#Like... He doesn't like her but he seems to respect that Rory DOES

[stellaluna33]

It's interesting to me that, while Dean is very respectful to Lorelai herself, he is at several points pretty disparaging about Rory's relationship with her. "Well, you just feel that way because your mother feels that way," and "I say I love you, and you want to think about it? Go home and discuss it with your mother?"

And Jess is less respectful to Lorelai herself, but he never says anything against Rory's relationship with her, never seems annoyed or resentful of it. He sometimes expresses resentment about Lorelai's hatred of him, but never about Rory's closeness to her, even though he could have at various points and even though he probably doesn't understand it. And it's interesting to me, because Jess antis would probably assume that he's the one who would be saying things like the quotes above, trying to drive a wedge between them, but he never does. It's the "nice" guy that Lorelai likes so much.

[lirarey]

Kisses' parallels

In the film we see three impressive kisses. But they're impressive in different ways.

Rory and Lydia

What do we know about their relationship? They have been dating for a long time. He is the producer of her show. Rory supports her after Richard's death. It would seem that he is the ideal man. But Lydia feels uncomfortable around him, allowing the wedding to take place two days after her father's funeral. And the wedding no longer seems such a desirable event. Rather, it seems like a necessity. We see them kiss at the very beginning of the film. Lydia is worried and vulnerable at that moment. What would a good boyfriend do? At least reassure her. Give her time to come to her senses. What does Rory do? Pretend to help her. After helping like that, you feel guilty. And then the kiss happens. At first glance, it seems passionate and full of feelings. After such a kiss, a human usually feels a great surge of happiness. In reality, Rory seems to take away her life force. Not allowing her to escape from his control.

Jeremy and Astrid

The relationship between Astrid and Jeremy is reminiscent of the 1995 film "Casper." A girl whose one parent died, and the other believes in the existence of ghosts. There is even a family reunion (it's a pity that in "Casper" Kat never met her mother). And a lonely ghost guy. There is also a Halloween celebration and a "flying" kiss. Only if Casper sacrificed his resurrection for the sake of Kat's father... Then Jeremy almost got rid of Astrid. Their kiss was also insincere due to the lack of feelings of one person.

Beetlejuice and Lydia

Throughout the film, we've been watching Beetlejuice's feelings for Lydia. And it seems like the same situation here as with Rory... But no. First, Beetlejuice gives much more than he takes. Not only does he keep his promise by saving Astrid, but he also gets rid of Jeremy and finds Delia. Second, his intentions are pretty clear. And, as others have noted before me, Beetlejuice hears Lydia's wishes for a quiet wedding with her loved ones. And he's the only one in this film who doesn't kiss anyone on the lips. Kissing the back of the hand has many meanings. In my opinion, the most appropriate here is an expression of deepest sympathy, respect and affection. And it's incredibly amazing.

[thefirst3chapters]

Rewatched "Written in the Stars" recently, and it's interesting that Jess and Logan both meet Rory for the first time in a short scene and then run into her later in the episode, where Rory confronts them regarding their first introduction.

Both of the scenes with Rory and Jess are with just them, and both of the scenes with Rory and Logan include his friends, which kind of foreshadows what the beginning of these respective relationships will be like and the subsequent conflicts this sociability (or lack thereof) will lead to.

When Logan and his friends see Rory again, Logan expresses interest in Rory ("Okay, put my number"), but he doesn't remember her name from earlier. This isn't a condemnation of Logan (I certainly don't have a perfect memory!), but it seems significant that Jess, despite everything he has going on, immediately locks in Rory's name for life. ("Goodnight, Rory.") Logan is pretty skilled at being socially gracious when he wants to be in a way that teenage Jess isn't, and to his credit, he does say to Rory, "Tell Marty I said hi, and I promise to remember you instantly next time," and he remembers her name after this.

The argument Rory and Logan have is about whether Logan has the right to talk down to Marty because Logan is paying him. Logan can absolutely be thoughtful and generous, and there's multiple examples throughout the next few seasons that highlight this, but the first impression he gives Rory (and the audience) isn't great. He seems to think this debate is spirited and "fun," without personal ramifications, but Rory clearly doesn't agree and is hurt by the way Logan talked to her friend.

Rory points out that Jess left the dinner and stole her book and stops him from doing a magic trick (I love that the show alerts us to Jess's dorkiness in his first episode), and while he shares his side of the story ("Potlucks and Tupperware parties aren't really my thing" / "Nope, borrowed it,") he doesn't continue to fight her on it and moves on ("So, what are you doing?" / "I just wanted to put some notes in the margins for you.")

Logan tells Rory to call him "Master and Commander" while Rory calls Jess "Dodger." Guess which nickname is met with exasperation and which is met with curiosity and endearment. 😉

There are fans who see Rory and Logan's argument as charming and witty and find Jess stealing Rory's book to be solely irksome, but Rory's expressions at the end of both of these scenes say a lot. She's clearly intrigued and delighted by her conversation with Jess while frustrated and exhausted by her conversation with Logan.

There's also something special about the way the end of the second scene with Rory and Jess is presented; it closes the episode, it focuses on both of their (smiling!) faces, and it has a fitting soundtrack.

[missheavenfield1215]

Ok, I have a theory about Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

For this sequel we have this scenario.

The person being buried in the cemetery is:

1- Charles Deetz

Probably, this it would explain the fact that the entire Deetz family, except Charles, is in this scene... (although we all know why this specific actor is not there).

But probably, in this movie, Beetlejuice has always wanted to end the wedding that he began with Lydia 36 years ago. Maybe Beetlejuice had always been looking for her to call him back, but it seems that Lydia left Winter River a long, long time ago... Well, Adam's model was under a dusty sheet. And if Beetlejuice doesn't know where Lydia has gone, then he can do nothing but wait...

He can only wait, perhaps just long enough to see her at his desk...

But then, why does he still have a photo of Lydia in his possession?

Well, perhaps no one had challenged him so much and no one would have come out of it unscathed either, no one….

Except her:

Beetlejuice is probably obsessed with getting revenge on her, for being the one thing he couldn't take... Maybe that's why he wants to end the wedding. So as not to feel that he has lost again and that now he will take the people who dared to challenge him.

(Most likely, Beetlejuice learned of Charles' death as the new manager on the other side and now set out to send publicity to the Deetz house, knowing that Lydia would return to Winter River.)

that explains this:

Whether Lydia's husband is still with her or has died, divorced, or are separated, either way, Beetlejuice can't know.

What interests him is that this time, his proposal and marriage go well....

But the only thing that interests him is that she returned to Winter River...

SHE CAME BACK...

And I personally believe that Astrid did NOT call Beetlejuice... It was Lydia herself who called him, so she was there when he appeared in the attic.

(Most likely, the Deetzes will have more problems)

Beetlejuice also knows that Lydia called him and that would explain this:"I am gonna make you so happy."

(Or well, that's what he believes)

Because he immediately tells her, as if he promised her that he would make her happy, as if Bj didn't want her to regret calling him back.

And I personally think, he looks like he's going to burst into tears at any moment.

And as a bonus, probably, this "Rory", is another suitor looking for Lydia (?)

Well, I don't really have any more theories with this character, but he must want something from the Deetz and Beetlejuice is probably going to give him away in front of everyone.

Or perhaps, he keeps a secret to protect Deetz women from him and Beetlejuice gets the truth out of him...

