1.05 - Cinnamon's Wake

[honkifuluvGG]

I have to say that this is one of the only times that I love when Emily gets one over on Lorelai.  I love that she got the Nazi thing past Lorelai's radar and totally beat her at her own game.  My reaction was much like Rory's actually.

The thing that stuck out for me in this episode, watching it now as opposed to previous times, is that I don't think it is one of Lorelai's finer parenting moments.  I don't think she was really leaving Rory, a daughter who obviously wants to please her and have a happy mum. much choice but to say she was okay with the whole dating her teacher thing.  She was very pushy in making her own feelings known instead of waiting to get Rory's true thoughts on the subject first.

I think this works for the characters, and maybe even as far as it shows that Lorelai still has to find her boundaries of motherhood and friendship....but that stuck out to me just now....not the previous times I've watched it, that she could have handled it so differently, and I wonder whether that has come about because I've now seen Lorelai evolve (albeit, only slightly when it comes to relationships with boys) throughout the whole series.  It also shows much Lorelai is all giddy to be thinking boys.  It reiterates that she has been putting Rory to the fore all this time...but still I felt for Rory.

I still love the Not here?  Skanking to Rancid  line.  It's a geat way to show how much of a relief the Gilmore's were for Lane, and that Lane was part of the family.  And it portrayed the cool attitude that LOrelai had as a parent and friend to the girls.

Probably my fave line though was

Michel:  I shall be French, but I shall not be happy.
Lorelai:  Then you will be yourself.  Good choice!

I'm sure I will have more to add later, but that is it for now.

[wmushell]

Cinnamon's Wake is so fantastic because it is one of the first epis that you really get a sense of the quirky yet warm and supportive feel in Stars Hollow!  I love seeing so many townspeople interacting.

Okay - I am a huge fan of Max and Lorelai in this episode!  I think they have real chemisty and I love all three of their scenes together.  He is so into her and I can't help but to be drawn to their relationship because of that.  I'm kind of rooting for him to get the girl you might say (at this stage in the series anyhow).  I love their flirtiness and their verbal repartee --

"I'm attracted to pie, that doesn't mean I want to date pie!"

Dean is appealing in this episode to me as well and it is fun how Rory is so awkward around him because later on she certainly owns him!

It is great that both Max and Dean say, "Goodbye, Lorelai Gilmore."

Michel is great in this epi as well:  "Yoo hoo - hee haw man!"  

But my favorite scene is the interaction of Sookie/Luke/Lorelai!  What a great scene and banter!

More thoughts later!

[bingbong]

Wow, we're only five episodes into our new little show  and what a classic we have here! I think the show was hitting a new stride, the writing razor sharp like nothing else on tv. I love the attention paid to the S.H. locals. This must be the first time we see them in all their full-scale glory. The whole wake scene is a classic. I especially love the kitchen scene between Lorelai and Babette. It's perfect the way it blends touching moments with comedy.

We often see Lorelai changing hats from mom to daughter to inn manager, but Rory changes hats in this episode. She is a shy, slightly awkward teenager around Dean. But when the Max situation is exposed, Rory comes off as the mature grown-up more than flustered Lorelai. Lorelai is very good at avoiding awkward situations, but not usually with Rory! I agree that she was acting selfishly in forging ahead with Max and conveniently forgetting to inform Rory. So, it was left up to Rory to act mature and wish happiness for her mother despite the effect it could have on her life at Chilton. With Lorelai's attitude that it was pretty much a done deal anyway, Rory struggled to understand and put her mother's interests first.

[lessa]

It didn't seem to be that much of a struggle while she was putting the pieces together about her feelings for Dean. I mean, Lorelai has already turned down a few dates at Chilton, and she said something about keeping the worlds apart to Luke. She must really like the guy to go back on it. Very Lorelai to equate not telling Rory with not telling herself.

[bingbong]

The thing that stuck out for me in this episode, watching it now as opposed to previous times, is that I don't think it is one of Lorelai's finer parenting moments.  I don't think she was really leaving Rory, a daughter who obviously wants to please her and have a happy mum. much choice but to say she was okay with the whole dating her teacher thing.  She was very pushy in making her own feelings known instead of waiting to get Rory's true thoughts on the subject first.

I think this works for the characters, and maybe even as far as it shows that Lorelai still has to find her boundaries of motherhood and friendship....but that stuck out to me just now....not the previous times I've watched it, that she could have handled it so differently, and I wonder whether that has come about because I've now seen Lorelai evolve (albeit, only slightly when it comes to relationships with boys) throughout the whole series.  It also shows much Lorelai is all giddy to be thinking boys.  It reiterates that she has been putting Rory to the fore all this time...but still I felt for Rory.

One reason i looove this episode so much is that much of the focus is on the S.H. characters and classic GG banter, and less on the soap opera aspect of the Gilmore Girls and their Problems With Men. But now i am dwelling on that aspect of this ep, grrrrrr.   

