September 15, 2025 • 48 mins
You know him from American Idol, singer Clay Aiken joins Scott to recap Season 2 Episode 20 “Help Wanted”
Clay is not shy about sharing his true feelings about Lorelai’s behavior towards Luke.
Plus, Scott makes a big statement about this episode, especially in his solo scene with Alexis Bledel.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I am all in again.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
That's just too.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Luke Steiner with Scott Patterson an iHeartRadio podcast. Hey, everybody's
Scott Patterson. I am all on podcasts, one of them productions.
iHeartRadio Media, iHeart podcast. Very special guest here on our
episode twenty season two recap. Mister Clay Aiken himself is here.
(00:40):
He is if you don't know him, and I'm sure
you do. He's a singer, actor, father, and was the
runner up in American Idol and Apprentice. His debut album,
Measure of a Man, went multi platinum. He is a
huge fan of Gilmore Girls and was referenced in the
show season four episode eighteen two tick Boom boom. Clay
(01:02):
and I are going to discuss season two episode twenty
help one at air date May seventh, two thousand and two. Clay,
welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Well, thank you for thank you for having me. There
was a heck of an introduction. I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Oh I cut it short. There's so much more I.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Am probably I probably don't know barely half of what
the people who listen know about the show, but obviously
I recognize its cultural significance and did a little bit
of honing up a little brushing up on my season
two episode twenty for today to be able to talk
about it.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Yeah, that's all we're discussing. Yeah, I mean, trust me.
In the Gilmour fandom, I am pretty much to Novice myself.
Oh god, but that's saying a lot. They are steeped
in this show. They know it chapter and verse. Man.
I just this is just my second go around watching it.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
So, oh, you're going through it.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
So you're going through it right chronologically fell for a
second time for.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Yeah, and now when when.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Was the first time you watched it? What was the
first run through? It originally aired.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Four years ago when we started this podcast, I'd never
seen it.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
So wait, so you didn't watch it when you first
when it first aired? That is correct, Okay, you're like
that with everything you do.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Yeah, I mean it's growing on me, man. I mean
it's a great show.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Well, I mean it's very difficult to when you know
the people almost as much as you know the more
than you know the characters, sometimes it probably is very
difficult to watch.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
That's why I'm not an actor.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
No, no, it was at the time, but you know,
twenty five years later, twenty years later it's it's it's
a different person, so you don't Yeah, it's okay to
watch it now, you know. But anyway, so let's let's
I'm gonna kick off with a synopsis. Newcomer Open Stars
Hollow First Music Store, the one and only Carol King Richard,
(03:00):
who probably wrote the greatest theme song in the history
of television. Richard decides to kick off his new business
by searching for a secretary. Then Laurel I starts to
help out at the office, and Richard surprisingly wishes she
would stay. Directed by the great Chris Long written by
Alan Heinberg. Lukes has closed. He's gone fishing. There's been
(03:27):
a fight between Luke and Laurel I. Everybody needs to
cool off. Rory is concerned it's her fault that Luke's
has closed because of the accident. Rory and Laurel I
go to the Hungry Diner to eat breakfast. In their
critical of the menu and coffee cups. We have Patrica
darbo on a few weeks ago who played the waitress
(03:47):
in this episode. She was great in this scene. Clay,
we have never seen lukes Diners closed before. Does this
show the severity of the fight between him and Laurlei
and a situation with Jess Well.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
I mean it certainly does to Roaring, right she she
was stressed out about it more than anybody. Yeah, uh yeah,
I mean I think that's probably what the the intention was, right,
if it's never been closed, you've never been away, that
that to to really kind of underline that all that
(04:23):
there's a lot of there's a lot of subtext in
the show, which is what makes it good. There's a
lot of like real deep thought into why, and not
every show does that. Some stuff is you know, just
very surface, but Gilmore Girls was good at kind of
making sure that there was always a thread underneath that
that propelled the story and really made it authentic. So
(04:46):
probably so having hit, having having Luke leave town, or
at least leave work close it because it also throws
it throws a kink in in larealized day and you know,
kind of messes with their schedule, their routine too. Maybe
you were I'm sorry, maybe he was thinking of a
way that he could screw with him a little bit
(05:07):
and did it on purpose for that reason.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Yeah, I mean that's that's the question, right, Did he
leave town to send a message or or does this
just mean that he's he's taking this fight very very
seriously and he needed time to just sort of be
by himself and convalesce with nature as it were.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Well, you, no one knows him better than you, so
do you. He doesn't seem like the type of what's
the word, I can't even think of the word punitive person.
He's not gonna be punish. I mean, he doesn't seem
like somebody who's gonna punish Laura. I. So he probably
just needed a break.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
He needed a break. Yeah, I agree with that.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
He didn't need to see her first thing in the morning.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
He just, you know, I think he's just a little
bit wounded and he needed to go retreat a little bit,
you know, and think about what he did because he
you know, he yelled and screamed too. So all right,
So seems like this is the biggest fight Luke and
Laurel I have ever gotten into Clay who apologizes first
in this situation? Who do you think should? Oh?
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Well, I gotta.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
I definitely think Laura I should because she annoys me
all the time. I yes, she kind of She's She's
an intense personality, so personally, I'm sure I've sided with Luke.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
I have been known to roll my eyes at Laura
a few times.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
You know what I really thought, this episode is now
my favorite episode of all of them, Health Wanted, This
is my favorite episode. Well, you're barely in it, but
not really right, I mean.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Well, because it's about there's so much, so much gravity
weight from your character.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Right, So I think that's great writing, and I think
she's never been as funny in an episode, Laura Lauren.
I think from beginning to end, this was just just
a comedy masterclass showcase in great writing and great great
acting and great comedic timing mixed with all that drama stuff.
(07:16):
It was a perfect use of supporting characters like Sally
Struthers delivered maybe her funniest speech of all of them,
and to Rory, perfect use of Lane, perfect use of
missus Kim even though you want more missus Kim. It was,
(07:36):
everything was just perfectly balanced. In my opinion, it was
it is.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
It's definitely one of the funnier, at least more overtly funny.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
I couldn't stop laughing. I was roaring through the whole thing.
I mean, it was just like the joke and the
cops Yeah, it was just so many great one liners,
just fantastic. All right, So let's talk about the fallout
from Rory's accident where she fractured her wrist. Dean's coming
home from his trip, but he doesn't know about the accident.
(08:06):
Rory gets out of Friday night dinner so she can
be there to explain when he gets home. She writes
him a letter explaining everything. Dean reacts.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
We never know exactly what she says in it, but
right because he doesn't, I mean, he didn't read it
out loud.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
He just reacts to it.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Well, we know that she starts it out by saying
I love you, I love you right right then, but
then he goes downhill from there. We can only speculate
what was in the rest of the letter, but it
was I think it was just her sort of confessing to,
you know, facts as they happen, because I think she,
you know, in her fit of honesty, is you know,
(08:44):
the best thing you can do in that situation. So
the letter explains everything. He reacts. He keeps saying what
what what shock? Shock?
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Shock, and ty I mean Rory does does does the
letter because she just doesn't have it in her to
say it out loud, because I found it really interesting
that they chose to to have her write the letter,
but then give it to him in person and stand
there while he read it. I just just she didn't
have the nerve to say the words, so she had
to speak them. I mean, I would have thought, if
you're gonna write a letter, you send it to him
(09:14):
and not have to be there for his response.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Were you a little worried for her safety at his
potential reaction because he kicked the bag, which is going
to scare her, which scared her a little bit because
she's probably think of what me next? Is he going
to kick me next? Did you ever fear that she
was in any kind of do you know? Okay, here's
(09:37):
a question. You didn't think that? No?
Speaker 2 (09:39):
I did, I mean, just just because now, was that
was that? We'll see, I don't know the Was it
an actor choice to kick the bag or no? That
was written for him to do that, to be to
be that angry. Was I supposed to be afraid for her?
