Gilmore Girls 1.02 “The Lorelais’ First Day at Chilton”
Gilmore Girls 1.02 "The Lorelais’ First Day at Chilton"
Original Air Date: October 12, 2000 (Recap date: November 8, 2007)
Photos & Discussion
Gilmore Girls Episode Recap:
Lorelai is painting Rory’s toes a ‘bad girl’ red for Chilton. Foot #2 is abandoned to listen to the new CD Lane ran over.
Rory is ready for school, but Lorelai overslept. And now cannot pick up her clothes from the cleaners - so has nothing to wear. Tie-dye and cutoffs it is! Rory gives a nostalgic look to Stars Hollow High as they pass by.
Rory insists that Lorelai come in with her to meet the headmaster. Lorelai puts on a long coat - does not tie it up right away - and gets distracted flirting with another parent. Then gets all flustered by the secretary, who startled her with her ugly complexion.
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Headmaster Charleston’s office - Emily already there (already with a revised look from the Pilot). Lorelai is bullied into removing her jacket. Awkward. Emily chides her when they leave. Drops hints to ‘horse’ and ’spurs’ to tick off Lorelai.
The Headmaster notes Rory’s lack of social activities - for a girl with aspirations to study journalism and political science at Harvard (to be Christiane Amanpour), she’ll need more. He warns her that it’s a very hard school, and she may not be the smartest girl any longer. He warns her that she may fail - starting a month late in that atmosphere is a disadvantage. She must do an extra month of work.
A student in the office smuggles Rory’s school file to Paris Geller and her set. Need to assess their competition.
Lorelai goes to beg for coffee. Luke tries to joke that they are out of coffee, but caves in:
"You’re sick, you’re a sadist, you’re a fiend… you’re pretty"
Luke criticizes Lorelai’s choice of clothes, but she ‘tries’ to explain:
"My clothes were at the cleaners, and I had the fuzzy clock, and it didn’t purr on time."
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Emily calls to try to buy Rory some things. Lorelai is not happy about it.
Rory is in literature class, where Paris is dominating. Rory has an overwhelmed look on her face. Tristan walks into class late and he, too, eyes Rory. Tristan calls Rory a "Mary" - reference to the Virgin Mary. The teacher hands Rory a huge binder of only last week’s overview only notes for a test on Monday. Rory needs to find a student to get detailed notes from. Paris confronts her in the hall to tell her that she’ll never beat her:
"This school is my domain, and the Franklin is my domain. And don’t you ever forget that."
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Sookie is complaining that Jackson’s peaches are too small. Lorelai gushes over Rory. Michel comes in to ‘fetch’ Lorelai and ask for a ‘cookie and a raise.’ Emily calls to gush that she bought Rory a parking spot at Chilton and hints about her future birthday gift.
Tristan approaches Rory in the hall but calls her Mary. He offers to help her study , i.e. flirts with her.
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The single dad from Chilton pays Lorelai a visit. Lorelai says she does not want to date any Chilton dads until Rory is settled in.
Rory struggles with her locker and, in her efforts, backs into Paris’ diorama and breaks it. And discovers her next class is also with Paris. Rory admits to their teacher that she broke Paris’ project - the teacher assigns Paris & Rory to rebuild it for the next day, together. Paris refuses her help.
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Lorelai goes for coffee and tells Luke about her day. Hearing about the dad asking her on a date, he pretends to be disinterested. And confuses Lorelai with his happiness at rejecting him. There a moment where they connect eyes and Lorelai gives a little smile.
Babette and Maury called Lorelai home because a DSL Installer guy (Sean Gunn as ‘Mick’) was snooping around. Emily had ordered it. Lorelai tells them to leave.
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Lorelai confronts Emily in the salon and tells her there will be no gifts of any sort to Rory. Lorelai wants to take care of her own family and to decide how they live.
Rory and Lorelai have a big hug to erase their mutually sucky days. Lorelai explains that Mary is about Virgin Mary - that it means a goody-goody. Lane joins them for a walk - she missed Rory at school. Rory is concerned about how to get Paris off her back.
Lorelai asks her:
"Hey, what do you think of Luke?"
"What do you mean"
"I mean, do you think he’s cute?"