This scene is probably shortly after what they presented in the trailer.

Well, really, the last thing I want to say is that whatever Beetlejuice is up to, it's illegal (obviously), because apparently Beetlejuice left a replacement in the Netherworld...

Most likely, being with Lydia is an even greater crime, because now he occupies a position very similar to Juno's...

I personally don't want to believe that Beetlejuice has developed romantic feelings for Lydia.

I want to believe that it is a kind of love-hate, because perhaps, in all his centuries of death, no one had challenged him so much... And so he has a kind of respect and admiration for her, for having gotten rid of him...

It's probably some kind of job-finishing obsession that could have brought him back to life. And having been so close to fulfilling it, it only fueled his desire to live again.

What do you think??

[frazzledsoul]

So I find it interesting that in the last few years of the show we know almost nothing about how Rory processes the break-up with all three boyfriends.

After Dean dumps Rory for the third time because he realizes they have nothing in common anymore, I don't think we hear anything about him from her side other than telling her therapist that the affair was a bad idea (obviously). The last time we see Dean he's angry at Rory for wanting to move on from Stars Hollow and insisting to Luke that Lorelai will do the same for him and we... essentially never hear anything about him in the OS ever again. In AYITL, he's married, has a gazillion kids, seems emotionally stable for a change, and doesn't seem to resent Rory or idealize their relationship as much as she does. They've obviously run into each other from time to time and they're not bitter. What does Rory think about how all of that ended? I guess we'll never know, because ASP bizarrely thinks Dean was perfect. Whatever! Moving on.

Logan is even more of a question mark. Rory doesn't seem to take their breakup particularly hard, even though he blindsided her with a proposal and refused to accept any sort of compromise. Maybe she figured that their breakup was in some way inevitable as they went through this milestone and moved into adulthood? Who the fuck knows, because in AYITL she seems to be a complete commitmentphobe in every sense of the word (not just romantically) and they're having an affair that definitely looks like a relationship at times but invites no self-reflection from either of them. They don't talk about their relationship and both seem to have accepted they'll never have a real one again or move onto anything deeper and....lol, no one knows why? Do they love each other? Do they regret how things turned out? Would Logan be willing to leave his life behind and give it a go? Does Rory want a relationship with anyone, period? Does Rory even care about him as a person, since she seems to know absolutely nothing about his life and I'm not sure she....wants to? (Seriously. Compare how she interacts with Dean and Jess and seems genuinely interested in what's going on with them). I guess we'll never know any of this either.

Jess is a different scenario because Rory meets him again during the OS and we have an entire year and a half in which her demeanor towards him drastically changes. He leaves town and she's hurt, but claims to have moved on: during their two brief interactions in season 4, he avoids her, confesses his love for her on two separate occasions with zero context, and she's still so pissed at him she could spit nails in his direction and wants nothing to do with him...and runs into the arms of married Dean because she sees him as genuine and safe.

When Rory meets Jess in season 6, she's clearly not angry at him anymore: she's nervous, genuinely interested in his life, proud of his accomplishments, wants to spend time with him, gushes about how she always knew he could do something great because he was so smart and had so much potential. He gets into a fight with her boyfriend and her sympathies are absolutely towards him, not Logan.

Obviously it would be weird if she were still angry, but what changed, specifically? Is it because after her dalliance with Dean she's less inclined to judge him for how he hurt her? Did moving on with Logan (I don't think she ever really loved Dean again) help her finally process all that hurt and anger? Did Jess just obliterate all of her hurt feelings with his charm, maturity, and artfully arranged coiffure?

I guess it was a combination of all these things, but this is the first time in a long time that Rory shows him a lot of respect as a *person* as opposed to someone who frustrates her one minute and delights her the next. She doesn't have to spend her time defending him, because he doesn't need to be defended anymore. And not only is he the person to drag her out of that hole she's sinking in, she lets him.

Then we move onto the open house at Truncheon, where Rory....behaves badly, to put it mildly. I don't think she went there with malicious intentions. She was genuinely proud of Jess and wanted to see him and spend time with him. Still, it's got to be one hell of a blow, for her to show up on a night that was important to him, let him believe he still has a chance with her romantically and that she was single, and then to confess that she's still in love with the other guy and he's only a distraction. What stands out to me about that scene is that Jess flat out tells her that he doesn't deserve to be treated like that while Rory is in the middle of apologizing. While I think that romantically the door was closed for the time being after that incident, Jess doesn't appear to resent her or lash out, and Rory knows that SHE'S done wrong, that SHE hurt him, and she's sorry. She might not love him again like he wanted her to, but she cares about him, she respects him as a person, and she doesn't want to see him hurt. I don't think we have seen her have that attitude towards Jess for years and years.

Does she respect Logan as a person at this exact point in time? I would have to say no. She seems to feel zero guilt about running around on Logan, even if she can't bring herself to go further. She flat out says she's in love with him but he deserves to be hurt (ouch). She only grows tender towards him after he nearly dies. She might love him, but this relationship is not exactly bringing out the best in her.

Season 7 is a different story (I definitely think Rory respects that version of Logan) but since this is ASP's story, we have to return to her fatalism and her belief that Logan can never, ever change, because then he won't be able to ruin Rory's life and effectively crush all her hopes and dreams with his super sperm. Meanwhile, she clearly still respects Jess: not only is his advice the only advice she is willing to take, but she's clearly still involved with him on this writing project afterwards and as a member of her extended family. And shouldn't you, in the end, seek a partner you actually respect as a person, as well as love? Shouldn't you actually....like them?

[saltygilmores]

Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls-Season 2, Episode 12, Part 2 ("Richard In Stars Hollow")

Part 1 and all other episodes here

"You built me a car?" "I built you a car." Version 2.0:

Yes it has already been established that a car has been built.

Sorry Lorelai, he's not gonna build you a plane for you to fuck him in. #SexPlane

Let's see how Lorelai takes this completely factual observation.

If your grandfather had pulled out your father wouldn't exist and I wouldn't be here listening to "you built me a car" again and having to hear about Lorelai's Sex With Dean Plane. What does your father and grandfather being good with cars have to do with anything? How does that make you a mechanic? Where's that motorcycle you supposedly had in season 1? Why is your scarf so ugly? I bet that coat you're wearing smells. That haircut is so stupid. It's that time again! Time for "Dean proceeds to get a very snippy attitude with an adult and Lorelai doesn't care because he's not Jess and she wants to fuck him on their Sex Plane."

You're a certified Butthead, that's all you are.

Gotta love Lorelai jeopardizing her daughter's life by letting her drive some death trap built by a 17 year old butthead with zero automotive experience because "it's a nice thing he did." It's not a fucking ceramic mug he made for her in a pottery class, it's a car. He built her a car (did you catch that yet?) Lorelai just gets more and more insufferable and we're only at the halfway mark of season 2. It will continue to go downhill from here. *straps in* Isn't this the car that Jess totals in Teach Me Tonight? That's the only good thing to come out of that wretched episode.

