Gilmore Girls: A Tisket, A Tasket
January 31, 2025 2:00 PM - Season 2, Episode 13 - Subscribe
Stars Hollow holds just the quaintest li'l bachelorette auction, which doesn't go well for everybody. Lane tells her mom about Henry. Emily agrees with Lorelai.
Rory and Lorelai are in Doose's Market buying baskets. Why, you might ask? Well, for the Annual Stars Hollow Bid-on-a-Basket Fundraiser, which I'm pretty sure we've never heard about before and which we'll almost surely never see in subsequent seasons! The gist is that the women of Stars Hollow make picnic baskets full of whatever food they choose, and then the men bid on them, with the winner not only getting the food, but an immediate picnic lunch date with the woman who put up the basket.
It's cute! It's quaint! It's sexist and gender-normative! It's basically everything we know that Dean loves, but he's being kinda whiny about having to bid on Rory's basket anyway*. Lorelai runs into Miss Patty, who drops a wallet-size photo of Lorelai that she's been showing around to eligible men in the hopes of setting her up with someone. Lorelai does not approve. Lane has a whole plan worked out involving her basket, some bribes, a payphone and a decoy cousin, the endgame of which is to finally go out on a date with Henry. Sookie's basket is not only full of gourmet food, but is itself a stuffed pretzel. Lorelai's is two stale pop-tarts and a slim-jim.
Lane's plan works out to begin with - her cousin buys the basket for $5 and anyone else thinking about bidding knows that they face the wrath of Mrs. Kim. Jackson has a bug up his butt about something, and allows Sookie's basket to go to Kirk. And Jess steps in to outbid Dean for Rory's basket, sending Dean spiraling into the most hardcore, badass impotent jealous rage.
Two of Miss Patty's hand-picked suitors start a bidding war over Lorelai, so she enlists Luke to outbid them, which he reluctantly does. Dean tries to stop this obligatory lunch date, but Rory lives by the tradition, so Dean storms off to whine about it at Lorelai.
Sookie is all "WTF, Jackson" and it turns out that he wanted to talk about them moving in together, and she was worried about that, but now that they've made up, he needs to go get that basket back from Kirk. Kirk requires quite a bit of money and convincing here (and solidifies himself as the saddest person in town.) Lane and her hungry cousin sit by the non-ringing payphone, until Lane calls Henry, who's sick of these shenanigans and breaks off whatever these two had going. Lorelai goes on her date with Luke (he supplies burgers from his diner) and they of course have a lovely time.
As do Rory and Jess, really. He takes her to the Jess Bridge, they talk about books (Rory likes The Fountainhead, but not for its politics.) Then they abandon the basket and go to get pizza. And then on to the bookshop. By the time she gets home, Lorelai is concerned, what with Dean badmouthing Jess to her and her taking Dean at face value. When Rory figures out the source of her info, the two start giving each other the silent treatment all the way into Friday Night Dinner.
At the Kim house, Lane is crying over her break-up, Mrs. Kim sends her to her room until she calms down, and then later checks in on her to tell her that this kind of hurt is what she's been trying to save Lane from. So Lane finally tells her about Henry, the church-going Korean future doctor, and Mrs. Kim wonders if they can call his parents to work this all out. It doesn't make Lane feel any better though.
Having retrieved Sookie's basket from Kirk, Sookie and Jackson have their lunch date. She tries to bring up moving in together, and he asks her to marry him instead. She says yes.
When the silence becomes too much for Emily to take, she learns about the nature of the fight going on. And she totally takes Lorelai's side, saying that Lorelai should lock Rory up and throw away the key if that's what's necessary. Lorelai doesn't want to do that, though, and she knows she can trust Rory, so she tells her as much.
They get back home, and Rory goes right to her room to call up Jess.
*This basket auction thing is pure plot contrivance, and when I can see Taylor as kind of a more petty-tyrant version of Dean Pelton from Community, stuff like this really doesn't bug me. Plus, this is largely a fun episode, so whatever. But I have to throw some side-eye at the face that this is, straight-up, a bachelorette auction, and we know that there are teenagers taking part in it. Rory says she's been taking part in it for years now, so... what the hell has that looked like? Who's been bidding on her basket before? Is the supposed "mystery" of whose basket is whose supposed to make this not creepy? The episode tip-toes up to this objection with the (admittedly funny) bit where Kirk bids on Lane's basket and immediately rescinds his bid after a look from Mrs. Kim, but it makes a weird thing even weirder.
A.V. Club Review - David Sims
Woman in Revolt Review - Lindsay Pugh
Soundtrack: None
Random Guest Star Watch: None, so let's all say goodbye to Henry Cho. Good enough for Mrs. Kim, probably, but too proud to deal with Lane's strategems.
Rory and Lorelai are in Doose's Market buying baskets. Why, you might ask? Well, for the Annual Stars Hollow Bid-on-a-Basket Fundraiser, which I'm pretty sure we've never heard about before and which we'll almost surely never see in subsequent seasons! The gist is that the women of Stars Hollow make picnic baskets full of whatever food they choose, and then the men bid on them, with the winner not only getting the food, but an immediate picnic lunch date with the woman who put up the basket.