I do not begrudge Lorelai's desire to find true love. She has certainly paid her dues, putting so much of herself into raising Rory. There was some major chemistry brewing between her and Max. It is a tough spot for her, as someone who does not regularly find such chemistry with men; should she throw away such an opportunity? Hard to say. What i did not like is how Lorelai put Rory in a spot where Rory would be made to feel guilty if she said to Lorelai "do not date my teacher". Lorelai did indicate that she is aware of the potential conflict and it became a big hurdle in later episodes. But if nothing else it would have been a courtesy to inform her daughter and 'best friend" in advance of what was going on. If you are Rory, you are already struggling at Chilton with your first D, feeling like an outcast among the Brats... and now your mom wants to date your teacher!

[honkifuluvGG]

What i did not like is how Lorelai put Rory in a spot where Rory would be made to feel guilty if she said to Lorelai "do not date my teacher".

Yep, that was pretty much my sticking point.  But as lessa said, it was very typical Lorelai to equate not telling Rory with not admitting it to herself.   And again it really does tell a lot about her character's turmoil when already at this stage we know how close her bond with Rory is.  It goes back to a conversation I've been involved in many moons ago about Lorelai effectively not being that much further along in the experience of the dating game than Rory.  She spent soo much time putting Rory first, that she is yet to figure out what it is she really wants.

I agree also that this episode is one of the richest in telling us the story of Stars Hollow and its quirky inhabitants.  Lane coming over before school to "skank to Rancid", Babette and Morey taking their cat out for a walk in a wagon, to Miss Patty being rather erotic with her fruit (and doing a marvellous job of making Rory so uncomfortable in the process) to finally meeting Kirk.  They all had wonderful parts in this episode.  Even the dynamic in the diner between Loreali, Sookie and Luke was amazing.  That scene really set a great tone for the differences in Luke and Sookie when it comes to their profession.  Because I found little more amusing than when they are at Babettes bringing the food and their whole scene was a picture of proving they are polar opposites.  Sookie brings her fancy food in dishes, Luke in plastic bags and throw away trays.  Sookie goes on and on about the logistics of setting up a room for this many people to eat, Luke dumps it on the table and bellows "Dig in!"  I loved it!

I think this episode set a great tone for many more wonderful episodes of the lives of the SH folk.

[Luke4Ever83]

I agree with everyone else's sentiment. This episode is a wonderful set-up for Stars Hollow! I love how Rory is all weird around Dean. This episode was refreshing to watch again!! Great eppi!!!

[lessa]

I liked how Luke was shown being "posse" and a real good friend alongside Sookie at the wake. Sort of clues you in that Luke wouldn't change, even if Lorelai got serious about another guy. It puts Lorelai and Rory in the same situation. Lorelai is falling for a guy whom she doesn't want to date because she doesn't want her social life to affect Rory's image in "that world." Rory is falling for a guy she doesn't want to date because she thinks it could affect her chances at Harvard.

I don't blame Lorelai for wheedling while, essentially, asking her daughter's permission to date. She's never limited Rory's freedom to date. And Rory understanding was no surprise since she was in the same boat with a guy for whom she was once prepared to give up Chilton. But Lorelai was determined not to hurt Rory over a guy, and Rory was determined to go to Harvard in spite of any guy, so I guess the trust not to screw it up wasn't misplaced, fuzzy, dizzy head feelings notwithstanding.

[honkifuluvGG]

I don't blame Lorelai for wheedling while, essentially, asking her daughter's permission to date. She's never limited Rory's freedom to date. And Rory understanding was no surprise since she was in the same boat with a guy for whom she was once prepared to give up Chilton. But Lorelai was determined not to hurt Rory over a guy, and Rory was determined to go to Harvard in spite of any guy, so I guess the trust not to screw it up wasn't misplaced, fuzzy, dizzy head feelings notwithstanding.

Don't get me wrong, I can understand why Lorelai was the way she was in telling Rory about her date with Max, but as a parent myself, I can in no way compare Lorelai's dating life with Rory's when it comes to them being okay with with each others choices.  Regardless of how cool Lorelai is (keep in mind Lorelai is by far my most favourite character on the show) with being a pal for Rory as she enters the world of dating, she is still a mum, and it's not cool to be so blatantly flaunting her feelings of excitement on a subject such as dating her teacher, all the while asking Rory if she's cool with it!  What choice does Rory have but to say she's okay with it when what we've seen of Rory so far is that her mum's happiness means the world to her.  And they do find a great balance with their decisions.... but this point just really stuck out to me.

[logansLover]

Ok, so I just got around to watching the eppi last night, at midnight, and this is what I took from it this time.

Babette and Morey, play a part. But have you ever noticed, Babette's is always bigger than Moreys. But, I really don't think Morey's part will ever have to be any bigger, because of what he adds to this show in such small incraments.

Let me get to what I really mean......

Morey loves Babette. You can see that. You can see that in the first scene their together in. He's there for her. He loves her so much, he's willing to go long with her crazy way of thinking. And, he's willing to live in the munchkin house.

And, later on, when Babette and Lorelai are washing dishes together, Babette expresses her feelings to Lorelai about how she feels for Morey. You can tell that this is a love love relation ship.

