About:
Gilmore Girls S1.E11 “Paris Is Burning”
Gilmore Girls S1.E12 “Double Date”
Drinks Taken: 25
Cups of Coffee: 11
We’re on Week 4 of our Rewatch Project and we’re really getting to the good stuff here. Little did you know that Stars Hollow, while a quaint village full of quirky townies and seasonally-themed festivities, is also a hotbed of scandal and action! As Lorelai would say…
Let’s dive in, but first! A reminder of our drinking game rules:
The Gilmore Girls Drinking Game Rules
Drink once every time:
Lorelai or Rory drinks coffee.
Emily gets flustered by Lorelai’s bizarre sense of humor.
Sookie is controlling about food.
Paris is controlling about anything.
Michel snubs a customer.
Luke is crotchety.
Taylor has an absurd scheme for Stars Hollow.
The girls acquire massive amounts of food and then fail to take even one bite.
Drink twice every time:
Kirk has a new job.
You see a town troubadour.
You see a moment from the credits.
Mrs. Kim says “We appreciate your business.”
On to the episodes!
1.10 “Forgiveness and Stuff”
Lorelai, Emily and Rory are still barely talking to one another in the aftermath of Rory’s dance fiasco. Emily uninvites Lorelai to the annual Christmas party, and though Lorelai has done nothing but complain about the party up to this point, she’s crushed to be uninvited. She wants apple tarts, dammit! Rory goes without her, and Lorelai settles for dinner at Luke’s. But Richard gets all het up about work stuff at the party and collapses, and Rory leaves a frightened message on Lorelai’s cell phone. Lorelai panics, and Luke is incredibly sweet, closing down the diner and driving her to the hospital in Hartford.
Richard’s okay – just a touch of angina – and the scare has all of the Gilmore Girls getting along again. Emily even seems to thaw a little toward Luke, in her special Emily way. “So what exactly is going on with the two of you?” she asks him, and when he replies that they’re just friends, she responds, “You’re idiots. The both of you.” Aww! Grandma! Kelly Bishop has a few great moments this week, particularly when she tears up and makes Richard promise that she can die before him. As someone who has had that exact conversation with my husband, this scene always gets me.
And Emily’s not the only Gilmore mom to thaw toward her daughter’s fella this week: Lorelai has a great talk with Dean when he knocks on Rory’s window, hoping to see her for the first time since the dance. Lorelai’s still mad that he kept Rory out all night, but that boy is winning her over with his polite persistence. I always love the relationship between Dean and Lorelai, because Dean is exactly the first boyfriend you’d want for your teen daughter.
How many times do I have to drink?
8.
How many cups of coffee do the Gilmore girls drink?
Only two – the coffee machine is broken in the hospital, and you can imagine how well that goes over.
Flirtation quota
Lorelai and Luke share some lovely moments this week as he proves himself to be someone she can count on in a crisis. She tells him that he always looks good, which he certainly doesn’t mind hearing, and she buys him the blue baseball cap he wears for the rest of the series. I love it all so much, but as will happen again and again over these seven seasons, I find myself distracted, wishing Luke would get a damn haircut.
Best pop culture reference
Lorelai: “Rory, there are only two things that I totally trust in this entire world. The fact that I will never be able to understand what Charo is saying no matter how long she lives in this country – and you.”
Sookie’s best dish of the episode
No Sookie this week, but don’t worry. Lorelai doesn’t starve, because this happens!
She’s sad about missing the Christmas party, so Luke makes her usual order more festive. Aww. As Lorelai says, “No one has ever made me something quite this disgusting before. I thank you.”
Lorelai’s craziest outfit
She doesn’t have a terribly entertaining week, ensembs-wise, but this puffy jacket isn’t great.
Kirk insanity
Taylor has organized (drink!) a town-wide nativity scene, and Kirk’s a wise man! Of course he is. I think that counts as a new job for Kirk, so go ahead and drink again. Twice.
Best Gilmore Gal witticism
Lorelai insists to Rory that holding a grudge burns more calories. “How do you think your grandma got those legs of hers? She’s not exactly a Stairmaster gal.” Kelly Bishop does have nice stems.
