Lorelai Gilmore will be the first to tell you that Emily isn't the best mother in the world, but the matriarch proves she's a better parent than she's given credit for in this one memorable Emily's hilarious insults are some of Gilmore Girls' best lines, but they're also indicative of a major character flaw, which is how brutally judgmental she can be. Her daughter Lorelai, who eschewed the privileged life that her mother so desperately wanted for her, is the main target of Emily's barbs.
Emily is particularly critical of Lorelai's love life, and it vexes her to no end that Lorelai wouldn't marry Christopher after she became pregnant with Rory. Though it's obvious that Luke and Lorelai's relationship is endgame, even to Emily herself, she can't help but try and push her daughter and Christopher together at every opportunity. But there's a particular moment when she realizes how much Christopher has hurt Lorelai, and Emily's response had practically every Gilmore Girls fan on their feet and cheering.
Emily Shows How Much She Loves Lorelai When She Kicks Christopher Out
Season 3, Episode 2 Is When Emily Is Most Vicious To Christopher
In the Gilmore Girls season 2 finale, it looked like Emily would finally get her wish when Lorelai heavily implies that she and Christopher are back together after all these years. However, mere moments later, Christopher drops a huge bomb when he reveals that Sherry is pregnant and he's going to stay with her over Lorelai. Emily is crushed when she finds out, and in Gilmore Girls season 3, episode 2, "Haunted Leg," she tries to meddle and encourages Lorelai to reconcile with him.
Emily Gilmore Has Aged Like Fine Wine — Why The Gilmore Girls Character Deserves To Be Taken More Seriously
Emily Gilmore is seen as both an antagonist and comedic relief in Gilmore Girls, but she should be seen as one of the titular girls.
However, later in that episode, Emily sees how much Christopher hurt Lorelai when he barges into a Gilmore Girls Friday Night Dinner uninvited. In typical Christopher fashion, he refuses to take ability for his actions and can't handle the fact that Lorelai, and now Rory, see him as the bad guy. He has a tantrum about it, and Lorelai breaks down, telling him that seeing him after he chose Sherry over her is "killing" her. That's all Emily needs to hear — she icily requests he leave, but it's clear from her tone that she is not asking.
...she doesn't tell Lorelai to calm down or that she's overreacting. Instead, she's a true parent and sees her kid in distress, so she swoops in and protects her.
Emily lives in a perfectly manicured world, and isn't comfortable with huge displays of emotion. But she doesn't tell Lorelai to calm down or that she's overreacting. Instead, she's a true parent and sees her kid in distress, so she swoops in and protects her. This doesn't fix everything in Emily and Lorelai's relationship by a long shot, but it does prove that Emily is in Lorelai's corner no matter how she may disapprove of her lifestyle. The fact that the Gilmore matriarch sent Christopher walking out with his tail between his legs is just icing on the cake.
Emily & Lorelai's Relationship Is Strongest When They're Vulnerable With Each Other
When The Gilmore Girls Characters Drop The Facade, They Find Common Ground
Emily may have to take the lion's share of the blame for her and Lorelai's fractured relationship, but the Gilmore Girls protagonist isn't entirely faultless either. Though she's charming and hilarious, Lorelai can be incredibly mean-spirited in Gilmore Girls, making people the cruel butt of the joke, and her parents, particularly Emily, are frequent punchlines.
But Lorelai stops using humor as a facade when accosted by Christopher, and that's how Emily is able to see how hurt she is. In fact, whenever either Emily or Lorelai are able to drop down their shields and be raw and vulnerable with each other, their relationship improves tenfold. This is best seen in season 7, episode 15, "I'm a Kayak, Hear Me Roar," when Lorelai shares the news of her divorce from Christopher with her mother.
Gilmore Girls' 12 Best Emily & Lorelai Moments
Although the mother and daughter have a contentious relationship, Emily and Lorelai Gilmore have some fantastic moments of bonding in Gilmore Girls.
It's very difficult for Lorelai to do this, and for all her past judgmentalness, Emily is surprisingly calm about it (though the scotch may have helped). She expresses her iration for Lorelai's self-sufficiency and is vulnerable in the moment herself. After all, they're alone because Lorelai is helping Emily with Richard's business affairs following his heart attack. Emily never learned how to be financially independent with Lorelai, and it's clearly a pain point for her. I wish Lorelai and Emily had more moments like this in the show, but they get some great ones in the revival.
Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life Sees Emily & Lorelai Heal
It's One Of The Only Things The Revival Gets Right
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, the Netflix revival miniseries, fails in a lot of ways, but in the end, Lorelai and Emily's relationship has never been stronger. Of course, much of AYITL sees them reverting back to their old ways and learning nothing about how vulnerability unites them. This is on full display when Lorelai is desperate to avoid sharing a happy memory about Richard, who has ed away, and instead tells a ridiculously inappropriate story rather than open up.
Emily responds in kind by putting them in therapy, which is actually a positive step — though maybe not tricking Lorelai into attending. However, by the time the final "Fall" episode rolls around, Lorelai is finally able to drop her facade, and she calls Emily with a heartfelt memory of her late father. A tearful Emily thanks her daughter, and just like that, we know these strong Gilmore Girls women are going to be okay, and that they will always be there for each other.
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Gilmore Girls
9/10- Release Date
- 2000 - 2007-00-00
- Network
- The WB
- Writers
- Amy Sherman-Palladino
WHERE TO WATCH
StreamingBUYIn the fictional town of Star's Hollow, single mother Lorelai Gilmore raises her high-achieving teenage daughter Rory. Mother and daughter rely on each other throughout their own life changes, romantic entanglements, and friendships.
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Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life
8/10- Release Date
- 2016 - 2016-00-00
- Showrunner
- Amy Sherman-Palladino
- Directors
- Amy Sherman-Palladino, Daniel Palladino
WHERE TO WATCH
StreamingBUYActing as a follow-up to the original series, Gilmore Girls, A Year In The Life is a comedy-drama series. Having completed her stint on the Obama campaign trail, Rory now finds herself as a freelance journalist with an inconsistent life. Meanwhile, Lorelei finds herself lost in life before her marriage to Luke. This four-part mini-series follows the titular mother-daughter duo as they continue to navigate their mother-daughter relationship in Star's Hollow.
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