Célèste's Review of S1E5 "Cinnamon's Wake"

“Cinnamon’s Wake”

Season 1, Episode 5

Original airing: November 2, 2000

My Rating: 66

The Good: 

• Babette is at her best in this episode. I love the heart and humor that Sally Struthers brings to this role, and Morey has some really cute moments too. 
• Miss Patty is also at her best. The line, “I promise I won’t tell anyone that you don’t know that young man,” is priceless. 
• Max is charming as usual and it’s nice to see Lorelai swoon a bit when she talks about him. 

The Meh: 

• There are a few awkward moments that just didn’t work for me, mostly both instances of “good bye Lorelai Gilmore.” I know Max not answering Lorelai’s question was meant to be cute, but it just seemed weird. 
• Dean following Rory onto the bus and finding her under the tree, alone in the dark bordered on creepy when I don’t think either moment was meant to. He’s inability to give he proper personal space on the bus was reminiscent of Tristan. Talk about missing the mark. 
• Rory’s awkwardness was funny, but a bit over the top in places, and it started to feel redundant after the fourth identical awkward encounter with Dean.

Favorite Moment: 

Lorelai and Babette bonding in the kitchen. I liked the mix of kooky comedy and heartfelt moments, and I thought Sally Struthers killed it. I especially liked the moment when Babette says you have to figure out what to do with your life when you aren’t busy taking care of somebody else, and you can see in Lorelai’s eyes that she’s realizing it’s okay to start prioritizing her love life now that Rory’s older. Obviously, a good performance by Lauren Graham as well. 

The Bottom Line: 

Plotwise, this episode is kind of forgettable since it primarily functions to set up further developments, but it still has a lot of great moments that make it enjoyable. Plus, after so much focus on Rory and Lorelai, it’s nice to see a supporting character get more attention.