Gilmore Girls: Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days
February 4, 2025 4:01 PM - Season 3, Episode 1 - Subscribe
Rory returns from Washington to find that Jess has a new girlfriend. Lorelai tells her parents that things didn't work out with Christopher. A new customer walks into Luke's Diner.
Where did we leave off last season? Oh, that's right. Lorelai wakes up to a million alarm clocks and comes downstairs to find Luke cooking her a scrumptious breakfast, though he tried to switch her coffee for decaf and she can always tell. He's gotta run off to the diner, but he kisses her belly before he leaves so as to say goodbye to the twins she's pregnant with.
And Lorelai wakes up. And wakes up Rory, still in D.C., to get her to analyze the dream. Lorelai rejects the obvious interpretation, so as a second opinion of sorts, Rory suggests that maybe it's about anxiety and jealousy around Christopher being with his pregnant girlfriend instead of her. Lorelai can live with that one.
Lorelai is still eating breakfast at Sookie & Jackson's house because she can't go to Luke's. Those two are having a minor battle over Sookie's attempts to make the decor more masculine for Jackson's benefit, which he is decidedly not asking her to do.
In D.C., Rory and Paris attend a function with senators to celebrate the end of whatever the hell they were doing there all summer. Jamie, a Princeton student, asks Paris out on a date. She's stunned and surprised and Rory has to help her get ready, talk her off the ledge, and finally hide in a closet for when Jamie picks her up.
In Stars Hollow, Taylor (temporarily wheelchair-bound due to an errant banana peel on his doorstep) gets an End of Summer festival underway, while Kirk hawks his new skin-care line "Hay There" at the Inn. Lorelai helps Sookie shop for "manly" things at Kim's Antiques (where "helping" genuinely means paying off Mrs. Kim to not let Sookie buy a Billy Bass.)
Lorelai picks up Rory at the airport with two bags full of souvenirs from the Hartford Airport. She also fudged the date of Rory's return so as to get her out of Friday Night Dinner so that she can spend some time with Dean. Rory's been dodging Christopher's calls, as she's no happier with him than Lorelai is right now. As they stop by Sookie's house on their way to the festival, she and Jackson are having a yelling fight over Sookie having filled the whole house with taxidermy. Jackson is not a fan.
At the Festival, Kirk warns that the skin care products are dangerous and all have to be disposed of, Lorelai tries to pay Taylor a compliment that he can't hear as anything but sarcastic, a 16-piece barbershop group sings the title-song nonstop, and Rory spots Jess making out and grabbing ass with a new blonde girl (who we will soon know as Shane.) Lorelai demands to know what she's so upset about, so Rory spills the beans about the kiss at Sookie's wedding, and Lorelai lectures her, which doesn't go great. Dean shows up, he and Rory head off together, and Lorelai goes off to Hartford.
At Friday Night Dinner, Lorelai finally tells Emily and Richard about Sherry's pregnancy and how it means that she and Christopher won't be getting back together after all. Emily is livid about this, and Richard is disappointed but thinks Christopher is doing the right thing. As they argue around Lorelai, she gets up unnoticed and walks out...
...and walks into Luke's, visibly upset. Since she and Luke still haven't made up over their fight after the car accident, she proposes that she is a new customer, "Mimi," who just stopped in for a cup of coffee and will then leave. Luke begrudgingly accepts this, and as she talks about feeling like a fool, and how Sherry gets to have the Christopher that Lorelai's been waiting all this time for, and finally breaks down saying that she doesn't think she'll ever have the life she wants, Luke comforts her and gives her a donut, and then refuses to let her pay since "first-time customers are on the house." It's honestly a pretty amazing scene.
Back at home, Rory and Lorelai pick up the Jess vs. Dean conversation again, but without the judgment and scolding this time, and are happy to be back together.
A.V. Club Review - David Sims
Woman in Revolt Review - Lindsay Pugh
Soundtrack: Nothing but the maddening title song.
Random Guest Star Watch: Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Rep. Doug Ose (R-CA)
Where did we leave off last season? Oh, that's right. Lorelai wakes up to a million alarm clocks and comes downstairs to find Luke cooking her a scrumptious breakfast, though he tried to switch her coffee for decaf and she can always tell. He's gotta run off to the diner, but he kisses her belly before he leaves so as to say goodbye to the twins she's pregnant with.
And Lorelai wakes up. And wakes up Rory, still in D.C., to get her to analyze the dream. Lorelai rejects the obvious interpretation, so as a second opinion of sorts, Rory suggests that maybe it's about anxiety and jealousy around Christopher being with his pregnant girlfriend instead of her. Lorelai can live with that one.
Lorelai is still eating breakfast at Sookie & Jackson's house because she can't go to Luke's. Those two are having a minor battle over Sookie's attempts to make the decor more masculine for Jackson's benefit, which he is decidedly not asking her to do.
