Season 1 Episode 5: Cinnamon’s Wake

“Okay, our town is just weird”

“Thank God”

One Sentence Recap:  The next door neighbor’s beloved cat, Cinnamon, dies; meanwhile, both Gilmore Girls move forward with potential romances.

My Commentary:  This week’s Friday Night Dinner topic is Nazis.  Oh what fun! Richard is out of town on business, and Lorelai jokes that Richard is insuring Nazis now, to which Emily replies without skipping a beat “your father doesn’t know any Nazis.”  The girls then do that thing where they explain that Lorelai is only kidding, as they must do with nearly every sentence that comes out of her mouth at these dinners.  Once the failed joke settles, Emily announces that Claudia, someone vaguely related to the family, has passed away, and she expects both Rory and her mother to attend the funeral.  Lorelai, with no recollection of this mystery “Claudia” woman, refuses.  She’s too busy, and has never met the woman.  Then Emily Gilmore makes a joke.  And not just a so-so throwaway one-liner, but a smart, well-designed, full-fledged joke– the best joke to ever come out of a someone wearing both pearls and an expensive broach.  Suddenly, she remembers, “Wait, Rudolph Gottfried […] a Nazi that we knew. I’d forgotten. We stayed with him once in Munich. Nice old man. Interesting stories.”  A thought that causes Lorelai to make this face:

Then Lorelai rants about how despicable it is to fraternize with a known Nazi, to which Emily confidently, and smugly replies, “No, dear, that was a joke.” *10 points to Emily Gilmore* What a total boss.  Emily, you may be full of prejudice and questionable intentions, but you’re not all overpriced floral arrangements and designer pant-suits!

The next day Rory hops on her usual bus to school, when she bumps into a familiar face.  Guess who’s back, back again? Dean is back, I’ll tell you, friends.  And this time it’s fairly permanent, unfortunately.  So Dean runs on to the bus after Rory takes her seat, grabbing the seat behind her.  After initially making her jump out of her seat, he begins some flirtatious chit-chat.  Halfway through their exchange Rory panics that Dean is on his way to Hartford!  But he gently reminds her that buses make stops.  Rory must really be flustered if she’s forgetting how buses work.  Alright, alright, I think it’s safe to say that she likes him.  When the bus arrives at Stars Hollow High, Dean says goodbye, twists around the handrail and exits. Oooo, cool spin move Dean.  That’ll impress her.  Ok, I must stop myself.  He does not deserve my mockery yet. At this point, he seems like a pretty cool guy.  Nice eyes. Nice smile. Nice easy conversation…..but that bus move was just the tiniest bit creepy, yes? I mean Rory looks terrified. Run, Rory, run!

Meanwhile, at Chilton, the annual bake sale has begun! Lorelai is there as per her parental obligations, but she brought along Sookie, because who are we kidding? Lorelai doesn’t bake.  Mr. Max Medina (there we go, a name compromise) visits their table and asks to speak to Lorelai.  He asks her out, but she rambles through numerous reasons why this would be a destructive idea before suddenly interjecting her own thoughts to answer yes.  Aw, Lorelai, you are adorable.  Later in the episode they go get coffee, the perfect non-date date to test the waters.  Max is charming and determined. When Lorelai presents her doubts, he is prepared to knock them all down.  Lorelai asks why he thinks they should date?  And Max answers, “because I think we both want to.”  Well, there’s not much arguing with that.  And if nothing else, all of their subtle arm touching proves there is definite chemistry. They’ve got that going for them.

