She's not bothered by money, just humble bragging.

[solotrek]

19 hours ago, CalamityBoPeep said:

This. This is why, when I heard Logan's line about Rory not needing anything from him, my jaw dropped. And MC seems to buy into that interpretation, too, as he's acting the part. Does anyone writing the show, or reading their lines, actually watch it?

From what I've seen and read via interviews both Alexis and Matt are a bit WTF about their given storyline.  Matt is playing Logan based on his own personal opinion of things which might not gel with what we're seeing, he said as much during one of his red carpet interviews.

I have to say this is the episode that really solidified my dislike of the revival. Lorelai and Rory laying by the pool (later) with 2 young "slave boys" making fun of people who are overweight, dare to wear bathing suits, not up to whatever beauty standards that Lorelai and Rory have set. And this is after Rory's huge breakdown in the previous episode and we're supposed to feel bad for her. No. I just thought to myself, what garbage people. What entitled assholes.

Edited November 30, 2016 by solotrek

[MrWhyt]

On 11/29/2016 at 5:40 AM, Corgi-ears said:

I mean, why would a show that has gotten criticised for the whiteness of its world hire two actresses of color to play two roles of color, when it can just hire one, right? Ugh.

According to twitter Rose Abdoo did the role at a table read because they hadn't cast the part yet and they liked her so much that they went with her.

[JayInChicago]

Haha Taylor said RZA.

[Primetimer]

Because it isn't just Rory Gilmore and the Thirtysomething Gang stuck in an arrested development rut, let's rank the Stars Hollow residents and their loved ones by maturity and see how they like it.

View the full article

[chessiegal]

I like this episode. It started off so light-hearted and silly, which was nice considering how down Spring ended. I thought the musical was hilarious, and it didn't feel too long to me. It was so good to see Sutton Foster and her interaction  with Lorelai, "have you ever been on Broadway?" - such a fun reference to the actors real careers. And then the way the tone changed, just seemed well done to me. I'm liking the revival on my island - all the more Mojitos for me!

[VCRTracking]

Daniel Palladino says in this Vulture interview with him and Amy that most of Star Hollows citizens probably would have voted for Trump which Amy vehemently disagrees with. So that should tell you all you need to know about his opinion of the people there.

[Melancholy]

Wow, really interesting! I want to think nicely of Stars Hallow so I'm mostly with Amy. I still don't think the main Stars Hallow characters would vote for Trump- Lorelai, Rory, Luke, Miss Patty, Lane, Zack, Sookie, Jackson, Michele. Ms. Kim is a more likely Trump-voter except for the irony that I don't know if she became an American citizen.  However, yes, it's possible that Taylor and rest of the anonymous townies would vote for Trump so the town would end up swinging right. I feel like the ethos of the above named characters is pretty left wing. However, there are indicators that the rest of the town is more conservative. The town is very white. The gang of blonde-bobbed loud mothers going after Lorelai because their own damn kids asked about her experience as a teen mom. The elected Mayor's whole "If you don't like America, why don't you move to the USSR?" come-back after Luke objected to the Revolutionary War reenactment. The whole gang getting together to vote on expelling Jess. 

However, very interesting split between the two! I can it in their different ways of writing the town. 

Edited December 2, 2016 by Melancholy

[DoubleUTeeEff]

On 11/28/2016 at 10:03 PM, JayInChicago said:

i am determined to believe this means *I* could have been fat headless extra #4

The fact that he was headless was really next-level fat shaming, wasn't it?  Talk about taking completely dehumanizing someone.

I liked some things about this episode, hiding the secret bar from Taylor, some of the musical, the paper delivery and Lane being protective but I thought everything to do with Lorelei was so out of character for her.  She would have loved that musical!  Remember how excited she was to show Kirk's first film? And she's "going Wild"?  She has always hated outdoor stuff and physical activity!  I thought it was funny she didn't even know it was on the Pacific Crest Trail and Luke had to tell her.  Yep, you really read that book closely, Lorelei.  I'm sure your journey will be "pure."  I haven't seen Fall yet so my opinion might change on the "going Wild" thing.

I thought the idea that Rory and Lorelei would butt heads over Rory's (really Jess') book idea is a good one, you can really see both sides of the issue. Unfortunately though, their whole fight about it fell flat, in my opinion.  It could have been a real fight, like the one about Rory wanting to drop out of Chilton last minute.  It just wasn't very well written so it was hard to really feel Lorelei's concerns or Rory's disappointment.  Some of the posts here made me feel more about it than their fight did.  Plus, they could have used examples from the original GG instead of the baby in the bucket.  How about more details of what it was like to live in the shed at the Inn?

I also think that Jess' idea about a biography about Lorelei is a good one, especially if written by someone who is supposed to be a brilliant writer like Rory is. I would read that book.  But what is Rory going to do after that?  She'll be in the same place unless someone else comes along and gives her another idea. She seems to be out of them herself since she couldn't even come up with one in her job interview from Spring.  Also, why move to Queens to write it? Wouldn't it make more sense to write it in Stars Hollow?  And how is she going to afford it if she can't afford underwear? How about writing it first and then moving?

[TomServo]

On 11/29/2016 at 2:32 PM, MatildaMoody said:

Can someone explain to me why Rory is broke?

Because ASP stole her trust fund and spent it on hats?  

