Gilmore Girls: Lorelai’s First Cotillion

October 12th, 2006

Season 7, Episode 3

Hmm, this week’s episode of Gilmore Girls was pretty lukewarm (or should I say luke-cold). Lorelai’s parents Richard and Emily make an appearance (first time this season) and it’s the same-old same-old with them, lost in their high-brow world, planning a cotillion for a young girl named Charlotte.

Between here and there, it feels like things are treading water. Luke only shows up briefly for one scene in his reconstructed diner and looks to be over the whole breakup with Lorelai. Paris is shown berating people which she can do in her sleep. We spend some time with Zack and the newly-expecting Lane for the episode’s only laugh, something about a cord and an afterbirth. And I think the only somewhat obscure pop culture reference was of Rory reading Henry Miller’s Sexus to get phone-sex ideas.

It’s just a subtle thing, but this season’s Lorelai obsesses over whether or not she likes Pop Tarts while the Lorelai of yore might have contemplated something a bit more bizarre, like candy corn (Lorelai: “They’re not really corn but not really candy. Say, if I put them in the microwave, would I get Screaming Yellow Zonkers?”). C’mon people, it’s not that hard.

The show’s end was not too shocking, just bittersweet. Lorelai always looks so pouty and dejected these days. It’s a big set-up for some huge emotional choice between Luke and Christopher. I just hope we don’t have to sit through more mediocre episodes like this to get there.

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