Babette's so worried that Morey will leave her, all becasue of Cinnamon's passing, when, I'm thinking her grief was blinding her to the fact the Morey loves her eternally, and will never leave.

And the scene where they stare at the stars.... Aww!

It just proves, more times over, Morey and Babette are ment to be!

[LoveMe011]

i think people reading my posts think i'm a little bit of a pushover because almost every post starts with "i love this episode" or "this episode is great" or something to that effect. but the show is so well written that each and every episode of the entire series has a high point for me.

i understand why people think lorelai was selfish for putting rory in the position to be the decision maker about the lorelai/max date situation. but keeping in mind the fact that lorelai and rory are more like sisters than anything else, i think lorelai more than deserves a shot with somebody she has this much chemistry with. the entire day that she was supposed to tell rory about the date, we see from the episode that she was swamped with things to do and ended up at Cinnamon's wake doing all she could to help out babette and morey, so it's easy to understand how it slipped her mind. and after all, she left it up to rory. she told her that she was allowed to say she was uncomfortable with it and that it would all be forgotten, and rory told her it was fine. also, the scene where they discussed max back at home and rory sticks her head out of her room and says "do you think you could keep him out late on thursday night? because i have this exam on friday that i'd really love him to sleep through" shows that rory really doesn't mind the situation, she just wishes she'd been told before she saw the man standing on her front porch.

i think my favorite line from this episode would have to be when lorelai is trying to explain why max is on the porch:
lorelai: "that man on the porch was your teacher."
rory: "...mom. i am a little behind at chilton, but not so behind that i don't know who the TEACHER is."

i think at this point, rory had to have SOME idea of what was going on between lorelai and max, not only because of the way lorelai was acting but also because there wouldn't be any other reason for her teacher to be standing on her porch since she knew she hadn't done anything wrong. she was just giving lorelai a chance to explain it all to her.

[bingbong]

i understand why people think lorelai was selfish for putting rory in the position to be the decision maker about the lorelai/max date situation. but keeping in mind the fact that lorelai and rory are more like sisters than anything else, i think lorelai more than deserves a shot with somebody she has this much chemistry with. the entire day that she was supposed to tell rory about the date, we see from the episode that she was swamped with things to do and ended up at Cinnamon's wake doing all she could to help out babette and morey, so it's easy to understand how it slipped her mind. and after all, she left it up to rory.

My only disagreement is that Rory was not truly making the decision. The way Lorelai presented it, Rory would have been in a position to feel guilty if she had said NO to Lorelai and Max. I think Lorelai was determined to find a way to date Max. Also, although Lorelai and Rory have a great relationship, sisterly in many ways, i always take them as mother/daughter first and foremost. lol - as for Lorelai allowing it to slip her mind, i have to laugh because she had a gift for avoiding difficult situations! Though not usually with Rory.

[LoveMe011]

i agree that rory and lorelai should be mother&daughter first, despite popular opinion..i'm of the mind that children HAVE friends, they NEED parents. children all need someone to set boundaries and guidelines and enforce the rules, because they won't do it all themselves. but, the show is the show, and for some reason, rory for the most part doesn't break any rules, at least not early on.
 you're right, if she had said no about lorelai and max dating, lorelai probably would have made her feel guilty for it, even if it was unintentional.


i would like to take this time to ask everyone to excuse my lack of capitalization in my posts. i get so focused on what i'm trying to say that i don't take the time to capitalize properly, but i promise i'm not ignorant. for the most part, my use of commas and other punctuation should be accurate. just wanted to get that out. =]

[bingbong]

i agree that rory and lorelai should be mother&daughter first, despite popular opinion..i'm of the mind that children HAVE friends, they NEED parents. children all need someone to set boundaries and guidelines and enforce the rules, because they won't do it all themselves. but, the show is the show, and for some reason, rory for the most part doesn't break any rules, at least not early on.
 you're right, if she had said no about lorelai and max dating, lorelai probably would have made her feel guilty for it, even if it was unintentional.

I think what makes their relationship so special is that they are mother/daughter first but they manage to also truly be in sync the way friends are. They could never be friends the way Rory and Lane are, but it's a different and special kind of friendship. It helped that Rory did not break the rules often in the early days and the mother/daughter aspect of their relationship was not often tested. But when push came to shove in later episodes, Lorelai was very much a mom, as it should be.

[LoveMe011]

yes, for example..
when rory wanted to stay at stars hollow high because she met dean and wanted to spend time with him, and lorelai says something to the effect of "we've always had a democracy in this house, we've never done anything unless both of us agreed...but now i'm going to have to play the mom card. you're going to chilton, first thing monday morning, you'll be there." or whatever it was she said exactly. she knows when to pull out the mom card. i don't think it's necessary for that card to be on the table at all times as long as the mutual respect is there. for example, i wouldn't want my mom to feel she had to assert her "momness" until i'd done something that warranted it, but my mom always knows that i respect the fact that she is indeed my mother as opposed to my "lane." when my mom and i aren't arguing, i'd prefer us be friends, which we are. so i understand where you're coming from on that.