Gilmore Girls: The Third Lorelai
January 26, 2025 10:59 AM - Season 1, Episode 18 - Subscribe
Richard's mother sets up a trust for Rory. Rory sets up a date for Paris. Emily and Lorelai are set against each other.
Richard sits down to dinner late with the announcement that his mother Lorelai (Trix if you're nasty) is coming to Hartford for a visit. As is customary of all things in this show's universe, this will happen within the next week. The upshot of this visit for us the audience is that we get to see Emily essentially transform into Lorelai (the middle Lorelai, I mean) in her discombobulated preparations for a visit from an older, higher-echelon blue-blood who doesn't give half a shit about hiding her resentment for her daughter-in-law. The scene in which EmIly and Lorelai are finding all of the gifts that Trix has given in the past is a tour-de-force from Kelly Bishop that makes it absolutely click as to where Lorelai's mannerisms come from.
The upshot for the Gilmores is that Trix finds the Chilton Loan arrangement distasteful (She quotes "neither a borrower nor a lender be" from Hamlet and I want Cher Horowitz to pop in to tell her that that's another Polonius line and maybe shouldn't be taken quite so much at face value.) So Trix offers to set Rory up with a $250,000 trust instead. Lorelai is thrilled by this concept, and Emily has a conniption.
Talking with Richard (who is utterly useless in this episode and borderline monstrous in his unwillingness to protect his wife from his beloved mother), Emily is able to lay it bare that the trust would mean that Lorelai would stop coming to see them, and her terror in the thought of losing her daughter again just as they're starting to rekindle their relationship is sympathetic and real, even though Emily can't quite see that Lorelai's relationship with Rory isn't based on transactions and leverage because she seemingly doesn't understand how it could be any other way.
In any case, Emily advises Lorelai against the trust, Lorelai calls her crazy but doesn't tell Rory about it quite yet, Emily and Lorelai meet up for High Tea with Trix and fight about it while Trix is in the ladies' room, and Trix comes back mortified at their argument and rescinds the offer. Emily finally sees that she screwed up a big opportunity for Rory and tries to find a way to fix it, but it looks like that ship might have done sailed.
On the Chilton front, our usual gang is working on an unclear assignment to create their own government or something (Paris decides to basically replicate Elizabethan England, and as per usual, everyone else just goes along with it because Paris is going to do 90% of the work and arguing with her is exhausting and pointless.) Tristan is everywhere*, and Rory is still making the mistake of treating him like he's possessed of humanity. He wants to get with Rory (and why wouldn't he? all of their previous interactions have been so pleasant, after all), but she deflects his advances into getting him to ask out Paris.
Paris shows up at the Gilmore house with every clothing item she owns (save for her school uniform and bat mitzvah dress) and leaves wearing one of Lorelai's tops, with some good amount of freaking-out in between. She shows up for the group study session the next day beaming, until Tristan clarifies that they're just friends, and drops the dime on Rory for setting up the whole thing, and an embarrassed Paris loses her shit at Rory for throwing her her cast-offs, a set-back in their friendship that we'll have to deal with for longer than seems entirely rational, but that's Tristan for you.
*There's like a subtle running joke here, and in future episodes with him I believe, where Rory, Paris, Madeline and Louise will talk openly about Tristan while he's right there in the room. It is, dare I say, the only enjoyable thing about Tristan.
A.V. Club Review - David Sims
Woman in Revolt Review - Lindsay Pugh
Soundtrack: Nuthin' but the Town Troubadour, which I haven't been counting.
Random Guest Star Watch: Marion Ross (Marion Cunningham from Happy Days) as Trix.
Richard sits down to dinner late with the announcement that his mother Lorelai (Trix if you're nasty) is coming to Hartford for a visit. As is customary of all things in this show's universe, this will happen within the next week. The upshot of this visit for us the audience is that we get to see Emily essentially transform into Lorelai (the middle Lorelai, I mean) in her discombobulated preparations for a visit from an older, higher-echelon blue-blood who doesn't give half a shit about hiding her resentment for her daughter-in-law. The scene in which EmIly and Lorelai are finding all of the gifts that Trix has given in the past is a tour-de-force from Kelly Bishop that makes it absolutely click as to where Lorelai's mannerisms come from.
