Gilmore Girls

[seurat]

First off, let's acknowledge the news that the WB did confirm that GG will be back next year. It seemed a foregone conclusion given the rating success this year, but it was good to hear the official news anyway. As for the season finale ep, it was certainly well-written as you'd expect from ASP and ably directed by her as well. There were a lot of small touches that I really enjoyed, Luke's reactions and interactions with the bike racers, Lane's sadness about the fading fortunes of her band and the way her mother took charge of the problem, kirk's tow truck gig and Michel's short scene witrh Lorelai.

I still have to say that I like Logan and the way he's sticking it out with Rory, who knows,maybe is going to be more serious than we thought, it has already gone longer than I ever expected. i thought Lorelai had an interesting story arc in the ep, and although was surprised by her proposal it made sense to me expecially after watching the ep a second time. Who has been constant for her through all this? The question is, does he still want her and the house and all? It may be true that we'll have to waitt for a while but I have no doubt that we'll see that wedding.

As for Richard and Emily's reversal on what to do about Rory, I just think that Richard caved when he saw how truly upset and confused Rory had become, and Emily went along with him. Atfirst I was really unhappy with this idea, and some things about it still bother me, but it might be interested to have Rory living in the pool house for a summer and have her at least somewhat cut off from Lorelai. However, I really don't want her to leave Yale. For one thing it means we won't see much of Paris. More significantly perhaps, i still don't buy that Rory would react this way. Who am I to disagree with ASP who created the character, but I feel that she is stronger and more mature than this and better able to stand up for herself. It bothers me to see her come apart, but I can see how it will make for some interesting stories next season.

[Garner]

That was an interesting finale. As has been said, since it was ASP it was full of funny little moments and the 'big hole', 'big bat' stuff was the best! Or Luke just walking across the street and the bikers all crashing around him. Very nice. I also thought the whole bit with Lane's mom was unexpected and very cool too. It is interesting that Mrs. Kim (is there ever a Mr. Kim that we'll see? So far no.) who disapproves of what Lane is doing moves to aid her and get the band back on track and is adjusting to Lane's new life while Lorelai can't get past Rory altering her plan. Hey, let's face it, these days most college students take 5-6 years not 4 and a semester or two off is not that unusual. And Rory must be pretty oblivious if she thinks a bunch of the other students aren't uncertain about their futures and just drifting through college. Even someplace like Harvard or Yale there are many who don't really decide what they want to do till junior or senior year. Many people switch majors and all that. I assume this is just Rory being somewhat sheltered not the writers not knowing what college is really like.

Rory has been treated pretty well in the past, but she did compete with Paris in Chilton, was on student council and had to deal with Francine, had to catch up her first year there and worked hard to get her extracuriculars for her application to Harvard. I am a little surprised she hasn't taken the "I don't have 'it' now, but I'll get 'it' if it's the last thing I do," sort of outlook. As I've said she's only a sophmore. On the other hand she does tend to idolize important and successful people a bit and Mitchum Huntsberger is definitely that. I could see her taking the summer off and deciding that in the fall she will go back, and will do what it takes to be a journalist. My reaction while she wasn't taking the final was that she'd snapped, and when someone so organized and who plans long term like she did snaps, it tends to be pretty complete and total for longer than a few weeks, so I guess we'll see.

Rory does tend to see her grandparents as someone to run to. She's done it when the house needed repair from termites, she did it to get the funds for Yale, running there now is not a big surprise. She wants someplace she'll feel safe and like she isn't disappointing Lorelai. Emily and Richard accepting her in and getting her a job, which might be used to subtly bouy her up and direct her back to journalism, would make sense. Lorelai already said she didn't want her bumming around Star's Hollow and as was mentioned earlier, they do see Rory getting all that they couldn't give Lorelai. To an extent I think Richard can't refuse Rory anything. And if Emily thinks Rory can be made over to be acceptable for the Huntsbergers, well that's another plus to the situation. I don't see them as petty as more manipulative and self-centered. They think they know what is best and aren't afraid to act on it. I think they might also be afraid that Lorelai will make things worse.

I still like Logan. I think he is way better than Jess, and while Dean is nicer, Logan is closer to what Rory needs, someone her intellectual equal and who will broaden her horizons, challenge her. I don't know if he can do the boyfriend thing, but so far he's tried pretty well. No one's mentioned his talk with Rory and Rory believing that Logan agrees with his father. Now that is an intersting point. It could be why Rory is even more freaked. Logan has seen her writing and all that. Why didn't he defend her? Well, my feeling is that he still thinks of his father as always right, the big competent business man who is right about Logan not living up to his portential, and that secretly he is sort of guilty about that. He probably doesn't even realize it, but if his Dad said something was some way, he'd just assume that was true, without question. Though, he did say his Dad wasn't always right. This could be an interesting point of conflict or development if the two stay together.

