Gilmore Girls: Like Mother, Like Daughter
January 29, 2025 2:30 PM - Season 2, Episode 7 - Subscribe
Lorelai joins the Booster Club. Rory joins a secret sorority. Emily walks the runway.
At the diner, Rory mocks Lorelai for a hidden Barry Manilow CD that she found in the jeep. Lorelai wonders whether Luke has dated anyone since Rachel. At Chilton, Rory is asked into the guidance counselor's office to discuss her worrisome loner tendencies, because she tends to eat lunch while reading a book and listening to her walkman. At home, Lorelai is incensed and vows to talk to the headmaster about this, even though Kirk assures her that loners turn out fine.
Rather than back off, Headmaster Charleston takes the opportunity of his meeting with Lorelai to berate her for not being more involved with school activities herself, which then gets back to Emily. So, feeling pressure from all sides, Lorelai joins the Booster Club.
At lunch, Rory ventures out to act social, asking a seemingly random table of girls if she can sit there. Francie, the group's queen bee, is down, so Rory eats with a clique full of obvious populars, while Paris stares in envy.
Paris later explains that these girls are the "Puffs," a secret sorority (one of ten at Chilton, apparently, but the most prestigious one) that Paris can't get a toe-hold in, despite being a multi-generational legacy (Sandra Day O'Connor is also mentioned as a member.) Since Rory is apparently "in," Paris asks Rory for a leg-up.*
Lorelai meets the Booster Club, made up mostly of other single moms it seems, who mostly gossip but are also trying to plan their big fall fundraiser. Last year everyone got food poisoning before they could hold their silent auction, so they really need this year's planned fashion show to be a success. They just need a venue, and what's this? Lorelai runs an inn! It's perfect! They'll also need her to be one of the models, of course. And this is, naturally, happening within the week.
At lunch, Rory does her best to talk up Paris. The Puffs aren't interested until Rory says that she thinks Paris is planning to join a different group instead, which gets their attention. At the inn, one of the other Booster Club moms is slavering over Luke as he installs the runway for the fashion show, and Lorelai sure doesn't like her going over to presumably flirt with him.
The fashion show displays some truly hideous clothes, but Emily and Lorelai are a fun team there, with Emily enjoying herself and eventually getting Lorelai into it. Rory's right that they look like Nancy Reagan, though. At home, Lorelai gives Rory a warning to be prepared for the Puffs to "kidnap" her in the middle of the night to take her to breakfast. Apparently Francie called ahead of time, which was oddly considerate, and makes it all the funnier that Paris got no such warning.
The Puffs don't take them to breakfast, however, but rather to Chilton, where they break into the Headmaster's office to light a candle, say an initiation pledge, and ring a bell. It's all very rebellious, you see, and of course Headmaster Charleston (who, I guess, lives at the school? He had a very johnny-on-the-spot response time) busts in on them as Rory is finishing up her reluctant oath.
He lectures them and lectures them until Rory is finally all "Hey, asshole, you're the one who said I needed to be more social because you don't know my life at all," and everything is fine. And if we're going to get a nothing story like this, I'm glad it at least includes Rory finding her spine and telling off the crusty old dean.
Lorelai goes to the diner to ask Luke not to date Ava, and he's - reasonably - not down with Lorelai choosing who he sees. But also, Ava was just asking for directions back to Hartford. At Chilton, Rory once again sits alone at lunch with her book and her walkman, only to be joined by another girl wishing to do the same.
*This storyline, like the rest of this episode, is wildly inconsequential. I think the only thing in it that matters at all is the introduction of Emily Bergl's Francie, who I understand to be a "controversial" character at best. For myself, I like there being a few characters in this show to stir shit up for the pure sake of it, and I think Francie qualifies, if not here than later on. I'm not sure why Paris is asking Rory for any favors here, nor why Rory is so happy to grant them, since the last we saw of their relationship was Paris springing the Max Medina interview on her, but the real answer, I'm pretty sure, is that this was the most modular episode in the season, made to more or less fit wherever they needed it to go in the show order.
A.V. Club Review - David Sims
Woman in Revolt Review - Lindsay Pugh
Soundtrack:
"Know Your Onion!" - The Shins
"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" - Cyndi Lauper
"It's Alright, Baby" - Komeda
Random Guest Star Watch: Brenda Strong as Ava. I think she's got one of those careers where everyone is going to remember her from something different, but for me she'll always be Sally in SportsNight.
At the diner, Rory mocks Lorelai for a hidden Barry Manilow CD that she found in the jeep. Lorelai wonders whether Luke has dated anyone since Rachel. At Chilton, Rory is asked into the guidance counselor's office to discuss her worrisome loner tendencies, because she tends to eat lunch while reading a book and listening to her walkman. At home, Lorelai is incensed and vows to talk to the headmaster about this, even though Kirk assures her that loners turn out fine.
