[8.4/10] One of the things I like about Gilmore Girls is how it explores the ripple effect that an event can have emotionally. Richard and Emily are excited about Yale school spirit and their granddaughter and so they take her to the Harvard-Yale game, which means that Lorelai, otherwise football-resistant, wants to go too. At the game, Lorelai talks to Richard’s old flame, leading Emily to realize that the pair have been speaking to one another, and eventually ferreting out the revelation that the two have been having an annual lunch since Richard and Emily got married.
That means an upset Emily is short with her maid, and eventually harsh with Lorelai for getting the ball rolling on this reveal. That leads Lorelai to say yes to Digger’s date proposal, which she’d previously been resisting so as not to upset things with her mother.
Phwew, that’s a lot, but it all fits and it’s all well-written. The family dynamics with the Gilmores is one of the strongest elements of the show, and it’s a testament to Amy Sherman-Palladino’s writing that she’s so good at balancing that and creating an emotional throughline for all these seemingly unrelated events.
Pretty much every part of this one work. It’s great to see the four Gilmores paling around Yale, doing traditions, having drinks, and generally having the complicated but endearing back and forths that make their Friday Night Dinners so entertaining. Little details like Paris’s boredem (and then smooch-fest with Michael York), or Marty’s awkward introduction to the fam, or even Richard singing along with the wiffenpoofs is delightful.
Then you have Lorelai and Digger’s date, which is a perfect encapsulation of why the two would be attracted to one another and have a spark, but not be right for each other. I love the subtlety of Lorelai feeling uncomfortable at the secluded room at the fancy restaurant, and Digger feeling uncomfortable at the Taco Barn drive-in. The script and the performers perfectly capture the feel of an awkward date, and you can see how both of them are trying but the fit isn’t right.
And then they go to the grocery story and cobble together an enjoyable evening, and for a second, they can forget how poorly the previous hour went. It’s sweet and funny, and lets you see how the two could work in a vacuum, but probably won’t work if they have to have a foot on solid ground in either DIgger’s world or Lorelai’s. Interesting and real.
And hey, even the comic C-story was good. I love Luke as Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof -- stuck in his ways and declaring that everything is fine and he’s never going to change things, and then amusingly folding just a little bit later. The “frog kid” as his new waiter is a good larf (particularly Kirk’s reaction to him), and the bit works.
Overall, a mighty fine and entertaining episode, like most of the ones penned by Amy herself are.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2017-11-03T02:35:26Z
[8.4/10] One of the things I like about Gilmore Girls is how it explores the ripple effect that an event can have emotionally. Richard and Emily are excited about Yale school spirit and their granddaughter and so they take her to the Harvard-Yale game, which means that Lorelai, otherwise football-resistant, wants to go too. At the game, Lorelai talks to Richard’s old flame, leading Emily to realize that the pair have been speaking to one another, and eventually ferreting out the revelation that the two have been having an annual lunch since Richard and Emily got married.
That means an upset Emily is short with her maid, and eventually harsh with Lorelai for getting the ball rolling on this reveal. That leads Lorelai to say yes to Digger’s date proposal, which she’d previously been resisting so as not to upset things with her mother.
Phwew, that’s a lot, but it all fits and it’s all well-written. The family dynamics with the Gilmores is one of the strongest elements of the show, and it’s a testament to Amy Sherman-Palladino’s writing that she’s so good at balancing that and creating an emotional throughline for all these seemingly unrelated events.
Pretty much every part of this one work. It’s great to see the four Gilmores paling around Yale, doing traditions, having drinks, and generally having the complicated but endearing back and forths that make their Friday Night Dinners so entertaining. Little details like Paris’s boredem (and then smooch-fest with Michael York), or Marty’s awkward introduction to the fam, or even Richard singing along with the wiffenpoofs is delightful.
Then you have Lorelai and Digger’s date, which is a perfect encapsulation of why the two would be attracted to one another and have a spark, but not be right for each other. I love the subtlety of Lorelai feeling uncomfortable at the secluded room at the fancy restaurant, and Digger feeling uncomfortable at the Taco Barn drive-in. The script and the performers perfectly capture the feel of an awkward date, and you can see how both of them are trying but the fit isn’t right.
And then they go to the grocery story and cobble together an enjoyable evening, and for a second, they can forget how poorly the previous hour went. It’s sweet and funny, and lets you see how the two could work in a vacuum, but probably won’t work if they have to have a foot on solid ground in either DIgger’s world or Lorelai’s. Interesting and real.
And hey, even the comic C-story was good. I love Luke as Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof -- stuck in his ways and declaring that everything is fine and he’s never going to change things, and then amusingly folding just a little bit later. The “frog kid” as his new waiter is a good larf (particularly Kirk’s reaction to him), and the bit works.
Overall, a mighty fine and entertaining episode, like most of the ones penned by Amy herself are.