The Gilmore Girls TV Watch Along with Lenore and I has begun!

If you’d like to participate, check out this post and below for week one’s discussion questions! As a reminder, discussion questions will be posted every Monday. Choose any 5 of the questions to answer on your own blog or all of them if you choose (and share your link on our blog post each week in the comments) or answer any 3 of the questions in the comments of Presenting Lenore or Hollywood the Write Way. The schedule for May is below!

Schedule:
Season 1 (Goal: Watch 1 episode per day)
Week of May 13: Episodes 1-7
Week of May 20: Episodes 8-14
Week of May 27: Episodes 15-21

Week One Questions:

Check out Lenore’s answers here!

In the Pilot episode, Emily agrees to pay for Rory’s enrollment and first semester on one condition: Lorelai and Rory must have dinner with her & Richard every Friday and Lorelai must call her parents once a week with an update. Do you think she asked for too much, just enough, or not enough and why?
That’s a fair condition. I think Emily asked for just enough. She knows she has the right to ask for something but she knows her daughter well enough not to ask for too much and make it more of a chore than it will start out to be for Lorelai. I don’t think Emily wants Lorelai to resent her anymore than she already does. That’s not her goal. She just wants to spend time with her family. Asking for family time shouldn’t be asking to get a chore done but given the strained relationship, it’s going to be, at least in the beginning. Emily knows to take it slow.

In 1.2, “The Lorelais’ First Day at Chilton,” Paris confronts Rory about not getting in her way while Lorelai picks and chooses her battles with her mother (i.e. Emily buying Rory clothes & a parking space at school) but ultimately confronts her mother just the same. Which power battle do you find most intriguing?
The latter. Maybe because the relationship with Lorelai and her mother is more important and holds more weight. I have an idea of what Rory’s relationship with Paris evolves into over the seasons but I don’t remember specifics and even with what I remember from the various episodes that I have seen, I still think that the relationship between a mother and daughter is far more interesting than that between a student and a rival. Especially since Rory really isn’t giving into Paris. Also, I really don’t get anything out of teen rival situations period no matter the medium.

In 1.3, “Kill Me Now,” Rory goes golfing with Richard and ends up having a good time. What do you think it will take for the walls to come down between Emily and Rory?
We definitely need more information about what the causes of the rift between these two are. Clearly Lorelai and Emily had a falling out when Lorelai got pregnant with Rory and clearly Lorelai has had problems with Emily’s controlling ways since before then but something tells me there’s more to this. Without knowing the whole story, I can say that it’s a two way street and the two are already making small steps to the end of it. The two don’t have to be best friends but a healthy relationship isn’t too much to ask. Emily needs to respect the line between Lorelai as a mom and Emily as a Grandmother. Lorelai needs to accept the fact that what Emily does is also always out of love and with her family’s best interests at heart and sometimes her mom is, shocker, right. Whatever it takes for the walls to come down, it will be worth it.

In 1.4, “The Deer Hunters,” Rory is late for a test and is not allowed to take it, which accounts for 20% of her grade. Do you think Rory and Lorelai handled this situation well?
For the characters that they are, they handled it the best way they saw fit. It was exciting and refreshing to see Rory let out the stress that’s been in her for God knows how long. To not relieve that stress would be unhealthy, the way that she did it…well, who can blame her? I think her reaction was natural and I wouldn’t fault her for it. As for Lorelai, well, she’s Lorelai so…she’s still got a lot of growing to do. But even in that, she’s still going to be Lorelai. Which brings us back to her handling the situation the best way she saw fit – the best way only she could handle it. She could have definitely handled it with more grace but thank goodness it wasn’t worse. That’s all we can ask for at this point.

In 1.5, “Cinnamon’s Wake,” Rory catches Lorelai postponing her date with Max, Rory’s teacher. Was it right for Lorelai to even agree to the date?
Lorelai knew what she was doing when she agreed to the date that she claims wasn’t a date but really, what else was it going to be? I think Lorelai should have stood firm in her original talk with Max about not crossing the line when Rory is still so new to the school. Give it time. If he’s the one for her, which I’m sure he’s not, but if he were, time wouldn’t have been a problem.

In 1.6, “Rory’s Birthday Parties,” Emily throws Rory a birthday party on Friday night, inviting her entire Chilton class. Lorelai throws Rory a birthday party the following evening back at home with their real friends. Emily & Richard show up at the second party and Emily makes it known that Lorelai and Luke have chemistry. How long do you think it will take for these two to get together?
I’m hoping this happens very slowly in season 3 or possibly even season four, but the first half of season four because the wait after that would kill me. I love the small town relationships on this show and want to see that as long as possible before the inevitable happens. There are 7 seasons, so season 3 or season 4 seems about right. Whenever it happens, I’m sure it will be worth it!

In 1.7, “Kiss and Tell,” Lorelai is not happy that Rory didn’t tell her about her first kiss. What did you think of Lorelai’s reaction?
There’s one moment in particular that sits with me. I love the scene in the diner as Lorelai is looking out the window, staring at Rory. It’s clear that Lorelai is pissed! But it’s not because of what you’d think. Lorelai trusts Rory enough to know that Rory isn’t going to grow up too fast. But she’s very upset that Rory didn’t tell her about her first kiss. They tell each other essentially everything but now Lorelai gets to really feel what it’s like to have a teenage daughter. I love this moment. It’s a great twist on a parent finding out about a first kiss, it’s true to these characters, and it is executed brilliantly.

What is your favorite or least favorite episode this week and why?
Even though “Rory’s Birthday Parties” is the episode that I remember the most and really enjoy watching, I’d have to say that “Kiss and Tell” was fantastic. There’s so much said in what’s unsaid which is interesting considering how much all of these characters talk and how well they get what they have to say off their chests. Usually. Not as much in the first half of this episode. And then of course the good old Lorelai antics begin in the second half. I loved it!

Books mentioned in these episodes include but are not limited to the below. Which one of these have you not read and would like to read or have read and enjoyed?
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain
Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert
Moby Dick – Herman Melville
Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy
Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
Mencken’s Chrestomathy – H.L. Mencken

I remember reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in high school and really enjoying it. I wouldn’t mind reading this again to see what I would get out of it now that i didn’t when I was a teen.

What were your favorite quotes this week?
“Pilot”
Lorelai: Michel, the phone.
Michel: Mmm-hmm. It rings.
Lorelai: Can you answer it?
Michel: No, people are particularly stupid today. I can’t talk to anymore of them.

“The Lorelais’ First Day at Chilton”
Elderly Woman: Oh, excuse me, sir. Can you tell me where we can find the best antiques?
Michel: At your house, I’d guess.

“Cinnamon’s Wake”
Lorelai: It’s late, I have a big day tomorrow, Mom.
Emily: Oh what, you’re going to a raccoon’s wedding?

Final Thoughts:
It was interesting watching the Pilot after not having seen the Pilot since it originally aired. All of this time, I had it in my head that episode 2.2 was the Pilot. That made more of an impression on me back then so I remembered the episode very clearly. I also remembered episode 2.6 but the other episodes were a blur or I didn’t remember at all. It is so nice finally watching every episode of this show and in order! I am having a blast jumping back into this world and I cannot wait for more drama. It’s starting off light but there are some things that I can’t wait to get to. I love character driven shows and how grounded each and every single relationship is on this show especially, so I can’t wait to see all of this evolve!