I guess because I wasn't.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
Okay, yeah, no, I okay, all right?
Speaker 2 (09:58):
But I also think she's a strong enough person that
I wouldn't. I mean, I think I've never I don't
see Rory as as.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Weak or beta, right, but I like the fact that
this show will go there because it's supposed to be
a comfort show and family friend, the whole thing. But
it does get intense. The humor's intense, the sarcasm is biting,
the feelings are intense. It's like it's it's it's funny, heartfelt.
(10:27):
But man, it's a serious drama too, right, it could
stand alone as a serious drama. Oh, I think some
people confuse it for that.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
I think that that was my honestly, that was my
reticence to even be interested in it years, you know,
when it was originally on, because I assumed it's a
drama about it a mother and a daughter, and I'm
not going to enjoy that at all. But it's the
humor that it's the humor and the well the pop
culture report, the fact that it lives in this real
world where so many other shows don't. But it's the
(10:58):
humor that kind of makes it a pro suchable and
palatable to people in a much wider demo than the
CW normally had.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Right, right, right, right? Yeah, So Rory talks to Laurala
about Dean's reaction and then uh, you know, inviting her
calming down and then just inviting her in for dinner
because they're standing in front of his house, and that's
that's a pretty pretty bold gesture to go to his house,
hand him a letter, standing there face the fire, and
(11:26):
then get invited in for dinner. It's probably she didn't
expect that.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Well, you hated him, then, you hated him more than
than I did in general, because Laura I didn't love
him either, right, people was he I mean, I didn't
consider him.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
I didn't hate him in the beginning.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Dean you're talking about You're talking about Dean in the beginning. Yeah,
I didn't like I didn't like him in the beginning. Yeah,
I didn't like him. After the scene with Laurel I
in the house when he says, now it's my turn
to talk and he, you know, he kind of gives
her what for and I'm just like aa there again,
it's because I think she talks too much.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
But you know what, she was the case.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
She obviously carried the show and you can't you can't
enjoy the show unless you enjoy her.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
But there were about her that made me go.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Ah, Right, right, right, all right. Then Laurie Rory then
goes to apologize the tailor for destroying his bench sign
in the accident, and then be Bett confronts Rory. I
wouldn't say confronts, but sees Rory and runs over to
her and starts talking about Jess being a dirty little wolf. Great,
great speech, great Sally Struthers performance, I mean, the best
(12:41):
comedic actress out there. Really just unbelievable. Yeah, I mean,
you think Lauren's good and then you get a Sally
Strauthers come in there and boom right. Rory now realizes
everyone in town is solely blaming Jess for the accident,
and she feels defensive about it. So she's thrown off
by Dean's reactions. She expected him to yell and scream,
(13:02):
even break break up with her. What do you think
of his psychology here is? Did he invite her in
because he's just too afraid of losing her?
Speaker 3 (13:14):
Probably?
Speaker 2 (13:15):
I mean generally, I think he is constantly me his
self esteem is not as high as it should be. Probably,
and I think he's always a little afraid of it.
But which is ironic because I think she's a little
afraid of it too. But that you know, at that age,
that's how everybody feels, right, right, So yeah, I imagine
that he probably, Yeah, he's probably a little worried about that.
(13:37):
He also do I mean, I don't think he loves
that he's not I don't think he loves that he's
not liked about people. And I think he I think
he takes time to try to try to. He wants
to be liked.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
Right.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Sometimes I feel like he's like he's a buy the
book person like herit he read a book on how
to how to behave in cer certain situations, and he
he does it that way. Yeah, I mean I imagine that
that I see now I'm thinking about these the show
in ways that I didn't back then, and certain things
are coming back to my head. But I didn't think
(14:12):
I don't I didn't think about the psychology of it.
I saw it as a fun I saw I saw
a humor in it and the playfulness in it, and
didn't necessarily always go for the deep psychology of it.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
But yeah, it's there. Right. Do you think that maybe
it was on Rory's part a failed attempt to get
Dean to break up with her. Where are these questions coming?
From No, I didn't think that at all. No, I
didn't think that.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
It doesn't come for a while though, So I don't
think that she was already there.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Right right, Okay, all right, So okay, Clay, why do
you think Rory's being so defensive? You think it's because
she doesn't want to be looked at like a damaged
little girl, or because she feels bad for Jess getting
all the blame.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Well, I mean, yeah, she's a girl. She's a you know,
a high school a high schooler who is very you know,
she's defensive of her friends. And I think that, yeah,
she probably, Yeah, I think she is a I think
she's I think again, that goes back. That's kind of
why this show connected so well, because the writers, the
(15:19):
the showrunner were able to kind of really connect with
how that demographic thought, you know, how a Tina high
school girl would think. And yeah, I think she would
get Listen, I've got a high schooler myself. It's a boy,
but I you know, I've got a boy. But so
it's completely different.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
But it's it's.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Very difficult as a parent to remember what it's like
how my brain worked when I was that age, and
there are just a very few shows ever that I
can think of, where writers have done a good job
of thinking like high schoolers, like teenagers, like people whose
frontal lobe has not completely formed yet. Think. And that's
(16:06):
one thing that the show did brilliantly. And yeah, I
think she gets defensive because she People get defensive when
they don't when when the reaction is not how they
expect it to be. Right, you prepare her, you sit
at home, you think through all the different scenarios, and
then when you go and actually do whatever you're doing,
it never works out the way you planned, right, But
(16:28):
if the scenario doesn't go that way, you you know,
you jump to I think a defensive The reaction that
you get from from Dean or from whoever, from the town,
the town is not what you thought it would be,
you get defensive. And I think that's probably why she's
jumped to that defensive standpoint, because it's this is not
what she thought was going to happen.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Right. Also, she's appears to me that she's in love
with them. She loves that kid, she loves Jess, she
misses it.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
She thinks she does.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
She's well, okay, I'll grant you that she thinks she does,
but she feels something powerful. There's a connection there, and
she's concerned about him, you know, and not to jump
the gun, but I think we felt that quite in
a quite weighty way. That was actually quite moving in
the very last scene and something we've never seen before
(17:23):
scene between Luke and Rory late night at the diner
drinking a cup of coffee talking about Jess as he okay,
I know it's not his fault. It was quite touching,
great piece of writing because it's said everything about how
they're both concerned about him and how they both maybe
feel like they failed him, and we're talking about a
(17:44):
seventeen year old boy's life that is in turmoil, and
it's kind of it just sort of achieved this tragic
quality about it at the very last beat of the show,
which is wow.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Well, it was also a really good opportunity to build
that character that that relationship between Rory and.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Mm hmm too, just to Yah to kind of see
him as a.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Not a not a paternal figure, but certainly a certainly
someone she could she could confide in in that way
and talk about things that she couldn't talk She didn't
she you know, she wouldn't couldn't talk about that with
with her mom, right because Laura lies not was far
more biased.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
Yeah, So to have that that non biased third party
opinion and the discussion with someone who she respected was
a was a not just I mean, it was great writing, yes,
but it was a sort of a important moment for
the show, in the whole arc in general.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
M h Yeah, and it proved yet again that both
people can be right and think that each other. I
think Luke understands how Laurel I feel, but I think
Laural I feels, you know, angry that Luke didn't protect
her daughter from Jess, you know, didn't see what kind
(19:10):
of trouble he could he could stir up. Anyway, interesting
interesting stuff. Did you think about that?
Speaker 2 (19:17):
How did you go How did you think about it
going into that, because that was a big moment, it
was we've done You're obviously not your first scene with her,
but it was certainly your first, big.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
Big scene with Rory alone.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Right, So how did that How did you think about
going into that seeing the you know, the gravity and
the weight of that conversation.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
Oh, we knew, I think that we knew. We felt that.
It's just there, it's in the script, it's in the writing.