Random observation
We learn a little more about the strained relationship Lorelai has with Richard. It’s funny but realistic that Richard can think the world of Rory, who is so like Lorelai, while having very little patience for Lorelai herself. The later scenes in which Richard makes it clear that he’s proud of Lorelai always slay me.
1.11 “Paris Is Burning”
Everything’s going great for Lorelai and Max. They’re having sexy dinner dates (Max makes osso bucco!), and Rory’s starting to feel very comfortable with the idea of her cool English teacher dating her mom. So naturally, Lorelai panics and dumps Max in the worst way possible, by shoving his Proust back into his hand and telling him it won’t work out… at Chilton’s Parents Day. Max protests, things get heated and they start making out. Oh, Lorelai.
Meanwhile, Paris’ parents are going through a tawdry divorce and everyone at school’s been gossiping about her. So when Paris sees Lorelai and Max macking, she tells the entire world in order to get the mudslingers off her back. Max gets in trouble with Headmaster Charleston, Lorelai gets in trouble with Emily and Rory, and poor Rory’s in trouble with everyone at school. Just as Lorelai realizes what a good thing she had with Max, he breaks up with her to avoid further Chilton scandal.
Later, Rory stands up to Paris, asking why she’d get a great teacher in trouble, and why she’d want to spread more malicious gossip after being the gossip mill’s victim all week. Paris acknowledges that it was an uncool move, and Rory kindly offers an ear if Paris ever needs someone to talk to. Paris considers it briefly before amending, “I probably won’t,” but it’s major progress between these two, and I love seeing the roots of a truly unconventional friendship take place.
On the other friendship front, it’s really not a great week for Lorelai. When Sookie genially points out that Lorelai always gets commitment-skittish around two months, Lorelai snaps, “When did you become the relationship expert? You haven’t been in a relationship in years.” Sookie is hurt, and Lorelai immediately realizes what a crummy thing that was to say to her best friend.
The two make up right away, because Sookie is the sweetest, and something great comes of it – Sookie gathers the courage to ask out Jackson, the produce supplier with whom she’s shared a fiery “These peaches are watery!”/”This zucchini is too small!” relationship. Jackson says yes, and Sookie looks pretty darn satisfied with herself – as well she should be.
How many times do I have to drink?
8.
How many cups of coffee do the Gilmore girls drink?
3.
Flirtation quota
Max and Lorelai enjoy plenty of pre-breakup flirting, including some impressively icky Naughty Student role-play Lorelai insists on performing. (I think she’s joking. I hope?) She and Luke also flirt a little at the diner when she brings in her old ice skates and he offers to clean and tighten the blades. Sookie marvels, “You get really good service here,” and she’s not wrong.
We don’t see Dean, but we learn that he called Rory five times in one night, which seems excessive but she doesn’t appear to mind. And ChaMM gives her an obnoxious kissy face when he hears the scoop about Lorelai and Max, but as always with ChaMM, I can’t tell if he’s flirting or actively harassing her.
Best pop culture reference
After learning that Madeline and Louise gave Rory a friendly hello in the wake of Paris’ parental scandal, Lorelai: “Wow, you’re the new Heather.”
Sookie’s best dish of the episode
Fried stuffed squash blossoms, say hallelujah.
Lorelai’s craziest outfit
Just because it’s crazy doesn’t mean that I don’t love it. Lorelai’s skating outfit, with the pom-pommed pigtails, fuzzy cuffs and fur-lined mini-skirt, is mad adorable.
Kirk insanity
No Kirk, gah. Season One bums me out in this respect.
Best Gilmore Gal witticism
Upon discovering that Lorelai made out with Max when she was supposed to be dumping him, Rory: “I know I told you to be nice to him, but this was a little extreme, don’t you think?”
Random observation
At the beginning of the episode, Lorelai visits a puppy sale and swoons over a mutt named Buttercup. Everyone reminds her that she can’t get a dog after the extreme negligence with which she treated her old hamster Skippy, and all of this reminds me that we have exactly NINETY-NINE episodes to go before we get to meet the great Paul Anka.