It's cute! It's quaint! It's sexist and gender-normative! It's basically everything we know that Dean loves, but he's being kinda whiny about having to bid on Rory's basket anyway*. Lorelai runs into Miss Patty, who drops a wallet-size photo of Lorelai that she's been showing around to eligible men in the hopes of setting her up with someone. Lorelai does not approve. Lane has a whole plan worked out involving her basket, some bribes, a payphone and a decoy cousin, the endgame of which is to finally go out on a date with Henry. Sookie's basket is not only full of gourmet food, but is itself a stuffed pretzel. Lorelai's is two stale pop-tarts and a slim-jim.
Lane's plan works out to begin with - her cousin buys the basket for $5 and anyone else thinking about bidding knows that they face the wrath of Mrs. Kim. Jackson has a bug up his butt about something, and allows Sookie's basket to go to Kirk. And Jess steps in to outbid Dean for Rory's basket, sending Dean spiraling into the most hardcore, badass impotent jealous rage.
Two of Miss Patty's hand-picked suitors start a bidding war over Lorelai, so she enlists Luke to outbid them, which he reluctantly does. Dean tries to stop this obligatory lunch date, but Rory lives by the tradition, so Dean storms off to whine about it at Lorelai.
Sookie is all "WTF, Jackson" and it turns out that he wanted to talk about them moving in together, and she was worried about that, but now that they've made up, he needs to go get that basket back from Kirk. Kirk requires quite a bit of money and convincing here (and solidifies himself as the saddest person in town.) Lane and her hungry cousin sit by the non-ringing payphone, until Lane calls Henry, who's sick of these shenanigans and breaks off whatever these two had going. Lorelai goes on her date with Luke (he supplies burgers from his diner) and they of course have a lovely time.
As do Rory and Jess, really. He takes her to the Jess Bridge, they talk about books (Rory likes The Fountainhead, but not for its politics.) Then they abandon the basket and go to get pizza. And then on to the bookshop. By the time she gets home, Lorelai is concerned, what with Dean badmouthing Jess to her and her taking Dean at face value. When Rory figures out the source of her info, the two start giving each other the silent treatment all the way into Friday Night Dinner.
At the Kim house, Lane is crying over her break-up, Mrs. Kim sends her to her room until she calms down, and then later checks in on her to tell her that this kind of hurt is what she's been trying to save Lane from. So Lane finally tells her about Henry, the church-going Korean future doctor, and Mrs. Kim wonders if they can call his parents to work this all out. It doesn't make Lane feel any better though.
Having retrieved Sookie's basket from Kirk, Sookie and Jackson have their lunch date. She tries to bring up moving in together, and he asks her to marry him instead. She says yes.
When the silence becomes too much for Emily to take, she learns about the nature of the fight going on. And she totally takes Lorelai's side, saying that Lorelai should lock Rory up and throw away the key if that's what's necessary. Lorelai doesn't want to do that, though, and she knows she can trust Rory, so she tells her as much.
They get back home, and Rory goes right to her room to call up Jess.
*This basket auction thing is pure plot contrivance, and when I can see Taylor as kind of a more petty-tyrant version of Dean Pelton from Community, stuff like this really doesn't bug me. Plus, this is largely a fun episode, so whatever. But I have to throw some side-eye at the face that this is, straight-up, a bachelorette auction, and we know that there are teenagers taking part in it. Rory says she's been taking part in it for years now, so... what the hell has that looked like? Who's been bidding on her basket before? Is the supposed "mystery" of whose basket is whose supposed to make this not creepy? The episode tip-toes up to this objection with the (admittedly funny) bit where Kirk bids on Lane's basket and immediately rescinds his bid after a look from Mrs. Kim, but it makes a weird thing even weirder.
A.V. Club Review - David Sims
Woman in Revolt Review - Lindsay Pugh
Soundtrack: None
Random Guest Star Watch: None, so let's all say goodbye to Henry Cho. Good enough for Mrs. Kim, probably, but too proud to deal with Lane's strategems.
The entire Sookie-Jackson thing is worth it for me when she responds to "I think we should get married," with "Are you pregnant?" Her delivery is so spot-on.
posted by dlugoczaj at 7:22 AM on February 3 [1 favorite]
posted by dlugoczaj at 7:22 AM on February 3 [1 favorite]
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Jackson's conflict with Sookie is weird. Like, just use your words, people! Maybe don't use a town tradition (which we'll never see again) as a way to resolve a problem you didn't really bring up before.
Anyway, Dean is tiresome and Jess and Rory are fun together.
Miss Patty trying to set up Lorelai is the sort of thing that happens on this show. I get she's an independent woman but I also think she'd probably be open to it somewhat. But it gives her a chance to throw herself at Luke, which she loves to do.
But it's a fun episode of this show. I do think it's a pivotal point between Rory and Jess and Rory and Dean.
posted by edencosmic at 2:08 PM on February 2 [1 favorite]