The upshot for the Gilmores is that Trix finds the Chilton Loan arrangement distasteful (She quotes "neither a borrower nor a lender be" from Hamlet and I want Cher Horowitz to pop in to tell her that that's another Polonius line and maybe shouldn't be taken quite so much at face value.) So Trix offers to set Rory up with a $250,000 trust instead. Lorelai is thrilled by this concept, and Emily has a conniption.
Talking with Richard (who is utterly useless in this episode and borderline monstrous in his unwillingness to protect his wife from his beloved mother), Emily is able to lay it bare that the trust would mean that Lorelai would stop coming to see them, and her terror in the thought of losing her daughter again just as they're starting to rekindle their relationship is sympathetic and real, even though Emily can't quite see that Lorelai's relationship with Rory isn't based on transactions and leverage because she seemingly doesn't understand how it could be any other way.
In any case, Emily advises Lorelai against the trust, Lorelai calls her crazy but doesn't tell Rory about it quite yet, Emily and Lorelai meet up for High Tea with Trix and fight about it while Trix is in the ladies' room, and Trix comes back mortified at their argument and rescinds the offer. Emily finally sees that she screwed up a big opportunity for Rory and tries to find a way to fix it, but it looks like that ship might have done sailed.
On the Chilton front, our usual gang is working on an unclear assignment to create their own government or something (Paris decides to basically replicate Elizabethan England, and as per usual, everyone else just goes along with it because Paris is going to do 90% of the work and arguing with her is exhausting and pointless.) Tristan is everywhere*, and Rory is still making the mistake of treating him like he's possessed of humanity. He wants to get with Rory (and why wouldn't he? all of their previous interactions have been so pleasant, after all), but she deflects his advances into getting him to ask out Paris.
Paris shows up at the Gilmore house with every clothing item she owns (save for her school uniform and bat mitzvah dress) and leaves wearing one of Lorelai's tops, with some good amount of freaking-out in between. She shows up for the group study session the next day beaming, until Tristan clarifies that they're just friends, and drops the dime on Rory for setting up the whole thing, and an embarrassed Paris loses her shit at Rory for throwing her her cast-offs, a set-back in their friendship that we'll have to deal with for longer than seems entirely rational, but that's Tristan for you.
*There's like a subtle running joke here, and in future episodes with him I believe, where Rory, Paris, Madeline and Louise will talk openly about Tristan while he's right there in the room. It is, dare I say, the only enjoyable thing about Tristan.
A.V. Club Review - David Sims
Woman in Revolt Review - Lindsay Pugh
Soundtrack: Nuthin' but the Town Troubadour, which I haven't been counting.
Random Guest Star Watch: Marion Ross (Marion Cunningham from Happy Days) as Trix.
I think this is the first glimpse we get into why Emily is the way she is and it goes far to making her into the complex character she'll become. Despite all their conflicts, Emily loves Lorelai and still nurses a deep hurt from when Lorelai ran away with Rory. (We never learn much about Emily's family -- presumably they were rich -- but there is always a part of Emily trying to hang on to what she has & her place in this world.)
However, clearly there could be stipulations -- that the trust fund could only be used for schooling (Chilton & then college) or such so the conflict seems misplaced.
Paris is a delight in this episode. Her note cards! Her lipstick that barely has a color!
Tristan sucks. Everything about him sucks. He's such an idiot and I hate him. The whole Rory-Tristan thing was the stupidest plotline.
Trix is exhausting and I also hate how much Richard ignores how cruel she is to Emily. It's fine that he adores his mother but he needs to stick up for his wife! I generally like Richard but not in this case at all.
posted by edencosmic at 4:02 PM on January 26 [2 favorites]
However, clearly there could be stipulations -- that the trust fund could only be used for schooling (Chilton & then college) or such so the conflict seems misplaced.
Paris is a delight in this episode. Her note cards! Her lipstick that barely has a color!
Tristan sucks. Everything about him sucks. He's such an idiot and I hate him. The whole Rory-Tristan thing was the stupidest plotline.
Trix is exhausting and I also hate how much Richard ignores how cruel she is to Emily. It's fine that he adores his mother but he needs to stick up for his wife! I generally like Richard but not in this case at all.
posted by edencosmic at 4:02 PM on January 26 [2 favorites]
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posted by Pedantzilla at 12:32 PM on January 26 [2 favorites]