Coffee at Luke's: An Unauthorized Gilmore Girls Gabfest (Smart Pop Series) (5 page)
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Authors: Jennifer Crusie,Leah Wilson
Tags: #Humor & Entertainment, #Television, #History & Criticism
BOOK: Coffee at Luke's: An Unauthorized Gilmore Girls Gabfest (Smart Pop Series)
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Their differences actually turn out to be much less crucial to the course of their relationship than their similarities do. If they weren’t so much alike, Paris and Rory wouldn’t spend so much time at each other’s throats—but they also wouldn’t be such good friends.
No character exists in a bubble, and Paris and Rory each had friends before the other came along. They might have been as different as night and day, but Louise and Madeline stuck by Paris during their time at Chilton. Despite being boy-crazy and more than a little flighty, Louise and Madeline were loyal friends. They never made a move on Paris’s crush, Tristan, even though he’s just the type of guy they would normally have gone after. And even though Rory and Madeline seemed to be forming a tentative friendship, Madeline was quick to ignore Rory when Paris and Rory were fighting. Yet Paris’s friendship with the two clearly didn’t run very deep, and after Chilton Louise and Madeline virtually disappeared. At Yale, Paris was never seen with any friends other than Rory, and her only other consistent companion was her on-again, off-again boyfriend Doyle.
Rory’s support system has consisted largely of Lorelai and Lane. Lorelai is both mother and best friend, something that works out surprisingly well, on the whole. Lorelai clearly doesn’t understand the complicated friendship between Paris and Rory, but makes every effort to be supportive, whether by hating Paris on Rory’s behalf, or inviting her to stay at the Independence Inn or go to a Bangles concert when they are getting along. Rory also has Lane, the only person her own age that, in high school at least, Rory seemed to be friends with (not counting Dean or Jess, both of whom were newcomers to Stars Hollow). Lane and Rory started out as close friends, but their friendship started to deteriorate after Rory transferred to Chilton. Lane may be Rory’s best friend, but Rory is almost completely unaware of what is going on in her life. Even that first year at Chilton, Rory knew more about Paris—her supposed enemy—than she did her best friend.
Like it or not, Paris and Rory have much more in common with each other than they do with any of their other friends. Louise, Madeline, Lane, and even Lorelai don’t really understand the intensity and drive that both Rory and Paris possess. Lane and Rory bond over music, but it’s hard to imagine Lane discussing Kafka or Tolstoy with Rory. Louise and Madeline have even less in common with Paris. Given the circumstances, it seems like Paris and Rory should have been instant friends. Neither had anyone else in their life who shared so many interests and qualities. But life is never that easy. Paris is too competitive to let anyone stand in her way, and she’s not going to waste time getting to know her competition first. Between Paris’s competitive streak and Rory’s disastrous first day at Chilton, they were off to a rocky start. But thanks to what occasionally felt like a Chilton-wide conspiracy to force them into the same group for one class project or another (even Headmaster Charleston went out of his way to force the two of them to cooperate), Paris and Rory couldn’t escape the fact that they were going to have to work together. And eventually, they began to thaw.
The Bangles concert is the first time that we saw real overtures of friendship, but given Paris’s mercurial temper, the friendly periods between the two never lasted for long. Without meaning to, Rory continually made the relationship worse. She set Paris up with Tristan without telling her—a nice thought, but one that blew up in her face. Rory outshone Paris without even trying to, and all of Paris’s hard work only left her alone and frustrated. Rory had a boyfriend and supportive family. Rory got into the Puffs without even knowing who they were and Paris, who had been trying to do the same for years, was forced to ask for Rory’s help. Paris invited Rory to be her VP in the student council race so that Paris would get enough votes to win, and then became paranoid that Rory was going to take over. Hardly a surprise, considering that most of the other council members seemed to like Rory better than Paris. All of this must have come as an incredible blow to Paris, who put much more effort into these things than Rory. The worst part must have been Rory’s refusal to acknowledge that the two were even competing.
This sort of upstaging didn’t stop at Chilton—Rory got into Harvard and decided not to go, while Paris didn’t even get in. Not surprisingly, the academic competition cooled a bit once they arrived at Yale. With Rory majoring in journalism and Paris in pre-med, it was unlikely they would have many classes together. But even there, Rory stole Paris’s thunder. When Paris was made editor of the
Yale Daily News
, her micro-managing determination to be the best only drove away the staff and, just like with the student council at Chilton, the students that remained turned to Rory. Everyone seemed to realize that Rory was the only person who could really get through to Paris—everyone except Rory, that is. Rory was reluctant to interfere, but when Paris finally snapped she had no other choice. Rory wasn’t angling to be the next editor, but she ended up with the job anyway.
Yale Daily News
, her micro-managing determination to be the best only drove away the staff and, just like with the student council at Chilton, the students that remained turned to Rory. Everyone seemed to realize that Rory was the only person who could really get through to Paris—everyone except Rory, that is. Rory was reluctant to interfere, but when Paris finally snapped she had no other choice. Rory wasn’t angling to be the next editor, but she ended up with the job anyway.
