It's not that its bad. There are a lot of really compelling moments here. But I think that we are expected to swallow some truly ridiculous backstory here. I'm sorry but if Christopher well and truly was a deadbeat dad for the last 16 years, Lorelei wouldn't be half in love with him by the end of season 2. They made him too bad of a dad. I know this show often plays with broad characters and larger than life situations quite a bit, but those usually are in the comedic areas of the show. The drama tends to be a lot more grounded. But the stuff with Chris and his family is just so broad.
Similarly, Strobe and Francine are so over the top in their snobbery that one cannot believe that Emily and Richard would have been so close with them. Friends, sure. But besties? Nah. Compare this to a near identical couple in later seasons (Digger's parents). It was so easy to see how that 4 some got on so keenly over the years, even outside of the business connection.
However, I do love quite a few beats in this episode. Lorelei and Christopher have the best chemistry on screen together. I honestly think their chemistry is better than Lorelei and Luke have on that deep actor to actor level. Seeing Rory get so excited and want her parents together is truly heartbreaking. I wish they had hit the note a bit harder that it's less she wants her parents to date and more she wants her dad tied down to them. Which is just gutting.
While Strobe and Francine are monstrous beyond believability, the two scenes with Richard are amazing. First having him defend Lorelei, and second having him tell her that he defended her as a Gilmore, but it doesn't make what she did okay. i think its very telling though, that he doesn't just talk about how she should have been married, or that he was embarrassed having to tell his friends she was pregnant (though that was in there), but also the grief of how proud he was (calling her the "brightest in her class" you can see a spark similar to how he regards Rory). Worse still--he communicates the pain they felt when Lorelei ran away--asking Lorelei if she knew Emily couldn't get out of bed for a month. What got me here is Lorelei's reaction. You can see that in that moment, she really, truly imagines how it must of felt to her parents. She knows that she hurt them, but in the other moments when she talks about it, she talks about it in terms of hurting their pride, the pride of two very proud people. But in this moment, I think it might just be the first time she realized that she really and truly broke their hearts to have Lorelei leave, and to have Rory taken away. These are the first big scenes with Richard since his heart incident, and that look that transpired between him and Lorelei. These two scenes play out so much of the deep connection and the inscrutable disconnection that we saw in that look.
I also love the scene were Emily comforts Rory. It truly is such a grandmotherly thing to do, to feel like a failure as a mother since her daughter got pregnant in high school, while not being ashamed or remorseful at all about her granddaughter's "person or existence." While there was a sweet moment with Lorelei telling her that her grandparents don't even know how much they want to know her, I really do think this was a missed opportunity for Chris to do something redeeming too. I would have loved to see some clumsy steps toward being a dad here. Oh well.
I do agree with you though about Luke and Chris being perfect foils without seeming like obvious oposities. I never really thought about that, but you are exactly right. I also agree about Chris. He's an absolute dirtbag for being such a crap dad, but he's so charming, and the chemistry is so fire that it's very easy to overlook. I wonder if that's sort of the opposite with Luke? He supports Lorelei in such mundane, everyday ways that he's easy to take for granted? IDK.
I will say that as much as I laud people who don't make excuses when they screw up, Lorelei really should have told him the full story. It sucks to stand someone up, for sure, but like-- she didn't ditch him to go on a date (which appears to be what he got from the whole thing?). It feels very plot devise-y. IDK, i just watch this episode and think "all these people need therapy."
This episode is weird. There. I said it.
It's not that its bad. There are a lot of really compelling moments here. But I think that we are expected to swallow some truly ridiculous backstory here. I'm sorry but if Christopher well and truly was a deadbeat dad for the last 16 years, Lorelei wouldn't be half in love with him by the end of season 2. They made him too bad of a dad. I know this show often plays with broad characters and larger than life situations quite a bit, but those usually are in the comedic areas of the show. The drama tends to be a lot more grounded. But the stuff with Chris and his family is just so broad.
Similarly, Strobe and Francine are so over the top in their snobbery that one cannot believe that Emily and Richard would have been so close with them. Friends, sure. But besties? Nah. Compare this to a near identical couple in later seasons (Digger's parents). It was so easy to see how that 4 some got on so keenly over the years, even outside of the business connection.
However, I do love quite a few beats in this episode. Lorelei and Christopher have the best chemistry on screen together. I honestly think their chemistry is better than Lorelei and Luke have on that deep actor to actor level. Seeing Rory get so excited and want her parents together is truly heartbreaking. I wish they had hit the note a bit harder that it's less she wants her parents to date and more she wants her dad tied down to them. Which is just gutting.
While Strobe and Francine are monstrous beyond believability, the two scenes with Richard are amazing. First having him defend Lorelei, and second having him tell her that he defended her as a Gilmore, but it doesn't make what she did okay. i think its very telling though, that he doesn't just talk about how she should have been married, or that he was embarrassed having to tell his friends she was pregnant (though that was in there), but also the grief of how proud he was (calling her the "brightest in her class" you can see a spark similar to how he regards Rory). Worse still--he communicates the pain they felt when Lorelei ran away--asking Lorelei if she knew Emily couldn't get out of bed for a month. What got me here is Lorelei's reaction. You can see that in that moment, she really, truly imagines how it must of felt to her parents. She knows that she hurt them, but in the other moments when she talks about it, she talks about it in terms of hurting their pride, the pride of two very proud people. But in this moment, I think it might just be the first time she realized that she really and truly broke their hearts to have Lorelei leave, and to have Rory taken away. These are the first big scenes with Richard since his heart incident, and that look that transpired between him and Lorelei. These two scenes play out so much of the deep connection and the inscrutable disconnection that we saw in that look.
I also love the scene were Emily comforts Rory. It truly is such a grandmotherly thing to do, to feel like a failure as a mother since her daughter got pregnant in high school, while not being ashamed or remorseful at all about her granddaughter's "person or existence." While there was a sweet moment with Lorelei telling her that her grandparents don't even know how much they want to know her, I really do think this was a missed opportunity for Chris to do something redeeming too. I would have loved to see some clumsy steps toward being a dad here. Oh well.
I do agree with you though about Luke and Chris being perfect foils without seeming like obvious oposities. I never really thought about that, but you are exactly right. I also agree about Chris. He's an absolute dirtbag for being such a crap dad, but he's so charming, and the chemistry is so fire that it's very easy to overlook. I wonder if that's sort of the opposite with Luke? He supports Lorelei in such mundane, everyday ways that he's easy to take for granted? IDK.
I will say that as much as I laud people who don't make excuses when they screw up, Lorelei really should have told him the full story. It sucks to stand someone up, for sure, but like-- she didn't ditch him to go on a date (which appears to be what he got from the whole thing?). It feels very plot devise-y. IDK, i just watch this episode and think "all these people need therapy."
Oh and, since when did Dean have a motorcycle?