Rory, you gotta stop with that sad puppy face, you're breaking my heart. If he's so fucking good at bulding cars why didn't he do that for a living after high school instead of just being a career butthead? Why didn't he go to automotive school or something and keep himself busy and do something to contribute to society instead of trapping poor Lindsay into making his meatloaf? (#JusticeForLindsay) Why is his face so god damn punchable? I hate everything about you, sir. I wish you would perish. Truly. He claims Gypsy inspected the car (I think this is the first time she's mentioned on the show?) but literally 30 seconds ago Richard asked him "have you even driven it past a mechanic?" and he said no, but now all of a sudden all of these people have inspected the car. Butthead continues to snip at, make sarcastic comments to, and raise his voice at Richard. Rory and Lorelai just stand there. I'm not convinced Butthead can even read no less build a complicated piece of machinery. Richard and Dean mosey on over to Gypsy's in their respective cawrs so Butthead can prove to Richard that his Death Trap is safe. Gypsy inspects Dean's Metal Box of Death and declares there is absolutely nothing wrong with Dean's handiwork. He did a perfect job. We are to believe this 17 year old butthead who had to fake knowing how to read to impress Rory and is not in the automotive trade made aboslutely zero mistakes building a car from a scratch. Mmmkay.

Really? Great! That was the plan all along.

...should have pulled out. We learn a little more about Butthead's family history besides the fact that his father's pullout game is weak. His father has a shop where he sells and installs stereos. His mother transcribes medical records. And that was your peek into the exciting World of Butthead.

While it feels like every breath and eye blink exchanged between R&J has had a PHd thesis written about it at some point, there are some scenes that nobody seems to care about, like this one? It got to a point that I never saw it on Twitter and Instagram and between viewings of the show I would start to think I must have imagined it. Why, I don't know. Because it's cute as heck and it's one his more clever pranks. Certainly better than the chalk outline.

You gotta love Jess putting dirty movies into G-rated movie boxes. Unlike the chalk outline prank, he did it purely to get back at the people who had screwed Rory over. My sweet baby.

How utterly depressing that this is not even a joke anymore and a completely true statement in the year 2023.

No. No bye. You stay right here. *holds him hostage* Let's enjoy a few screen shots of pure unadulterated joy.

HE'SS JUST A BABY.

PURE JOY.

[demetriandelibinaryboyfriends]

Pride Month Character Sexuality Headcanon Moodboards 1. Yasmine - Lesbian 2. Demetri Alexopoulos - Gay 3. Moon - Bisexual 4. Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz - Bisexual

Welcome back, Cobra Kai pride month moodboard followers!!! This time let's hear it for Moon Nolastname, our one canon bisexual queen!!! She's so important to me fr <3 <3 <3 Granted, her dating a girl for 2 seconds was not NEARLY the epic sapphic romance she deserves, but I'm still so happy it's canon she likes women <3 <3 <3

I also still maintain that she has more chemistry with every female character she's ever interacted with onscreen (including that one random blonde girl in the pink dress who she danced with in the prom episode) than she ever had with Eli, eat your heart out bird boy akjsdnhukyghju

ANYWAYS I figure I don't need to back up why I think she's bi when it's been literally confirmed canon by Word of God (if you want to count that, anyways), so I'll use this bit to dive into why I'm a Lesbian Yasmine/Biseuxal Moon truther and why Moon being bisexual (and not a closet lesbian) actually makes perfect sense to me!

Throughout the show, she definitely shows enough general interest in boys to lead me to believe she doesn't exclusively like girls. She's lowkey flirty with a guy named Rory as early as 1x02 (the one she wants to do a flip for her insta channel!), and she seems to be the one to make the first move with Hawk in 1x09. In the soccer episode of Season 3, we see her having a friendly chat with a football player that could be seen as a little flirty. Compare this to Yasmine (who I think is a lesbian!), who doesn't really interact with any boys outside of Kyler in S1 and doesn't even really acknowledge Brucks, despite him following Kyler everywhere. In later seasons, Yasmine only really interacts with Demetri (and occasionally Eli) while Moon is shown to be amicable with Demetri, Miguel, minor male side characters like Rory, and enough boys and girls to throw an enormous house party in 5x08!

So admittedly I am one of the biggest h*wkm**n haters of all time. Catch me still in denial that they got back together in S4 because no they didn't <3 HOWEVER!!! From how, uh...spirited their first make-out session was in 1x09, I can buy that there is definitely physical attraction there, if little else. Whatever emotional connection they do have I think is shallow at best and actively based on falsehoods at worst--Moon only really likes Hawk's fake overconfident facade, and isn't shown to have much interest in him beyond surface-level things (I mean, for fuck's sake, she said she liked his biceps and his cool hair while dumping him, like!!!). Hawk, meanwhile, seems to kinda put Moon on a weird pedestal and seems more obsessed with the idea of her than Moon herself. In any case, you don't need to have a deep, profound attraction to all of your preferred gender(s) for your sexuality to be valid, so...even with pretty shallow feelings for Eli, Moon's bisexuality is still totally valid and should be respected <3

Mentioned before, but I do think her initiating with Eli in 1x09 shows some genuine attraction there! And commenting how hot he is in 1x10, too XD It's so impassioned and spur-of-the-moment that it doesn't feel rehearsed and inauthentic in the same way Yasmine's "attraction" to boys often does to me. Moon seems to definitely like muscular, athletic boys--and girls too, if Piper is anything to go by! We love a bisexual with an overlapping type XD

If y'all have spent any time on my page, I'm sure you've heard me rant about Moon's planet-sized crush on Yasmine XD I think a lot of her S1 behavior (and generally hanging out with a "mean girl" clique that seemed counterintuitive to like...how she works as a person) could be explained by her having a crush on Yasmine. She backs Yasmine up unconditionally, even when she feels conflicted about it (like with Sam in the weed-smoking scene in her car), which would make a lot of sense if she had/has feelings for Yas. No coincidence, imo, that she finally gathered up the courage to ditch Yasmine as soon as she found a new mean hottie to swoon over XD No real judgment here btw I was Just As Cringe in high school. We all were.

Also worth noting that she's the only character who acknowledges Yasmine's existence while she's out of town in S2--including Demetri, the guy who supposedly "would kill his friends to get Yasmine to spit in his face"! And it's not even in an explicitly negative context. It kind of sounds like Moon's giggling and kicking her feet about Yasmine having the same bikini as her XD

In later seasons, Moon taking Yasmine back despite Yas's lack of remorse and readily being her best friend again seems to hint that Yas means a lot to her--maybe in a way that goes beyond a simple platonic friendship? The full-body check-out and butt glance she does with Yas in S4 is probably the most damning thing I can give you. I mean.

LIKE. GIRL. WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT.

I could not wear shipping goggles here if I tried. I have watched this scene dozens of times, and Moon is so obviously checking her out that I thought I was going crazy. HOW did this make it into the show??? HOW did they show us THIS and then expect us to buy Moon is into her ex who she's mildly friendly with and who she doesn't even talk to until the girl she really likes is fully preoccupied???

Absolutely batshit.

We've also got Moon a) breaking into excited screaming when Yasmine shows up at the prom and b) completely ignoring Eli the entire prom to hang around Yasmine and Demetri and continually steal glances at Yasmine XD This girl is gone as fuck. Let her date Yasmine, dammit!!! Clearly Eli is not her first choice!!!

Even in S5 she's sitting way too damn close to Yas in that brunch booth and laughing at Yas's dumb little joke about torturing Anthony. She's still gone as fuck. Justice for Moon!!! Let her go out with her dream girl, dammit!!!

