Spoilers - Gilmore Girls S&S #114 ~ Lies It's All Lies - Page 13

blaab · 12-08-2006, 12:30 AM

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Originally Posted by TheJSW (View Post)

It's not the same. Soon it will be...yo.

Well, I sure hope so Jason

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Originally Posted by Captain Hawkeye (View Post)

The point is valid though: She would be spending a lot of money--more than Logan or Chris. And since it has to be HER $$$, yeah how is it different from the "evil" ones (Logan & Chris) spending $$$?

I totally get your point and it's not different. But according to some Lorelai might not be evil, but well braindead, has no morals, admittance to a psych ward would be in order ... so what can we expect really from a character like that?

I do totally get your point in trying to proof some double standards that are around here. But lately they don't only seem to be around when it comes to Logan and Chris, earlier on definitely Rory, but also to Lorelai and Luke, Emily and Richard ... it's spreading Dude ... or maybe it was always around and I just didn't notice

FuzzyCerts · 12-08-2006, 12:32 AM

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Originally Posted by TheJSW (View Post)

Soon it will be...yo.

Yeah, soon Chriss is gone.....can´t wait.....

lancer1993 · 12-08-2006, 12:55 AM

Mountain of Judgment: Haters, You're Wrong.

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Haters, You're Wrong.
Despite what you may have heard, Gilmore Girls is still a very smart television show. The new producers and writers of the CW program have been met with enormous skepticism as they try to create a seventh (likely final) season for the series. As this season has progressed, many critics and fans have complained about a dulling of the dialogue, questioned themes and character choices or jumped off entirely. While the show is somewhat slower-paced this year, and the repartee is less obscure-pop-culture-sharp, I think Gilmore Girls is still one of the brightest spots on the dial--and the new creative team clearly knows the characters. The latest, very good episode, "Merry Fisticuffs", is a great example.

The leads, Lorelai and her daughter Rory, have always gotten themselves into trouble by avoiding unpleasant situations; they''d much rather white lie, outright lie or sin by omission than deal with painful or awkward truths. Last season, this shared character flaw kept Rory from talking to her mother or facing up to herself for half a year, and it eventually led to Lorelai's break-up with her fiance Luke, who has--or rather used to have--his own avoidance problems. At that point, fans (and even the actress, Lauren Graham) complained that Lorelai was acting out of character--but that has been her character since the pilot episode. Avoiding her parents. Avoiding commitment. Avoiding bad news. Rory was the exception to the rule. Currently, the avoidance trait has alienated Rory from her new friends and boyfriend, while it has caused Lorelai to elope with Rory's dad Christopher, which is seeming like a dumber idea with each new episode. Of course she's in denial about it.

This week finds Lorelai resisting Christopher's attempts--desperate and immature though they may be--to genuinely become part of her life. His efforts to ingratiate himself into her Stars Hollow community failed last week, so this week he wants to buy them a new house out of town. He sees Lorelai holding Luke's new niece, so he immediately wants to impregnate her. It's dawning on him that ring or no ring, he can't really ever "have" her for sure--which terrifies him. His fatal flaw is that he wants her but he can't accept her--catch the bit where he keeps taking out the groceries she puts in the cart. If anything is going to break up this marriage, it's Chris denying her food. From the junk food binges to Friday Night Dinners at Richard and Emily's, food has always symbolized the nuturing Lorelai never got from her mother. It is no coincidence that Luke runs a diner, feeding people for a living.

As Lorelai's mother Emily says to her daughter at the end of the episode, in the best scene Kelly Bishop has gotten all season, Christopher is weak and a fool, but likable. Emily believes that he, like all men, needs to be carefully managed, and that Lorelai needs to drop her self-denial and independence in order to protect her own interests. It's mercenary, cynical, heartfelt, at least partially true and totally in character. Of course, Lorelai always ends up following the opposite of her mother's advice, so we can see where this is all going.

The old show under Amy Sherman-Palladino was consistently good at creating complicated situations where you could empathize with everyone involved, and every conflict was motivated by character. (Up until Luke's secret daughter arrived, anyway.) Tuesday's show captured that dynamic better than they have all season. I appreciate that the writers made Christopher right to be upset, even if he's really reacting to his own impotence, overcompensating in all the wrong (but understandable) ways. Lorelai should be more willing to compromise, just as, paradoxically, Chris should be more willing to let her be herself. By the way: has there been an episode yet this year when Chris didn't have to flaunt his insecurity by reminding people that's he's rich? Again, he's still likable, even when he's being pathetic. Too bad for him that he knows it.