In D.C., Rory and Paris attend a function with senators to celebrate the end of whatever the hell they were doing there all summer. Jamie, a Princeton student, asks Paris out on a date. She's stunned and surprised and Rory has to help her get ready, talk her off the ledge, and finally hide in a closet for when Jamie picks her up.
In Stars Hollow, Taylor (temporarily wheelchair-bound due to an errant banana peel on his doorstep) gets an End of Summer festival underway, while Kirk hawks his new skin-care line "Hay There" at the Inn. Lorelai helps Sookie shop for "manly" things at Kim's Antiques (where "helping" genuinely means paying off Mrs. Kim to not let Sookie buy a Billy Bass.)
Lorelai picks up Rory at the airport with two bags full of souvenirs from the Hartford Airport. She also fudged the date of Rory's return so as to get her out of Friday Night Dinner so that she can spend some time with Dean. Rory's been dodging Christopher's calls, as she's no happier with him than Lorelai is right now. As they stop by Sookie's house on their way to the festival, she and Jackson are having a yelling fight over Sookie having filled the whole house with taxidermy. Jackson is not a fan.
At the Festival, Kirk warns that the skin care products are dangerous and all have to be disposed of, Lorelai tries to pay Taylor a compliment that he can't hear as anything but sarcastic, a 16-piece barbershop group sings the title-song nonstop, and Rory spots Jess making out and grabbing ass with a new blonde girl (who we will soon know as Shane.) Lorelai demands to know what she's so upset about, so Rory spills the beans about the kiss at Sookie's wedding, and Lorelai lectures her, which doesn't go great. Dean shows up, he and Rory head off together, and Lorelai goes off to Hartford.
At Friday Night Dinner, Lorelai finally tells Emily and Richard about Sherry's pregnancy and how it means that she and Christopher won't be getting back together after all. Emily is livid about this, and Richard is disappointed but thinks Christopher is doing the right thing. As they argue around Lorelai, she gets up unnoticed and walks out...
...and walks into Luke's, visibly upset. Since she and Luke still haven't made up over their fight after the car accident, she proposes that she is a new customer, "Mimi," who just stopped in for a cup of coffee and will then leave. Luke begrudgingly accepts this, and as she talks about feeling like a fool, and how Sherry gets to have the Christopher that Lorelai's been waiting all this time for, and finally breaks down saying that she doesn't think she'll ever have the life she wants, Luke comforts her and gives her a donut, and then refuses to let her pay since "first-time customers are on the house." It's honestly a pretty amazing scene.
Back at home, Rory and Lorelai pick up the Jess vs. Dean conversation again, but without the judgment and scolding this time, and are happy to be back together.
A.V. Club Review - David Sims
Woman in Revolt Review - Lindsay Pugh
Soundtrack: Nothing but the maddening title song.
Random Guest Star Watch: Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Rep. Doug Ose (R-CA)
I just want to get it out of the way that the show overall treats Shane terribly. She's barely a character and everyone is just 100% mean to her. Justice for Shane. Or something.
Hear hear! Justice for Shane! (The example of this that takes it around to darkly funny for me is after Jess dumps her, and Kirk is immediately working at the cosmetics store in Shane's place. I feel like we missed a crucial scene there.)
posted by Navelgazer at 6:34 PM on February 4
Hear hear! Justice for Shane! (The example of this that takes it around to darkly funny for me is after Jess dumps her, and Kirk is immediately working at the cosmetics store in Shane's place. I feel like we missed a crucial scene there.)
posted by Navelgazer at 6:34 PM on February 4
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I just want to get it out of the way that the show overall treats Shane terribly. She's barely a character and everyone is just 100% mean to her. Justice for Shane. Or something.
Much of this doesn't matter (Sookie trying to redecorate!) and the conflict about Rory's one brief kiss with Jess is so overblown. I get for Rory it was a big deal, but Lorelai, you're a grownup. I'm not saying it was a great idea, but I dunno. Maybe briefly kissing a boy you were crushing on when he unexpectedly showed back up isn't like, you know, getting pregnant as a teenager or something. There are degrees of how big of a deal some things are.
I actually think the way Emily and Richard react feel appropriate to who each of those characters are, but I also love Lorelai walking out. That feels like something she'd do, and also she realizes the fight isn't really about her, specifically, or at least not who she is currently. (All of these people really needed some therapy.)
I do really love Lorelai being vulnerable with Luke (because finally). I don't think those two are emotionally compatible overall but I do like when Lorelai lets her guard down and also, Lauren Graham is so great at it. Luke isn't great at that stuff, but I like the way Scott Patterson plays it. Lorelai and Luke have a bond that one fight can't break. They just needed to get over their pride.
Rory's "I want to make things right with Dean" is just ... oh sweetie, I love you.
I do love the Paris and Jamie subplot because Paris deserves it and Jamie is good. I looked this up for non-creepy reasons (it came up in another movie I watched), but the age of consent in Connecticut is 16 as it is in New Jersey, where Princeton is. I still think it's slightly iffy but it's OK. Jamie is harmless and perfect.
posted by edencosmic at 5:43 PM on February 4 [1 favorite]