And Moon's attraction to girls isn't limited to Yasmine and Piper!!! There's the aforementioned girl in the pink dress she was dancing with at prom (this lovely lady)

AND!!! I would argue Moon even seems to be kind of into Sam, at times! She definitely seems guilty about booting her out of the friend group back in S1, and she's lowkey giving bedroom eyes when the two of them are talking about Robby in S2 XD She looks a bit smitten during the sensory deprivation pod scene as well, and seems pretty down to put her arm around Sam whenever she can :P

Bottom line is, Piper was in fact NOT a phase in the least and I will forever be annoyed that the show kind of implied she was by having them break up for enigmatic reasons (which the conservatives could EASILY spin as "well she didn't ACTUALLY like girls she was just CONFUSED and Piper the Evil Cobra Kai was feeding this poor innocent straight girl's delusion!!!") and then having Moon go back to the male and supposedly straight ex who she had long since outgrown and lost feelings for. Like sure, Moon found a new relationship she seemed happy in and free to be herself in (something she notably could NOT really do with Eli), but CLEARLY that could never have the same (or greater!) emotional weight for her than a brief fling she had with some dude based on literally nothing except physical attraction -_____-

Whew, that got longer than I thought it would XD ANYWAYS, bottom line is that even though Moon canonically swings both ways and is so incredibly valid and sexy for it, I personally think she should date more women. The one exception to this is Robby Keene because Moonkeene is literally the only mlw Moon ship in the show that actually works, and I can and will die on this hill.

Also ngl it would be SUPER funny to see S3 Eli throw a bitchfit because his ex is going out with the mf he hates most in the world and there ain't nothing he can do about it. Like what are you gonna do??? Yell at Moon like she's your fookin property??? That's why she dumped your sorry ass in the first place. Get rekt, bird boy.

Used soft pastels for this because that very much feels like it fits Moon's vibe to me! She's just so wholesome and easygoing--it definitely suits her <3 Very happy I found such appropriate crystal pics to use :D Also I CANNOT tell y'all how long I have had that crystal-and-strawberry smoothie bowl pic saved, looking for the perfect moodboard to use it for...AND BY GOD, I FOUND IT. Sometimes dreams really do come true, kids XD

...I also really want to try that irl now. Like what ARE those crystal things made of??? Are they crunchy??? Are they chewy??? Would they break my teeth??? Guess I'll never know now ;_____;

Now fully convinced that Moon has little shiny colored glass jars in her room with sprigs of lavender and other incense and aromatherapy flowers in them. Her room is a little apothecary full of healing aromas and I love that for her <3

Realized while making this that she's also very ocean-coded (YasMoon and MoonPiper are BOTH water x fire ships, bless). In the ATLA universe, she'd probably be a waterbender healer. Sam would probably be a waterbender too, but she'd be much more Katara-esque and jump to use it for violence XD

As always, pic credits available upon request!

[jakeperalta]

obsessed with that rory gifset you just posted!!! such an interesting thing to notice and just further cements my complete lack of understanding of why so many people ship rory and jess. i don’t even dislike jess as much as i did the first couple times i watched gg, now it’s just genuine confusion as to why people think they should be together lol they were an awful couple and he directly does more things in season 3 to upset rory than dean or logan do in their entire runs on the show. then he continues to be just as shitty of a person when they see each other in season 4, and while he obviously gets better after that rory clearly has no interest in him romantically and is just so far over him and what he can offer her gahhh literati is like my least favorite ship ever because i just can’t see it at all!!!! if i wasn’t aware that it was the fan favorite ship i would just assume everyone that watches the show hates him and thinks they’re better off as friends because that seems like the clear message the show gives me i just don’t understand it

thanks!! I'd forgotten about the comment she makes at the start of s3 about how it's exciting to not know how someone might act until I saw it earlier and immediately thought of those other two scenes like oh girl :(

I think the third scene from that set in the aftermath of the party really just cements for me why I wanted her out of that relationship (and why I respect her never going back to him). like when she says she hates how she feels and how she acts because of him and she doesn't know if he's mad because she didn't want to have sex and she's embarrassed to be the girl that lets her boyfriend treat her like dirt. it just makes me want to give her a hug 😭😭 but the good thing that comes out of it is what she learns from it – without the s3 learning curve I'm not sure s5 rory would've been so quick to go to logan like "this casual dating thing is not working for me" as soon as she realised she could be falling into the trap of sitting at home hoping he'll call again

which is why I can appreciate that relationship's role in the show/rory's life but I was absolutely baffled to learn it's the fan favourite couple 😂

[runawaymun]

🪩🎧✅🥀❌🎬💿🎤 any and all of these for whichever of your original fiction WIPs you want!

*h e a v y b r e a t h i n g*

okay I am not going to do Thol babe that would take way to long. Let's do We That Remain!

(disco ball emoji) Would you want a movie adaption, TV, or something else? Animated or live action?

I think it'd make a movie best tbh. Or maybe a limited series but that almost feels too long.

🎧—What would the soundtrack be like?

soundtrack playlist coming right up

✅—Which character/plot point/etc would be your favorite to see on screen?

ULTANA AND RORY ULTANA AND RORY

“Do...do you remember the first time we met?” he asked. It was daft, but it was the only thing he could think of. It was worth it to hear that broken laugh from her lips at the memory.  She looked back at him, blinking back the tears with a shaky smile. “You were using my favorite tree as target practice.” “It was my tree,” he pointed out, a grin whispering over his face. “—And you missed and shot a notch right through my poetry book,” she retorted. “Anyway, it can’t be your tree. It was on my land. I was there first.” She was trying very hard to sound mad at him. He knew she wasn’t, and couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m sorry.” She chuckled, shaking her head. “That book is my favorite now.” “Nick and all?”  She looked straight at him, a gaze that seemed to fill him up until he might burst.  “Especially with the nick.” 

just. them. their everything. The whole quiet blooming of the romance aAAAAAaaaAAAAaaaAAUGH I want to peel my skin off every time I think about them!!!!

🥀—Which character/plot point/etc is most important for an adaption to get right?

Hugh. 100% Hugh. If Hugh's wrong the whole thing is off. Like Hugh makes actually one of the most objectively rational, sensible, and reasonable decisions in the book. Is it the right decision? No, not really, but it's the smart decision and he was doing it out of a misguided attempt to save everyone -- and it might have worked if, you know, it wasn't Queen Elizabeth and Charles Blount that he was making that bargain with.

And he does care about Ultana in his own really messed up way. He doesn't love her, but there is a level of respect and care there that I got wrong in the early drafts that emerged in the most recent draft -- you know how it is--- and that's really integral to understanding the book and their interactions and arcs.

❌—What’s the worst thing an adaption of your WIP could do? Your absolute worst nightmare?

Erinea x Thomas

or Erinea x anyone, really.

OR, or or, like let Mountjoy actually finish what he set out to do in that scene where Ultana stabs him in the hand with her hair pin. I could see some studio wanting to let him succeed for The Drama(tm) and I'd burn the place to the ground before I let that happen tbh.

🎬—Who would you cast as your characters?

So, in a perfect world:

Ultana O'Neill - Alex Kingston Hugh O'Neill - Daniel Day Lewis Erinea O'Neill - Amybeth McNulty Rory O'Donnell - Liam Neeson Baron Mountjoy - Jason Isaacs

like unfortunately most of these actors are no longer the correct ages to be playing these characters as they would have been when I started writing the thing, but that's who I cast and by god that's who they look like/sound like in my brain now tbh.