Meanwhile, Rory has allowed herself to become entangled in a pathetic lie told by her former friend Marty, who took a walk a few years ago after Rory rejected his advances for those of Logan. Now Marty is dating Rory's new friend and pretends that he and Rory have never met. Rory, not eager to reveal Marty's weird behavior to her friend, says nothing, and lets the pretense drag on far too long, even after Marty makes it clear he still wants her. (Yes, goddamn it, it's a soap opera and I. Don't. Care.) Logan, rich enough never to have to worry what anyone thinks, refuses to play along and explains the charade over dinner--causing Rory's friend, quite understandably, to flip out. Rory is mad at Logan for embarrassing her, not allowing her to control the situation. Logan seems contemptuous of Marty and Rory's weakness--and is probably more than a little vindictively jealous. (After two and a half years I still don't know if I like Logan, which is probably good. All the best characters on the show are at least that ambivalent.) The Rory and Lorelai plots have mirrored each other all season, and that doubling has only been heightened over the last two or three episodes: Logan/Chris, Rory/Lorelai, Marty/Luke. It was amusing how Rory was unable to use her Gilmore superpower of talking someone into submission in order to make herself feel better, as she went to her friend's apartment to explain, only to have the door shut in her face. Kid, you should know by now that stuff only works in Stars Hollow.

The climax of the episode is the fistfight between Christopher and Luke--Chris frustrated by Lorelai's resistance, Luke frustrated by the seeming futility of his efforts to gain partial custody of his daughter and still in shock over his break-up with Lorelai. I find it amazingly perverse for the show to have Luke and Chris beat on each other as proxies for the woman they can't lay a finger on. Clever, and about as dark an idea as the show has ever flirted with. Not to mention one more example of massive avoidance.

Beyond occasionally weaker patter, if anything makes the show seem more conventional this season, it's that the new writers seem to have a harder time juggling the supporting cast; the absence of people like Lane, Sookie, Michel, Jackson, Emily, etc. for weeks at a time is more noticeable than it used to be. The original creators were better at that, I think. Perhaps it's because they've slowed the dialogue down--there's less time to get that extra subplot in there each week. It's also because they've split Lorelai, Rory and Luke onto more or less separate tracks--shuffling amongst them, plus finding room for Taylor or Paris, would be hard for any writer. The direction of the storyline appears to be bringing Luke back into the Gilmore orbit, though, so perhaps this will improve. Given the writers' clear control over the overall plot and character arcs, I'm in it for the duration.

TheJSW · 12-08-2006, 01:06 AM

Who knew that haters needed SO MUCH DENIAL to watch this show? Thanks for the share, Craig.

blaab · 12-08-2006, 01:11 AM

There are many things I like about that review, but I definitely don't agree with everything. I love the title especially

I also like that this reviewer acknowledges that no character is either a saint or a villain. I do disagree with that part about Logan. I personally think it is a little too easy to state that Logan is upfront because he is rich and therefor never needed to care about what other people thought. I also don't think he was jealous, maybe a tiny hint if jealous at all. And the parallel between Chris and Logan. If there is one it imo is too show that one is defined by money and the other isn't ...

Lorelai and food. I really like the idea of food symbolising the nurturing Lorelai missed from Emily. Makes sense to me. Love what this reviewer said about Chris, Emily's speech ... and the fight.

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It's dawning on him that ring or no ring, he can't really ever "have" her for sure--which terrifies him. His fatal flaw is that he wants her but he can't accept her--catch the bit where he keeps taking out the groceries she puts in the cart. If anything is going to break up this marriage, it's Chris denying her food. From the junk food binges to Friday Night Dinners at Richard and Emily's, food has always symbolized the nuturing Lorelai never got from her mother. It is no coincidence that Luke runs a diner, feeding people for a living.

Love this and even though I didn't find it neccesarily amusing I did feel somewhat similarly, not dealing with a little conflict, can lead to bigger conflicts, that sometimes others don't forgive you for right away:

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It was amusing how Rory was unable to use her Gilmore superpower of talking someone into submission in order to make herself feel better, as she went to her friend's apartment to explain, only to have the door shut in her face. Kid, you should know by now that stuff only works in Stars Hollow.

And this;

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As Lorelai's mother Emily says to her daughter at the end of the episode, in the best scene Kelly Bishop has gotten all season, Christopher is weak and a fool, but likable. Emily believes that he, like all men, needs to be carefully managed, and that Lorelai needs to drop her self-denial and independence in order to protect her own interests. It's mercenary, cynical, heartfelt, at least partially true and totally in character. Of course, Lorelai always ends up following the opposite of her mother's advice, so we can see where this is all going.

