Questions about Gilmore Girls: Kill Me Now

Here we go again! Let’s question the third episode of season 1 of Gilmore Girls…Kill Me Now.

We’ve got golf, guilt, and dinner with the Gilmores…

What do you think about this episode?

Thank you so much for watching!

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ELLE

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Episode three of Gilmore Girls gives me a lot to think about, but not as much to question. Hi everyone, and welcome to L of Lore. I overthink everything, especially Gilmore Girls. Recaps exist everywhere. This isn’t strictly a recap series, but this is my version of pausing, rewinding, and spiraling all while asking the questions I’ve had while watching. Some silly, some serious, some that lead to little rabbit holes. And all of this is just for fun. Full disclosure, Gilmore Girls copyright is intense. I own nothing. I just like to talk a lot and talk fast. So, if this sounds like your kind of vibe, let’s question season 1, episode 3, Kill Me Now. This episode is more than country clubs and a wedding. It’s about belonging, identity, and what happens when the life you chose for yourself collides with the life you left behind. This episode plants seeds that grow into some of the most pivotal Gilmore family dynamics later in the series. Laurelai is bracing for Rory to hate every single minute of being with her grandfather. And of course, she’s ready to throw some chocolate cake at her to console her because that’s what moms do. But Rory actually enjoys herself. And that’s where the cracks start forming. This is the first moment Lauraai realizes Rory might fit in somewhere she never could, and I have to talk about it. But I do have some questions. Most of the ones I have about this episode are right at the beginning with the opening scene. How many maids has Emily had and fired over the years? Then it was Trina, then Sophia, and after Sophia, we had Anton. And when Lauraai left home, she started working as a maid. Was that subconsciously influenced by Emily? Was it a way of proving she could survive doing the kind of work her mother dismissed? And then I wonder, did Emily treat her own maids worse after Lauraai left as if she were punishing them for reminding her of her daughter? Hey, I told you I overthink everything. There’s also that weird continuity moment with Lauraai the First, Richard’s mother. She’s spoken of as if she’s dead here, but we meet her later, and she’s a force of nature. And it makes me wonder about how much of the show was planned and how much was changed. Yes, she was. Mera, come cut the cake, please. Does anyone else think about show bibles? I watched a documentary on showrunners years ago, and I remember being fascinated by show bibles or pitch bibles. They have all the information on characters in the world and are useful for writers. The writer of this episode is Joanne Waters. She wrote only one episode of Gilmore Girls and in fact only has two other writing credits to her name, at least according to IMDb. Did someone involved in Gigi really love that one episode of Dawson’s Creek? Anyway, moments like this make me think about when they decided to include Richard’s mother in the show. Why none of Emily’s parents? I’d love to see whatever running documents they had. The inner workings of TV are just so interesting to me and I’d love to know all about Amy Sherman Paladino’s process, how she creates characters. She’s worked on or created some of my favorite things. the mom of the twin brides. She was on Roseanne. ASP worked on Roseanne and co-wrote one of the best Halloween episodes which this actress Old Needle Butt was in. But there’s other questions spitting in my head as well, like how much does membership to the club cost. This is a world I have not and likely will never be a part of. I know there are very specific requirements though, kind of like the FBI. Oh, much more thorough than that. So, for something like this that the Gilmores frequent, maybe somewhere around $10,000 for initiation fees and certainly at least $1,000 a month in your regular fees. These are the rabbit holes I love. And where was this filmed? The golf course is beautiful. It truly is a good walk spoiled. I’d love to walk around here. I Googled and found the Roosevelt Golf Course in LA, Griffith Park area. Could it be around the Fernell Trail? Both locations are about 15 20 minutes away from where they would have been filming, but I don’t know California. I do know I want to go to there. And why does Rory want to go to Fez? Is it about the world’s oldest university, world’s oldest library? That totally fits her, but it is an odd place without context. It would have been a great call back in a later season. Oh, is this Kirk? The credit is Kirk, but he’s not really the Kirk we know. Could Swan Man really be Mick or a Kirk triplet? I love these variations. The evolution of Sha Gun in this role is