Today I (re)watch: Gilmore girls, 1.12

Ahhh, Double Date. Fun times.

The summary: As the title hints at, there are double dates. Lorelai agrees to a double date with Sookie & Jackson (adorable alert!) and Jackson’s awful cousin, Rune. Rory agrees to help out Lane and goes on a double date with Dean and her incredibly boring friend Todd. Hilarity, awkwardness, and gorgeous-ladies-with-mediocre-boys are all key elements in this episode.

SPOILER ALERT. I have seen all the seasons before, so I am reviewing retrospectively. SPOILER ALERT.

I have never heard of a double/blind date (that you decide to label as such) that was not at best boring and cheesy, at worst awkward and horrifying. This episode is super entertaining but also makes me wonder how all the ladies in this show are straight when most men surrounding them are so mediocre. I know that’s not how sexual orientation works but oh-my-god. Todd is the worst. Rune is the worst. Dean is the worst. Jackson is alright I guess. Luke is amazing but takes too fucking long to realize that he is amazing so, also the worst.

Back to the episode. Sookie is super nervous about her date with Jackson and cannot think of another way but to make it a double date with Lorelai, since Rune, Jackson’s cousin, is in town at the moment. Now, I only forgive Sookie because (a) her nervousness is adorable, and (b) she had no way of knowing just how much of an asshole Rune is. Seriously, such a sleazy doucheface.

I like that this episode is not about the Gilmore girls’ dating lives (which is essentially the rest of the show). It’s about their friends. But boy are the men terrible. Rune is a jackass! Lorelai is gorgeous, and smart, and independent, and fashionable, and funny. Rune is ugly, dumb, boring, rude, sleazy, a bad cousin, unfunny (except when he beheads the fancy candle swans, that’s golden) and annoying. He should be so lucky, and he is so so unpleasant to Lorelai and such a ridiculously immature, entitled manchild. I would have punched him.

Poor Sookie is so awkward and nervous and she clearly has not dated in a while and really likes Jackson. This episode perfectly illustrates why I think going to fancy restaurants for first dates is terrible, though. It’s too much pressure and it’s stuffy and you are almost invariable stuck in front of each other and food is expensive and, urgh. Just, no, don’t do it, ever. Once they get to Luke’s they are much more relaxed and feel at ease with each other. Greasy diner > fancy restaurant, any day.

Lane: How do I look?
Rory: Too good for him.
Lane: Just what I was going for.

I had kind of forgotten (not really, but I don’t think of him that often) how uninteresting and annoying Todd was. He also makes zero effort to even seem interesting or fun which makes me think he is also a sleazebag who thinks – like white boys tend to – that just by showing up they are doing the world a favor. Lane is also super smart and pretty and awesome and Todd is just a blob.

Initially when Dean is not too convinced about the double date I think he knew that Todd was completely without appeal. That’s my theory.

Now for tonight’s edition of Luke x Lorelai Sexual Tension (TM), DAMN YOU MRS KIM! Luke was going to ask Lorelai out! I know it, my best friend knows it, Buzzfeed knows it. Mrs Kim could have saved us years of waiting, and could have saved Lorelai those same years of dead ends. They are too sexy and OMG my hormones. Anyway.

Now Sookie and Jackson are dating, Lane knows for sure that Todd is not for her, we know for sure that Luke needs to have sex with Lorelai ASAP. All is good in the world.