The proposal...well, I should have seen that Lorelai would do the proposing. I knew it would be Luke/Lorelai not Logan and Rory. The show is run by a woman, as the vasectomy stuff definitely showed, and it makes sense that Lorelai might ask Luke. He was definitely being her rock, supportive and agreeing with her in his own way for his own reasons, which was cool, but it really does make one wonder if she truly wanted to get married or was just smarting from Rory's effective betrayal. I mean Rory ran from her to her grandparents, and while her parents changing their minds has to have hurt, Rory's actions should have cut deeper. The reason the proposal surprised me is that with Rory gone, Lorelai is now in the perfect spot to actually accept a job where she can travel and go abroad. She actually has the option and the opportunity. Maybe she just realized that Luke has always been there for her and she wants that sort of stability right now. Whatever the case, it will make the season opener this next season a lot more interesting than the last one. I also would say that Luke is likely to say no for now or want to wait, or will say yes, but, try the job first and see what it's like and they'll get married later, like in 6-9 months, something like that. But then I am always wrong on predictions so that should mean the season opener will be the Luke and Lorelai wedding. Nah, I just can't see that from a show pacing angle.

And yes, it was too bad we didn't have any Paris. I mentioned a while ago that I thought Paris was stronger than being one to mope around about Doyle not calling or what have you. That certainly doesn't seem like the Paris of Chilton. I like Doyle well enough, but don't care too much what happens between him and Paris. Stay together, break up, ennh, whichever.

Too bad we now have to wait all summer until new eps! Arrrrghhh!

Garner

[KalleighMissKitty]

Now this is awesome! There's a GG topic on here and I take so long to find it *sigh* I love me some GG

Anyway, I should prolly post my thoughts on the finale, too, since everyone else seems to be

Lorelai- I really hope she doesn't take the job and I really don't want her to get engaged before she makes up with Rory. For some reason, it just seems wrong that for the rest of their lives, when they remember when Lorelai and Luke got engaged they'll remember that Lorelai and Rory were in the worst standoff of their lives (so far). I love Luke and everything, but it's not the right time to get engaged, I don't think.

Rory: I can completely understand how she feels, being a college student myself, but I still say dropping out is completely insane. She could change her major or simply not take one person's advice to heart. Yes, he's an important person but he's still ONE person. And the way she is treating her mother.....she's being a real pill. If Lorelai and Rory would stop this petty bickering and just talk like they used to, they'd be so much happier.

Logan: I love Logan, but I hate his family. Nuff said.

Luke: I love Luke, and he's so right for Lorelai.

Hmm, think I've rambled on enough

[Ben Varkentine]

I suppose this is only loosely connected to the show, but journalist Christiane Amanpour has often been mentioned as Rory's idol. There's a clip going around the blogs of her reporting on reaction to the attacks in London and being interupted by an irate passer-by.

The way she keeps her cool is really quite impressive.

http://www.dembloggers.com/story/2005/7/9/175847/3787

[Garner]

KalleighMissKitty, unfortunately since it is summer and in reruns not as many people are talking about GG now. Which is too bad as the last episode was very good and everyone seems to think this season was a marked improvement over the previous one. More on that. I agree with you that Luke and Lorelai getting engaged right now could be for the wrong reasons. Lorelai is hurt and seeking re-affirmation and I could see Luke saying they should hold off a bit. He was ready earlier with the house and all, but with the job pending he is obviously having second thoughts. I bet that will end up being discussed. I also agree she probably wouldn't be as happy as she thinks she might be in that job, she loves Star's Hollow too much. As for Rory, yeah, he is only one person, and I would think it would make her question what she was doing wrong and then go about fixing it. I can see her after the summer deciding that she will work towards that just to spite Mr. Huntzberger. That would be cool. However, I have noticed that all Hollywood can think of when they do college stuff is animal house. For some reason they have a hard time udnerstanding or depicting college and prefer high school or post college, so I wouldn't be surprised to see her staying out.

Which brings me to why people thought the last season, what was that 4, wasn't that good. I actually don't agree. I think last season was funnier than the current one, and maybe better paced too. We certainly had more Paris last season, Lane seemed to have a bigger and more important role with the band, I liked Jason Stiles as a boyfriend for Lorelai and he was just odd enough to be interesting, Rory's college stuff was not bad and the spring break trip was awesome as was most of the Harvard Yale game (the Pamelon Lott(?) stuff was less interesting I admit), and though Rory had no boyfriend that semester, that does happen, it was remarked on, and I thought that worked well enough. Besides, we get Luke and the self help tape, Jess was standable for the most part (mostly becuase he was gone), Liz was interesting, and Luke and Lorelai finally start to hook up. Plus the best opening bit ever, the cats on the porch! I love that.