You read it, and you know, right, the trick is
not to play it. The trick is just to sort
of feel it and do the lines and not try
to do too much right from a technical point of view,
And I love that scene. It's just one of my
(20:00):
favorite scenes. I really really loved that scene. It was
very very tender and very very felt, but not too much.
It's just the situation, this setup is, it's all there
for you, right, so you just really just have to
step and say the lines, you know, and I don't know,
(20:22):
very very very touching, ending, very moving scene.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
I thought it was interesting to me the dynamic between
Rory and Luke, or at least that not paternal, but
the connection that they had and how it kind of
ran parallel to the the different connection, not different, but
the connection between Laura l and her dad in this
episode two, because that you know, the fact that he
(20:47):
was seeing her in a different way than he had
in a while, and the idea that he, you know,
he liked that she was, how good he wanted her
to stay on as his assistant, and that kind of thing.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
I thought it was interesting.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
The it was a in a show that's about moms
and mom and daughter more than anything. You had two
story lines in this episode that were very much about
father and daughter.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
Right yeah. And I think another thing that really encapsulates
that is, you know, here we have, at the end
of the episode, the only two people on the planet
who care about Jess and care about his wellbeing and
care about his future. That's it. His own mother doesn't
(21:34):
care about him, laurrel I doesn't care. Everybody hates this
kid except for Rory. And look and there they are,
which is also why she's defensive too.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Just to go back to that, she sees the wounded
animal and.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Right, yeah, it's very touching, very very touching. Love that ending.
Love it all right, So let's get to Richard's new venture,
his new insurance internettional insurance consulting adventure. He starts a
new com.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
Scene was also pretty hilarious, having between her and mom
and you know her mom trying to explain what and
because no one knows what a consultant does. That's it
was probably the most accurate scene two.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
And he doesn't know what consult what does he actually do?
And so he gets in his office and what does
he do? Consults.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Obviously, she doesn't know either. She just knows he makes
money and brings it home.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Well. His His twenty year secretary, Terry Margie, decides not
to join Richard's new firm, so he considers not following
through with the new company.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
She called way lor I call her something Margie? What
she call her?
Speaker 1 (22:47):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Oh God, now I'm being We're being yelled at by
people who are listening because they all know exactly what
she called. When she was younger, she could didn't remember
who she didn't know who she was. She couldn't remember
who Marchie was. He'll you know, Oh you mean fat
Margie or big Margie or whatever.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
I think Emily referred to her as rotund. Okay, but anyway,
Laura I offers the help out while they find Richard's secretary,
so Richard doesn't have to quit so soon, So Laura
I says to this. She arrives at the office, it's
a mess. She helps Richard by supplies organize the office,
interviews candidates for the new Margie. She's she's impressing her
(23:25):
dad here with her her. No, how well, Clay retirements
didn't last very long for Richard can you relate to
this feeling, if not of not wanting to slow down?
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Well, I mean I'm not that old. Good god, I'm
getting older, But lord, I know, I do think there's
certain people who are who are workaholics, and you obviously,
to be as successful as he has been, he must
enjoy working, right, So yeah, I mean, it's not a
surprise that he wants to do something to and he
(24:00):
needs to stay busy. He also probably you know that
annoying part. The thing about Laurla that annoys me, she
gets from her mama, and so I imagine he wants
to be out of the.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
House, right, all right, So Lurlai steps in to help
her dad. I find secretary seems very selfless of Laurela,
and they end up working well.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
Together, especially considering how they treated her, right.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
Yeah, not well.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
So so so so for her to be that gracious,
I mean, obviously they they're paying for school, what I mean,
they're they're no longer estranged.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
But yeah, the.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
It's it's it's nice to see that she is, that
they're bonding without a required dinner.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
This is really the first time Richard sees his daughter
as being sort of accomplished and smart and capable and right.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Yeah, that's why I was saying that the father's father
daughter theme of this episode. It was obviously it wasn't
that way with with Rory and Luke, but that had
some of the elements of it, and the father daughter
theme was strong in this episode.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
Right. It's like daughter appreciation Day for Richard. Right, It's
like he probably has never felt this way about his daughter.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
Well at least well they've always They always treat her
like she's stupid and my kid, right, and he's seeing
her as someone who's able to handle things right, and
she's like that learning from her.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
In the story when he's yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:27):
Yeah, it's like, Dad, I run an ind I've been
doing it for years, you know, I mean I run
a business. I run a fairly large business. Well, it's
just it's nice to see those moments with those two together.
Obviously it brought them closer together. You know, obviously how
much that sticks around is right, It's going to be temporary, Right,
(25:51):
Something's gonna happen.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
That's the way life is that.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
So yeah, Stars Hall of Music Store, Sophie's in there,
the Great Carol King, So Stars Hall is going to
open up a new music store, and Lane is very,
very excited Carol King's debut did it. I think she
(26:17):
did a great job, you know, she she handled the
comedic moments beautifully.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
Yeah, I didn't realize that she watching this again, this
episode again. First of all, I don't even think. I'm
sure I did clock it when I saw her the
first time. Obviously I know who Carol King is and
know her what she looks like, but I.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
Didn't clock how funny she was.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Yeah, the first time.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
I mean that second scene when she's trying to close
up and yeah, her timing's quite good.
Speaker 3 (26:48):
She was believable. There was no acting there.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
Yeah, I mean it's hard to come in there as
a non actor, but an artist, right, you know, a
very high level of artists, so maybe there's some some experience.
Who knows, but she seemed like she really knew what
the heck she was doing. Well, she's been in the
business longer than all of us, been a lot indeed, right,
she knows what she's doing, right, I mean, jeez, I
(27:14):
grew up with her. She was she was a big
star when I was, you know, growing up in the sixties. Seven.
Speaker 3 (27:20):
She's still got more.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
She's I feel like she's I don't know what the
record is. She's her Her grandson is my guitar player. Actually,
but so I think you think i'd be a little
bit more educated on it. But I feel like she's
had something like one hundred and one hundred and twenty
hit top ten hits. She's one of the most prolific
songwriters in American history by far, without question.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (27:45):
Yeah, I mean I should look it up and see
if I can sign it.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
That's a that's a lot. Yeah, she's got a Jackie.
Can you confirm this number?
Speaker 2 (27:54):
Oh no, you don't believe me. I see what it's Okay,
I'm checking myself too. Well, I've I've got a highley.
She co wrote one hundred and eighteen songs that were
in the top twenty I mean top ten. Oh is
it one hundred and twenty one hundred and twenty one
hundred and eighteen class I have that have charted?
Speaker 3 (28:12):
Okay, maybe that's what it was.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
Listen.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Still, that's very I mean, but we're talking about and
the ones that she wrote Natural Woman and well, I
can't even think what they did that whole I mean,
the whole musical on Broadway Beautiful. It was about her,
and it's full of her songs. Up on the roof,
this soul world stocks getting me down up on the roof,
(28:35):
she wrote, she wrote songs for other people. You got
a friend for James Taylor. I mean her stuff is
the cannon, right. So so coming and doing an acting
role was she didn't need the money.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
Yeah, I mean really outstanding performance. And you know that's
tough to do, to come in for a small role
a scene, you know, a little scene here and there.
Speaker 3 (28:59):
Right with not enough meat, right, you know how to
do what to do with it.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
But she came back again.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
She's been back a few times, I think she Yeah,
and she was in the she was in the revival and.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
Yes, yeah, I remember that, Yes she was. She was well,
you know she she made a deal with Lane, right,
so she proposed that she practices twice a week at
the store. In return for working at the store. Lane
found her longtime passion drumming and the band. We see
Lane pressure on the drums for the first time. Clayton,
you remember singing for the first time.