But in between these spurts of competition, Paris and Rory have managed to be amazingly supportive of each other. When Paris appeared as Rory’s roommate at Yale, it came as a complete shock to Rory, but she never suggested changing rooms and ended up living with Paris the year after, as well. Rory’s the one who showed up at the hospital for Paris when Asher Flemming collapsed, and she was the one who found Paris a job when Paris found out she was broke. Paris is equally supportive of Rory, in her own way. She covered for Rory when Dean found Jess at the Gilmores’, convincing Dean that Jess was only there because of Paris’s crush on him. She also pushed Rory at Chilton and attempted to convince her to come back to Yale when she decided to take some time off, something Rory eventually saw the wisdom of. When both girls found themselves suddenly dumped and single, they wound up sharing a sketchy apartment and wallowing together.
Paris had more trouble allowing herself to become friends with Rory, but she has also ended up appreciating it more. For the most part, Rory just seems to tolerate Paris; she doesn’t seem to place as high a value on the relationship. After Chilton, Rory seemed content to forget about her. It was Paris (with the help of her life coach) who requested to be Rory’s roommate at Yale. While she considers Paris a friend, Rory isn’t the one seeking the relationship out; Paris is. Paris even admitted to Lorelai that she was lost without Rory. She was speaking academically, but her words hold true for more than that.
In fact, friends doesn’t seem to be quite the right word to describe people wanting to strangle each other with the nearest rope-like object. But they aren’t enemies, either, and haven’t been since they set aside the animosity from their first months together at Chilton. They are roommates, on and off, but that term also doesn’t convey the extent of their relationship. If it weren’t for the lack of sex, I would say the best way to describe their relationship would be soul mates.
Yes, soul mates.
Although they are completely platonic (drunken spring break kisses notwithstanding), Paris and Rory’s friendship has all the elements of a great relationship. They are alike enough to get along, but different enough to challenge each other. Their relationship, from the awkward beginning to the series of misunderstandings, fights, and mishaps that followed, has all the makings of a classic romantic comedy.
Paris and Rory have a lot to learn from each other. With Rory, Paris has permission to relax. Not just in the literal sense, by going to Bangles concerts and eating mac and cheese, but by having a place where she can be herself. Rory understands Paris in a way that Madeline and Louise never did or could. She understands that rereading
The Iliad
isn’t doing nothing, and that watching
The Power of Myth
can be just as much fun as a spring break party.
The Iliad
isn’t doing nothing, and that watching
The Power of Myth
can be just as much fun as a spring break party.
Rory has a few things to learn from Paris, too. Rory’s life in Stars Hollow was idyllic, probably too much so. In order to make it in the real world, and especially the world of journalism, she’s going to have to develop a much thicker skin. Competing with Paris has prepared her to handle herself in a world where just being nice and smart isn’t enough to succeed.
Paris and Rory challenge each other, something that is missing from the other relationships they have. Dean was awed by Rory’s intelligence, and he supported her but he couldn’t push her. Jess was much more Rory’s intellectual equal, but he was too unpredictable and emotionally distant. Logan has arguably been the most compatible of Rory’s boyfriends, but if anyone has been challenged in that relationship, it’s him. Paris dates even less than Rory, going out with Asher Flemming, who she worshipped without question, and Doyle, who simply bends to her will.
Imagine what could happen if Paris and Rory put their differences aside, agreed to stop competing, and managed to be supportive of each other at the same time. They’ve come close with the
Yale Daily News
and the Chilton student government, where they made a great team—Paris provided the pressure to perform, and Rory brought people skills and the ability to see the big picture.
Yale Daily News
and the Chilton student government, where they made a great team—Paris provided the pressure to perform, and Rory brought people skills and the ability to see the big picture.
Together, Paris and Rory would be an unstoppable couple. All they’d have to do is realize it.
And maybe reconsider the whole no-sex thing.
Stephanie Whiteside
recently graduated from The George Washington University with a BA in political communication, where she learned the fine art of procrastination by watching
Gilmore Girls
and knitting when she should have been writing papers. Stephanie currently lives in Northern Virginia with her cats Fred and Padma, and spends her time watching more TV than is probably healthy, writing, and attempting to convince the government to give her a job. In the meantime, she teaches knitting and is cleverly disguised as a responsible adult.
The Other Relationship: Parenting
Janine Hiddlestone
Mothers, Daughters, and Gilmore Girls
LORELAI: It’s from my mother.RORY: What is it?LORELAI: It’s heavy. Must be her hopes and dreams for me.RORY: I thought she discarded those years ago. (“Dear Emily and Richard,” 3-13)The bond between mother and daughter is a strong one, and no show has ever explored it in so many ways through so many generations and so many traditions as
Gilmore Girls
. Janine Hiddlestone looks at them all as she analyzes the fears, disappointments, and triumphs of mothering in Stars Hollow.
“Y
OUR FIRST COP-RAIDED PARTY. I am just so proud!” gushes Lorelai Gilmore to her daughter, Rory. Upon discovering just moments later that a fight between two boys over Rory is what resulted in the arrival of the police, Lorelai breaks into the chorus of
The Wind Beneath My Wings
(“Did you ever know that you’re my hero, everything I longed to be . . .”). Rory stalks off in embarrassment and annoyance (“Say Goodnight, Gracie,” 3-20).
