Gilmore Girls - 2/11/03 (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Sun]

Not the greatest GG episode, but it does mine the Lane subplot some more and introduces the other 2 band guys with somewhat larger parts.

It looks like Luke is coming out of his "shell" with his relationship with the lawyer.

Jess is so stupid sometimes, annoyingly so.

Rory still has this "Lorelai" streak in her that goes for the dramatic jugular as well.

Okay, this episode represents a big turning point in Rory and Lorelai's relationship as Rory makes it clear to Lorelai that she wants to go to the next level with Jess. This paralyzes Lorelai. The final shot of them frozen while eating take-out, and then slowly putting arms around each other was a somber moment. Of course, Lorelai is terrified of the prospects of Rory getting preggers.

 

[DeborahK]

I am still watching GG faithfully and always enjoy it. But I have to say that I think the show is somewhat lackluster of late. Actually, I think its best season was its first. Maybe that was because it was such a fresh concept, but I feel the writing just hasn't been as good recently -- especially this year.

Just my $.02.

Deborah

 

[Patrick Sun]

I think there's more pain this season, the conflicts run deeper and more personal. It's just a darker show.

 

[DeborahK]

Well, I am a fan of pain and dark, so I don't think that's it. I just find that I am less engaged somehow. I don't know -- maybe it's just me this season.

Deborah

 

[Patrick Sun]

Besides Rory's quest to go to Harvard (which seems to be on the back burner), there's little in terms of a macrostoryline. Earlier we have the Lorelai/Sookie opening up an inn together, but that's been dropped now that Lorelai's been dating the wifebeater castoff from 24.

 

[DeborahK]

Good grief, I didn't even recognize the ex-wife beater! And maybe lack of a macrostory is the problem -- I just kind of feel it's drifting out there somewhere.

I do like the Laine story tho'. Sometimes I wonder why it hasn't raised the ire of the Korean defense league, however. Mrs. Kim seems awfully stereotyped.

Deborah

 

[Patrick Sun]

The weekly doses of Mrs. Kim's prejudices on display are hard to take.

 

[teapot2001]

From what I've heard, it seems Koreans are the most strict of all Asians about dating within their own race.

Lorelai's been dating the wifebeater castoff from 24.

More like wife killer. So this is where he's been!

~T

 

[Jason Seaver]

I think there's more pain this season, the conflicts run deeper and more personal. It's just a darker show.

You're kidding, right? Gilmore Girls has lightened up over time, and this year may be the lightest yet. During the first season or so, there was a very definite pattern of the first forty minutes being funny in order to soften you up for the gut punch that was the last twenty, and that doesn't happen as much any more.

Not that that's a bad thing - a great deal of its appeal to me is its sunny outlook. If the show has a problem, I think it's that it's due for a little more of a shakeup. Most of the really good episodes of GG are the ones where characters reveal other facets to their personality or have to face a new situation, and that hasn't happened in a while. This means that the start of the fourth season should be fantastic, but until then... Well, something needs to happen; otherwise GG will just be the best sitcom on the air (which is no bad thing).

 

[Patrick Sun]

Rory breaking up with Dean was painful.

Watching Lane having to put up with her mother's prejudice is painful.

Rory's "breakup" with Paris is painful.

Lorelai's flirting with Luke was getting painful, but they got them apart with other hookups for now.

Watching Rory with Jess is painful.

Sometimes Kirk is painful to watch (in a sad, pathetic way)

Richard's manuevering to get Rory to consider Yale was semi-painful.

Emily's relationship with her mother-in-law is painful.

Ms. whatherface's one woman show was painful.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Sure, some of these things are painful - although putting Miss Patty's antics in seems to show a lack of ability to discriminate and "Rory with Jess" probably isn't meant to be painful - but the topics this year have been mostly unfortunate events, not the really deep-down hurts of past years.

I think the biggest difference is that Lorelei and Emily are really starting to get along; their sniping is closer to teasing, now, than the near-disdain they started out as. Lorelei coming to understand Emily is really the engine that has been driving the show since the beginning, and now that that's happening, it's as if the show needs something else to drive it.

 

[DeborahK]

And I am so happy about this, because I love Lane and Mrs. Kim! I am just surprised because there seems to be so much sensitivity about racial typing these days that people get bent out of shape over everything. The recent flaps over The Sopranos and Kingpin are good examples. And for the record, I watch neither show.

I think you hit on something with the observation that the Emily/Lorelai nexus has been somewhat muted this season. The character conflict and subsequent growth/self realization just aren't there to the same degree this season and it feels like the story is just sort of drifting. But I still tune it every week and enjoy the show anyway.

Deborah

 

[Robert Ringwald]

I agree, the show used to be a deeper drama, with some comedic characters.

Now, it's just a sitcom that masks itself as a drama.

I'm sorry, but the Jess swan thing was just lame. I agree, it's just heading down in quality lately. After the first half of the second season, the show began to go down, and last nights actually seemed like a slight improvement over the rest of the third season.

It pains me to realize it's doing better in the ratings now, because they must be thinking "We're having better episodes than ever!" when really, the show used to be "The best show you're not watching." now it's just..."An okay show that everyone's watching."

 

[Jason Seaver]

the Jess swan thing was just lame.

Indeed, it should have been a goose. Geese are incredibly territorial and aggressive, but I haven't heard that said as much about swans.

 

[Chad R]

What's been bugging me lately is Jess. They did the same thing with Dean--start him off as a bad boy with some edge, but the second he gets with Rory he's just and loses any spunk he once had.

This was exemplified by the whole Swan thing. While sort of humorous, it was just a cop out to keep Jess from continuing to be the bad boy. They didn't have to go with the obvious of him actually fighting with Dean as that would be tired, but it still could have had more significance than the swan.

At least they've made Paris Rory's pseudo-enemy again.

 

[teapot2001]

The point of the swan incident is that Jess had to lie about it twice to protect his ego, rather than giving his trust to Rory, while he's been demanding Rory to confide to him everything that happens to her. And now Rory wants to take the next step with some guy who's keeping things from her.

And I am so happy about this, because I love Lane and Mrs. Kim! I am just surprised because there seems to be so much sensitivity about racial typing these days that people get bent out of shape over everything. The recent flaps over The Sopranos and Kingpin are good examples. And for the record, I watch neither show.

I agree. Can't people understand that these are characters and do represent at least one person in the world?

~T