Speaker 3 (29:32):
I don't remember it.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
And my mom said I was doing it when I
was a kid, when I was eighteen months old. Do
I remember singing in front of I don't remember singing
in front of an audience until probably middle school.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
Like that. But I mean, I've been doing it my
whole life. I don't remember.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
I don't remember discovering it as a passion and the
way Lane did, all of a sudden out of nowhere,
pulled out of nowhere.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
And so what was there a moment for you and
you thought, oh, I'd like to pursue this professional, pursue
it as a career.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
No, when I when I on the finale of Idol,
when I was when I was there, I didn't have
any plans to pursue it as a career until the
career pursued me. No, I didn't have I guess you know.
For me, and this is very different than Lane's situation.
I learned to love it because I discovered I was
good at it, and I was good at it, so
(30:27):
I might as well keep doing it.
Speaker 3 (30:29):
Whereas Lane just thinks it looks.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
Fun and so she's gonna she wants to do it well,
and she's gonna practice and maybe be horrible.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
She didn't she didn't sound like she was too good, right,
This is so so it was different for me.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
I mean, I think I think it's the kind of
thing that she's going to grow out of in a
few weeks.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
I mean, Lane's Lane is.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
Not psychologically developmentally, Lane is a little developmentally young from
her age. I think, you know, she she provides some
of that foil to Rory, because Rory can be so mature,
and Lane just kind of shows us how mature she is,
because Lane is is not.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
And she's very she's very childlike.
Speaker 2 (31:13):
So she's going to have that sort of she'll grow
out of it and she'll be into into planes next week,
and then the week after that she'll be into something else.
So she exactly exactly, I don't expect her to stick
with it, and so but I mean that comic relief
(31:34):
and it's an important I mean, it's an important.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
Building block to the show.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Again because you know, some of these things are there too,
Some of these characters are put in place, and the
way the storylines are built are kind of built to
kind of supplement or or build up certain factors about
other characters.
Speaker 3 (31:53):
Right, So Lane helps us, it helps.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Foil Rory and shows us how mature is for her age,
for Candy, for her age.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
That's interesting, you know, that's a various student observation, very
interesting observations.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
Not just a pretty nice.
Speaker 1 (32:10):
You are stirring the pot, buddy, let me tell you
I like it all right. Cocktail launch party. Emily throws
Richard a big launch party and invites all of his
clients and potential clients and friends to drum up his business.
He ends up hiring that Karen for his secretary anyway,
(32:31):
and he is happy to be work scoring deals or
bagging the suede as they say. And what Emily worries
cast She blames Lorelai for that accident, and it's like,
here we go again. We saw it coming a mile away.
Speaker 2 (32:47):
But she she even she she foreshadowed that in the
beginning of the episode when she was like, how am
I explain why you had a cast on.
Speaker 3 (32:55):
To her? So, I mean, but that's not That's just
that's who she is.
Speaker 1 (32:59):
Right, and uh and Rory Laurlai get into a yelling
match in the hallway outside the office. When Rory expresses
her frustration with everyone blaming Jess. I mean that got
very heated. Rory heads home by herself. She wants some
time alone, right, But of course Emily blames Laura I
(33:22):
immediately that that's her default position, Emily. You think Emily
uses moments like this to undermine Laura. I mean, it's
just a constant barrage of sabotage.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Emily doesn't have anything going for herself, right, I mean,
and she she reminds me, also, what was that?
Speaker 1 (33:39):
What was the.
Speaker 3 (33:42):
Crap?
Speaker 2 (33:43):
I can't even if it's friends, but was Monica Monica's
relationship with her mom on friends?
Speaker 3 (33:48):
Right where?
Speaker 1 (33:50):
And that's also I think I've heard.
Speaker 2 (33:52):
I believe it's not uncommon for women and their daughters,
you know, a little bit of a little bit of competition,
a little bit of trying to not belittle each other
all the time, but not wanting to let not wanting
to admit that their daughter has grown up and is
perhaps more stable than they are. Right, And Emily's not
(34:15):
really ever had anything going for her except for being a.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
Rich so so.
Speaker 2 (34:24):
She is she Yeah, she has to belitve Laura because
I don't think her self esteem is high enough at all.
Speaker 1 (34:31):
Which of course is ironic because you raised her right
and in a sense broke her, and Laurel has been
putting the pieces back together ever since. So Laurel, I
screams at her daughter. When my daughter comes home broken,
I get to hate the guy who broke her. That's
how it works. He's gone.
Speaker 3 (34:49):
I win.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
Claiy, do you agree with that? Yes, parenting style, that's
a tough love kind of a situation where it's like.
Speaker 3 (34:59):
Hey, tough lover.
Speaker 2 (35:01):
I mean, I'm not doesn't go over well in my
house always. But but yeah, I totally she's right.
Speaker 3 (35:11):
She was actually.
Speaker 2 (35:14):
Generous to Rory a little bit too, because she blames
it all on Jess and it's not all Jess's fault.
Rory's right about that, so she's being extra generous to
take all of her anger and hate out on him.
But yeah, I mean, I think she has every right
to be angry, and she has every right to be
(35:36):
certainly skeptical about what Jess may turn not turn her
daughter into, but the influence that he has he could
have on her.
Speaker 3 (35:45):
So I don't blame her for that.
Speaker 2 (35:46):
And this is this has come from somebody who gets
annoyed by her a lot.
Speaker 3 (35:49):
So I thought she was in the right there.
Speaker 1 (35:51):
Right because you know, this is a kid, love or
hate him, who can destroy Rory's life. There could be
you know, she's having forbacks to her own teenage years
when she got pregnant, and she's seeing Jess as the
same animal, right, like, oh, this is not going to
happen to my daughter. You know. The apple has fallen
(36:14):
not very far from the tree on this.
Speaker 2 (36:16):
One, which makes you wonder now, to go back to Emily,
how much she history repeats itself, right, And even as
I am forty something years old, I think about, oh God,
I'm doing exactly what my mother would have done.
Speaker 3 (36:31):
And.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
How much in common Emily might have with that too,
Like were there things in Emily's past that she doesn't
want Laura to repeat, you know, being useless for example.
She doesn't want Laura to be useless like she is,
and so she is much tougher on her. She caviously
takes it out in a different way than Laura I
(36:54):
does with Rory. But there's no doubt Emily loves her daughter,
just doesn't know how to show it right. And they're
probably your commonalities there. I mean, they're both they're both
trying to defend and protect their kids. They're just doing
it in very different ways. Laurel I's been through things
that maybe Emily didn't go through, and so she I
(37:16):
didn't even think about the fact that she was thinking
about getting pregnant at the same age and wanting to
make sure the same thing didn't happen to her daughter.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
Right, Yeah, well, I think that's primarily the fear, and
even beyond getting pregnant. Is you know this guy, he's explosive,
he's unpredictable, you know, but he's hot, so it's okay, dangerous,
I guess. So that's why I didn't dislike him. You know,
(37:48):
just just put on a wife beater and chop would
and you're good. You know, there you go, just go
over there and do that. That's what I do. That's
always how I do it. You know, this final scene,
we've discussed this a little bit, you know, in Luke's response,
(38:12):
I know it wasn't his fault. It's a simple. But
yet that's the economy of this writing is beautiful. It's
it's a very emotional statement. And why do you think
it's important for Rory to too Rory, for Luke to
know jess As not to blame. Why is that? Well?
Speaker 2 (38:28):
Because they because Luke's the only other person who cares
about him, right, and she doesn't want her, she doesn't
want him to believe something bad and then have nobody
care for him. So, I mean, that's that seems somewhat obvious.
She I think she also wanted validation a little bit too.
She she wanted to get him. She needed somebody on
her side to go against the mob, right, and she
(38:54):
probably recognized that he would be a safe place because
he has an affinity for Luke too's I mean for
you know also so he uh, she she.
Speaker 3 (39:04):
Knew was a safe place to be there.
Speaker 2 (39:07):
And like I said, it was just an opportunity for
them to bond over something they had in common.
Speaker 1 (39:11):
To mm hmm.
