Gilmore Girls Re-Watch: Rory’s Birthday Parties (Season 1 Episode 6)

One of the things I love about Gilmore Girls is that you can watch each episode over and over, and always catch something new.

“Rory’s Birthday Parties” is especially significant because it shows the contrast between the way Lorelai grew up and the way she is raising Rory. It also continues to reconcile the relationship between Lorelai and her parents, one of the most important driving factors of the entire series.

Note: If you haven’t seen episodes beyond this one, there will be spoilers! As a re-watch, I have some connections to make to later seasons.

The episode begins with Friday night dinner at the Gilmores,’ but with a bizarre twist. Emily announces that Rory and Lorelai should go around the house and place post its on items they’d like to have after she and Richard are gone. Crystal bowls, weird statues, a fancy desk – these are all the kinds of items they can choose from.

More significantly, though, is dessert. Tonight, the Gilmores are serving pudding, which Lorelai recognizes to be symbolic. Pudding isn’t the sort of thing Emily would normally have, so Lorelai sees it as reaching it out. In fact, having a special “low-brow” dessert is used in a later episode as well, when Emily has Twinkies made from scratch to celebrate Rory’s good grades in school.

Emily continues trying to reach out, going so far as to ask Lorelai to help her shop for a present for Rory. She’s entirely misguided, wanting to buy Rory fancy things she has no use for. Lorelai finally convinces her to buy funky glowing bracelets, which actually seem a little young for Rory at this stage, but the point is that Rory doesn’t need pearls. I was actually rooting or the guitar shaped purse, myself.

All seems well between Lorelai and Emily, and they are actually making some progress. Unfortunately, Emily is even more misguided in her attempt to throw Rory a birthday party. She really should have asked for Lorelai’s help with this part, too.

Emily makes the mistake of inviting everyone in Rory’s class at Chilton, which includes all of the kids she can’t stand. Rory chooses not to tell Lorelai and instead suffer through it, since she sees that her mother and grandmother are getting along.

There’s a tradition between Lorelai and Rory that is sentimental while also reminding us why we love the spunky Lorelai Gilmore so much. She wakes Rory up early in the morning and tells her the story of her birth. She begins telling Rory how she can’t believe how fast she’s growing up, and that she is “a great cool kid. And the best friend a girl could have.” Then she goes into her story, which Rory has clearly heard several times.

Lorelai: And while some have called it the most meaningful experience of your life, to me it was something more akin to doing the splits on a crate of dynamite.

The party at the Gilmores’ is a total disaster. Tristan acts like… well… Tristan, and Rory tells off her grandmother when she asks her to give a speech. Naturally, Emily blames Lorelai for Rory’s “manners.”

Rory’s reaction is actually kind of out of character for her compared to later episodes. In fact, there are several times I don’t find Season 1 Rory to be entirely likeable, if I’m being honest. She does try to apologize, and then invites her grandmother to the party at their house Saturday night.

Paris is also at that party, by the way, only because she says her parents made her go. This is actually an important moment for their relationship, I think, even though at this point they are enemies.

Paris is obviously jealous that Tristan is giving Rory attention. They see each other at the college fair the next morning, both finding themselves at the Harvard table, upset that they both want to go to the same college. Paris asks Rory if she likes Tristan, and warms to her slightly when Rory insists she doesn’t like Tristan at all. Then she says, “Nice party.”

We know that these two have an important relationship as the series moves forward, eventually becoming good friends and ending up as college roommates – not at Harvard, but at Yale.

That night is the “real” party for Rory’s birthday. Earlier, Rory tells Luke that Lorelai is famous for her big parties, so you have to wonder why we don’t see these kinds of things more often.

The party is exactly the sort of party Lorelai would throw in Stars Hollow – its funky, relaxed, and Sookie makes tons of good food. It’s a good representation of Lorelai and Rory’s relationship, and a nice snapshot of what their life is like in the small town. Rory wears a hot pink boa and a “happy birthday” headband, the music is loud, and Lorelai makes bad jokes.

Emily and Richard arrive, again as a gesture of trying to reach out. It’s the first time Lorelai’s parents have been to her house, and the first time they really see what her life is like in Stars Hollow. Emily is upset to realize that Lorelai had broken her leg three years ago, and she never heard a word about it, later telling Richard that Lorelai is right, and she doesn’t know her daughter at all.

But that’s not entirely true. Emily isn’t far off in seeing the potential between Lorelai and Luke. She’s the first character to obviously point out that these two characters should be together, and their relationship will drive the series.

She assumes as she watches Lorelai hug Luke that the two are dating, and when Lorelai insists they aren’t, Emily can see in Lorelai’s reaction that there is something there. Emily may not be privy to all the details of her daughter’s life, but that moment seems to show that she does know a thing or two about her daughter.

Other Notes:

• Luke asks Lorelai to marry him in this episode. He’s not serious, but it’s an important moment of foreshadowing, especially since they are in the diner when it happens.
• Luke makes Rory a special coffee cake and even blows up balloons for her breakfast at the diner. Luke always has a soft spot for Rory, already seeming to fill a father-figure role – sort of. By the way, Rory holds her fork next to her piece of coffee cake while talking to Lane, but she never actually takes a bite.
• Richard and Rory have a few nice grandfather/granddaughter moments in this episode. He gives her two separate checks for a trip she hopes to take one day, and bonding over a silly quiz in a magazine. Everything about Richard is sweet in the episode, a nice contrast to the conflicts between the women.
• Lorelai spots Rory and Dean outside after the party, and where he first gives her the bracelet that will symbolize their relationship. Lorelai sees it happen, looking surprised and maybe a little hurt that Rory hasn’t included her in these details of her life.

What are your thoughts on this episode of Gilmore Girls? Which Season is your favorite? Share your thoughts in the comments below!