Hello! Welcome to Return to Stars Hollow - a spoiler-free, retrospective podcast about Gilmore Girls! This is the podcast for Season 3, Episode 11 - I Solemnly Swear.
You can direct download the episode here: S3E11 Podcast
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The next podcast will post on Monday, November 16, 2015 for S3E12 - Lorelai Out of Water.
Trying to remember the notes I had on this episode as I listened to the podcast, the one I mostly remember is the Xandu one as you described it it sounded like the reference was more to
ReplyDelete'
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
a stately pleasure-doom decree'
But maybe it is the movie, the move certanly refeers the Colridge poem at least, and where I grow up this was the one people would know.
Also the Cootie Catcher thing was called a Flea or a Paperflea (or rather a Loppa or Papersloppa in Swedish) in Stockholm, Sweden. Btw Wikipedia shows four different names for it in English a few refeers fortune and I think there was one such word in Swedish but I can't remember it.
Oh lets do origin story, I catched episodes from and to and enjoyed them sneakly when the series was ongoing, and beeing from the early 1980s some how as a male I felt ashamed at the time for enjoying such a clear female centric show (which is stupid I know) but sneaking in views of it and now I got into it with your rewatch though I lost watching it for quite a while but still listened to episode because of time issues, you are good company on the subway to and from work though people do look when I answer. I'll try to catch up one day or just jumps these seasons, this is one of the episodes I remember watching and wonder what the point of the series was back in the first run in Sweden. Oh also I will enjoy the pronunciation of my name.
Oh and I should note Jess and Dean, ah Jess and Dean, thoose two are clearly together one full teenage boy from somebody who once was one of them. All tree sides can be present in one singel person
Also as I write this as I listened to this episode podcast Michaels point about Magic Realism is something I wanted to say, I was going to write something about how the story could start with:
“Many years later, as she faced the firing squad, journalist Lorelai Gilmore was to remember that distant afternoon when her mother took her to discover ice."
The influence of Gabriel Garcia Marquez in the writeing feels big, with there postoring, the place of the house and the time shananigans in general.
Another "before they were famous" sighting! Alex is Billy Burke, who was Charlie Swan, Bella's father, in the Twilight movie saga.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, both roles are pretty unremarkable.
-Carmela
I need to stop reading the Netflix synopses because they are always setting me up to be excited about something that is barely part of the plot. I was really hoping there would be a lot of great Luke and Lorelai stuff here, but it wasn't all that great. All the other plots made me feel similarly meh. I don't think Alex and Lorelai have much chemistry.
ReplyDeleteI did feel really sad for Lane though. She is trying so hard to get her mom to approve Dave and it seems like it didn't work at all. I wonder how things will be going forward since Mrs Kim knows about her feelings for Dave.
Theres another worker at Lukes! Whose not named Caesar. lol. Lucas! I thought that was cute and
ReplyDeleteJess making fun of him. Luke teaching Lorelai how to fish was also really cute. I think Lorelai telling him about her date gave him the confidence to ask out the lawyer lady, which was an adorable scene. I just really loved Luke this episode.
I kind of thought Zack hitting on Lorelai was funny but also a bit creepy, cause doesn't he know how old she is. Better yet how old is Zack? Gotta be at least 18 if he thinks he has a chance. Oh I didn't care about the Lorelai fishing plot, maybe cause I don't care about her and that guy (I don't even remember his name).
Well we actually got a more involved and responsible teacher/council advisor, who actually stood up to Paris and told her how cry she was acting. I still don't like the Paris being mad at Rory thing, I thought we were over that a long time ago. Paris needs to get over herself.
Lane was great in this episode! I love how excited she was about a "maybe" to the prom. lol. Also I am impressed Lane can walk up the stairs backwards while carrying a tray of water. I wonder if the actress ever tripped? I know I would have.
Favorie Moment: Rory "I fell off my chair!" Mrs. Kim "Oh. Well don't" Rory "Yes Ma'am" I thought that was hilarious! With Lane shouting "Incoming!" I seriously started cracking up.
Lastly, I am with Celeste, Francie, is terrible! I thought she worked fine her first appearance with the secret club thing episode, but ever since that, she's been super annoying, I just want to slap her. Skip over Francie and give me more Madeline and Louise!
To me, it' fine that there's no great spark between Lorelai and Alex and it works because they're not pretending that there is one, like they sometimes do. I mean, throughout the episode, Lorelai describes him basically as, he likes coffee, he's nice. They can go on a few dates and that's fun but nobody would expect him to become the love of her life. We don't even see the fishing trip, only the preparation with Luke because that's obviously more important to the show and that's the relationship we're invested in.
ReplyDeleteI also noticed that we rarely see Lorelai on her dates, like this one, the Hamm date, the burrito kid... This is certainly an area where the show likes to tell rather than show, so it's almost remarkable that we actually see the coffee tasting, but that's mostly there to set up the later date.
