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— Maggie
What’s Wrong With Episode 135? Rory’s Dressed like a Real Grownup And It Symbolizes So Much
By Maggie
Like Megan found last episode, I have to admit I went into this episode bracing myself to hate seeing so much Lorelai and Christopher as a couple. But after rewatching, I ended up feeling like I was so glad the production of this show changed hands, and the new writers clearly are at least TRYING to continue storylines in a believable way.
All the same, was my initial reaction physically recoiling when I saw Chris and Lorelai flirting on her porch after what was apparently their sixth movie date? Yes. But as the episode went on I ended up feeling a deep understanding for what Lorelai was going through. This didn’t just feel like drama for drama’s sake as many of the storylines over the last couple of seasons often felt. This is likely due in large part to Lauren Graham’s brilliant acting. Even in her more flirtatious exchanges with Christopher, there’s a kind of distance in her voice. This is a change from the way she’s always spoken with Christopher, less jokey, less harsh, it’s a bit more formal. Even when he takes her on the very cute convertible drive date to an old barn for a private outdoor movie (whose barn is this!?!!?! why does she not ask!?!?!) she keeps speaking about the disbelief she’s feeling that all of this has been going so perfectly. But how could it be going so perfectly, really? Well, Lorelai, because you’re fooling yourself, and you know it.
Lorelai wanted to be with Luke. She wanted to marry Luke. But Luke rejected her, and hurt her deeply. It makes sense that she would end up turning to someone who she has history with, who has previously tried to show her that she’s the only one for him, who has done sometimes problematic, but maybe romantic-seeming things to try to win her over. Because after a breakup like she had with Luke, especially after feeling really ready to commit to him, she needed some comfort, AND a reminder that she is lovable. So she is soaking up Christopher’s affection, while keeping him at arm’s length, and not even labeling that they are really dating. This is deeply believable to me. While it’s not noble or anything, I do think it’s something a lot of people hurting from bad breakups do — they seek out comfort and love even if they aren’t really into it or ready for it.
So, while Lorelai is so glad to have someone she feels comfortable with, and who loves her deeply, you know this is actually the swan song of this relationship (FINALLY). Because, as this season’s writers astutely realize, Christopher and Lorelai’s kind of history is the kind that you always wonder about — what if one thing had gone differently, etc. etc. What if they hadn’t met when they were 14? What if they hadn’t gotten pregnant? What if she hadn’t had the baby? What if Christopher had actually stuck around to co-parent? What if Sherry hadn’t had the baby? What if, what if, what if. And to figure out what if, sometimes you just have to ignore all the previous complicated history and just pretend like there’s a chance there, you have to do the thing. For Lorelai and Christopher that means they go on some movie dates, and eat candy, and see how wonderful some things might be, but how problematic and non-negotiable others are. With Rory’s warning about not getting hurt, Sookie’s calling out of Lorelai’s behavior as choosing Chris over her friends, and Lorelai even admitting she doesn’t trust Christopher this episode, the inevitable cracks are starting to show. And while I wish this had happened three seasons ago, it is happening. And that’s something.
Meanwhile, at Yale, Rory is moved back into her RICH BOYFRIEND’S EMPTY APARTMENT BECAUSE THAT’S NORMAL. And yes, she makes her two wonderful artsy friends this episode, Lucy and Olivia, and I love it, I do. Krysten Ritter forever. But I just cannot focus on any Rory plotlines because of her wardrobe. Hear me out.
Rory is a 21 year old student at Yale. She is deeply studious, takes way too many credits, reads all the time (theoretically anyway), and is the Editor in Chief of the Yale Daily News (a DAILY CAMPUS NEWSPAPER). This, alone, is a huge job. The above described person does not have time to perfectly style her definitely styled hair, (blow dry, product, flat iron, curling iron) put on a full face of perfectly natural looking makeup, and wear a complete outfit, including heels and coordinating jewelry ALL of which look like they are from the expensive side of Anthropologie, every single day. These outfits full of collared blouses and fancy accessorized dresses are what she wears whether she is simply doing laundry and packing for school (Exhibit A), or moving back into her apartment after a summer at home (Exhibit B), of course when she has an actual day of classes (I assume) and work at the paper, she wears a dress that is very cute, but formal enough that I would have considered only for some kind of event at 21, (a party? A wedding? A job interview?), to top it off, she pairs this with a belt and stiletto heels that she keeps on ALL DAY AND NIGHT (Exhibit C).
My senior year in college I was the Associate Editor of our weekly campus newspaper (along with Megan!), took a full load of classes, interned at the daily newspaper in town, babysat 12 hours a week, and tried to have a social life. Let me tell you what I only ever wore on special occasions: makeup, heels, coordinating jewelry, button-up shirts, or really any clothing that was not on sale at the tiny mostly American-Apparel-full clothing and gift shop a few blocks from campus.
I know, this is television and Alexis Bledel is a beautiful actress, and part of the suspension of disbelief of this show has always been that the Gilmore Girls have magically massive closets, but like, I think I’ve just hit a wall here: Where is Rory’s clothes budget coming from? She doesn’t even have a campus job anymore! The YDN probably does pay their editors, but I can’t imagine it would be that much. Then again, she’s getting FREE HOUSING FROM HER RICH BOYFRIEND, so maybe he’s throwing in a clothes budget too!!! *excuse me while I scream into the void about the loss of this formerly very interesting character for the millionth time*
Further, when does she have time to do her hair and makeup? Does she never sleep? Is she a vampire? Does she have one of those Hermione Granger time turner things simply so she can dress like a 30-year-old office worker instead of a 21 year old college student? I understand she has an important job on campus, and she’s probably expected to dress the part a bit, but where did our sweet age-appropriate skirts with boots and tights and sweaters Rory from early Yale years go? Will she ever come back? (Answer: No.)