"Oh no, no way."
"No way what?"
"You cannot date Luke."
She explains: "If you date him, you’ll break up, we’ll never be able to eat there again."
Luke sees them pass by and stops to watch…
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Discussion Questions:
- So, are all of Lorelai’s clothes dry clean only? It’s always seemed rather too improbable to me that she couldn’t slip on a sweater and jeans instead.
- Does Emily think that buying things for Rory is the only way to win her love?
- At this point, would you choose Tristan or Dean?
- Why does Lorelai seem more interested in Luke than in the Chilton dad?
Stay tuned tomorrow for another episode!
Tags: gilmore girls, gilmore girls season 1, the lorelais first day at chilton, the gilmore girls recap, discussion, screencaps
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POSTED IN: Gilmore Girls Recaps, Gilmore Girls Screencaps, Gilmore Memories, Lorelai's love life, Paris Geller, Pictures, Rory's love life
25 opinions for Gilmore Girls 1.02 “The Lorelais’ First Day at Chilton”
gilmoregurl
Nov 8, 2007 at 1:51 pm
i love the second ep. !!
Tucker
Nov 8, 2007 at 1:56 pm
I love when they’re leaving the school and Emily tells Lorelai that she’ll see her on friday night and to leave the spurs at home. I lol’d :D
em
Nov 8, 2007 at 2:02 pm
Just out of curiosity, how do you get the pictures of the episode Arieanna? Do you get them yourself or do you use a website? I’ve been searching for a place to find Gilmore Girls screencaps since my old source was deleted.
Arieanna
Nov 8, 2007 at 2:15 pm
I do the caps myself. I’ve always been picky about getting just the right frame, and I too have found many websites to have gaps in their coverage of early GG seasons for pictures.
jennifer
Nov 8, 2007 at 2:17 pm
i still like dean better than tristan even from this episode…oh yea and i think lorelai was interested in luke and always in interested in luke but she keeps her thoughts to herself
Jessica King
Nov 8, 2007 at 4:04 pm
I still never like Dean,cuz he is so complain and so brat.I kinda like Tristan is better than Dean this season.I love Paris-when she not nice Rory at school for First Day at Chilton and make me laugh this season.I love Lorelai ask Rory about do you think Luke is cute.
Syd
Nov 8, 2007 at 4:12 pm
Love this episode, it’s one of my favourites.
Em - http://www.homeofthenutty.com
lots of screencaps. :]
Bere
Nov 8, 2007 at 5:23 pm
Jelaous Luke, I love it!!!
How the things change…Paris hating with pasion at Rory…I would have chosen Tristan, but I think at that point of her life, Rory’s choice was the right for her. She needed a “good” first boyfriend
Lough
Nov 8, 2007 at 6:09 pm
Soo in luv w/ Tristan D., wish that he really end up w/ Rory even just for the whole season 1…
Adrienne
Nov 8, 2007 at 6:42 pm
i love this epi!!!
but you’ll find me saying that to just about all of them!
Lorelai’s outfit cracked me up!
Maddie
Nov 8, 2007 at 6:43 pm
i LOVE how it’s only the second episode ever, and already they establish the luke/lorelai relationship.
“hey, what do you think of luke?”
they belong together! its been that way from the start! :)
Jessica King
Nov 8, 2007 at 7:00 pm
I’m agree with Adrienne about Lorelai’s outfit make me laugh this episode too.
Obsessed GG Fan!
Nov 8, 2007 at 7:18 pm
Are U Kidding? Tristan Or Dean? I Shouldnt Even Have To Answer That. Tristan Is A Butt Hole With A Capital “B”! Dean Has More Heart Than Tristan Will Ever Have. He Was Good To Rory And Loved Her. I Honestly Loved Dean Because Of The Way He Protected Rory. He Really Did Love Her. I Wish I Could Have A “Dean”! LOL
says_me
Nov 8, 2007 at 11:14 pm
@ Obsessed GG Fan!