🎤—Describe the opening scene

I unfortunately have A Thing for starting out stories hot with a battle scene. But I like this one because it has a very particular spooky vibe to it. I would want to set the stage to make sure we get some very clear visuals on the state of the Irish army at the time. They're not doing well. Unforms are ragged/old. Pretty much everybody's wounded. We're cold, wet, exhausted, etc. etc. And then we get the English standing army -- and these guys emerge from the fog and they're almost inhuman tbh.

And of course you've got Mountjoy up on a hill above it all like a spectre.

Shapes began to glide through the trees, forming a line, then a circle, a slow deathwalk around the huddled ragtag army. Horses. Men on them. They stood at the edge of the trees, faces locked behind their helmets, armor and lances catching the cold morning sun. A single rider on a white horse made his way to the crest of the southern hill. His face was set with confidence, and his clothes were deadly red.

That's a scene I have so firmly affixed in my brain -- that first standoff between Rory, Hugh, and Mountjoy -- there really isn't much I would change about the visuals tbh. Like if there was ONE frame that I would want to make sure gets in the opening sequence it's that one, because that's the thing: Mountjoy's up there presiding. He's at the point of upmost advantage and confidence. He has nothing to lose. The odds are stacked overwhelmingly in his favor in this battle and he never stoops to join it, vs Rory and Hugh who are right down there in the thick of the fray. Also something-something 'i saw a rider on a pale horse and his name was death' heavy-handed symbolism y'know.

💿—Free space for anything I didn’t mention! Talk about things you would add, things that are important to you, or even lay out the plot of every episode of your Netflix Original if it suits you!!

Ultimately there are always scenes that get cut from adaptations, but one I'll fight tooth and nail for is the foaling scene. I feel in my soul that it would be on the chopping block and no. That's the first glimpse we get of Ultana commanding a room in her element and using a bit of authority -- especially around Hugh. And Hugh lets her. The foaling scene is crucial to understanding their relationship and that's a hill I'm willing to die on.

[piperslovebot]

Hi! Curious if you prefer Rogan or Literati and why?!

I may lose some followers but definitely Rogan. Shallow note, they're hot lol. But also Logan is just respectful of Rory as a person and loves her immensely but also isn't afraid to call her on her bs which in turn challenges her to be a better person. Some stans love to blame Logan for Rory's regression in the later seasons and I did too. But a. where was this when she cheated on dean with Jess or when she slept with a MARRIED Dean without guilt? And Logan wasn't in the picture for either of those things. And b. Rory is her own person. It's so annoying to see the show and parts on the fandom infantilize her by blaming the guy she's with. Last time I checked Rory is a grown ass woman. Logan didn't force her to steal a boat or drop out of Yale. And Rory is also really good for Logan too! She made him realize that he didn't have to live by his father's plan in s7 (Ignoring the revival. Rory and Logan are married with a kid as far as I'm concerned.) and inspired him to man up. They truly deserved better.

As for Literati, I used to ship them and thought that they should end up together and that Rory wouldn't have regressed with him blah blah. But my opinion slowly changed the more I watched youtube clips and looked at reddit threads. But when I did actually watch season 2, I kinda liked their interactions and banter. They had great chemistry too. But at the same time, it mostly just seemed like a phase. Lorelai did say "she's 17, it's about time for a Jess." To me, that just sounded like a bad boy phase and nothing more. They were really cute though. The only problem was the emotional cheating that Rory was doing. It's not a BIG deal because she is 17. People do dumb things at 17. Hell, I'm 17 and I've done pretty dumb things too so far. They were really cute at times as well, with that first real kiss and Jess having his arm around her. But after that was when things went south imo. Jess basically admits in one episode that he only did all that cute bonding stuff to get in her pants and not that they're dating, he doesn't think he needs to try anymore. That just rubbed me the wrong way but the ep he sexually assaulted Rory was where I draw the line. When I first saw that scene, I thought she told him to stop and he did but I was way off. She literally has to push him off of her. And that scene where she tells Lorelai about it and how she doesn't like things she does and how she feels just breaks my heart. And then Jess just leaves her with no call or explanation so it's just ugh. I was so happy to see Rory tell Jess off in season 4. Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate Jess' growth and his bond with Rory in the later seasons but that doesn't mean they're meant to be or whatever.

[just---keep---simming]

The Howells - Summer 2

We rejoin the Howells, Lou and Rory, in Moonwood Mill, where summer has started off warm and rainy. Lou is trying to respect Rory's rule that any new werewolf recruits be either already beastly, or turned by their own choice. Unfortunately, people keep turning him down when he offers to bite them. Can't imagine why.

Hoping for better luck with an already-turned werewolf, Lou invites Joaquin over to the Mill to try and get to know him and initiate him into pack life. Joaquin has completed his transformation, and when in beast form is a rangy dark grey wolf. He is not pleased with Lou for the turning, but he has decided to try and learn a bit more about his new life. The work out together for a while and work towards getting more on the same page. Joaquin isn't ready to join the Wildfangs yet, though.

Rory is having more luck with her business ventures, happily. A freelance maker, she's now regularly taking jobs and turning out beautifully crafted rugs, lights, and candles. Her clients are mostly nice to work with and appreciative of the crafts she sends them. She doesn't make a ton of money, and nor does Lou with his part-time laborer job, but they manage their bills.

It helps that they're pretty self-sufficient. Lou does a lot of repairing and upgrades around the place, and if they need furniture, Rory will be able to manufacture it.

Of course, we all know someone who would heartily approve of such self-sufficiency, for sustainability reasons. Knox drops around to visit the Howells in his capacity as Eco Adviser, and introduces himself to Lou. The two have met briefly at the gym in the past, but hit it off properly as they start to get to know each other better. They have quite a lot in common, although Knox's wife's preference for cats over dogs might cause issues in future!

Speaking of dogs, one day during the summer I happened to spot a very cute dog wandering past. I quickly discovered she was a stray, so off Rory went to befriend and then adopt her. She and Lou are obviously dog people, and they were both thrilled to have the very cute spaniel Zena join the household.

Rory and Lou's fairly free schedules also meant summer was for relaxing and soaking up the great weather. Lou had developed a fear of swimming, which he conquered by confidently entering the water. Rory busted out her grilling skills, and many a summer barbeque was enjoyed over the season.

It wasn't all relaxing in the sun for the Howells, though. Rory was taking her job of shoring up the Wildfangs seriously, necessitating regular chats with other local werewolves. Wolfgang Wilder is part of the Moonwood Collective, but it pays to keep abreast of the happenings of other local packs.

Sometimes it's also necessary to put certain wolves in their place. Being an alpha is no joke, and Rory has the fighting chops to back up her place. Lou's aspiration requires him to become the alpha of his pack, but somehow I don't think Rory is going to be willing to cede power to him any time soon, if ever. She took the local bartender out the back to teach him a lesson, proving the necessity of keeping her place at the top.

It's always worth making sure any other occults who drop by the Mill are aware of whose the boss around here, too.

Following Rory's rampage and putting people in their places, I found Darryl Charm and Morgan Ember like this outside the bar. I have no idea what happened, but it very much looked like they were dead. Grim never appeared, though, and I saw Morgan wandering around right as rain later in the summer, so I guess whatever happened didn't end up being fatal!

