Gilmore Girls TV Watch Along with Melody & Lenore: Season One, Episodes 8-14 (Week 2)

The Gilmore Girls TV Watch Along with Lenore and I continues!

If you’d like to participate, check out this post for all of the information. Week One’s Q&A is here.


Week Two Questions:

Check Out Lenore’s Thoughts on Week Two’s Episodes Here.

In 1.8, “Love and War and Snow,” Lane feels left out of Rory’s life while Rory’s teacher seems to be finding his way more into hers. What would you like to see more out of either relationship?
I definitely feel like the Lane and Rory friendship is lacking screen time so my vote is to see more of this relationship, especially since it’s hinted at that Lorelai and Luke get together and I’ve seen a bunch of random episodes of the show, so I know that this does indeed happen. Because of this, I’m not really invested in this Max teacher character. Even if I didn’t know that Luke and Lorelai got together, I’d still be rooting for them, so my answer would still be the same.

In 1.9, “Rory’s Dance,” Rory goes to her first dance with Dean after Lorelai and Emily debate over whether Rory would go. Did you attend your school dances and other social events?
If it were up to me, I would have gone to zero school dances and been completely fine but some of the dances in middle school were required (what the heck? I still don’t understand that), so I went to those. I skipped my high school prom and went to see Rent on Broadway with my mother, Aunt, and Grandmother for a day before Mother’s Day’s outing… and of course because Broadway beats a school dance any day. I remember every Broadway show I’ve been to more vividly than most of all my school experiences. Maybe if I hadn’t moved so much and actually felt closer to the kids, school dances would have been fun but I did move a lot (and that was and is fine for me, it’s my normal) so I didn’t see the point in dances.

In 1.9, “Rory’s Dance,” Lorelai and Emily get into it over Rory staying out all night. What are your thoughts on the finale scene in this episode?
I think this is one of the most powerful scenes of the season so far, possibly the entire first season. I can really relate to both Lorelai and Rory’s upbringings. It’s interesting, I’ll just say to have one parent who is not able to provide the way that they want to for you but is there for you in every other aspect of parenting, so much so that it might even dip into being overbearing and another parent who is a fantastic provider but when it comes to the heart of the matter, bonding, caring about who your child is becoming… not investing anything into those aspects of parenting… I know that Lorelai and Emily have some issues to work through. In regards to Lorelai’s story line in particular, she is so much more than her circumstance and I am so proud of her for standing up to Emily and saying that. I really hope what Lorelai said is getting through to Emily. I really hope so.

In 1.10, “Forgiveness and Stuff,” Richard has a health scare and everyone’s true priorities start coming to the surface. What do you think about the balance of drama and comedy in this episode?
That’s an interesting question. Of this bunch of episodes, some of my favorite lines comes from this episode. We get to see Emily in distress but at the same time still never lose herself, her wit and the same for Lorelai. It makes me think…what if this were a reality show? Looking back, what would Lorelai and Emily think of what they said and how they were portrayed? Then I thought, is this the right episode to even think about when putting these questions on the table. I think it was just the right amount of comedy because it was just a natural portrayal of these characters. Whoever wrote this episode really had to know these characters to get that balance right for this episode especially and they pulled it off.

In 1.11, “Paris Is Burning,” Rory confronts and reaches out to Paris after Paris switches her school’s attention from her family to Rory’s. Now that Paris is more open to being friends with Rory, how long do you think it will take for these two to actually have a heart to heart?
It’s so hard to say…it could be right around the corner, the end of the season, or sometime in season two. Now the writers are humanizing Paris and we once knew what we’d get from her but now we don’t. Rory can take it but for Paris’s own sake, I hope she gets her act together and accepts a helping hand when one is out because it’s not always going to be out.

In 1.12, “Double Date,” Lane realizes the hard way that the guy she has a crush on isn’t the one for her. What was your favorite part about this story line?
My favorite part actually has more to do with Rory and Lane than Lane and her crush. Before this, Rory was struggling with balancing her private school life, family, and social life and here Rory’s eyes are wide open. She tries as best she can to look out for her friend and that was a great moment to see.

In 1.13, “Concert Interruptus,” Lorelai and Rory invite Paris and her two friends to a Bangles concert after Lorelai sees how well Rory is getting along with the girls on a school project. By the end of the night, Paris says this is one of the best nights of her life. Why do you think she said that?
It’s obvious that Paris has a broken home in more ways than one. To be able to go out and forget about that for a night is something Paris doesn’t do often enough. Yes, Paris wants to be the best student ever but she’s not kidding anyone if she thinks throwing her every waking minute at books is just because of that. A concert was such a refreshing distraction for her. She really needed this moment and I’m so glad she got it. Then there’s Paris seeing the relationship that Lorelai and Rory have as well as Lorelai’s personality and parenting style in general. There’s a lot to take into consideration when thinking about why this night was so special for Paris and I’m glad that we’re continuously learning why and slowly accepting Paris just the way she is, knowing she’s growing. I love this episode. We really get to see Paris open up, verbally and physically loosening the reigns. It was so lovely.

In 1.14, “That Damn Donna Reed,” Rory’s dad makes a surprise visit in the final moments of the episode after a very interesting feminist centered episode. Do you think there is anything interesting about the timing of this?
I don’t think so but that is an interesting thought. I think Chris knew what he was getting himself into when he got together with Lorelai and even though things didn’t work out between the two, if they had, I think Rory would still feel the same way she feels about Donna Reed and would have done her research on Reed just the same after being challenged.

What is your favorite or least favorite episode this week and why?
My favorite episode this week is definitely “Concert Interruptus” and it’s all because of Paris, which I shared in detail why above. What a great episode!

Extras:

Favorite Quotes?
“Love and War and Snow”
Lorelai: I am telling you, 5 minutes in a snowball fight, we could knock that stick right out of your butt.

Rory: Plus, I know you’re not a cat person so you truly will be alone if you don’t find someone.

Luke:…We’re friends, that’s it.
Emily: You’re idiots. The both of you.

Final Thoughts:
I love how in “Forgiveness and Stuff,” baby Jesus is the size of a toddler and not… a baby! Ha ha ha. It was also fun seeing Jane Lynch in this episode. Also, how about this fluffy number from “Paris Is Burning?”

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