Speaker 3 (39:13):
You want people on your side, you want someone on
your chain.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
Right right, right, But it sets up all of this
potential conflict with Lorelei and everybody else in the town
because now these two are aligned. They feel we see
they feel the same way, and as you so aptly
put it there, maybe they're going to go up against
the mob in a sense, and I have kind of
interested kind of drama.
Speaker 3 (39:36):
Then you won't have a TV show.
Speaker 1 (39:38):
There you go, there you go, beautiful setup. Right, We
got some some questions for you, sir. Uh all right,
here we go. Uh, if you could choose one of
your songs to be the Gilmore Girls theme song. Which
one would you choose? Oh?
Speaker 2 (39:55):
Well, I didn't have very many songs of my own,
so let me think of what would be appropriate. I
had a song called I Survived You, which I think
would be pretty appropriate for it. It's about it's about
surviving a very difficult relationship and persevering after it. And
I think every character in the show at some point
(40:18):
had to survive something and became stronger because of it.
So I think it would be appropriate for the for
Gilmore Girls.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
M hm. Okay. So, as you have stated, you started
your singing career, or you start singing at very young age,
when you started to grow as a singer, what was
that adjustment like when your voice started to change?
Speaker 3 (40:43):
It never did?
Speaker 2 (40:45):
Oh is that right? Well, I mean obviously it changed some,
but I definitely definitely still sound like a girl. I
didn't have to worry about that. It didn't bother me
because I think one I.
Speaker 1 (40:56):
Was always told.
Speaker 3 (40:56):
First of all, it didn't change much.
Speaker 2 (40:58):
I was an alto when I I was in fifth grade,
and I could be an alto today if I had to.
They call us countertenors now. So my voice didn't make
too much of a change. Unlike my son, he went
from sounding like this, don't look now he Mine didn't
change any Plus, since I sang steadily through that pubescent
(41:20):
period and I was doing I mean singing every day
in school and a part of choirs and doing stuff
after school, I've been told that because of that, you
kids whose voices are used a lot and they sing
a lot, their voices don't crack as much. On the
other hand, today haven't sung in quite a while, so
today I sound like I'm going through puberty, but I
(41:42):
didn't crack when I was in middle school.
Speaker 1 (41:43):
Is there a Gilmore girl's character you relate to the most?
Speaker 2 (41:48):
Well, I probably should say I relate to Lauraai the most,
even though she annoys me, and maybe she does annoy
me because she's she's She's definitely the wittiest one, right,
Not that I'm complimenting myself and saying that I'm the wittiest,
but god, now, I've never thought about this, so I'm
having to think about it now and therefore not doing
(42:09):
as deep a dive as I could.
Speaker 3 (42:11):
But probably mean it probably would be.
Speaker 2 (42:12):
Her because she does like to be she does like
to be the center of attentional and I can't say
that I don't and I think that I think that
she's probably a lot. I mean, she's definitely a lot
more vulnerable than she wants to appear.
Speaker 3 (42:31):
To people.
Speaker 2 (42:33):
So I mean I would go I could go with her, probably.
I mean, I mean, I'm as clumsy and clueless as
Suki as but I I'm gonna go with Laura La
for now.
Speaker 1 (42:44):
Mm hmm. Okay. And you, as you mentioned, you have
a sixteen year old son seventeen now, he just turns
seventeen years seventeen. Wow, Yeah, what are some of the
values that you're hoping to pass down to him.
Speaker 2 (42:58):
I mean i'd say that I say that as we
as we were in this period where dads and their
kids do the same thing. I think that I was
saying good women and their daughters do. I mean, I
do think a strong work ethic, being willing to sweat
and be sore at the end of the day. You know,
(43:19):
I had to do that as a kid, and I
stumbled into a career where I don't as much and
as a result, don't have.
Speaker 3 (43:28):
To make him as much.
Speaker 2 (43:30):
So I hope to kind of push him to be
uncomfortable sometimes. I think it's important for all of us,
and I think sometimes we've gotten especially as with some
of the younger generations. Now I'm going to really get
people pissed to me where we try to make life
as easy and pleasant for them as possible, which obviously
(43:50):
you want to do for your kids, right, But then
when you get in the real world and things aren't
easy and pleasant, you don't know how to deal with it,
you don't know how to cope with it, you don't
have the coping skills necessary. And so I think that
being uncomfortable helps us create, helps us create the coping
skills we need to be successful in every situation. So
(44:13):
I kind of I mean, I do hope at times
he's uncomfortable and can be more a better problem solver
for that.
Speaker 1 (44:20):
Reason, right, right, are you team Jess or team Dean?
Speaker 2 (44:26):
I'm probably team Dean, but that again, that's only because
I think Jared's cute. I mean, listen, listen, I would't
tick either one. I'm out of bed, all right, So.
Speaker 1 (44:38):
Who do you side with in this episode? Laura I
or Luke in this episode?
Speaker 2 (44:45):
Well, I mean cannot considering the context from other ones,
I would side with Laura, I because she is just
trying to defend her kid, right, And you have to
understand the motivation for someone who's just trying to defend
their kid. If you take into account, you know, the
(45:05):
other factors, like at the very least, I mean, the
fact that Jess's background and how he's sort of treated poorly,
then you obviously start seeing Luke's positions more clearly, Right,
So I could side with him. But if I'm just
looking at this episode just understanding that there's been an
accident and my kid's hurt and it's a kid who
(45:26):
and it was with a kid who has a reputation
for or and you got a side with Laura, you
see where she's coming from. But I think we see
later on more facets to the story. And we saw
a little bit before before and after this episode, we
see more. And I would probably be personally inclined to
(45:47):
be on Luke's side because I like to try to
be more empathetic that way. But you can't blame them
parent for being selfish for their kid to defend their kid.
Speaker 1 (45:57):
No, No, absolutely not.
Speaker 2 (45:59):
Especially given that she doesn't know everything that she wont
you know, at some point might.
Speaker 1 (46:04):
Right, any plans to tour anytime soon, I'm going to
get it back out.
Speaker 3 (46:08):
Well, you know, I stopped.
Speaker 2 (46:10):
I stopped performing for years and just have gotten back
into it a little bit. So my kid's old enough
now that he wants me to leave as much as possible,
and he and and he doesn't need supervision all the time.
So I've I'm getting back into performing and doing stuff,
(46:31):
and I do plan on doing some shows. I don't
know if there'll be a tour in the next six months,
but there's going to be music and new music.
Speaker 3 (46:39):
That's the plan.
Speaker 2 (46:41):
Which is which is a new thing for me because
I haven't done that in fifteen years.
Speaker 1 (46:44):
Oh, that's going to be exciting for your fans. Anyway,
Good luck with everything, and hope to see you back
out there on the road doing your thing and making
people happy. Klay Can thank you for your time, much appreciated.
Thank you best fans on the planet. And remember I'm
going to be in Brighton, Michigan at a Gilmour fan
(47:06):
fest on September Gosh, twenty is it gonna be twenty ninety?
That weekend Friday and Saturday of that weekend September twentieth,
can't wait to see everybody out there. It's Lorgie Margie.
Speaker 3 (47:21):
That's what she.
Speaker 1 (47:21):
Calls large marchi margin. That's right. She will. She will
not largelye Margie will not be in Brighton, but I will, yes,
exactly see now came to you and my thanks to
our special guest Klay Aiken, the one and only. And
remember where you lead, we will follow all the best everyone,
(47:41):
Stay safe, everybody, and don't forget. Follow us on Instagram
(48:13):
at I Am all In podcast and email us at
Gilmore at iHeartRadio dot com
I am all in again.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
That's just too.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Luke Steiner with Scott Patterson an iHeartRadio podcast. Hey, everybody's
Scott Patterson. I am all on podcasts, one of them productions.
iHeartRadio Media, iHeart podcast. Very special guest here on our
episode twenty season two recap. Mister Clay Aiken himself is here.