Fortunately, for now at least, Lou seems content to let Rory occupy the place she has unquestionably earned and deserves more than him, as pack leader. He might finish his aspiration one day or he might not - it will depend what's best for the pack. For now, though, Rory is top dog, and that's kinda hot.

Lou enjoys having the time to get in plenty of workouts, and also to start contributing more cash to the household. He's pretty handy by now, so he gets ahold of a woodworking table and starts creating things to sell and boost the coffers.

Rory remains the main breadwinner, but Lou's extra work frees her up to make sure she stays current on werewolf culture and lore.

These two make such a great couple. The situation with Angela Pleasant was awkward, but I'm glad Lou and Rory ended up together.

They share the same goals, so they can work together without difficulty. They both want to grow the Wildfangs, and although Joaquin remains on the fence, another packless wolf they find hanging listlessly around the bar is open to a game of tug and a conversation about the Wildfangs. He's eventually coaxed to join, bringing the Wildfang's numbers to three. Success!

Rory and Lou celebrate with a meaty meal at the bar.

Before Lou has to nip off to the vet with Zena!

Finally, as summer is drawing to a close, Lou and Rory head to the top of Moonwood Cliff. Under the light of the all-important moon, Lou proposes to Rory, who delightedly accepts.

It's so romantic and perfect, just the two of them on the mountain that overlooks their beloved hometown and territory, that they elope and get married then and there.

And I think that's a great place to leave Lou and Rory - now also a Howell, rather than Oaklow, along with their new addition Zena. This fun, wild werewolf family have reached some big milestones in their relationship. Will kids come along next?

[stellaluna33]

Following up on my post about "I thought everything was fixed," I keep thinking about it. And what's really hitting me is remembering how YOUNG Jess still was at this point. Like, yeah, he's an adult now, but he's only 21, and what I can't get over right now is how naïve it feels to me, that he had these hopes and expectations that all he had to do was "become worthy enough" and everything would be ok. I know it feels weird to call Jess "naïve," but for all his world-weariness, he still had very little experience (either lived or observed) of how Love and relationships actually work, and this also highlights his Romanticism and Fatalistic tendencies. He still has a lot to learn. His heart is in the right place, but it almost seems like he still has some fantasy idea of what their relationship is in his head, without realizing that Rory's life has been going on without him. Just like in Season 4, when he says, "You know we're supposed to be together!" It's something that he feels very strongly, has Faith in almost, so he assumes that she "knows" it too. And maybe in the interim he realized that the last time she turned him down, he was asking her to trust him without proving his trustworthiness, so of course she said No! So he works to prove it. It almost seems like because he believes they're Meant to Be Together, the idea that Rory could truly fall in love with someone else is as unfathomable to him as the idea that he could fall in love with someone else. But it's a rude awakening to find out that Reality doesn't match up with the idea you had in your head. To his credit, he handled his disappointment with unbelievable grace. It turned out that it wasn't just that she couldn't trust him, it was that she really didn't want him after all, and he accepts that, accepts her, doesn't hold her choice against her. And that's it. "It is what it is, you, me."

And I think this is why it actually seems like such growth to me, that in the Revival he never pursues her, even though he still wants her. He keeps his feelings to himself, because he respects her, and he respects that she has her own reasons for the decisions she's made. He's let her go, not because he doesn't love her anymore, but because he does.

[katoska]

Ok, about our third baddy, Delores.

If two of the villains in BJ2 did get punished by Betelgeuse/the narrative for doing the same shit he did in his past, does she fit into that, too? It's not like Betel was trying to marry people to steal their soul and turn himself immortal before he killed Delores... that first time.

Cause he did try to get Lydia to marry him so he could get and stay out of the Afterlife, back in movie 1. Allegedly, it was a marriage of inconvenience/green card thing. Cause he had been, canonically, very much done with being dead. I never understood how that would keep him out of the Afterlife, or turn him back to living (which afaik is only Musicalverse canon?), or even free him from his name curse. I mean, I'd get it if he'd get the Deetz house to haunt from a marriage (property rights), so maybe he couldn't get banished just into the model anymore because he'd get his parameter expanded, giving him free reign within the whole house, or around his new wife, but the other stuff? Not so much.

So, it's possible that that Marriage of Inconvenience explanation was bull. That he'd have married that girl and - if the ritual required it and/or he had some morals and/or her youth skeeved him out - taken some time (in that house which Lydia wouldn't have wanted to leave bc of the Maitlands, and besides, B would likely be tied to her) to get her to like him and get her into bed, and then he'd have killed her parents and then Lydia and used her soul in an immortality ritual. And kept that nice big house and all that inheritance money for himself. After all, Rory and Dolores died together, fed to the same sandworm.

He did find a young girl who was an actual medium and was troubled and in need of his help, and he tried to marry her, and she escaped his clutches. And afterwards she couldn't see him even though they must have run into each other occasionally through their respective jobs. So he stalked her and, going by "ignores you for 30 years", tried to get her attention, a lot. He's an attention whore and show-off, and she was a hot lady ignoring him. Trying to get an attractive woman's attention for 30 years will do shit to a guy's psyche, and he caught feelings. So he killed his evil plans - and later their personifications - for her.

As I mentioned above, I believe he already tried the soulswap thing, and it didn't work out for him all that well, what with the other plague outbreak and the getting sent back Down by the woman he loved and all. Immortality through marriage-ritual would seem a far safer option, after that. Once he found someone who could see him, that is. Which seems to happen every 300-ish years. At least, it takes that long on average for him to find a living person who can see him and is willing to strike a deal out of desperation.

So now he's, if not fully a Good Guy, at least a Very Helpful Guy (he's not even just specialising in easily screwed-over, stupid-looking newbie ghosts anymore, though his methods of bio-exorcism remain immoral), after he got rid of some of his former toxicity. Maybe "redemption arc" was a bit inaccurate, he is more of an anti hero who doesn't care about being Good, though his motivations are purer now.

...probably. I mean, Delores was terribly underutilised and immortality is tempting if the alternatives are being an eternal civil servant, outcast, or someday moving on to probably hell for all your sins. And part of all three baddies' nastyness was that they made their victims believe they cared about them and winning their affection in return, which, well *gestures at BJBJ*, hasn't happened as such yet for Betel and Lydia. He, afawk, never broke someone's heart. Delores (and Rory, cause both personify greed, which is hard to get over) might be back to signify B being in danger of backsliding into his old ways. I'd just be deeply worried for my ship if they were.

This was part of a bigger post I keep rewriting in drafts, but just to throw the idea out there:

I think the reason why the flashback in BJBJ looks like it's set in the 17th century (B+D's clothes, plague doctor hazmat suits) is because... it is. That's Betel's second go at life. He did a soulswap. He revived during another plague outbreak, then died of poison. Whoops.

Like, we saw him feed a guy to a sandworm for emotionally manipulating a depressed Lydia and browbeating her into an engagement. I don't think I need to explain the Rory=movie1!Betelgeuse parallel?

But he also sent Jeremy to hell for attempting to trade Astrid's life for his afterlife. Given the Baroque thing, it sure looks like Betel is punishing people who are shitty in the same way he used to be.

Yay redemption arc.

[frazzledsoul]

I tried this last week, but I thought I'd write a nicer version of this meta this time.