By comparison this season had Rory and Dean, which seemed past its prime and not that funny, the grandparents still not talking (which was the biggest down part of the last season, though in this one it was a bit more amusing), much less Paris, much less Lane, a lot more soapy style stuff that while interesting was not as funny. I really like Logan, but a fair amount of him and Rory while dramatic, was not that amusing. There seemed to be a more serious tone this year, and I found Liz and TJ much less engaging. And while there was some college stuff, there was more newspaper stuff keeping with my "college isn't depicted well" theory. Maybe that's because one is either studying, partying or going to class (or doing other personal but less interesting to watch stuff) where as in high school one is at the mercy of the system and many others. In college you choose a lot of what you do. In anycase, I found the previous season much better than most and this one, while still good and I like Luke and Lorelai, to not have been the stellar return to greatness many did. I definitely will be watching next season, I just hope the humor spark returns a bit more.

Garner

[Garner]

Hey, just one more week (a little less now really) and we get the new season! Woo and Hoo ! Finally the answer to the end of last season and I am told a lot more Paris in the premier. Yay. Though no Lane. Boo. And afterwards I am curious to see how Jared Padelicki will do in his own series. It looks fun and neat and I like both actors so it should have some promise.

Garner

[HalfCamel]

Tonite is the Gilmore Girls premiere. Yay! I can't wait to see what this season brings. I wonder how they'll handle the whole wedding issue: will they have it or won't they, and what kind of wackiness will it bring?

I'm still kinda on the fence with Logan, sometimes he bothers me and sometimes I like him.

I hear it'll be a while before the girls actually make amends, which if true is a shame cuz I love the interaction between Rory and Lorelai. Although, it does make for good drama. I'm hoping they bring more of the funniness.

I wonder if they will go into more detail about Rory's decision to drop out and move in with the grandparents. Which, yes I know, they've already explained. But for some reason I think there's a lot more behind it besides "Mr. Huntzberger thinks I suck" and "I'm mad at mom so I'm moving in with the grandparents."

I hope you're right Garner because I love Paris and all her quirks.

[Ben Varkentine]

Hey! And we're back! You know, I was thinking, it seems like it's been so long since I had a favorite show where the season premiere was like seeing a bunch of old friends for the first time in months. Kirk! Taylor! Michel!

Assorted, random thoughts:

Still in the not hating Logan, but not loving him either camp for me. I liked that at the moment, he seems to have more faith in rory returning to Yale than she does.

I think they're right to let the Rory/Lorelei drama play out a little bit. I'd like to see Rory get, but I mean really get how much she's hurt her mother. Lauren Graham was terrific as always. I'm resigned to the fact that as long as GG has the demographics and ratings it does she will never win or even be nominated for an Emmy, but it certainly isn't because she's undeserving.

Looking forward to the Rory and Luke scene next week--I closed my eyes and stuck my fingers in my ears for most of the "next week on.." (I'm funny like that), but I did see her in the diner.

Speaking of Luke, how much do I love him? Yeah, I'm confident enought to say it. I'd unfortunately read that he was going to say yes (like what else?) but I loved the way it was played.
"Luke, will you--"
"Yes."
"I mean, will you-"
"Yes."

Also loving Paris. I knew this whole "Rory quitting school" thing wasn't going to sit with her. I also like that they're apparently going to develop her friendship with Lorelei a little more; I've always liked that aspect of their characters. Now if we could just get her away from the undeserving Oompa-Loompa, I mean Doyle...

That's about all I have, except to say that I thought this was a consistently surprising script--two or three times I thought I knew what was going to happen, and then it didn't. I like that.

[seurat]

Since I was massively spoiled for this ep, I knew all the plot developments but it was still a pleasure to see how ASP and the cast and crew put it all together. I do have a couple of complaints, as usual, but I 'll get to them at the end. To start with the good stuff- the proposal acceptance and toasting was great, even liked Taylor's contribution which hasn't been the case in a long time. The dialogue was especially good this week, with the highlights being the scenes involving Paris. Loved Lorelai's sotto voce comment,"well,not a diplomat" when she was telling Paris that she could be anything she wanted to be. And I loved when Paris said that she liked Rory because she was the only person who stayed in the room to hear her finish her sentences. lol.

All the regulars were in good form this week from Kirk to Michel and Miss Patty. I'd like to see have seen Lane, but we won't have to wait long for that. My only real complaint about the script was the end of that one scene involving Lorelai, Paris and Luke. As fun as it was to watch, I can't buy that Paris would be satisfied with just getting Lorelai's cellphone number , she wanted to know what Lorelai was going to do about Rory and would have stuck with that until she got some sort of answer. Still, it was great to see how they played off each other in that scene.

I'm still worried about the whole Rory leaving Yale storyline and all the drama that it caused, but hopefully ASP won't burden us with that for the whole season. I'm finding I have a lot of sympathy for Rory in this storyline, which I suspect puts me in with about 2% of the viewers.

