2.06 - Presenting Lorelai Gilmore

[TheHumanCoffeePot]

Summary: Rory (Alexis Bledel) surprises everyone by agreeing to Emily's (Kelly Bishop) request that she make her debut at a Debutante Ball, and when Lorelai (Lauren Graham) asks Rory's dad Christopher (David Sutcliffe) to present his daughter to society, she finds herself attracted to the new, more responsible man he has become.
 

[dancer1012]

I would have never aggred to have a coming out. That fan dance looked so humiliating and funny. Other than the fact that Emily bugs me I loved this episode. Dean looked kinda cute in the tux. Another reason why I liked this episode was because you saw another side of Chris, he was there for Rory and for Lorelai for once that was a nice change.

[Dolce]

I thought Dean looked cute in his tux too  yeah, what I didn't like about the chapter was Richard's burst out, as for me he didn't handle his job situation well and c'mon Rory was doing her presentation to society he should've been more respectful about it.

Dean is so cute, I rather have Rory staying with him than with Logan . Jess, As for me he never existed in the show, bad mannered boy with no sense of respect... a little funny though, the part when the swan attacked him, hilarious,well that's not part of this season so bye.

Dean rulz, Logan's cute xP I like them both.

Dolce

[ILoveLorelai]

That outburst by Richard Gilmore certainly deserves some commentary here.  He is so proper about things most of the time.  I thnk that he just reached his breaking point and couldn't take it anymore.  I don't understand why he didn't try to confide in Emily.  It seems that he used to be very close to her, so it's very surprising to see this side of him.  Anyone else have thoughts on this?

[Dani257]

Going back and looking at transcripts of the episode, it seems he did tell her what happened, but felt she didn't listen.  After that, I think he just stopped trying.  He told her he was taken off an account (before the outburst at the ball, because Emily had known that he had "lost" an account), and I suppose she didn't react to the seriousness of it the way he felt she should, so he just stopped telling her.  But, he thought since she knew something was wrong, that she should be more sympathetic to him not wanting to do frivolous things like attending a debutante ball. 

Actually, this might be the moment Richard's attitude towards Emily changes.  I don't think he ever felt the things she was concerned about were important, but I got the feeling that he had more of a live and let live attitude.  They might not be important to him, but he understood they were important to her.  Then, after she failed to grasp what he was going through, and even thought he was getting a promotion, he started feeling differently towards her.  She was still someone he loved and wanted to make happy, but her life was very shallow, and he started feeling that she was shallow and frivolous.  She was his wife, but not his partner, really.

[sparkledigits]

I think this is a great point!--that the first cracks in the Richard/Emily relationship are displyed here, early in season two.  Richard's behavior in this episode really surprised me....I realized that he is as passionately attached, in a very emotional way, to the things he finds important as Emily is.  Before this episode, I hadn't seen that kind of emotional depth before, just the fogey-ish, newspaper-reading, genial businessman air.

I suddenly saw Lorelai as the child of her father--and the possibility of Richard as ally--in a way I hadn't noticed before.  This comes out more strongly as the seasons progress, in the episode about the death of Trix, for example. The point about Richard being a person of more depth than Emily is very well taken.

I have to say, though, that I don't think we (the viewers) were prepared for this view of Richard--it came on so suddenly, with so little warning.  I had to empathize with Emily a bit for not listening well to Richard, because at first I, too, thought, "Gee--stop whingeing" when Richard first spirals.  I think his histrionics at the Debutante Ball are necessary to get his point through everyone's thick skulls, mine included, and to lurch the storyline for his character arc forward.

Does anyone else see a Rory/Emily and Lorelai/Richard character pairing? (that, despite the fact that Rory is the absolute apple of Richard's eye)  I haven't seen any of season six yet, so I'm speaking only from the five-season viewpoint.

[deans_grl]

i love the fan dance ....... and how lore was always saying how a lady is helpless.... but i found dean was a little geeky in this one because he watches battle-bots...... but he was really sweet to go w/ rory.... and chris and lore should have hooked up for a little bit i hate his g/f

[thelostgilmoregirl]

Rory really does look like a cotton ball in that dress!!! It's a cool epsoide and kind of strange at the same time.  I love the clothes Lorelai wears in this one as well.

[Dani257]

I suddenly saw Lorelai as the child of her father--and the possibility of Richard as ally--in a way I hadn't noticed before.  This comes out more strongly as the seasons progress, in the episode about the death of Trix, for example.