There's been a lot of talk as to why Rory doesn't talk about Jess during her brief S6 therapy session, when she mentions Dean in passing and spends most of the scene upset over Logan. I really don't think the scene is meant to be a rundown of her entire romantic history, but is attempting to set up the morality play of Logan and Rory's up-and-down relationship. She misses him, and is tempted to go back, but doesn't want to be sucked into the cycle of his lifestyle. I don't know if it's merely Rory's self awareness that is off or if it's ASP's in general (Rory, at this point in the story, does not have a leg to stand on when she claims to be the innocent girl who was corrupted) but Dean only comes up in terms of what he tempted her into and the affair that she now regrets. "I never stole a boat with Dean! I did have an affair with him when he was married, though!" Dean's clearly not the perfect boyfriend who would never steer her wrong in her memory or ours anymore.

So what is Jess? Contrary to what seems to be fanon opinion among many, he's not the bad boyfriend she can never forgive, or someone she's inclined to still be hostile to. He's stable, successful, well-adjusted, and even better looking: he made a life in his own according to his own principles with no help from anyone else. Rory's attitude towards him from season four to season six is a complete one eighty: she's happy to see him and gushing about how smart and accomplished he is and how she always knew he had greatness in him. She forgave him in that year and a half, and a lot of that has to do with her falling off her good girl pedestal. He's not the bad boy who tempted her into evil: he's the one that moved past that narrative and found a new one. She doesn't resent him for what happened in the past, and is grateful for the fact he helped dig her out of the hole that she was in. Jess doesn't come up during the therapy session because she doesn't view him as a moral liability. That's what that scene is all about, not her issues overall.

So given all of this, why does she still mislead Jess into thinking she had broken up with Logan, allow herself to cheat with him, and still apply the same morality play to herself ("I can't even cheat on him like he cheated on me!" Uh huh. Sure, Jan) all the while apologizing to him and admitting that she was wrong to involve him in this because she knows he doesn't want to be a sidepiece? IDK, y'all. It's season 6. Maybe a real therapist would help here. I do think it speaks to the way Rory and the narrative view him, as someone who does need to be treated with respect and who was lucky to find a nice life elsewhere. He's not the person that dragged the protagonist down anymore because he's moved beyond that.

[saltygilmores]

Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls-Season 2, Episode 1 ("Sadie Sadie")

Full steam ahead! We have now arrived at Season 2, the Jess Season. It's gonna be an absolute fucking nightmare that I am not looking forward to. Enjoy! Please visit the Denise Rewatches Gilmore Girls tag for all of my past reviews!

Thanks to MaxMedina, SH is absolutely infested with daisies. People are stepping on daisies. They're shaking daisies out of their pants. There's daisies in the food. I am praying Dean Forrester is allergic to daisies and becomes absolutely debilitated with hay fever. Michel is most likely still complaining about how daisies are weeds and is even more insufferable to work with than usual.

I'm pretty sure some kind of daisy-cult has sprouted up in the aftermath of MaxMedina's pre-proposal manipulation tactic.

Peep this guy with a TJ Maxx bag, lol. Someone escaped The Hollow/Daisy Cult and visited the outside world! Good for you, guy.

You gotta respect the hustle of this dude in the background, living in a town where yellow daisies are so free and plentiful they're growing freely out of people's buttcracks, to set up a cart to try and SELL them. Some Stars Hollowans are not so bright. You can see it looks like someone is actually buying them. "A Stars Hollowan and their money are soon parted". -Famous Quote.

God I fucking love shows from the early 2000's. Lane referring to her "parents" sending her to Korea, instead of just her mother.

Just want to take a moment to check out all these vintage magazine covers. Lorelai pays Bootsy for her magazine (he doesn't look up from his paper to see how much she gave him, but still) but she can't pay Luke for her food.

That's a lot of bridal magazines for a town where Lorelai is probably the only person who is currently semi-engaged. Rory buys a bridal mag for Lorelai for $6. That seems like a pretty outrageous price for a magazine in 2001. Bootsy must be in cahoots with the guy selling daisies. We learn that Lorelai has not yet accepted Max's proposal.

The DaisyCult members are gathering.

Not to sound like a broken record but but doesn't anyone in Stars Hollow have a job? How does their economy not collapse? Does the town survive on tourism, outsiders buying snowglobes and keychains? Because clearly the people who actually live here are bored and desperate for stimulation. Rory Gilmore needs to get a job. Okay, where was I... Lorelai: Everything about me turns Luke off. My coffee, my eating habits. I called him Ranger Bob last week! Kinky.

These people crushed up against the door blocking the exit are a real fire hazard.

LORELAI HE'S USING A CAN OF SUPERMARKET COFFEE RIGHT OUT IN THE OPEN. HE HAS NO FUCKING SHAME! YOU'RE LOOKING AT IT! THIS IS LUKE'S SUPER SPECIAL SECRET BLEND THAT YOU GO INTO WITHDRAWLS OVER! Your whole life is a lie! Do you have nothing to say?!

A can of Hills Brothers coffee is currently $8.48 at Walmart. Eventually he upgrades to Folgers. Luke: "Fresh" (lol) coffee will be ready in a minute unless you want to roll up a dollar bill and go nuts. Cocaine joke! Whee! Luke:This whole town should be medicated and put in a rec room with ping pong tables and hand puppets. Lorelai tells Luke that Max proposed and he responds with his maximum level of Luke Enthusiasm: "Eh, I figured."

Tomatos Sign: spotted. Luke absolutely fries Lorelai's brain by getting her to admit she's about to accept this bozo MaxMedina's proposal without them having discussed very important pre-marriage things...like where they're going to live. Honestly, Lorelai. Luke seems like the sensible one now, but in A Year In The Life, it seems as if Luke & Lorelai are discussing having children together for the first time after they've known each other for over 20 years. But we don't count A Year In The Life. It never happened. Never heard of it. Lorelai retruns to her seat and asks Rory what happened. Kirk has passed out. Everyone outside is just staring at Kirk laying on the the ground and no one is helping him or calling for help.

This shot puzzles me, because (unless someone wants to fill me in on something I missed?) I don't understand the context of this ring and why we're seeing an extended closeup of it and her fidgeting with it until she took it off. Nothing was mentioned about Max buying her a ring yet (besides a Ring Pop), but with the level of discomfort she's exhibiting by looking at her hand and then pulling it off her finger, I will assume it came from him? Is it just her own personal ring but she's imagining there's an engagement ring on her hand instead? Maybe that's it. Okay. Look. I fucking loved butterflies growing up. For a good 10 year span, I needed everything I owned to have butterflies on them. I dreamed one of one day having a butterfly themed wedding and yes even a butterfly ring. But that ring looks like it came out of a gumball machine at Walmart (next to the aisle with the Hills Brothers coffee). Probably the same gumball machine where Dean found Rory's "medallion". Surely he can afford something a little better on his fat Private School English Teacher paycheck.

You can afford all those books, now go to a real jewelry store. After Luke fries her brain, Lorelai ends up calling MaxMedina in a panic in the middle of a Friday Night Dinner to ask him these reasonable and important pre-marriage questions. His response only serves to manipulate/ confuse her further by saying "You'd only be asking me these things if you were going to say yes to my proposal." And by her giddy reaction mere moments later, we know she apparenly accepted...a proposal over the phone. And by the brief period of time between the conversation taking place and her freaking out, we are to assume the questions she called him to ask were either never answered or discussed for about 1 minute. Good luck you two. Later, Max calls the GillyGirls household and Rory picks up while Lorelai is standing next to her. Max confides in Rory that he's ring shopping and he asks for her advice on Lorelai's tastes in jewelry. He's shopping for a real ring. Oh thank god.