[JayInChicago]

Terrible hats FIFU :)

[JayInChicago]

Also having now finally watched the whole episode (even the musical, which took me two days to get through), I feel like though this episode has gotten its lumps for a lot of good reasons--it's where this whole revival started to come together for me. I think it was super believable that Lorelai would viciously disallow her life story to be memoirized. Reminded me a lot of her ridiculous snit when it was revealed Rory applied to Yale. I mean, she has a much better reason this time, but it's sort of rich for a woman who referred to her mother as Stalin and Pol Pot during a magazine interview. 

[cmfran]

Wow, this one was bad. And it felt interminably long. Unless the last ep redeems everything, this whole endeavor feels like its been a huge waste of my time.

[Pallas]

On 11/26/2016 at 2:06 PM, ichbin said:

Hated the scenes with the umbrella boys.  It was Lorelai and Rory at their self-indulgent worst.  I watched that thinking to myself , are we supposed to like these characters?

Imagine for a moment that Daniel Palladino is Luke. April comes to him with the idea that she and he team up to write a dramedy-with-music about Lorelei and Rory, as a surprise. Luke finds out that the real surprise is how "this stuff just flows -- who knew writing is easier than pouring coffee." The show opens and we watch as, one by one, the people of Stars Hollow and the Gilmore Girls see themselves portrayed as Seven Dwarves sheltering two generations of Snow Whites who each, as the show progresses, is revealed to be a condescending Evil Queen. 

It was April's idea to call the new show Summer. Because, as we see her tell her mother, "You know what comes before a fall."

[readster]

On 11/29/2016 at 3:01 PM, Lady Calypso said:

I agree with these points. First off, Rory being broke is very odd. If anyone is left money from Richard aside from Emily, it should be Rory. There's no way she blew through the money from her grandfather in a couple of months, nor would it be that easy to blow through Trix's trust fund money in seven years. I think ASP just didn't make the connection, nor did DP while writing these episodes. Rory should have some money from her grandfather, enough to get her by for the next few years. I think ASP and DP just wanted to show Rory struggling. This factor might have worked better if Richard was alive. Unfortunately, ASP has decided that she wants it both ways with Rory, in that she's part of a rich family but she's still a struggling thirty something. There's definitely mistakes that do not make much sense when you look at it further. Not to mention the license thing doesn't make sense either.

I am an avid Jess fan, but I agree that it's disappointing that she can't figure it out on her own. Rory's always been the most dependent person ever. First on her mom, then with her grandparents, and also with all of her boyfriends in some way. Whether it's emotionally, financially, or in other ways, I do think that Rory has not quite changed from the original series. Again, this would make much more sense if this was shortly after Rory's graduation, when she's in her mid twenties. It makes little sense in her thirties to be led down this path and also have her react in the exact same way you'd expect her to if this was a year after her graduating from Yale. 

But at least they're consistent with Jess basically giving her the answers to her future. 

It was also like with Rory's situation with Katherine from ER. The woman was suppose to be a smart woman who fought early on to be very successful and a jokester. But she was a drunk who apparently fell up to success and then gets one minor insult and she throws her lawyer at something because she is a spoiled kid. Which is it? You can have someone successful who likes to be funny, but is smart and might have a secret that she isn't proud of, but doesn't hide. Then gets into a misunderstanding. Instead we are suppose to feel that it's: "Poor Rory she is out of a job again." When in fact, she didn't do anything wrong or even show hints that she was going to "destroy" her like the lawyer said. It's all to drive that Rory is struggling and can't make smart decisions, when she could have a problem with a stable job, but can fall back on a trust fund and so forth. Yet, we are suppose to believe that she can fly back and forth from the UK. Mitchum has eyes on her and Logan all the time and she still can't go buy new underwear. I mean come on that's too much and it comes off as filler and the creators trying to have things both ways and it makes everyone come off like an idiot. 

[solotrek]

On 12/2/2016 at 2:02 PM, DoubleUTeeEff said:

 But what is Rory going to do after that?  She'll be in the same place unless someone else comes along and gives her another idea. She seems to be out of them herself since she couldn't even come up with one in her job interview from Spring.  

Easier to market herself once she becomes "the author who wrote Gilmore Girls" vs "the person who wrote that one New Yorker piece".

[tarotx]

21 hours ago, solotrek said:

Easier to market herself once she becomes "the author who wrote Gilmore Girls" vs "the person who wrote that one New Yorker piece".

Only if it's a success. I can say I'm the author of a book but if no one is reading it, it's not an effective bullet on a resume.  Rory always had the ability to sell herself if she wanted to sell herself. The problem is that she didn't know where or who she is at the moment or what she wanted to write about. And Rory's still in that spot when Jess pretty much orders her to write her&Loralai's memoirs. The thing with the Memoir, Rory is kind of trying to do a similar thing for the Alex Kingston character - how did that happen? And why couldn't she decide on her own to go from that to writing her own story? They needed Jess to pop in for a shipper moment. They want us to Know that Jess knows Rory sooo well all she needs is to accept herself and him. He's clearly end game or at the least her Jiminy cricket but it's done in a way that makes Rory look like she does always need saving. 

[David Selig]

1 hour ago, tarotx said:

Only if it's a success. I can say I'm the author of a book but if no one is reading it, it's not an effective bullet on a resume.

And the odds of it being a success are extremely small. It's a very long shot to put it mildly. So many books are published every day nowadays that standing out of the crowd is very tough, especially if it's your first book and you don't have a publisher promoting you.