1.12 “Double Date”
It’s been weeks since Sookie asked out Jackson, but because no concrete plans were made, the two are spiraling in an awkward, undefined vortex of anxiety. Fortunately, Lorelai forces Sookie to call Jackson and make plans, but Jackson’s cousin Rune (Whistler from Buffy!) is in town. Instead of rescheduling like a normal person, Sookie signs an unsuspecting Lorelai up for a blind double date. Lorelai isn’t thrilled, but she agrees.
Sookie’s a nervous wreck, but she looks beautiful, and everything seems to be going well except the fact that Rune despises Lorelai. She’s too tall! Her nose is too big! Her ears are too big! That’s right, the little weirdo in the above gif is unhappy to be set up with the gorgeous and charming Lorelai Gilmore.
After an excruciating first try at a fancy French restaurant, Lorelai salvages the date by bringing everyone to Luke’s. Rune storms off to go bowling, leaving Jackson and Sookie to have a wonderful time together.
AND the newly single Lorelai shares some serious chemistry with Luke. He keeps her company so Sookie and Jackson can be alone, they play five card draw, and just as he’s about to ask her out…Mrs. Kim barges in!
See, both Gilmore girls are on double dates this evening. Lane has been suffering an overwhelming crush on Dean’s best friend Todd, and she finagles a date for the four of them, unbeknownst to her boy-loathing mother. Mrs. Kim realizes Lane and Rory aren’t where they’re supposed to be, and she drags Lorelai to the movie theater to break up the date. Lane’s surprisingly fine with it, because it turns out Todd is a complete, mouthbreathing moron.
A week later: Sookie and Jackson have successfully had three more dates, Lane’s slightly less grounded than she was before (she can stand in the yard!), and Luke sorta-kinda finally asks out Lorelai. Well, not really. But he does tell her that he’d like to play cards with her again sometime, and she seems to get the picture.
How many times do I have to drink?
9.
How many cups of coffee do the Gilmore girls drink?
6.
Flirtation quota
Dean and Rory are in that super cute, lovey-dovey phase, kissing for decades on a park bench and the like. Lorelai appears to be completely over Max (we’ll see how long that lasts), because she and Luke are melting my TV with their hot hot chemistry! I love this exchange, when Lorelai tells Luke that Rune thinks she’s too tall –
Luke: “Doesn’t he understand how great that is? You can get all the stuff from the top shelf.”
Lorelai: “Exactly! That is exactly what I bring to a relationship. Explain that to him, will you?”
Best pop culture reference
Rory and Lane’s double date is at the super adorable Black, White and Read Movie Theater, and in a clever nod to Lorelai’s height, they’re watching Attack of the 50 ft. Woman.
Sookie’s best dish of the episode
Baked Alaska!
Lorelai’s craziest outfit
Okay, this hideous outfit has many layers, and no one single image accurately captures its offensiveness. Here you can see that she’s pairing a maroon pleather jacket and orange scarf with tomato-red polyester slacks and black leather gloves. EGADS.
Next, please note that she’s wearing those awful slacks with black leather booties, truly monstrous stuff.
BUT WAIT. Finally, you can see the rayon paisley mock turtleneck she’s been hiding under that pleather jacket. Looks like it’s a Chico’s kind of day for ol’ Lorelai. NEVER AGAIN.
Kirk insanity
Yeah, yeah, no Kirk this week, you’ve heard it all before.
Best Gilmore Gal witticism
Dean walks up on Rory reading The Collected Poems of Sylvia Plath and jokes, “Is there anything in there about me?” Rory: “I don’t know. Your name wouldn’t be Lithium, would it?” Hah!!
Random observation
Lorelai and Mrs. Kim have a serious exchange this week, as Lorelai tries to convince her to go easy on Lane. These two have such wildly different parenting styles, and even as they both evolve and grow throughout the series, that never changes, but the result is the same: two of the greatest kids on the planet.
This season just keeps getting better, and next week we’re covering “Concert Interruptus,” “That Damn Donna Reed” and “Christopher Returns.” So meet us here next Wednesday morning for another trip to Stars Hollow!
And a question for you, dear FYA readers: based solely on what we know this far in the series, would you go for Max or Luke?
