Hello! Welcome to Return to Stars Hollow - a spoiler-free, retrospective podcast about Gilmore Girls! This is the podcast for Season 3, Episode 19 - Keg! Max!
You can direct download the episode here: S3E19 Podcast
Comment on this post to leave your feedback for the next podcast!
You can also send feedback and voice clips to returntostarshollow@yahoo.com.
Or you can tweet us at SeriouslySwatch (Cordia) or CelesteFohl!
The next podcast will post on Monday, February 8, 2016 for S3E20 - Say Goodnight, Gracie.
I had to comment on your discussion of Jess and the prom and summer school. My school was exactly the same as this. Seniors were the only ones allowed to buy the tickets, there was no junior prom, and if you weren't in good standing you weren't allowed to buy tickets. No discussion about it. Also, summer school is usually one or maybe two classes. Assuming he just failed every class he was taking that he needed for graduation, there is no way summer school would cover that. My state had a 5 in excused absence policy. You go over thag and you fail. Nothing that the principal said seemed unrealistic.
ReplyDeleteOne note on the last episode:
ReplyDeleteI think what bothers me most about the bedroom scene is, as you mentioned, the fact that Rory has to physically remove herself from the situation by rolling away and taking a few steps back. And even more than that, the fact that Jess doesn't immediately admit that what he did was wrong and that he's sorry. He says "JEEZ!" and that stupid Santa Clause line and is yelling at her as if he's mad that she doesn't want to do it right then and there. Only after she left the room and can't hear him anymore, does he say that she didn't do anything wrong and goes after her. But by then it's already too little, too late. And he never apologizes for it, not last week when there wasn't really a chance anymore, but also not this week. No, he (presumably) leaves town without saying a word.
Onto Say Goodnight, Gracie:
Luke again manages to break the space time continuum. He spent the night of the party with Nicole at the Inn which was a big deal last episode, but now he was at home, picking up the phone. I mean, that's just basic continuity and I know we didn't want to talk about this anymore, but it's just baffling to me how this keeps happening.
Between his (super great) speech to Mrs. Kim and reading the bible in one night, Dave Rygalsky has certainly cemented his place as one of the best tv boyfriends in the history of television. I love how impressed Mrs. Kim is with him and that she likes to "goof off" sometimes. With Shakespeare. Though, if Dave googled, or yahood, the quote, shoudln't something have come up? He says he's going to use the internet.
Dean and Lindsay getting enganged is completely insane but I believe that they think it's a good idea. Dean is clearly not over Rory yet and he's probably overcompensating for getting in that fight. After what happened with Rory, maybe he's also thinking that he has to lock this one down before she breaks up with him, too.
I wish Linday had a friend though who would tell her that you don't get engaged to the guy who got into a fistfight over his exgirlfriend a few days earlier. Or maybe she thinks that was heroic of him?
My biggest question would be why their parents are fine with it, because they should know better.
So, Yes to everything Rory says to him but I get why he would be upset with the way she says it. It's also interesting that at some point, she's only trying to deny that Jess treats her like dirt and ignores everything else Dean is saying. The lady doth protest too much.
Lorelai and Sookie at the funeral is another one of those moments where the show overestimates the characters' charme. It's not funny and cute, it's annoying and disrespectful.
I really like how the last scene on the bus is shot. I assume it's a reference to The Graduate, but instead of showing Jess and Rory together, they never share the same frame again after she sits down. Instead they cut back and forth between them and we can see that they're not sitting very close together because there's a lot of space around them, signaling how far apart they are, literally and figuratively.
I so agree about the bedroom scene. The bizarre thing is it is never addressed. He never apologises and Rory seems to omit from her memory. She very clearly does not tell Lorelai about that very important part of what happened, probably because she knows Lor would freak big time. Even when this aired back in the day, I was put off by how they were sweeping it under the rug.
DeleteSo much going on in this episode. Fran dies, Jess' dad arrives, Mrs. Kim approves of Dave, Dean is engaged. I really like he Lane/Dave/ Mrs. Kim plot, though. I like that Lane is on her best behavior and punishes herself. Dave is the cutest! He stayed up all night reading the bible, when Mrs. Kim was quoting Shakespeare. She's impressed by Dave and allows him to take Lane to prom, but she does it in a crazy Mrs. Kim way.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how I feel about Luke and Jess in this episode. Mostly I feel bad for Rory that Jess won't talk to her, and even leaves at the end without telling her. It's sad to see Jess go, but maybe it's better for Rory. I like that she finally tells Lorelai about what's been going on, and kind of admits that Jess was not treating her right.
Did we really need the Taylor stuff in this episode? I felt it was just out of place. It's sad that Fran has passed, but no we can move forward with Lorelai and Sookie's plans for the Dragonfly Inn.
Dean and Lindsey are getting married. Was this really the appropriate time for Dean to be proposing? I like Rory's reaction, it's exactly what I would have said. They are way too young. Maybe Dean is just insecure about his relationship with Lindsey.
Fun fact: Melissa McCarthy's husband is Mr. Brink, Fran's lawyer in this episode. I wonder if they were already married at this point or if they met on set.
Funny bit of info about Brian's "The Harry Potters" reference, there is actually a band called Harry and the Potters. They belong to a genre called wizard rock, and I think they were beginning to get popular right at the time this episode aired. Definitely agree that Zack considers himself too cool for that. I love Brian's nerdy sensibilities.
ReplyDeleteSay Goodnight, Gracie
I love the opening scene with Lorelai singing to Rory. It's a lighthearted moment, obviously she doesn't know what transpired between Rory and Jess yet but I enjoy the comic delivery of it. Another funny scene is Rory's expression when Sookie and Lorelai are plotting in the church. Alexis is good at expressing her emotions on her face.
Dean's outburst at Rory shows how hurt he was after their break-up. I know you are not Dean fans but I always feel sorry for him in that scene. It seems like something he has been thinking since Rory left him for Jess. Rory is right to question why he is getting married so young, she's trying to be a good friend but it just comes out all wrong. I love the later scene of the girls talking in the car. Rory can finally admit (to her mom of all people) that Jess doesn't treat her right and how that makes her feel.
I have one small quibble with the timeline. When Luke shows up in the opening scene, it sounds like he was home in bed. But didn't he stay at the inn with Nicole on the night of the party? More of that Stars Hollow logic, I suppose.
I'm a bit late for this episode, but I wanted to add to the discussion about the principal's discussion with Jess: it's incredibly rare to see an African-American character on this show! The GG version of Connecticut is very, very Caucasian, and it's not just in speaking parts. If you look in the background of the inn, or Luke's customers, or Rory's classmates, it's noticeable. Michel and the Kims are the only exceptions to this (and Gypsy, but she's not a regular character).
ReplyDeleteI think this was par for the course back in the early 2000s on the WB, but it sure stands out compared to what TV looks like now.
I also sympathize with the principal in this scene; I've worked with teenagers before. At some point you have to triage your attention to the kids who have serious problems at home, and the kids who really want your help. Jess's failure to graduate is entirely self-inflicted.