This is especially unnerving this episode because Richard — a former property insurance executive — has been asked to teach economics at Yale?????? (Side note: Does he even have a degree in Economics??? Does this matter???? Is this just the patriarchy at work???) And the major issue at stake during this narrative moment is that Richard isn’t sure how to dress, and ends up dressing like what we would all imagine a Yale professor to dress like (and in fact the Yale professors in this show have dressed like): tweed jacket, bow tie, etc. Then he tells Emily he felt wildly overdressed because the students all wear “pajamas and undershirts.” So, apparently Rory is the only one walking around campus like Corporate Middle Manager Barbie. This is further confirmed when Rory does make her two adorable Art Major friends, and they both wear slightly dressy outfits that are also very age appropriate and unique. (Exhibit D.)
Look, yes, women can dress how they want, and as a young person, I did often like dressing a bit more professionally at times, because I simply enjoyed it and I wanted to be taken seriously and sometimes young women have to make that equation work. There is nothing wrong with dressing up or spending time on your appearance. What I disagree with here is the premise that the character of Rory would actually choose to — or have time to — dress like this ALL OF THE TIME. And sorry but after the whole “rebellious” year of Rory not at Yale resulted in Rory’s skirt suits and DAR-fits, wouldn’t she want to, I don’t know, find another way to sartorially express herself? I guess what I’m saying is, the new post-Palladino show runners are trying. They are. But these outfits are making me worry that the damage done to Rory’s character in the last couple of seasons may have been irreparable.
Nine Other Things Wrong With This Episode
Do you remember when Snakes on a Plane came out and every joke and every conversation had to make some reference to it? Why!?
I appreciate that Luke’s styling is having him wear different baseball hats now that he and Lorelai broke up (because she bought him his previous one), but I hate him in these other hats. Sorry!
Kirk and Luke’s conversation equating having women interested in you (in this case, Kirk’s girlfriend and mother…) is so weird and gross and misogynistic and capitalistic all at once?!
Luke doesn’t know that schools don’t allow weapons on campus and goes on about how it’s so scary that we have to specifically have rules against weapons at school and wow that would not be such a weird and flippant joke in today’s world of almost daily school gun violence.
April comes to stay with Luke while Anna goes out of town and why is this storyline here? Just the Target Spon-Con? April as matchmaker? (Weird! Gross!) Just to rehash the whole plot that yet again Luke still doesn’t have any room in his apartment for another person and yet has another young dependent staying there? Cool, cool, cool. Wouldn’t it be great if Luke and Lorelai just got to figure out how to step-parent April together? That would be a very simple and easy narrative hurdle for them to work on!
Paris calls Rory her “best friend,” and yet we have not seen these two hang out by choice in YEARS. But at least the Nora Ephron and Carl Bernstein line from Rory is perfect: “Go on, be the couple whose divorce was so painful it was memorialized in both literature and film.”
Emily making wholly unnecessary fat-shaming jokes about her friends? Great, glad the new writers didn’t get rid of the fatphobic messaging of this show.
While the whole Emily being pulled over for talking on her cell phone while driving scene (remember when this was an unfathomable level of surveillance and policing?!) is impeccably acted by Kelly Bishop (as always), man does it speak to the time period in which white people were generally just wholly unconcerned with the issue of policing, and treated the whole carceral state as a joke.
LOL that Logan gets clearly agitated at Rory for having friends over??? Mr. LIFE AND DEATH BRIGADE COLLEGE IS AN EXCUSE TO PARTY? And even has the gall to say “SO YOUR NEW BOYFRIEND ISN’T THERE THEN EH?” As if he has the right to know everyone Rory speaks to because SHE LIVES IN HIS APARTMENT. K SHE REALLY IS HIS KEPT WOMAN. K. I HATE THIS. BYE.
Gilmore Women is a weekly newsletter from journalists Maggie Mertens and Megan Burbank examining everything that’s wrong with Gilmore Girls. All of our current episode issues are sent for free, but past seasons will go behind the paywall starting Dec. 31, 2023.
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Love your insight on exactly what is so irksome about Rory's college years clothes! It's easy to imagine keeping the "beautiful actress suspension of disbelief" with the sweaters of her high school days, Yale sweatshirts, band t-shirts and the Urban Outfitter "funny" t-shirts I believe we wearing back then.
It's interesting to reflect on Rory's clothes, and to compare them to what I would have worn in college. I was in college in the 2010s, so after Rory, but in possibly an even more casual era, though not as casual as the one we're in now. I didn't wear makeup or do anything fancy with my hair, and I didn't dress up quite as much as she does here, but I did wear coordinated outfits with jewelry every day! (Usually nice jeans or shorts on the bottom, except for pin attire Mondays for my sorority, which I secretly loved even though everyone else hated them. I was sad when they moved to only once a month my senior year!) I, like Rory, was an intensely academic and very busy college student, but I just liked clothes. I do agree that it's out of character for her, but those well-dressed college kids exist!
Now I work from home and wear jeans on a good day. Sweatpants are more common. I kind of missing dressing up for class, but not enough to get a job where I have to go into an office!