[Garner]

Well first off, yay new GG! Happy dance! I was definitely looking forward to this and remained unspoiled throughout the summer.

I liked the episode quite a bit. It seems obvious that Luke is going to say yes in retrospect, but there was always that chance that he might wonder why this was coming now and so suddenly. I wonder if they will end up in the Twickum house or why Kirk who made an offer on it hasn't scooped it up? I would expect once Luke backed out for him to be contacted or as soon as he heard that it was still available to grab it. Maybe a slight flaw there.

Rory leaving still bothers me and yet makes sense. She seems to always have this do what she's told sort of personality without necessarily putting herself out there to make the world conform to her will. Paris does that in spades, but Rory really seems pretty low self-esteem at times when authority figures come down on her. I didn't like her inclination to just party the whole time and hang with Logan's crowd, but I did like the way Logan seemed upset with her for leaving or at least has the realization that school means more to her than she thinks at the moment. I wouldn't be surprised if he is partially responsible for her going back. The felon party was an awesome thing though.

I also liked the Paris confronts Rory stuff and her interaction with Lorelai, and her "who're you?" to Luke and his inability to answer. Very amusing. The trial was a bit strange. I would expect them to check on the judge and get one that is a bit more friendly overall. I think Rory would have been better with Logan's father's lawyers. I bet Logan didn't get any repercussions.

I actually have some sympathy for Richard and Emily in that Rory came in and cried on her grandfather's shoulder and I am positive he couldn't refuse her anything and felt the best way to get her back in school quickly was to keep her close and try and influence her as she calmed down. I think even Lorelai realizes that even if she won't really admit it and is terribly hurt. I also hope the rift does heal sooner than later (not necessarily immediately) but soon enough that we get the Rory and Lorelai banter back, that is a big part of the show.

We'll see how things develop this season, so far it has been good and it'll be fun to see how long to the wedding and what Emily and Richard's reactions are.

Garner

PS and I liked Supernatural with Jared Padelicki too.

[Ben Varkentine]

also liked the Paris confronts Rory stuff and her interaction with Lorelai, and her "who're you?" to Luke and his inability to answer. Very amusing.

Considering that right now, Paris and Luke are my favorite characters, you can imagine how much I liked that stuff. I was surprised to think that they hadn't met, though.

The trial was a bit strange. I would expect them to check on the judge and get one that is a bit more friendly overall.

I'm not sure but I don't think you can do that, even if you are a Gilmore.

I actually have some sympathy for Richard and Emily in that Rory came in and cried on her grandfather's shoulder and I am positive he couldn't refuse her anything and felt the best way to get her back in school quickly was to keep her close and try and influence her as she calmed down.

I still think there was more manipulation involved in that--in other words, that Rory didn't really break down--than she's owned up to.

PS and I liked Supernatural with Jared Padelicki too.

Did anyone else think it was weird that he plays a character who has a brother named Dean and a girlfriend named Jess? I'd almost think the writer was fucking with him.

The show itself? I'm lukewarm. It was consistently watchable and well played, but not much humor or wit (different things) in the dialogue. A few too many video effects for my liking, too and unfortunately the commercials gave the ending away.

But, it left me wanting to watch next week, so on that basis (the only one that counts) I'd rate the pilot a success.

[urnofosiris]

I liked the first episode, Luke´s reaction to Lorelai´s proposal seemed perfect and I have no problems with the timing and the way Lorelai proposed. She had her moment of clarity and gave into it, good for her. I loved the scenes with Paris, but what else is new. I hope they really will let her and Lorelai interact more. I do think she has met Luke before btw, for sure she has been into the diner at least once that I recall. Maybe the repeated who are you´s were just her Parislike annoyed way of saying ´you are unimportant and in my way so go away right now´. Either that or the writers have either forgotten they met, or I have forgotten they never met, or it just makes sense that they have met but Paris has forgotten. Luke in any case will never forget her now heheh.
Anyway, there were plenty of amusing moments and enough storylines set up to make for a very entertaining sixth season. Bring it on.

[FineyMcFine]

A neat twist this year and the end of last is Rory's behavior. She's always been such a good girl, which was refreshing, but I'm actually happy that she's acting irresponsible lately and making bad decisions. First, she's going to get to experience firsthand the consequences, which is good for a person. Second, I think it's realistic that she's going to rebel at some point and not be Perfect Rory.

Even though I think she's being a pill, it's good television.

I am a little surprised about the harshness of Lorelai's reaction. I guess she's always been such an unconditional love-type parent in my estimation. I know she's anxious for Rory not to make the same mistakes she made and that's probably coloring her reactions, in addition to the whole parents situation, but I would have expected her to sneak in the back, maybe. I know there are important plot reasons for her not to go, but I was surprised about that.