So what have I missed? Oh yes, right, the beloved neighborhood cat Cinnamon dies.  Babette and Morey feel like they’ve lost a child, but it’s important to note that this cat lived a good long life of 260 human years.  And when we hear Babette describe the death, we can’t help but think “wow, what a way to go!”  I mean come on: “I gave her a push and she rolled off the couch and since I’d just waxed the floor, she went shooting’ across the room. When she knocked over the lamp, I knew it was over.”  What an exit!  The whole town gathers to honor the deceased feline, making for one eventful funeral.  Luke and Sookie get into their first (of many to come) light heated “chef-battles.”  Max shows up for his date with Loreali.  Rory sees and is stunned.  Lorelai tries her best to smoothly handle both situations.  Rory professes her feelings to Dean.  Luke uncharacteristically enjoys himself amongst the rest of the wacky towns folk.  And Babette and Lorelai share a heart-to-heart moment.  Lorelai explains that she’d never thought a man would ever want her, and Babette hilariously exclaims, “oh please, with that ass? Give me a break.”

R.I.P. Cinnamon

Just when everything is settled and the gathering has wound down, Lorelai takes a call from her mother, going against Rory’s frantic warning.  She explains that she was out at the neighbor’s funeral, and Emily, shocked, blurts out “You skipped your own cousin’s funeral for a cat funeral?!” Hahahahahahaha.  Emily’s got another zinger! It’s the perfect ending.  This episode is incredibly well written; the entire episode was build-up for this final punchline.  Now that’s impressive.

P.S. We’re 5 Episodes in and we’ve already seen 3 Kirk Jobs! Should I keep a counter going? I think so.

P.P.S. Can everyone who’s re-watching the series all appreciate the fact that Michel was so surprised anyone would throw a funeral for a cat, when we all know that in just a few years time he will be obsessed with throwing the perfect funeral for his dog?   It’s funny how things work out.

Who Won the Episode? Rory Gilmore! Yay! finally the other half of the Gilmore Girls comes out on top.  In this episode Rory sort of plays cupid.  She may be lacking the arrow and wings (wait…who are we kidding? She’s an angel. She’s got wings), but it was her actions that causes both her and her mother to get dates for the near future.  She could’ve held a grudge with Lorelai.  After all, that was her teacher on her porch, and she had no fair warning.  This definitely warrants a freak out; however,  she is able to empathize with her mother.  Her head is all foggy over Dean, just like her mom’s must be over Max….Mr. Medina…Max?…Mr. Medina? (Where exactly did the girls land on the whole name thing?).  After a little time to ponder, Rory offers her approval.  Well, she doesn’t come straight out and say it, but she does it in the Gilmore way: “Hey do you think you can keep him out really late on Thursday night because I have this oral exam on Friday that I’d really love him to sleep through.”  And Rory doesn’t just help her mom out, she makes a move for herself too.  She tells her “boy-type person,” Dean,  that she is interested in him….and then she darts away. But hey! That’s a step! Thanks to Rory, both Gilmore Girls have fun romances on the way. Get excited y’all.

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Gilmore-ism Guide

• Angelia Jolie: an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian. She has received an Academy Award and has been cited as Hollywood’s highest-paid actress
• The Bangles: an American all-female pop rock band that originated in the early 1980s, scoring several hit singles during the decade.  They’ll come back on the show in a much bigger way a little later. Here’s a preview: Gilmore Girls at The Bangles Concert
• Billy Bob Thornton: an American actor, filmmaker, and singer-songwriter. Thornton made his first break with co-writing and starring in the 1992 thriller One False Move and came to international attention after writing, directing, and starring in the independent drama Sling Blade (1996), for which he won an Academy Award
• Dolly Madison: is an American bakery brand owned by Hostess Brands, marketing prepackaged baked snack foods
• Jean-Paul Sartre:  French philosopher, playwright, novelist, political activist, biographer, and literary critic
• Jim Carrey: a Canadian American actor, comedian, impressionist, screenwriter and film producer, Known for his highly energetic slapstick performances
• M Night Shyamalan: an Indian and American screenwriter, film director, producer and occasional actor known for making movies with contemporary supernatural plots
• Rancid: American punk rock band formed in Berkeley, California in 1991 by 80s punk veterans Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman
• The Sixth Sense: 1999 American supernatural thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The film tells the story of Cole Sear, a troubled, isolated boy who is able to see and talk to the dead