Célèste's Review of S1E13 "Concert Interruptus"

“Concert Interruptus”

Season 1, Episode 13

Original airing: February 15, 2001

My Rating: 63

The Good:

• It’s nice to see Rory’s developing a deeper relationship with the other kids at school, especially Paris. This is closest we’ve come to seeing Paris and Rory seem like they could be friends, and that’s thrilling for me because I find Paris to be a really compelling character.
• Seeing the Bangles make a cameo is really great. Even in the first season, Gilmore Girls is confidently establishing itself as a show that uses music well, and I love that.
• The subplot about Luke’s ex-girlfriend is interesting. I want to hear more about her, and I love seeing Sookie call Lorelai out as jealous.

The Bad:

• There are a lot of logical problems/believability issues with the episode, and, after a while, they start to pile up. A few worth noting: 1) Lorelai doesn’t feel the need to check with Sookie before giving away the tickets, even though they are technically Sookie’s tickets. 2) Lorelai completely contradicts her rule about lying to Mrs. Kim, which was a central part of the last episode. 3) Lorelai doesn’t know about Luke’s ex-girlfriend even though she lived in Stars Hallow then and presumably drank coffee. This is shrugged off with the explanation that she was busy having a young kid and buying a house, but I have trouble buying that excuse.
• Tristan staring and Rory and flirting with Paris is overplayed and unneeded. Rory could still ask Paris why she likes Tristan, since its been set up in previous episodes. I don’t like when the show tries to set up all the circumstances it needs for a plot point within the same episode. Sometimes, they haven’t established certain facts, so it’s necessary (if sloppy), but here it’s just completely redundant.

Favorite Moment:

Rory and Paris share a moment as the concert starts, smiling at each other and rolling their eyes at the other girls. Like I said, I love seeing Rory’s relationship with Paris develop. I also really like the song, “Hero Takes a Fall,” that The Bangles open with.

The Bottom Line:

If you can get past the logical problems and character inconsistencies, then this episode actually has a lot of interesting stuff in it. It’s not one of the best episodes, but I wouldn’t skip it either.