[Ben Varkentine]

I loved the scenes with Paris, but what else is new. I hope they really will let her and Lorelai interact more. I do think she has met Luke before btw, for sure she has been into the diner at least once that I recall. Maybe the repeated who are you´s were just her Parislike annoyed way of saying ´you are unimportant and in my way so go away right now´. Either that or the writers have either forgotten they met, or I have forgotten they never met, or it just makes sense that they have met but Paris has forgotten

For the record, that's what I think--Paris is so driven and focused on whatever is consuming her at any given moment that even though she's seen Luke before, he just never showed up on her radar screen.

Probably because to her he was just "diner guy" and not "Rory's soon-to-be-stepdad," let alone "Lorelei's boyfriend" or even "Rory's friend."

Although come to think of it, you'd think they might have met at the Chilton graduation...

[Garner]

Luke was there at the Chilton graduation, but I don't think Paris interacted with him. He an Jackson were sort of conversing the whole time. And the other time I can remember Paris seeing Luke was when she went to Star's Hollow to expose its seemy underside and was in the diner and did talk with Luke, but then he was definitely just "diner guy" and not a real person to her. I think Paris is elitist and self centered enough (maybe just driven with all else not pertinent) to dismiss Luke unless there is some reason to elevate him to human status. I do like Paris, but her intensity can makes her the type to put people in categories and ignore those not useful at the moment.

I also noticed the Dean brother and Jess girlfriend and thought that was terribly amusing. I also thought the brothers had a few moments of sibling hosing around and teasing, but it was sort of underdone in a male sort of way. It seemed realistic to me. I also loved the way the approached the woman in white thing and the problem. I hope the show does develop a bit more wit and humor, though I have heard they are going for more scares and action, which they did have. The previews did give too much away. Babylon 5 used to have the best previews for not showing you what was going on, while Charmed's always make the show look totally stupid and then it turns out to be pretty well done. Either of those are better situations.

Yay new ep tonight!

Garner

[Ben Varkentine]

Is Luke just the best guy ever or what? I liked the way he just knew without talking to her about it that Lorelei didn't want to leave her house. Also, I liked the scene where they figure out what TJ (and is it just me, or is he starting to remind anybody else of GWB?) did. It was a love scene without being a love scene.

It showed why they're so perfect together without resorting to those three little words the Palladinos seem so frightened of. The show is walking a precarious path--weddings are showkillers-- but so far it seems surefooted.

I also really like the way they're playing the Lorelei/Rory chasm. They're not backing away from the fact that Rory hurt her mother bad in a place that has a lot to do with who Lorelei is. Much as I want to see them reconcilled, I respect the show for not telling me that a couple of hugs will smooth everything away.

[FineyMcFine]

I love the way that Rory is now going to be able to learn firsthand what it's like being the Gilmore's daughter. She knew what her mother told her, but she was usually defending her grandparents to her mother. Now that she's living with them, she'll gain a new understanding of her mother. And hopefully when she decides to return home or to school and reconciles with Lorelai, her grandparents will realize that Lorelai isn't a bad mother at all and Rory has turned out just fine.

In fact, it wasn't until she started associating with Logan that she went bad, but anyway.

Luke is totally the greatest guy ever, picking up on that Lorelai didn't want to leave her house from their conversation about having a recording studio. Luckily she didn't mind that he took the initiative to bring a contractor over to spec out the job. (The whole TJ thing irritated me, but it's good television.)

The ending, where Lorelai went up to Rory on the road to talk but they ended up fighting was tough. I think she realized that Luke was right and she needed to talk to Rory but then they shouted instead. And the "you hurt me" bit was heartbreaking.

I know some people don't like to watch the "Next week on a fresh Gilmore Girls" so I'll put this in a spoiler box:

Spoiler:

Looks like Rory takes a walk on the wild side and descends into 'society' lifestyle for a while, eh? And I can already see that Luke is not going to be thrilled with Lorelai's not wanting to set a date until things are right with Rory.

[seurat]

Well, I thought this ep was ok, but certainly nothing special. No Paris, no Lane and not a lot of humor, which is understandable given the rift storyline but still makes for a dull ep. I did like Lorelai's 'flight or fight?' line when she saw the strangers crawling all over her house. I agree it was sweet of Luke to realize and accept without argument that they would be staying in the house and not buying his dream home. The stuff with the dog was good too, altho I don't know if it's a good sign that they're resorting to the cute pet storyline - that's often a sign of a show that has run out of ideas (adding a new little kid is of course, the worst sign of all.)

I hated the scene between Lorelai/Rory, not because it was badly written or acted - it was neither - but just because I hate the idea in general of them behaving like that towards each other. And yes, the stuff with the grandparents was telling- particulary struck by the way they immediately disposed of the maid that she was getting along with - can't get friendly with the help of course! Rory will rise above that though, she will never be the little robot that they think they want. And finally, I have to say that I don't agree that Rory has 'gone bad." She broke the law and is paying for that, and she made a decision about her future that I think is mistaken and regettable. But I feel she had every right to make that choice for herself, and all the other things that rose out of it, the diagreement with her mother resulting in her being forced to move out, came about because she stuck with her decision. She's wrong, but she isn't bad. My two cents anyway.