OUR FIRST COP-RAIDED PARTY. I am just so proud!” gushes Lorelai Gilmore to her daughter, Rory. Upon discovering just moments later that a fight between two boys over Rory is what resulted in the arrival of the police, Lorelai breaks into the chorus of
The Wind Beneath My Wings
(“Did you ever know that you’re my hero, everything I longed to be . . .”). Rory stalks off in embarrassment and annoyance (“Say Goodnight, Gracie,” 3-20).
It was an amusing scene, particularly since Lorelai continued to sing as she followed her daughter down the street—the fun sort of scene viewers of
Gilmore Girls
have come to expect. However, for the uninitiated, the scene had a few peculiarities. In most family/ teen dramas or sitcoms (and in real life), the parent or parents would have been furious at their teenage daughter for attending a “parents out of town” keg party that ended when the police broke up a fight and dispersed the intoxicated party-goers. The fact that Rory was sober and ashamed would not have swayed most parents. There would have been lectures, exhortations of disappointment, and very likely a grounding. But this is
Gilmore Girls
, and the usual logic about parent-child interactions does not apply.
Gilmore Girls
have come to expect. However, for the uninitiated, the scene had a few peculiarities. In most family/ teen dramas or sitcoms (and in real life), the parent or parents would have been furious at their teenage daughter for attending a “parents out of town” keg party that ended when the police broke up a fight and dispersed the intoxicated party-goers. The fact that Rory was sober and ashamed would not have swayed most parents. There would have been lectures, exhortations of disappointment, and very likely a grounding. But this is
Gilmore Girls
, and the usual logic about parent-child interactions does not apply.
When Amy Sherman-Palladino created
Gilmore Girls
, which debuted in 2000, most dismissed it as another teen drama with family-friendly overtones—racier than
7
th
Heaven
, but more “value oriented” than
Dawson’s Creek
. Its popularity, currently holding strong in the show’s seventh season, belied the naysayers, as
Gilmore Girls
proved to be more than the paint-by-numbers show it appeared to be on the surface (Haberman). Behind the impossibly gorgeous leads, the teen angst, the romances, the breakups, the small town, and the family dramas was a surprisingly subversive undertone. The small town, though beloved, is portrayed satirically, poking fun at the stereotypes of small town characters and idealized life. There are the interfering locals and their inevitable gossiping, the white picket fences, and the too-good-to-be-true square with its picturesque pavilion, but everything also has a little twist. The hardware store is actually a diner run by a cantankerous softie, the mechanic is an unapologetically eccentric woman, the requisite antique store is owned by fundamentalist Christian Koreans, and festivals and town events seem to occur on almost a weekly basis: “Well, this is a town that likes the celebrating. Last year we had a month long carnival when we finally got off the septic tank system” Rory told Dean as the town prepared for the Stars Hollow Firelight Festival (“Star-Crossed Lovers and Other Strangers,” 1-16). Dialogue is conducted largely through clever witticisms and fast-paced banter that incorporates everything from popular culture and literature to politics and social commentary. But the most refreshingly subversive element of all is the show’s treatment of and focus on family dynamics. However, more than anything else, it is the relationship between the three (and sometimes four) generations of Gilmores—particularly the women—around which the stories and characters develop, and which comprises the real heart of the show.
Gilmore Girls
, which debuted in 2000, most dismissed it as another teen drama with family-friendly overtones—racier than
7
th
Heaven
, but more “value oriented” than
Dawson’s Creek
. Its popularity, currently holding strong in the show’s seventh season, belied the naysayers, as
Gilmore Girls
proved to be more than the paint-by-numbers show it appeared to be on the surface (Haberman). Behind the impossibly gorgeous leads, the teen angst, the romances, the breakups, the small town, and the family dramas was a surprisingly subversive undertone. The small town, though beloved, is portrayed satirically, poking fun at the stereotypes of small town characters and idealized life. There are the interfering locals and their inevitable gossiping, the white picket fences, and the too-good-to-be-true square with its picturesque pavilion, but everything also has a little twist. The hardware store is actually a diner run by a cantankerous softie, the mechanic is an unapologetically eccentric woman, the requisite antique store is owned by fundamentalist Christian Koreans, and festivals and town events seem to occur on almost a weekly basis: “Well, this is a town that likes the celebrating. Last year we had a month long carnival when we finally got off the septic tank system” Rory told Dean as the town prepared for the Stars Hollow Firelight Festival (“Star-Crossed Lovers and Other Strangers,” 1-16). Dialogue is conducted largely through clever witticisms and fast-paced banter that incorporates everything from popular culture and literature to politics and social commentary. But the most refreshingly subversive element of all is the show’s treatment of and focus on family dynamics. However, more than anything else, it is the relationship between the three (and sometimes four) generations of Gilmores—particularly the women—around which the stories and characters develop, and which comprises the real heart of the show.
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