(00:40):
He is if you don't know him, and I'm sure
you do. He's a singer, actor, father, and was the
runner up in American Idol and Apprentice. His debut album,
Measure of a Man, went multi platinum. He is a
huge fan of Gilmore Girls and was referenced in the
show season four episode eighteen two tick Boom boom. Clay
(01:02):
and I are going to discuss season two episode twenty
help one at air date May seventh, two thousand and two. Clay,
welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Well, thank you for thank you for having me. There
was a heck of an introduction. I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Oh I cut it short. There's so much more I.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Am probably I probably don't know barely half of what
the people who listen know about the show, but obviously
I recognize its cultural significance and did a little bit
of honing up a little brushing up on my season
two episode twenty for today to be able to talk
about it.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Yeah, that's all we're discussing. Yeah, I mean, trust me.
In the Gilmour fandom, I am pretty much to Novice myself.
Oh god, but that's saying a lot. They are steeped
in this show. They know it chapter and verse. Man.
I just this is just my second go around watching it.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
So, oh, you're going through it.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
So you're going through it right chronologically fell for a
second time for.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Yeah, and now when when.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Was the first time you watched it? What was the
first run through? It originally aired.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Four years ago when we started this podcast, I'd never
seen it.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
So wait, so you didn't watch it when you first
when it first aired? That is correct, Okay, you're like
that with everything you do.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Yeah, I mean it's growing on me, man. I mean
it's a great show.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Well, I mean it's very difficult to when you know
the people almost as much as you know the more
than you know the characters, sometimes it probably is very
difficult to watch.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
That's why I'm not an actor.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
No, no, it was at the time, but you know,
twenty five years later, twenty years later it's it's it's
a different person, so you don't Yeah, it's okay to
watch it now, you know. But anyway, so let's let's
I'm gonna kick off with a synopsis. Newcomer Open Stars
Hollow First Music Store, the one and only Carol King Richard,
(03:00):
who probably wrote the greatest theme song in the history
of television. Richard decides to kick off his new business
by searching for a secretary. Then Laurel I starts to
help out at the office, and Richard surprisingly wishes she
would stay. Directed by the great Chris Long written by
Alan Heinberg. Lukes has closed. He's gone fishing. There's been
(03:27):
a fight between Luke and Laurel I. Everybody needs to
cool off. Rory is concerned it's her fault that Luke's
has closed because of the accident. Rory and Laurel I
go to the Hungry Diner to eat breakfast. In their
critical of the menu and coffee cups. We have Patrica
darbo on a few weeks ago who played the waitress
(03:47):
in this episode. She was great in this scene. Clay,
we have never seen lukes Diners closed before. Does this
show the severity of the fight between him and Laurlei
and a situation with Jess Well.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
I mean it certainly does to Roaring, right she she
was stressed out about it more than anybody. Yeah, uh yeah,
I mean I think that's probably what the the intention was, right,
if it's never been closed, you've never been away, that
that to to really kind of underline that all that
(04:23):
there's a lot of there's a lot of subtext in
the show, which is what makes it good. There's a
lot of like real deep thought into why, and not
every show does that. Some stuff is you know, just
very surface, but Gilmore Girls was good at kind of
making sure that there was always a thread underneath that
that propelled the story and really made it authentic. So
(04:46):
probably so having hit, having having Luke leave town, or
at least leave work close it because it also throws
it throws a kink in in larealized day and you know,
kind of messes with their schedule, their routine too. Maybe
you were I'm sorry, maybe he was thinking of a
way that he could screw with him a little bit
(05:07):
and did it on purpose for that reason.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Yeah, I mean that's that's the question, right, Did he
leave town to send a message or or does this
just mean that he's he's taking this fight very very
seriously and he needed time to just sort of be
by himself and convalesce with nature as it were.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Well, you, no one knows him better than you, so
do you. He doesn't seem like the type of what's
the word, I can't even think of the word punitive person.
He's not gonna be punish. I mean, he doesn't seem
like somebody who's gonna punish Laura. I. So he probably
just needed a break.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
He needed a break. Yeah, I agree with that.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
He didn't need to see her first thing in the morning.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
He just, you know, I think he's just a little
bit wounded and he needed to go retreat a little bit,
you know, and think about what he did because he
you know, he yelled and screamed too. So all right,
So seems like this is the biggest fight Luke and
Laurel I have ever gotten into Clay who apologizes first
in this situation? Who do you think should? Oh?
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Well, I gotta.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
I definitely think Laura I should because she annoys me
all the time. I yes, she kind of She's She's
an intense personality, so personally, I'm sure I've sided with Luke.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
I have been known to roll my eyes at Laura
a few times.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
You know what I really thought, this episode is now
my favorite episode of all of them, Health Wanted, This
is my favorite episode. Well, you're barely in it, but
not really right, I mean.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Well, because it's about there's so much, so much gravity
weight from your character.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Right, So I think that's great writing, and I think
she's never been as funny in an episode, Laura Lauren.
I think from beginning to end, this was just just
a comedy masterclass showcase in great writing and great great
acting and great comedic timing mixed with all that drama stuff.
(07:16):
It was a perfect use of supporting characters like Sally
Struthers delivered maybe her funniest speech of all of them,
and to Rory, perfect use of Lane, perfect use of
missus Kim even though you want more missus Kim. It was,
(07:36):
everything was just perfectly balanced. In my opinion, it was
it is.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
It's definitely one of the funnier, at least more overtly funny.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
I couldn't stop laughing. I was roaring through the whole thing.
I mean, it was just like the joke and the
cops Yeah, it was just so many great one liners,
just fantastic. All right, So let's talk about the fallout
from Rory's accident where she fractured her wrist. Dean's coming
home from his trip, but he doesn't know about the accident.
(08:06):
Rory gets out of Friday night dinner so she can
be there to explain when he gets home. She writes
him a letter explaining everything. Dean reacts.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
We never know exactly what she says in it, but
right because he doesn't, I mean, he didn't read it
out loud.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
He just reacts to it.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Well, we know that she starts it out by saying
I love you, I love you right right then, but
then he goes downhill from there. We can only speculate
what was in the rest of the letter, but it
was I think it was just her sort of confessing to,
you know, facts as they happen, because I think she,
you know, in her fit of honesty, is you know,
(08:44):
the best thing you can do in that situation. So
the letter explains everything. He reacts. He keeps saying what
what what shock? Shock?
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Shock, and ty I mean Rory does does does the
letter because she just doesn't have it in her to
say it out loud, because I found it really interesting
that they chose to to have her write the letter,
but then give it to him in person and stand
there while he read it. I just just she didn't
have the nerve to say the words, so she had
to speak them. I mean, I would have thought, if
you're gonna write a letter, you send it to him
(09:14):
and not have to be there for his response.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Were you a little worried for her safety at his
potential reaction because he kicked the bag, which is going
to scare her, which scared her a little bit because
she's probably think of what me next? Is he going
to kick me next? Did you ever fear that she
was in any kind of do you know? Okay, here's
(09:37):
a question. You didn't think that? No?
Speaker 2 (09:39):
I did, I mean, just just because now, was that
was that? We'll see, I don't know the Was it
an actor choice to kick the bag or no? That
was written for him to do that, to be to
be that angry. Was I supposed to be afraid for her?
I guess because I wasn't.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
Okay, yeah, no, I okay, all right?
Speaker 2 (09:58):
But I also think she's a strong enough person that
I wouldn't. I mean, I think I've never I don't
see Rory as as.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Weak or beta, right, but I like the fact that
this show will go there because it's supposed to be
a comfort show and family friend, the whole thing. But
it does get intense. The humor's intense, the sarcasm is biting,
the feelings are intense. It's like it's it's it's funny, heartfelt.