I'm excited to see Luke date someone else and curious to see if and how Lorelai will react to that. She wasn't overly excited when she met Rachel initially and it's been a while since then.
It's probably not a good sign that Lane doesn't like Jess and that Rory is fine with that. I would still like to hear why exactly she doesn't like him, if that's just because of his general attitude or if there's a specific reason. But that's still the same problem I already had when she yelled at him over buying a car, that came kind of out of nowhere compared to what we previously saw.
I love the moment when Lane tells Mrs. Kim that she was hoping to go to prom with Dave. It's really the first time we see her stand up to her mother and admit to her that she likes a boy and she doesn't think about it first, she does it immediatly after Mrs. Kim presents the other guy. That's progress and then it's extra crushing when Mrs. Kim simply responds that Dave's not korean and the look on Lane's face when she realizes that of course this was going to go that way, how could she expect anything different?
Should we be concerned that Dave Rygalsky is an evil mastermind or possibly a psychopath? It seems incredibly easy for him to convincingly lie to people and pretend he's someone he's not. First Mrs. Kim, now the band..
I understand that the show is trying to delay Luke and Lorelai getting together, but could we please have a little life in the other love interests until then? Alex and Nicole have zero Stars Hollow pizazz. Neither said anything interesting throughout the entire episode. It would be much more interesting to have them as real threats to Luke and Lorelai as a couple, but I just know they won't stick around.
ReplyDeleteThe slight awkwardness between Rory and Lane as they went through the last Kim family wedding felt very real. Those final months before graduation are always tinged with sadness, even in going through the usual happy routines. And Rory choosing Jess over the reception was a true-to-life signifier of how friendships have to change over time when romantic relationships get introduced. But, I'm happy to see Lane doing her part as a best friend and wanting to give Jess a chance.
Side note on the wedding: Rory and Lane's conversation from either side of the bride, who couldn't understand them, made her feel like a prop. I know she wasn't the point of the scene, but seeing her stay silent for (I think?) her entire time on screen felt like the show was objectifying her. Lane even says something about the Kim house being a "factory" for newlyweds. The humor didn't land for me.
The return of the band! I couldn't be more pleased to see Lane and Dave again. I was a bit concerned at first when I thought he was really yelling at her, but it's all part of their elaborate subterfuge. I liked that Rory was worried too and checked with Lane that it was ok. The wedding subplot was kind of weird, especially with all the talk about marrying someone you'd never met and flying a bride in from Korea. I felt very sorry for the poor bride just sitting there and having Rory and Lane talk over her - and again we get Rory having a chat about boys and dating while doing someone's make up. What a strange recurring theme! I did like what this plot set up for Rory and Lane though. Now that the girls are growing up, they don't have to do everything together and don't necessarily have to have all the same opinions. It's also another reminder about the end of school and the beginning of a new phase of their lives that's coming up all too soon.
ReplyDeleteI still find Alex kind of meh and seriously, how could you leave cute Luke who brought a paddling pool to teach you how to fish behind for him?? Luke awkwardly asking Nicole out is adorable, but I don't find her too interesting either. It's probably because I want Luke and Lorelai to be together so much that I can't take any of their other love interests seriously. I did like Jess offering to go out 'for about an hour' and being taken outside by Luke. Kirk's right, they have great communication. I also love Kirk working in the beauty shop and how seriously he takes this latest job - I guess he replaced Shane? I feel like it's a given by now, but Kirk is great and brightens up all the scenes he's in.
By this stage, I am so over Paris and Rory fighting, although it was good not to actually have to see Francie in this episode. I thought, finally, after the intervention from the Headmaster that it was over with, but it looks like Paris is still too stubborn. I hope it gets resolved soon, the whole thing is just getting boring now. I did like Paris talking back to the headmaster though. I wonder what she was going to finish 'white haired, sexist...' with?
I really enjoyed how the fight at the beginning between Jackson & Sookie sets up this playful fighting aspect of their relationship. They seem to have so much fun with their arguing. It really sets the perfect stage for the later argument between them when she tells him how she "accidentally flirted" with someone else. To me, it felt like you could tell that even in that moment of anger and guilt they were kinda loving the drama. They just seem like the couple that is invigorated by fights like this, and so Sookie might have been pushing the whole "I flirted with another man" thing to a more serious offense than it was b/c her and Jackson have this great "we love to fight" thing going on.
ReplyDeleteThe Francine storyline in this episode is my least favorite storyline in the series so far. It was so painful to watch, I could barely get through it. This could have easily been one of the worst episodes ever if the Sookie plot and Emily's deposition plot weren't as great. However, that being said, the first scene of Paris discussing how she negotiated the price of the mansion down and talking about their advisor being jealous of her and flinching when she called a motion was so well done. Her calling the teacher a bedwetter is my favorite Paris line to date.
Do you guys think that Michel actually killed his neighbors dog? Or perhaps just sold it or took it to a shelter in another town? I wonder.