Guerra Talks Gilmore: Good Episodes, Bad Attitudes
Dean gives an out-of-character monologue and Rory is a bad friend to Lane.
I didn’t realize that two of my favorite episodes (possibly my top two favorite episodes) from season one happen in succession: Episode 7, “Kiss and Tell,” and Episode 8, “Love and War and Snow.”
The surprise was a pleasant and welcome one. Let’s react in order, shall we?
“Kiss and Tell”
The early days of Rory and Dean serve up some of the best relationship moments in the show. In “Kiss and Tell,” the new couple first smooch in Doose’s Market and it is just the most innocent thing.
Dean asks Rory if she’d like a soda, hides the “pop” (as he calls it) behind his back, and dares Rory to guess which hand it’s in. Before she can finish guessing, he kisses her, and she nearly stumbles out of the market. But not before she says, very politely, “Thank you.”
My preteen heart could NOT handle this circa 2000, and I still smile at the sweet moment 23 years later. Cue me dreaming about butterflies-in-the-stomach-inducing kisses. (Thank you, husband, for making them come true!)
One of the best parts of this entire episode is when Rory runs out of the market straight to Lane’s house, announcing, “I got kissed! And I shoplifted!” She gives Lane the spark notes, exclaims, “Oh my god, he kissed me!,” and then Mrs. Kim materializes out of nowhere, demanding, “Who kissed you?” And Lane, quick on her feet, responds, “The lord, Mama.”
Hahahaha!
Lane is underrated. She has some fantastic one-liners that always make Mark and me laugh, but she really shines in these two episodes.
Rory didn’t tell Lorelai right away, which was weird but not surprising. She makes the argument that Lorelai freaked out about Dean originally, but Lane makes an excellent point that she only freaked because Rory was going to pass up the opportunity to go to Chilton for him. When she gets home, Lorelai’s annoyed because the fridge repair man won’t come until Monday, and Rory decides now isn’t a good time to tell her about the kiss because she’s a bit cranky.
I’m pretty sure hearing it from Mrs. Kim is worse than bad timing… but Lorelai is Queen for a reason.
So, she didn’t hear about Rory’s first kiss from her daughter. Big deal! That’s okay.
She’ll not only hear about Rory’s first date, she’ll be present for it.
Genius.
OK, that wasn’t *actually* Lorelai’s thought process, but it was pretty funny when she told Rory she invited Dean to their Willy Wonka-themed movie night.
“Oh, hey! I invited your friend.”
“What friend?”
“Dean!” *Smiles with all teeth showing.*
Now that I think about it, Rory and Dean’s first date, and most of their relationship, looked pretty similar to when Mark and I first started dating, minus my mother joining in on the activities. We had many a movie night, and while we didn’t clean out our local convenience store’s candy shelves, there was usually fro-yo involved.
But even with Lorelai in the mix, I thought the hang-out was sweet. Dean could see, firsthand, just how close his girlfriend and her mom were, and Lorelai warmed up to Rory having a boyfriend. The only thing I didn’t love about this episode was Dean giving Lorelai a bit of an attitude.
When Rory goes to the bathroom, Lorelai warns Dean that the whole town is watching him and how he treats Rory. Dean listens, patiently, but then it’s his turn to speak, and his little speech always catches me off guard:
“You can lay on all the rules you want and you can have the whole town spy on me and, and stare at me and chase me through the streets. But, I just want you to know that I'm not going anywhere. I need you not to hate me. If you hate me, then I don't have a shot in hell with Rory. You're her best friend and what you think means everything to her and you know that.”
It just feels… out of character for Dean. At least, judging by what I know of his character throughout the show. He’s pretty respectful toward adults, especially Lorelai. This also doesn’t feel like something a 16-year-old boy (at least, a 16-year-old boy in the early 2000s) would say to his girlfriend’s mom, and after knowing her for, what, 2 hours?
I don’t know about that one, Amy.
“Love and War and Snow”
I’ll keep my geeking out over Lorelai and Max brief, because I want to get to my main note on this episode, but come on. Maaaax Medina’s car just *happens* to break down in Stars Hollow? In a snowstorm? And he can’t go home, so he has to crash at Lorelai’s house, on the one night Rory isn’t home?
The coincidence.
The ROMANCE.
It’s so ridiculous and I am so here for it.
What I am not here for, is Rory. Friends, we’re only 8 episodes in, and I am already getting irked by this girl. But, in this instance, it might be because Rory is a mirror, reflecting my 16-year-old behavior at me.
When Rory is with Dean, Rory isn’t Rory Gilmore anymore. She’s Rory plus boy. I was the same way as a teenager. I didn’t even have to be dating the guy. If I had a crush, my boy-crazy brain was mush. It was even worse with a boyfriend, though. I was a romantic. I’m still a romantic. My husband and our marriage, our relationship, comes first.
But I don’t treat my friends like crap like I sometimes did as a teenager. Like Rory treats Lane in this episode.
All Lane wants is to tell her best friend about the guy she likes, but Rory doesn’t listen to a word she says the entire episode. The poor girl repeats her story three times, but all Rory cares about is getting cookies for Dean, meeting Dean at the bus stop, and the fact that Dean read Jane Austen and liked it.
If Rory had just listened to Lane and given her a few words of advice, Lane might not have run her fingers through the unexpecting boy’s hair. She might not have had a meltdown afterward and, instead, probably would have just laughed it off.
I thought this episode did a great job of setting up a strong storyline for Lane. It’s the first time we get a glimpse of her life separate from Rory. Unfortunately, the writers don’t follow through. Granted, the show is titled Gilmore Girls, but they don’t give the girl a solid plot until season three.
And then they stick her with someone like Zack.
But, that’s a post for a different day.
I've been rewatching too and we seem to be on the exact same schedule 😆 I have never really been a Dean fan—but I'm pretty sure my early boyfriends were all just a mashup of Dean's worst qualities (without any of the good ones).