(10:27):
But man, it's a serious drama too, right, it could
stand alone as a serious drama. Oh, I think some
people confuse it for that.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
I think that that was my honestly, that was my
reticence to even be interested in it years, you know,
when it was originally on, because I assumed it's a
drama about it a mother and a daughter, and I'm
not going to enjoy that at all. But it's the
humor that it's the humor and the well the pop
culture report, the fact that it lives in this real
world where so many other shows don't. But it's the
(10:58):
humor that kind of makes it a pro suchable and
palatable to people in a much wider demo than the
CW normally had.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Right, right, right, right? Yeah, So Rory talks to Laurala
about Dean's reaction and then uh, you know, inviting her
calming down and then just inviting her in for dinner
because they're standing in front of his house, and that's
that's a pretty pretty bold gesture to go to his house,
hand him a letter, standing there face the fire, and
(11:26):
then get invited in for dinner. It's probably she didn't
expect that.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Well, you hated him, then, you hated him more than
than I did in general, because Laura I didn't love
him either, right, people was he I mean, I didn't
consider him.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
I didn't hate him in the beginning.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Dean you're talking about You're talking about Dean in the beginning. Yeah,
I didn't like I didn't like him in the beginning. Yeah,
I didn't like him. After the scene with Laurel I
in the house when he says, now it's my turn
to talk and he, you know, he kind of gives
her what for and I'm just like aa there again,
it's because I think she talks too much.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
But you know what, she was the case.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
She obviously carried the show and you can't you can't
enjoy the show unless you enjoy her.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
But there were about her that made me go.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Ah, Right, right, right, all right. Then Laurie Rory then
goes to apologize the tailor for destroying his bench sign
in the accident, and then be Bett confronts Rory. I
wouldn't say confronts, but sees Rory and runs over to
her and starts talking about Jess being a dirty little wolf. Great,
great speech, great Sally Struthers performance, I mean, the best
(12:41):
comedic actress out there. Really just unbelievable. Yeah, I mean,
you think Lauren's good and then you get a Sally
Strauthers come in there and boom right. Rory now realizes
everyone in town is solely blaming Jess for the accident,
and she feels defensive about it. So she's thrown off
by Dean's reactions. She expected him to yell and scream,
(13:02):
even break break up with her. What do you think
of his psychology here is? Did he invite her in
because he's just too afraid of losing her?
Speaker 3 (13:14):
Probably?
Speaker 2 (13:15):
I mean generally, I think he is constantly me his
self esteem is not as high as it should be. Probably,
and I think he's always a little afraid of it.
But which is ironic because I think she's a little
afraid of it too. But that you know, at that age,
that's how everybody feels, right, right, So yeah, I imagine
that he probably, Yeah, he's probably a little worried about that.
(13:37):
He also do I mean, I don't think he loves
that he's not I don't think he loves that he's
not liked about people. And I think he I think
he takes time to try to try to. He wants
to be liked.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
Right.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Sometimes I feel like he's like he's a buy the
book person like herit he read a book on how
to how to behave in cer certain situations, and he
he does it that way. Yeah, I mean I imagine that
that I see now I'm thinking about these the show
in ways that I didn't back then, and certain things
are coming back to my head. But I didn't think
(14:12):
I don't I didn't think about the psychology of it.
I saw it as a fun I saw I saw
a humor in it and the playfulness in it, and
didn't necessarily always go for the deep psychology of it.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
But yeah, it's there. Right. Do you think that maybe
it was on Rory's part a failed attempt to get
Dean to break up with her. Where are these questions coming?
From No, I didn't think that at all. No, I
didn't think that.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
It doesn't come for a while though, So I don't
think that she was already there.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Right right, Okay, all right, So okay, Clay, why do
you think Rory's being so defensive? You think it's because
she doesn't want to be looked at like a damaged
little girl, or because she feels bad for Jess getting
all the blame.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Well, I mean, yeah, she's a girl. She's a you know,
a high school a high schooler who is very you know,
she's defensive of her friends. And I think that, yeah,
she probably, Yeah, I think she is a I think
she's I think again, that goes back. That's kind of
why this show connected so well, because the writers, the
(15:19):
the showrunner were able to kind of really connect with
how that demographic thought, you know, how a Tina high
school girl would think. And yeah, I think she would
get Listen, I've got a high schooler myself. It's a boy,
but I you know, I've got a boy. But so
it's completely different.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
But it's it's.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Very difficult as a parent to remember what it's like
how my brain worked when I was that age, and
there are just a very few shows ever that I
can think of, where writers have done a good job
of thinking like high schoolers, like teenagers, like people whose
frontal lobe has not completely formed yet. Think. And that's
(16:06):
one thing that the show did brilliantly. And yeah, I
think she gets defensive because she People get defensive when
they don't when when the reaction is not how they
expect it to be. Right, you prepare her, you sit
at home, you think through all the different scenarios, and
then when you go and actually do whatever you're doing,
it never works out the way you planned, right, But
(16:28):
if the scenario doesn't go that way, you you know,
you jump to I think a defensive The reaction that
you get from from Dean or from whoever, from the town,
the town is not what you thought it would be,
you get defensive. And I think that's probably why she's
jumped to that defensive standpoint, because it's this is not
what she thought was going to happen.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Right. Also, she's appears to me that she's in love
with them. She loves that kid, she loves Jess, she
misses it.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
She thinks she does.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
She's well, okay, I'll grant you that she thinks she does,
but she feels something powerful. There's a connection there, and
she's concerned about him, you know, and not to jump
the gun, but I think we felt that quite in
a quite weighty way. That was actually quite moving in
the very last scene and something we've never seen before
(17:23):
scene between Luke and Rory late night at the diner
drinking a cup of coffee talking about Jess as he okay,
I know it's not his fault. It was quite touching,
great piece of writing because it's said everything about how
they're both concerned about him and how they both maybe
feel like they failed him, and we're talking about a
(17:44):
seventeen year old boy's life that is in turmoil, and
it's kind of it just sort of achieved this tragic
quality about it at the very last beat of the show,
which is wow.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Well, it was also a really good opportunity to build
that character that that relationship between Rory and.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Mm hmm too, just to Yah to kind of see
him as a.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Not a not a paternal figure, but certainly a certainly
someone she could she could confide in in that way
and talk about things that she couldn't talk She didn't
she you know, she wouldn't couldn't talk about that with
with her mom, right because Laura lies not was far
more biased.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
Yeah, So to have that that non biased third party
opinion and the discussion with someone who she respected was
a was a not just I mean, it was great writing, yes,
but it was a sort of a important moment for
the show, in the whole arc in general.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
M h Yeah, and it proved yet again that both
people can be right and think that each other. I
think Luke understands how Laurel I feel, but I think
Laural I feels, you know, angry that Luke didn't protect
her daughter from Jess, you know, didn't see what kind
(19:10):
of trouble he could he could stir up. Anyway, interesting
interesting stuff. Did you think about that?
Speaker 2 (19:17):
How did you go How did you think about it
going into that, because that was a big moment, it
was we've done You're obviously not your first scene with her,
but it was certainly your first, big.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
Big scene with Rory alone.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Right, So how did that How did you think about
going into that seeing the you know, the gravity and
the weight of that conversation.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
Oh, we knew, I think that we knew. We felt that.
It's just there, it's in the script, it's in the writing.
You read it, and you know, right, the trick is
not to play it. The trick is just to sort
of feel it and do the lines and not try
to do too much right from a technical point of view,
And I love that scene. It's just one of my
(20:00):
favorite scenes. I really really loved that scene. It was
very very tender and very very felt, but not too much.