truly something special. And oh my god, the most odious woman alive. Gloria. She’s the original voice of Shira. I am Pig. Gloria. Hi. I can’t unhar it. I love playing variations of Six Degrees of Separation. Oh, at some point we have to talk about the costumes, the clothing, the styling in this show. I’m obsessed. And this dress that Lauraai is wearing at the wedding, the purple dress. This is one of the most incredible pieces of clothing I’ve ever seen. I, like many, I’m sure have spent way too long trying to find a copy of this dress. I have not been successful. I have seen similar. I have seen that similar sort of scarf neckline style, but I would love to know more about the brands and how they sourced clothing, especially in the early seasons when you know they definitely did not have as many resources and uh I know there was a lot of crossover. Anyway, the clothing is a whole separate topic of conversation and one I hope to dive into at some point, but I just had to mention it because this dress is amazing and Lauren Graham looks incredible and it just needed its own little brief spotlight. But the heart of this episode, Rory and Richard on and off the golf course. Oh, and Emily, she is so pleased with herself. She had an opportunity and she took it. Orchestrating this golf outing was brilliant. Well, isn’t this interesting? You’re afraid that Rory will enjoy the club and have a good time without you. So, Richard is reluctantly participating at first. Rory’s quietly thriving, and they bond in ways that lead all the way to when she drops out of Yale. This really is the first hint that Rory might be able to turn to her grandfather in moments of desperation. I love the way their bond grows. It starts right here. And then, if you like, we can get some lunch. That’d be great. Fine. and it becomes one of my favorite relationships in the entire show. I am a big softy for Richard Gilmore, so consider this your warning. But let’s slow down, pause, and ask, why does this work? Why does Rory connect so easily with Richard when Laurelai never could? Rory grew up largely without her father. She had Luke, yes, but that was a different relationship. Richard is something else. Authority, approval, a stamp of intellectual legitimacy. He fills a gap for Rory that Lauraai never wanted him to fill or maybe never believed he could. And that’s a tragedy, isn’t it? Richard becomes a father figure to Rory in a way he could never be to Lauraai. And Lauraai feels it instantly. She’s jealous, panicking, and maybe a little heartbroken because Richard, who is distant, distracted, dismissive with her, he’s mourn with Rory when they’re gossiping about people in the club. Tell me you can’t picture Lauraai in on that, too. Is there more? Can you handle it? I’ll steal myself. And the subtext is brutal. He could have been this kind of father to Lauraai, but he wasn’t. Was it because Lauraai didn’t read the same books that Rory does? Was it because Lauraai pushed back instead of playing along? Was her humor too out of place for him? Did he even try? Or was Richard only ever capable of connecting with children who followed his rules? And on that note, what was it really like in the Gilmore household when Lauraai was a child, a teenager? We get fragments, but never the full picture. I do sometimes wish we got a little more into the backstories of what happened pre- Rory. But that’s why Lauraai’s jealousy isn’t just about Rory fitting in somewhere she never did. She never wanted to fit into that world. It’s more about Richard giving Rory the approval he withheld from her and how Rory was supposed to be like Lauraai and want what she wants to choose her world, her life, her way of being. And in this episode, maybe for the first time, Lauraai realizes that might not happen. Does this hat really look bad on me? No. Think it looks kind of cute. Does that terrify her? Because Lauraai’s whole identity has been me and Rory against the world. And maybe Emily was right. That has got to sting. If Rory goes and has a good time without you, then I win. And that final scene captures it perfectly. Now suddenly, it’s Rory and Richard and Emily against the couch cushion where Lauraai sits looking like a guest in her own family story. A feeling that seems to be how Lauraai has always felt about her parents. And I wonder what is she thinking right now. So yes, Kill Me Now might look a little bit like filler, but it’s one of the sharpest early episodes. Subtext, family dynamics, jealousy, it’s all here. And it’s written by someone who barely wrote any TV at all. Wild. You can use your mother’s old golf clubs. They’re upstairs gathering dust along with the rest of her potential. Okay. If you have your own questions about this episode or answers or theories, drop them in the comments. Don’t forget to subscribe and spiral along with me. Thanks so much for watching. Bye. Can’t stay in the talk. Love to watch the walk.