A big DUH!? Ok I’ll simplify it for you. Just go to fanfiction.net and check it out if for yourself on whose Rory’s leading man in GG Season 1 had more stories w/ her…
Selphs
Nov 9, 2007 at 1:10 am
I prefer Rory’s Chilton colleagues (Tristan, Paris, Madeline,Louise & Brad) over those at Yales (Logan & his stoogees, Marty, Lulu & Olivia). There’s soo much happening during her Chilton years…
Pamela
Nov 9, 2007 at 6:15 am
I noticed that Emily’s looks dramatically changed from the Pilot Season on thru - a less tired, more vibrant look. And, it is interesting to see that while Rory is the “light of their lives”, Richard is still feeling his way around his granddaughter and has not, as yet, established his very personal relationship with her.
Also, I agree that early, early, early on Lorelei established her connection w/Luke very subtley.
Mary
Nov 9, 2007 at 6:23 am
I just love how rotten Paris is in this episode.
When, Rory’s locker gets stuck and she backs up
into Paris and breaks her project. Oh My!!!
Every time I see it. It is soooo Real. In high school, my locker door got stuck, and I pulled on it, and I popped back and the door hit the boy next to me and broke his nose. So, every time I see this part, it just makes me laugh…
Janet
Nov 9, 2007 at 7:24 am
I think Emily is desperate to connect with Rory and does this in the only way she knows how, buying her things. The great divide between Emily and Lorelei is further revealed by how differently they assess what Rory needs to succeed at Chilton. When Lorelei confronts Emily about who decides what Rory needs, the place this happens is an interesting choice. The salon is neutral ground because it’s not Stars Hollow and it’s not he Gilmore house. Neutral ground and a public place gives Lorelei more power while reducing power for Emily, thus allowing them to have a fair confrontation. For such a short scene, it says so much about the characters.
And another great episode!
8 o clock
Nov 9, 2007 at 9:03 am
I remember thinking that I would’ve dug something out of the hamper rather than haul my daughter off to boarding school in that get up.
Sookie - just a great character - and I am loving Melissa’s transition as BFF on Samantha Who.
I also enjoy these Chilton “friends” more so than those yahoos at Yale. I remember hoping that the Paris and Rory relationship would continue after Chilton grad.
At this point I wasn’t rooting for any boyfriend for Rory. Did not like Tristan or Dean. JESS WAS THE MAN!!! Logan reminded me of an old boyfriend, so I was always leery of him.
Miss Patty (large and in charge) smoking …. a walking don’t poster for the American Heart Association. Always great lines
Drella - don’t miss her.
Derek the valet - he had potential. I thought he was cuter than Dean, but no chance with Rory and her higher standards.
Kirk - even at this point he was a hoot.
I think at this point I kept watching the show because of the quaintness of the town and the eccentric characters. The writing (zingy one liners and fast talking) was great and unique even at the beginning.
Arieanna
Nov 9, 2007 at 10:28 am
Janet, those are great observations about Emily.
8 o clock - I think you hit on something important regarding Rory’s friends. When she went to Yale, everything in Rory’s life (herself included) became more superficial. She wore designer clothes, had everything she wanted, had rich powerful friends with very little substance… it was less like real life than the Gilmore Girls we started with.
em
Nov 9, 2007 at 12:53 pm
You have an amazing mind Janet. I never thought of that scene in that perspective! You are completely right. I think the Emily/Lorelai relationship is one of my favorites in the show (after Luke/Lorelai of course!). It is really complex and it has so many layers to it.
And thanks lots and lots Syd!
Janet
Nov 9, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Thanks em! While I too love the Luke/Lorelai relationship in GG, I fiendishly enjoy the constant head-butting between Lorelai and Emily. Like the old saying goes, “You can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your family.” To this I add, you can only hope there is plenty of vodka.
Cheers!
Lara Joy
Nov 10, 2007 at 1:58 am
I love his episodes. Rory looks so cute in her Chilton outfit and I loved that Lorelai went in this outfit to Chilton. That was so funny. Sookie and Jackson were funny too. I miss them, all of them.
alex
Nov 10, 2007 at 10:42 am
i love gilmore girls!!
angela
Nov 12, 2007 at 9:07 pm
this is a good episode. i love all the school scenes. and alexis looks so young, she has cute little chubby cheeks! as for the dean vs tristan, tristan all the way. something different. dean was too annoying. but jess is still the winner in my books! *drools* :P
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