Look Rory, you know Max has a history of taking suggestions way too literally, as the Yellow Daisy Lung epidemic sweeps through Stars Hollow. You need to make it clear that you're kidding. This is 2001, so instead of texting pictures of the rings, he has to literally describe them. "The first one has a gold band and sort of a square diamond." How quaint. Email with pictures did exist in 2001, Max, but I suppose he realizes that The Hollow is severely behind the times technology wise and that an email would take at least another 5 years to reach them.

SHUDDER. He's back and with an even stupider haircut. Are we recovered from that last horrible kiss? Because whatever time off Jared Padalecki had between filming the last episode of the 1st season and the 1st episode of the second, he did not spend practicing kissing on his pillow/ blowup doll. Get that eye bleach out again, if you have any left. Of course Dean asks "where's your Mom?" The real love of his life.

You got this JarPad...you can do it...just kiss her without making a face like you're licking a block of salt...

Swingandamiss. Dean Garbageface: I missed that. Rory: Yeah me too. I doubt it.

I honestly don't know how so many people who watch this show are oblivious to the DALA (Dean and Lorelai affair) Dean: Long pause to process his girlfriend's mother coming onto him. "Uh. You need me to change your water bottle don't you?" She needs you to "change her water bottle" just like Luke was "fixing her porch rail." Rory steps outside to find Dean cranking on Lorelai's water bottle. He's probably dreaming of that special time in every teenage boy's life when their girlfriend's mother gives them a handjob. Lord knows Rory never gave him one while they were dating (also the reason Jess was constantly cranky).

Rory asks Dean to come to Friday Night dinner, and Dean hesitates. What's the ultimatium going to be this time? Say whaaaat? He agrees to go (after Rory assures him her grandmother is no longer mad at him for falling asleep with her at the dance)? No complaints? No ultimatium? No pouting? I'm stunned. Lorelai calls Dean back into the house to help her reach a can on a high shelf presumably so she can look at his butt while he's doing it.

Look at this doof in his doofy necklace. Dean: I'm just gonna sit here and stare at my hands. Good boy. Glad you know your place. If anyone needs me, I'm going to be over here delighting in how much Richard dislikes Dean. Flat out ignores the doofus when he tries to shake his hand LOL

I thought you were just going to sit there and silently stare at your hands. Sit back down. Lorelai: I can't believe you found a recipe for Beef-A-Roni. Emily: Let's just say it's not beef. Ah, humans. The Gilmores are serving human meat. Probably one of their former maids. Got it.

Me glaring at Dean every time he moves or talks or blinks or breathes or exists. Lorelai: Uh, I bet there's a fabulous dessert waiting in the kitchen. Emily: Yes, Twinkies. I know how much Rory loves Twinkies. Twinkies filled with...human meat? Richard: So, Dean, where are you going to college? Dean: It's called Sleep with Your Daughter University. If ya'll hate me right now I understand. I do. Emlly: Please, Richard, don't grill the boy. If only someone would literally put him on a grill. Sigh....I am pulling one of my infrequent Dean Cards here. Dean was....not bad in this episode. Sure, his mere existence makes my blood curdle, but he didn't DO anything. He didn't complain or give Rory an ultimatium to attend the dinner, he went willingly, was visibly uncomfortable but tried his best and got rewarded with Rory's grandfather death-staring and grilling him the entire night for no reason whatsoever, and when it was over he didn't even transfer his frustration onto poor Rory like he usually does and make her feel like it was her fault.

She's making it sound like he's Prince Charming making an appearance at the ball (ooof, I almost forgot about the fucking Debutante Ball that's on the horizon) when in reality he is a 17 year old dork in a puka-shell necklace who gets C's in math and whose only marketable skills are bagging groceries and making necklaces out of old quarters. The DALA affair chugs along. Lorelai assures Rory that the only reason she thinks Richard was hostile to Dean is because RIchard thinks Dean will get her pregnant and she'll drop out of school like Lorelai. And somehow he managed to be half right on both accounts. Rory:"I'm not going to get pregnant." Lorelai (When It's Dean): I know that. (how exactly does she know that though?) Lorelai: (When it's Jess): He's not allowed to drive up to the house while I'm not here because he'll get you pregnant if he so much as steps into the living room (this was the actual basis of the episode "Swan Song") Sookie calls Emily to tell her she's planning Lorelai's weddng and of course Emily had no idea. Emily demands Richard apologize to Rory because Lorelai just excluded them from her wedding, and in the future Emily doesn't want Rory to hate them and exclude them from her wedding (a wedding which of course she never has, at least not while Richard was still alive). In a very rare display, mysterious salty drops (tears) almost begin to form at the corner of Emily's eyes. Lorelai and Max are sitting on the porch talking and he pulls a ring out of frigging nowhere. It's not in a box or anything. it's not even in his pocket. He just opens his hand, and it's there. It's too big for Lorelai's finger because the gumball machine just spit out the little plastic egg and he had to take whatever he got for his quarter (just kidding, he actually just wasted a buttload of money on a real ring when Lorelai is going to get cold feet in a few weeks and call off the entire engagement) but anyway he wants to take it off to get it resized. "Just let me get it sized and you'll never have to take it off again." Maxmillian, you sweet naive summer child.

Let's end this mild trainwreck of an episode on a funny note.

[georgianadarcies]

Dean in 1x16 was a walking red flag. Even before he got mad that she didn't say "I love you".

First of all, he scheduled the anniversary dinner of a day when he knew that she was busy without asking her and just expected her to drop everything for him. And that day wasn't even their actual anniversary! Their actual anniversary was the day after but apparently he's busy then. Like why should she adhere to his schedule and make compromises for him and he doesn't have to do the same for her?

Second of all there was the surprise about the encyclopedia story that she told. Does this dude even know her at all? Like did he spend any time actually listening to her?

Then there was the whole over the top love bombing with the fancy dinner and "sure order as much as you want" and building her a car, like it all seems sweet (but too much too soon) however in the end it's clear there are strings attached. The moment she doesn't do what he wants, he flies off the handle and says it was all for nothing and just leaves her strandes in the middle of the night on a scrapyard.

She shouldn't have gotten back together with him after this. It only got worse and worse in their second relationship but this was already a start.

this man truly is a walking red flag like every single thing he does in that episode alone is a big yikes. some of the things ge aren’t as big of a deal (the friday thing was probably just so the writers could get lorelai at the dinner alone, but it’s true that it’s reflective of how dean never respects her time). he just doesn’t seem to get her or understand her?? just what he can get from her. and when he doesn’t get what he wants after showing her the car and saying I love you he’s immediately affronted. he just goes into that expecting to get something out of it and I hate that!! that isn’t a healthy thing in a significant other!! I don’t blame rory for getting back with him, she was a sixteen year old girl who had feelings for him. rory has been prone to let boys and others treat her poorly if she depends on them enough/if they do enough things that make her disregard the bad. it’s less that she shouldn’t have gotten back with him and that he shouldn’t have been acting that way in the first place.