[urnofosiris]

The only chuckle I got out of this episode was the dog in the car bit. Luke is great, no question, but the rest of the episode was just somewhere between mweh and blergh for me. Emily disgusted me like she never has before with her "what was that language" "they don´t like it when you talk to them" and then firing a hard working woman for doing nothing other than daring to engage in actual human contact with her precious grandchild. I have had it with her offensive superior elitist attitude. I did not find it quirky or eccentric, just inexcusably nasty.
Like Taylor, TJ just annoys the hell out of me everytime I see him or have to listen to him talk, he never did, does or will amuse me in any way. I really missed Lane and Paris in this episode.

[Garner]

I can't believe no one has mentioned the best bit in the whole episode: The Luke rant on Revenge of the Sith and Lorelai's rant on Bewitched! Come on, that was gold. Luke not getting the name for lightsabers right (their flashlight things ) and Lorelai telling him to go to a website (hmmn, does that say anything about us here? Hmmmn ) and then her rant on the lack of Larry Tate was awesome. And the sum of the discussion, "we should still go to movies we just shouldn't care" seems like great advice for Kittens watching TV in general. I absolutely loved that part.

On first watch I did think it was a bit of a flat episode. Too much TJ and Liz, both of whom were good when they got married and the lead up to that, but since have been very infuriating. Especially TJ, I agree with DrG not liking him. Taylor is annoying but in a funny uptight way, or amusing at least. TJ is the brother in law you want to kill. And no Lane or Paris, or Logan for that matter, hurt too. But the bit with Miss Patty and the Lorelai's pets was good. Luke and Lorelai finding the hole was brilliantly done and does further show their perfectness as did Luke picking up on Lorelai's love of her house. And Emily was funny leading up to Rory's community service and while I agree she was being petty, priveleged and nasty firing the maid, I still found it predictably amusing (and sad since there are people who really do that) but the glare of the Rumanina maid at Rory was really pretty funny too. The problem with this ep is that the lead in was less amusing than most, and we had a bit too much of Rory with the Grandparents or by herself doing nothing all that interesting or funny. This show is best when characters are interacting and being slightly quirky and we got less of that than normal. Still, on second watching the pacing seemed better and the amusing parts more amusing. I did like Rory being the one who ended up in a fight at the community service. Not what we would have expected. The end was well done and appropriate, but I hope Rory and Lorelai start talking again soonish as the show is best when they are together.

We'll see how the next ep goes. I can see Luke being more understanding of the situation and Lorelai wanting things to be good with Rory than not. He seems to always do the right thing, but we'll see.

Oh, and I hate that Lorelai kept the dog. I also fear pets and children suddenly being added in and while the dog in the car was also really amusing, I totally sympathize with Luke here, I'm a cat person and while dogs are fun to visit, I'd hate to live with one. Any bets on how long till the dog runs away or dies? I know, that sounds horrible but given Lorelai's record it really should die strangely in an ep or two. Something amusing and shocking at the same time.

Garner

[HalfCamel]

So I saw the premiere and I thought it was excellent. I loved the way they started everything and how they set things up. I loved Paris too, she has that fun kind of intensity, if there even is such a thing.

I like Rory’s attitude towards her new found life right now. I don’t think it’s her “going bad”, I think it’s her trying to figure out her place in the world. While I don’t like the way she set about getting to her current state, I do like that she’s showing some initiative and taking some sort of control of her life and making her own decisions. She was always just going with the flow and let other people make choices for her, even if it didn’t seem that way. Right now she had the carpet ripped out from under her and she’s completely lost, but I think that as soon as she screws up again and falls flat on her face without the cushion of her grandparents protecting her then she’ll be able to start to get her life back on track.

On the acceptance of the proposal: I was kinda disappointed. They didn’t even jump into each other’s arms and go “YAY!” or something, there was no kiss, nothing. They were both just being eager. Now, I don’t know cuz I’ve never been proposed to or anything, but this doesn’t really look like a good sign.

Now onto the second episode. There wasn’t too much funny, but there was some. And there some other enjoyable moments as well. But for me the whole thing was over shadowed by the horrible scene with the Guatemalan maid. Emily’s reaction to this was heinous. I did not find this funny at all. In fact, I was a little insulted, and it takes a lot to insult me. I completely agree with DrG on this, it was “inexcusably nasty.” And I can’t believe that Rory didn’t even think twice about her grandmother’s reaction. She just took it in stride and said I’m gonna go swimming now. What the hell was that?! She’s the one that was always defending them to her mother going “oh they’re such nice people with good intentions” blah blah blah, and this gets no reaction from her whatsoever?! If this doesn’t open her eyes to how her grandparents really are then I don’t know what will. And I’m not even gonna get started on Richard’s comment about paying the gardener “too much if he has an MP3 device.”