I was heartfelt, but definitely also cynical ...

lancer1993 · 12-08-2006, 01:15 AM

WOW a review Jason likes

I forgot to credit Lovely Lauren who posted the link on the LG News thread.

FuzzyCerts · 12-08-2006, 01:25 AM

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it's that the new writers seem to have a harder time juggling the supporting cast; the absence of people like Lane, Sookie, Michel, Jackson, Emily, etc. for weeks at a time is more noticeable than it used to be.

Cause their screen-time is wasted with Chrisss.....

TheJSW · 12-08-2006, 01:25 AM

I dont like it as much as I am befuddled by it.

blaab · 12-08-2006, 01:37 AM

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Originally Posted by TheJSW (View Post)

I dont like it as much as I am befuddled by it.

Give me more, please. Or is that still not possible

lancer1993 · 12-08-2006, 01:46 AM

What I always got was this season we have 3 main story lines, Lorelai, Rory and Luke, which leaves less time for the other characters. It probably started when April came, from that point Luke had his own SL.

I agree with most of the article.

Tara Ashley · 12-08-2006, 01:47 AM

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Originally Posted by lancer1993 (View Post)

Mountain of Judgment: Haters, You're Wrong.

I think it really drives home the point that Lorelai has been untouchable all season. Sure, she is now Chris' wife, but Chris never really has her, at least not the way he's had her in the past or, more importantly, the way Luke had her. It's all a giant bubble of avoidance and numbness to the truth, and I think we are going to see the truth unravel in the second half of the season. I think each and every character has numerous issues that need to be addressed --on screen, preferably-- and once this is done, we can finally make some progress. Perhaps the Lorelai/Rory reminiscing about Luke thing will help get the ball rolling?

I still have nothing to say about the Marty story line. I still think it's ridiculous. Rory needs something substantial, something school/job related maybe. Or at the very least, bring back some of her signature awkwardness. I miss that!

Riska · 12-08-2006, 04:08 AM

Thanks for the "article"

Lorelai loves food because Emily never nurtured her? Ah yep ja

Anyways, anyone else thinks that we won't get the wedding party aka it might be skipped at all? Because - if there'd been a party on screen - they would've published the stills aka made stills, people love stills of weddings, the turn on the TV to see weddings happen. And as we only got the LRLA promos, well, I think the party might not happen (at least not on screen).

lancer1993 · 12-08-2006, 04:17 AM

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Originally Posted by Riska (View Post)

Thanks for the "article"

Lorelai loves food because Emily never nurtured her? Ah yep ja

Anyways, anyone else thinks that we won't get the wedding party aka it might be skipped at all? Because - if there'd been a party on screen - they would've published the stills aka made stills, people love stills of weddings, the turn on the TV to see weddings happen. And as we only got the LRLA promos, well, I think the party might not happen (at least not on screen).

Going with the latest spoilers that say R&L go off to London for xMas and is now back, so I'll say that it's 4-6 weeks later, mid Jan. The vows, if they happened, would have been before xMas and thank you DSR for NOT showing them!

Cappuccino · 12-08-2006, 04:17 AM

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At that point, fans (and even the actress, Lauren Graham) complained that Lorelai was acting out of character

Man now look at that but we were talking bull when we said they acted ooc.

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This week finds Lorelai resisting Christopher's attempts--desperate and immature though they may be--to genuinely become part of her life. His efforts to ingratiate himself into her Stars Hollow community failed last week, so this week he wants to buy them a new house out of town. He sees Lorelai holding Luke's new niece, so he immediately wants to impregnate her. It's dawning on him that ring or no ring, he can't really ever "have" her for sure--which terrifies him. His fatal flaw is that he wants her but he can't accept her--catch the bit where he keeps taking out the groceries she puts in the cart. If anything is going to break up this marriage, it's Chris denying her food. From the junk food binges to Friday Night Dinners at Richard and Emily's, food has always symbolized the nuturing Lorelai never got from her mother. It is no coincidence that Luke runs a diner, feeding people for a living.

Luke's statement comes to mind again: If you can find that one person that doesn't want to change you and make you eat French food... In Chris' case deny her her food. Big mistake dude

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By the way: has there been an episode yet this year when Chris didn't have to flaunt his insecurity by reminding people that's he's rich?

Nope and that won't change because that's all he is - rich.

lancer1993 · 12-08-2006, 04:23 AM

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Originally Posted by Cappuccino

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By the way: has there been an episode yet this year when Chris didn't have to flaunt his insecurity by reminding people that's he's rich?

Nope and that won't change because that's all he is - rich.

Shouldn't this be THEIR money now?