Cordia's Review of S1E7 - Kiss and Tell

Kiss and Tell

Season 1, Episode 7

Original airing: November 16, 2000

This SHOULD have been the first kiss.

My Rating: 57

The Good:

This episode focuses on a corner stone of the show with Lorelai and Rory’s relationship. We know that Rory’s whole life, she and Lorelai have gotten along as friends as well as mother and daughter. So natural conflict will come from that relationship being tested as Rory grows older and into a more independent person. Her first real relationship with a boy is an excellent example.

For the first time, Rory is keeping a real secret from Lorelai. She’s scared to tell her mom about Dean and this leads to Lorelai feeling hurt and playing games. A lot of TV struggles come from a lack of communication and how that affects the characters. Often this feels very manufactured, but I think Gilmore Girls does it very well. It makes sense that Rory would be nervous to tell Lorelai this very new and sensitive information. And Lorelai really wants Rory to tell her without having to ask, which is how their relationship has always been in the past. So it worked out well and made things quite entertaining for the first half of the episode.

I can’t believe that Lorelai actually thought it was a good idea to suddenly invite Dean to movie night, but I did enjoy seeing Rory and Dean together at the house. It was very cute and nice to see him being considerate of her comfort. And the second kiss really worked. It felt mutual and sweet and actually looked like a really good kiss!

The Bad:

The first kiss, however. Wow. Dean continues to be way too confident in my opinion. Kissing Rory in the middle of the supermarket where anyone can see and he works was way over the top. Plus, did he really think a surprise kiss was a good idea considering how much she runs away when he’s just trying to converse with her?

I was also really annoyed with his reaction to Lorelai’s speech later. I could see him pushing back a little at the beginning, but his follow-up speech felt like it came from a much older person with a lot of experience. It also felt like a very calculated look at his attempts to entice Rory and just didn’t feel appropriate to a 16 year old boy.

Favorite Moment:

I really enjoyed the second kiss. It was a nice moment and felt very mutual and sweet.

The Bottom Line:

I enjoyed seeing some realistic stresses on Rory and Lorelai’s relationship. I think Rory’s growth as a person and how that affects her relationships is going to be a big part of the story and it’s nice to see that happening early. But Dean continues to be confusing and too aggressive, which really hurt the episode in my opinion.