Ok, I’m done with my little rant now.

I’m also gonna jump on the TJ-is-annoying bandwagon. I don’t know why they can’t just add more scenes with Paris or Michele or Sookie or whoever instead of having TJ and Liz.

Did anyone else get reminded of Sylvester Stallone when Luke was giving his “I’m in the middle” speech up on the roof? No? Okay, I’m gonna be quiet now.

And the dog? I think it’s gonna disappear as soon as Lorelai and Rory make up.

[urnofosiris]

I had not even stopped to consider Rory´s lack of reaction at Emily´s attitude and actions. I was too angry at Emily to think about it, but Rory´s inaction bugs the hell out of me now too. She knows Emily´s fires her maids for the silliest of reasons, or they probably bolt themselves, but this is the first time I can recall her firing someone for such an offensive discriminatory reason and not even the tiniest little inkling of anger from Rory at such injustice. I know she is going through something of a "phase" right now, but this seems very unRorylike to me. I am sure she and the grandparents will have some blow-out soon, but I bet it will be for other reasons and Emily will get away with what she did this episode. Richard´s comments were obnoxious too. Moving on, I forgot about the Star Wars rant, that was amusing and I could not agree more with Luke on that one. Lorelai´s counter rant was wasted on me as I do not know that particular subject matter. I look forward to next week´s episode, it can surely only get better again from now on.

[seurat]

I don't have a copy of the ep to go back and check again ,but it seems to me the only reaction by Rory to the new maid was a look of resignation. It is their home after all, and they make the rules. I'm sure she would rather be with Lorelai right now, but that's not an option yet so she's trying to make the best of it. It didn't bother me too much, but no it doesn't reflect well on her. Still, Emily and Richard come off a lot worse.

TJ annoys the hell out of me too. I guess ASP enjoys writing that character and we're stuck with him. The dog, I'm afraid, is likely to be here for a little while at least. They did at least get a good scene out of him with that car door thing. Yes, the movie rant was pretty funny, but it did seem to go on a little long for me. But then I haven't even bothered to see the last Star Wars film yet let alone the other one. The shame, I know...

[Garner]

Richard's comment about the MP3 and the gardener I had forgotten and for me that seemed like the more callous treatment and attitude since it was more unexpected. Yes, Emily is being horrible to her maid, yes it shows her classism and snobbery and paints Emily in a very poor light, BUT, given the history with maids and that this is the what, sixth season, can anyone who has watched the show claim to be surprised by what happened? Come on, Emily and the maids has passed beyond any social commentary to a schtick. That's one of the "Emily things" the way she is horrible to her maids, can't keep them, and fires them for any little indiscretion imaginable. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if ASP and DP are running out of maid material at this point. So while it might have been a bit more vindictive than normal, and I do say might as Emily has been very petty and vindictive before, the maid fired for walking too loud comes to mind, at this point I just put it off to the current Emily and her maids thing. And the Rumanian maid's look was funny.

However, I agree that Rory took it a little to easily. She should have at least said something. I took her look as feeling guilty that she was responsible for the previous maid getting fired. I thought that might have showed her first hand and directly a bit of Emily's attitude and world like she hadn't seen previously. At least not so personally. Though I could be wrong about that. Richard's barb was more unexpected, not as much of a schtick, and so seems worse to me, though both were very elitist and callow.

Next week I hope we get a little more of Logan and Rory. I am very curious to see what his continued reaction to all this is going to be. I guess it is still early summer and at some point they'll have to deal with Yale actually starting again. It is an interesting observation that Rory is finally doing what SHE wants to do, but one could argue that she is just copying Logan and what she thinks he is like and doing. So one could argue that she is still not doing her own thing. I actually hope she learns to stand on her own and says "screw you" to Logan's dad and sets out to prove she can be a good journalist. She's too young to give up on tha now and his statement could be a wake up call for her resolve and defiance rather than a call to roll over or give up. Maybe she wasn't driven enough or for the right reasons but will find that motivation now. I guess we'll see. I do expect to see a lot more ugliness of Emily and Richards' world and mind set before we're done though.

Garner

[urnofosiris]

Emily being anally retentive, spoiled and bored and firing her maids for nonsensical reasons every other second is one thing, firing this woman because she dared speak to her superior granddaughter in "what language was that" is quite another. It was more than obnoxious classism and she got away with it just like it was all part of the running joke with Emily and her endless string of maids. This time the sentiments behind it crossed the line for me and I have lost any kind of respect and liking I still felt for her character.