.
Possibly Lorelai is for Richard, but I have to say, with the exception of him letting her sneak out the window on that date Emily set up (which was a really small thing compared to how vicious he was in Christopher Returns) I don't realy see the reverse.  Richard is fine when Lorelai is being his golden girl or when he agrees with her, but let her step one toe over the line, and he gets cold and hateful.

I have to say, though, that I don't think we (the viewers) were prepared for this view of Richard--it came on so suddenly, with so little warning.  I had to empathize with Emily a bit for not listening well to Richard, because at first I, too, thought, "Gee--stop whingeing" when Richard first spirals.  I think his histrionics at the Debutante Ball are necessary to get his point through everyone's thick skulls, mine included, and to lurch the storyline for his character arc forward.

I can't think of any warning signs prior to this.  I mean, like any hints in earlier episodes that there were any problems with the business, or any comments about him working even later than usual (but I haven't watched the episodes in awhile) so I think it did come out of the blue.

Does anyone else see a Rory/Emily and Lorelai/Richard character pairing? (that, despite the fact that Rory is the absolute apple of Richard's eye)  I haven't seen any of season six yet, so I'm speaking only from the five-season viewpoint.

Speaking for myself, I have to say I really don't.  Lorelai and Emily are very much alike, which more often than not is why they clash so much (well that and because Emily is a witch) but their similarities make it easier for them to push forward to a better understanding and to relate better when they're on good terms than Richard and Lorelai do.  The thing is, Lorelai is very supportive of her parents when they're going through tough times and doesn't hold their behavior to her against them, so you see things like her trying to comfort him after Trix dies.  I see more examples of Lorelai and Emily relating to each other and even more examples of Emily understanding Lorelai when it counts.  This is beyond the scope of this episode, but some examples would be Emily accepting Lorelai's apology for not telling her about the engagement to Max, or her telling Christopher to leave in Haunted Leg.  And, I get the feeling her ride to the rescue stemmed completely from the fact that she saw her daughter was upset.  Not that the family name was getting sullied.  (Can you tell that I still hate what Richard said to Lorelai in Christopher Returns?)  It seems that although Emily has a tendency to hear bla bla bla Ginger at times, it happens less than it does with Richard.

And, i might have totally gone off what you were actually asking.

[sparkledigits]

Hmmmm....there's really a lot to chew on in your post that is interesting....

With respect to Richard and Lorelai, I would agree that the ruthlessness with which Richard can turn on her (or Jason or business associates) is real and frightening.  He also doesn't share an emotional life with her--which is where I see the correspondences to Emily/ Lorelai. 

However, in one really important side of Lorelai--her business acumen and ambition, her excellence in organization and dealing with employees, bosses and clients--she is Richard's daughter, despite the fact that Emily excels at this sort of thing, too.  I think he will always take her more seriously than Emily does, in this area.  In addition, Richard's utter devotion to Rory reminds me more of Lorelai's fierce love than Emily's.  Emily loves in a conditional way so much of the time, and how and who she loves seemed inextricably linked with herself and how things relate to her.  ("does this make me look good?" " how do other people see me through this person?") 

I think Lorelai can be savage in letting go of things--Richard-like.  Jason is a good example.  Emily never lets go of anything, as far as I can see!

So, I still do see pairings, in character, between Richard and Lorelai.  That's not to say that I don't think Emily and Lorelai have a lot of shared DNA--and I think AS-P consciously showed that in the applying-powder scene in "There's the Rub".

[deans_grl]

DEAN IS A GEEK CUZ HE WATCHES BATTLE-BOTS

[Catie13]

This was cool.

I never knew until this episode that Lorelai was Rory's name too. I'm so smart, lol.

[thelostgilmoregirl]

I love this epsoide.  I can't count the number of times I have re-watched it.  It's just so funny I love it.  Gotta love the fan dance.   

[Lapis Lazuli]

Pretty good episode. I liked many parts of it- seeing Christopher and Lorelai dance, and Rory presented at the debutante ball. I thought they all looked wonderful (well, I didn't really like Emily's dress, but oh well).

Richard's blow-up was great. How he said "to hell with society!" loudly enough for people to overhear him, and then "yes, you!" when someone looked his way. I thought he really expressed himself really well about what was bothering him so much, so I could only sympathize with him.

And at the end, Lorelai gives Christopher an invite back into her life, only for him to tell her he's with somebody. 

[thelostgilmoregirl]

I agree that its a really sad ending.  Life and timing ah.  Things don't always work out the way you want them to.  One of my favorite lines is how Dean says Rory looks like a cotton ball!!