Rather than back off, Headmaster Charleston takes the opportunity of his meeting with Lorelai to berate her for not being more involved with school activities herself, which then gets back to Emily. So, feeling pressure from all sides, Lorelai joins the Booster Club.
At lunch, Rory ventures out to act social, asking a seemingly random table of girls if she can sit there. Francie, the group's queen bee, is down, so Rory eats with a clique full of obvious populars, while Paris stares in envy.
Paris later explains that these girls are the "Puffs," a secret sorority (one of ten at Chilton, apparently, but the most prestigious one) that Paris can't get a toe-hold in, despite being a multi-generational legacy (Sandra Day O'Connor is also mentioned as a member.) Since Rory is apparently "in," Paris asks Rory for a leg-up.*
Lorelai meets the Booster Club, made up mostly of other single moms it seems, who mostly gossip but are also trying to plan their big fall fundraiser. Last year everyone got food poisoning before they could hold their silent auction, so they really need this year's planned fashion show to be a success. They just need a venue, and what's this? Lorelai runs an inn! It's perfect! They'll also need her to be one of the models, of course. And this is, naturally, happening within the week.
At lunch, Rory does her best to talk up Paris. The Puffs aren't interested until Rory says that she thinks Paris is planning to join a different group instead, which gets their attention. At the inn, one of the other Booster Club moms is slavering over Luke as he installs the runway for the fashion show, and Lorelai sure doesn't like her going over to presumably flirt with him.
The fashion show displays some truly hideous clothes, but Emily and Lorelai are a fun team there, with Emily enjoying herself and eventually getting Lorelai into it. Rory's right that they look like Nancy Reagan, though. At home, Lorelai gives Rory a warning to be prepared for the Puffs to "kidnap" her in the middle of the night to take her to breakfast. Apparently Francie called ahead of time, which was oddly considerate, and makes it all the funnier that Paris got no such warning.
The Puffs don't take them to breakfast, however, but rather to Chilton, where they break into the Headmaster's office to light a candle, say an initiation pledge, and ring a bell. It's all very rebellious, you see, and of course Headmaster Charleston (who, I guess, lives at the school? He had a very johnny-on-the-spot response time) busts in on them as Rory is finishing up her reluctant oath.
He lectures them and lectures them until Rory is finally all "Hey, asshole, you're the one who said I needed to be more social because you don't know my life at all," and everything is fine. And if we're going to get a nothing story like this, I'm glad it at least includes Rory finding her spine and telling off the crusty old dean.
Lorelai goes to the diner to ask Luke not to date Ava, and he's - reasonably - not down with Lorelai choosing who he sees. But also, Ava was just asking for directions back to Hartford. At Chilton, Rory once again sits alone at lunch with her book and her walkman, only to be joined by another girl wishing to do the same.
*This storyline, like the rest of this episode, is wildly inconsequential. I think the only thing in it that matters at all is the introduction of Emily Bergl's Francie, who I understand to be a "controversial" character at best. For myself, I like there being a few characters in this show to stir shit up for the pure sake of it, and I think Francie qualifies, if not here than later on. I'm not sure why Paris is asking Rory for any favors here, nor why Rory is so happy to grant them, since the last we saw of their relationship was Paris springing the Max Medina interview on her, but the real answer, I'm pretty sure, is that this was the most modular episode in the season, made to more or less fit wherever they needed it to go in the show order.
A.V. Club Review - David Sims
Woman in Revolt Review - Lindsay Pugh
Soundtrack:
"Know Your Onion!" - The Shins
"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" - Cyndi Lauper
"It's Alright, Baby" - Komeda
Random Guest Star Watch: Brenda Strong as Ava. I think she's got one of those careers where everyone is going to remember her from something different, but for me she'll always be Sally in SportsNight.
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I find it kind of hard to believe this is the first time the Puffs got caught ringing the bell but sure, whatever. (And I'd actually think they'd slightly condone/look the other way. This is mostly harmless.)
This is a fun episode but it doesn't amount to anything. The fashion show is the height of silliness, but I like Emily's remark about how Lorelai is fitting into the world she ran away from. Despite her pretensions otherwise, Lorelai still has a lot of privilege that she often fails to recognize. I like when she's called out on it (same with Rory).
Other than the introduction of Francie and Lorelai's vague participation going forward in the Booster Club, there's nothing that happens that really moves anything forward.
posted by edencosmic at 2:25 PM on January 30 [1 favorite]