As someone who has watched all of Gilmore Girls uh, more than a few times, I still never tire of seeing Lorelai and Rory’s stories. As I head into the end of season one of these supercaffeinated recaps, I can’t help but marvel at how it holds up. I skip over some episodes, sure, but for the most part, I still appreciate the humor and drama and learn new things about the characters. And with each passing year, I respect Emily more and more.

The last episodes of season one piled on the drama for just about everyone and managed to increase tension between Lorelai and her mother. Let’s discuss.

Three Little Words

Love was in the air in “Star-Crossed Lovers and Other Strangers.” Well, it was for most people. One of the many charms of Stars Hollow was all its festivals, and the Firelight Festival was my favorite. It celebrated the romantic founding of the village, and it just so happened to coincide with Dean and Rory’s three month anniversary. Yeah, it said a lot about Dean that he planned a big celebration for three months. It’s the sort of thing you do with your first love, or if you’re the romantic sort. However, the special evening didn’t end well when Dean told Rory he loved her and she didn’t respond in kind.

It’s been a minute since I was an overly emotional teen, but even keeping the additional hormones in mind, I think Dean overreacted. It was the first time we saw him in a negative light–how dare he hurt Rory!–and marked a milestone for Rory. A sad one.

Another interesting twist happened in this episode when Luke’s ex-girlfriend Rachel showed up unannounced. Lorelai was still hung up on Max, but the presence of Rachel made her feelings for Luke more apparent. So much romantic tension, so much denial.

Favorite quote: “It’s a crazy festival based on a nutty myth about two lunatics who in all probability did not even exist and even if they did probably dropped dead of diphtheria before age 24. The town of Stars Hollow probably got its name from a local dance hall prostitute or two rich drunk guys who made up the story to make it look good on a poster.” – Luke (I’ve been remiss in not highlighting a quality Luke rant.)

Another Gilmore Girl

Why have three Gilmore girls when you can have four? “The Third Lorelai” introduced Richard’s mom, Lorelai I, a.k.a. Trix. This episode was key for a couple of big reasons. First of all, Emily flipped the hell out when she found out Trix was arriving. She had an antagonistic relationship with her mother-in-law. On one hand, it was entertaining to watch Emily scramble and sweat. On the other hand, Trix was rather mean to Emily. It was different than the dynamic between Emily and Lorelai. Trix was demeaning. I felt sympathy for Emily, which was kind of the point, I guess.

Though Emily was served more than her just desserts, she took the edge off any pity you felt by manipulating Lorelai. Trix wanted to grant Rory’s trust fund to her early so Rory could pay for school. Emily used the offer to make Lorelai think Rory would take the money and turn her back on her mother. It showed Emily’s total ignorance about why Lorelai left and illustrated her jealousy of Lorelai and Rory’s friendship.

Favorite quote: “I still can’t get over the fact that I’m related to God. This will make getting Madonna tickets so much easier.”

A Thousand Yellow Daisies

Season one of Gilmore Girls ended on high notes for both Lorelai and Rory. And surprise: “Love, Daisies and Troubadours” had a proposal. We didn’t see Max and Lorelai together a ton, so the decision to move to marriage seemed hasty. That said, the way Max proposed the second time–with a thousand yellow daisies–was quite sweet. I’ve put way too much time into wondering if this is actually what hundreds of yellow daisies would look like. Did someone in props count them out to the last flower? Did they wipe out floral supply stores around Los Angeles? These are important questions to consider, and as it turns out, Amy Sherman-Palladino answered some of them.

And then there was Max’s question which ended them all. The romantic in me wanted Lorelai to say yes immediately, but the suddenness of the proposal was a little much. It was too much fairy tale in a series that was only a borderline fairy tale, if that makes sense.

Meanwhile, Rory reconciled with Dean. She admitted what happened with the break-up and overcame her hesitation about saying, “I love you.” As usual, Dean acted too dramatically and possessively for my taste, but I can’t deny their make-up kiss was sweet.

Favorite quote: Because “I love you, you idiot!”

That’s it for season one. Jump to the comments and tell me about your favorite episodes or come talk to me on Twitter.

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IMAGES: Warner Bros., BILYYI, Gilmore Girls Wikia, Amaneceres Líricos