I do expect to see a lot more ugliness of Emily and Richards' world and mind set before we're done though.

Agreed. They are probably building up to some blow out between her and Rory and when Emily is brought down from her high horse I really hope that, among other things, she will finally change her ways and show some genuine remorse about the way she has treated this and other honest hard working women who have been unfortunate enough to cross her path, but somehow I doubt that will happen.

[Ben Varkentine]

I may have more later, right now all I can say about last night's ep is: Liza Weil...skirt...legs.

[urnofosiris]

Very good to see both Paris and Lane again. I was amused that apparently even the uber rude Michel is no match for Paris. I would have liked to see her take him down, but I can still imagine what it would be like. I was annoyed that Lorelai was about to "dump" Paris when she was not prepared to stop paying TJ for doing absolutely nothing useful. Yeah, to protect his feelings blah blah, but what about Paris, she has a big mouth but Lorelai knows she is as vulnerable as she is fierce. Fortunately it worked out differently.
All in all this was an enjoyable episode, far more amusing and light hearted than last week.

[seurat]

I enjoyed this week's ep a lot more than last week's too, and obviously having Paris and Lane in it helped immensely with the humor. I loved Michel's 'Canadian' line which is doubly funny becasue of course the actor really is from Montreal. I did think they overplayed the Paris as monster customer a bit though, she is demanding but I can't see her being so much worse than other troublesome customers that servers would be running away in panic. It was funny though, so whatever. Love seeing Lorelai and Paris working together, they have wonderful comic timing. Liza waited a perfect couple of beats before she delivered that poor service line, and it just made the scene.

Nice to see that they are allowing Rory to show her essential Roryness again, in her leadership of the work crew and her interaction with the seniors group. Also good to see Logan again, I still like them together. Sookie was quite well written in this episode too, so hey, there was a lot to like.

[Garner]

I found this week's ep to be decent but a bit blase. I loved seeing Lane again and finding out what the band was up to. The whole, we have 9 grand now was awesome and I would have killed her! Soap and tooth paste and maybe a hundred extra for food wouldn't have killed the stockpiling! Definitely Mrs. Kim's daughter.

I also liked seeing more of Paris and the Hell she puts Sookie and the servers through almost reaches the level of Emily. Both are very headstrong and know that they are always right and no one else matters a bit. I think Emily and Paris have more in common than people might think and would love to see them go at each other. Not since Mrs. Kim and Emily were together... Why Lorelai would want to spare TJ's feelings but not Paris' is beyond me. I did love the bit with the "mystic" hammer. That ruled and I have seen that done in real life, along with a left handed screwdriver.

I am glad that Luke basically seemed to have no problem with not setting a wedding date till things were right with Rory. That made sense to me and I think it shows that their relationship should be rock solid. I also liked Rory putting the one woman on hold in the DAR office and then talking with Emily, talking with Paris and we never see her get back to the woman. Very amusing and bit more Emily-like than Rory. I did like how Rory got nostalgic, or maybe just longed for, campus after meeting with Logan. I think that will continue a bit.

Overall it was an OK episode but I liked last week's better, it had more humorous parts, this weeks seemed like setting things in motion for next week, though there were less lulls this week. The sooner we see less of TJ the better. The preview for next week looks really good though. That was actually my highlight for this week.

Garner

[HalfCamel]

Talk, talk, talk, talk… that was my initial reaction half-way through watching the ep. But over all, I liked it. It was great to see more of the cast involved and interacting.

Sookie and Michel were wonderful and funny, as was Paris. I would’ve strangled Lane for hiding those $9,000, but the band took it pretty well. I hope they follow through with the whole record-a-CD thing; especially if it means more Lane.

It’s good to see Rory getting her bearings back and being productive, just basically being herself. She looks a lot happier, which is good cuz I don’t want to watch her gluminess (and sometimes the mumbling that comes with it) anymore. After last week’s mishap at the volunteer thing and the face she had on afterwards, I wasn’t expecting her to step up and organize it. Between being in charge there and at the dance with the preppy, old folks, maybe it’s the writers’ way of saying she could still go either way… old school Rory… new & improved(?) Rory… Or maybe it’s just me.

Like Garner said, I too think it makes sense that Lorelai wouldn’t want to set a date yet. But for some reason, I don’t see the wedding actually taking place. BTW, that wedding cake Sookie made was awesome! "Where can I get one", indeed.

The writers are making good use of Paul Anka. At least he’s not in every scene or involving him in anything overly cheesy.

Tomorrow’s episode looks good. I hope we get things out in the open and get moving forward some more.

ETA: I forgot about the induction ceremony for the DAR! How miserable did Rory look?! I don't believe she's actually going through with it. She could've just asked her grandmother for some other options. Maybe it's her way of twisting the dagger in her mothers heart a little more.

And why the hell didn't Logan get reprimanded in any way or anything? That's stupid.