It's just the situation, this setup is, it's all there
for you, right, so you just really just have to
step and say the lines, you know, and I don't know,
(20:22):
very very very touching, ending, very moving scene.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
I thought it was interesting to me the dynamic between
Rory and Luke, or at least that not paternal, but
the connection that they had and how it kind of
ran parallel to the the different connection, not different, but
the connection between Laura l and her dad in this
episode two, because that you know, the fact that he
(20:47):
was seeing her in a different way than he had
in a while, and the idea that he, you know,
he liked that she was, how good he wanted her
to stay on as his assistant, and that kind of thing.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
I thought it was interesting.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
The it was a in a show that's about moms
and mom and daughter more than anything. You had two
story lines in this episode that were very much about
father and daughter.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
Right yeah. And I think another thing that really encapsulates
that is, you know, here we have, at the end
of the episode, the only two people on the planet
who care about Jess and care about his wellbeing and
care about his future. That's it. His own mother doesn't
(21:34):
care about him, laurrel I doesn't care. Everybody hates this
kid except for Rory. And look and there they are,
which is also why she's defensive too.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Just to go back to that, she sees the wounded
animal and.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Right, yeah, it's very touching, very very touching. Love that ending.
Love it all right, So let's get to Richard's new venture,
his new insurance internettional insurance consulting adventure. He starts a
new com.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
Scene was also pretty hilarious, having between her and mom
and you know her mom trying to explain what and
because no one knows what a consultant does. That's it
was probably the most accurate scene two.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
And he doesn't know what consult what does he actually do?
And so he gets in his office and what does
he do? Consults.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Obviously, she doesn't know either. She just knows he makes
money and brings it home.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Well. His His twenty year secretary, Terry Margie, decides not
to join Richard's new firm, so he considers not following
through with the new company.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
She called way lor I call her something Margie? What
she call her?
Speaker 1 (22:47):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Oh God, now I'm being We're being yelled at by
people who are listening because they all know exactly what
she called. When she was younger, she could didn't remember
who she didn't know who she was. She couldn't remember
who Marchie was. He'll you know, Oh you mean fat
Margie or big Margie or whatever.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
I think Emily referred to her as rotund. Okay, but anyway,
Laura I offers the help out while they find Richard's secretary,
so Richard doesn't have to quit so soon, So Laura
I says to this. She arrives at the office, it's
a mess. She helps Richard by supplies organize the office,
interviews candidates for the new Margie. She's she's impressing her
(23:25):
dad here with her her. No, how well, Clay retirements
didn't last very long for Richard can you relate to
this feeling, if not of not wanting to slow down?
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Well, I mean I'm not that old. Good god, I'm
getting older, But lord, I know, I do think there's
certain people who are who are workaholics, and you obviously,
to be as successful as he has been, he must
enjoy working, right, So yeah, I mean, it's not a
surprise that he wants to do something to and he
(24:00):
needs to stay busy. He also probably you know that
annoying part. The thing about Laurla that annoys me, she
gets from her mama, and so I imagine he wants
to be out of the.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
House, right, all right, So Lurlai steps in to help
her dad. I find secretary seems very selfless of Laurela,
and they end up working well.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
Together, especially considering how they treated her, right.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
Yeah, not well.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
So so so so for her to be that gracious,
I mean, obviously they they're paying for school, what I mean,
they're they're no longer estranged.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
But yeah, the.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
It's it's it's nice to see that she is, that
they're bonding without a required dinner.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
This is really the first time Richard sees his daughter
as being sort of accomplished and smart and capable and right.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Yeah, that's why I was saying that the father's father
daughter theme of this episode. It was obviously it wasn't
that way with with Rory and Luke, but that had
some of the elements of it, and the father daughter
theme was strong in this episode.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
Right. It's like daughter appreciation Day for Richard. Right, It's
like he probably has never felt this way about his daughter.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
Well at least well they've always They always treat her
like she's stupid and my kid, right, and he's seeing
her as someone who's able to handle things right, and
she's like that learning from her.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
In the story when he's yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:27):
Yeah, it's like, Dad, I run an ind I've been
doing it for years, you know, I mean I run
a business. I run a fairly large business. Well, it's
just it's nice to see those moments with those two together.
Obviously it brought them closer together. You know, obviously how
much that sticks around is right, It's going to be temporary, Right,
(25:51):
Something's gonna happen.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
That's the way life is that.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
So yeah, Stars Hall of Music Store, Sophie's in there,
the Great Carol King, So Stars Hall is going to
open up a new music store, and Lane is very,
very excited Carol King's debut did it. I think she
(26:17):
did a great job, you know, she she handled the
comedic moments beautifully.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
Yeah, I didn't realize that she watching this again, this
episode again. First of all, I don't even think. I'm
sure I did clock it when I saw her the
first time. Obviously I know who Carol King is and
know her what she looks like, but I.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
Didn't clock how funny she was.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Yeah, the first time.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
I mean that second scene when she's trying to close
up and yeah, her timing's quite good.
Speaker 3 (26:48):
She was believable. There was no acting there.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
Yeah, I mean it's hard to come in there as
a non actor, but an artist, right, you know, a
very high level of artists, so maybe there's some some experience.
Who knows, but she seemed like she really knew what
the heck she was doing. Well, she's been in the
business longer than all of us, been a lot indeed, right,
she knows what she's doing, right, I mean, jeez, I
(27:14):
grew up with her. She was she was a big
star when I was, you know, growing up in the sixties. Seven.
Speaker 3 (27:20):
She's still got more.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
She's I feel like she's I don't know what the
record is. She's her Her grandson is my guitar player. Actually,
but so I think you think i'd be a little
bit more educated on it. But I feel like she's
had something like one hundred and one hundred and twenty
hit top ten hits. She's one of the most prolific
songwriters in American history by far, without question.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (27:45):
Yeah, I mean I should look it up and see
if I can sign it.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
That's a that's a lot. Yeah, she's got a Jackie.
Can you confirm this number?
Speaker 2 (27:54):
Oh no, you don't believe me. I see what it's Okay,
I'm checking myself too. Well, I've I've got a highley.
She co wrote one hundred and eighteen songs that were
in the top twenty I mean top ten. Oh is
it one hundred and twenty one hundred and twenty one
hundred and eighteen class I have that have charted?
Speaker 3 (28:12):
Okay, maybe that's what it was.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
Listen.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Still, that's very I mean, but we're talking about and
the ones that she wrote Natural Woman and well, I
can't even think what they did that whole I mean,
the whole musical on Broadway Beautiful. It was about her,
and it's full of her songs. Up on the roof,
this soul world stocks getting me down up on the roof,
(28:35):
she wrote, she wrote songs for other people. You got
a friend for James Taylor. I mean her stuff is
the cannon, right. So so coming and doing an acting
role was she didn't need the money.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
Yeah, I mean really outstanding performance. And you know that's
tough to do, to come in for a small role
a scene, you know, a little scene here and there.
Speaker 3 (28:59):
Right with not enough meat, right, you know how to
do what to do with it.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
But she came back again.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
She's been back a few times, I think she Yeah,
and she was in the she was in the revival and.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
Yes, yeah, I remember that, Yes she was. She was well,
you know she she made a deal with Lane, right,
so she proposed that she practices twice a week at
the store. In return for working at the store. Lane
found her longtime passion drumming and the band. We see
Lane pressure on the drums for the first time. Clayton,
you remember singing for the first time.
Speaker 3 (29:32):
I don't remember it.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
And my mom said I was doing it when I
was a kid, when I was eighteen months old. Do
I remember singing in front of I don't remember singing
in front of an audience until probably middle school.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
Like that. But I mean, I've been doing it my
whole life. I don't remember.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
I don't remember discovering it as a passion and the
way Lane did, all of a sudden out of nowhere,
pulled out of nowhere.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
And so what was there a moment for you and
you thought, oh, I'd like to pursue this professional, pursue
it as a career.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
No, when I when I on the finale of Idol,
when I was when I was there, I didn't have
any plans to pursue it as a career until the
career pursued me. No, I didn't have I guess you know.
For me, and this is very different than Lane's situation.
I learned to love it because I discovered I was
good at it, and I was good at it, so
(30:27):
I might as well keep doing it.
Speaker 3 (30:29):
Whereas Lane just thinks it looks.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
Fun and so she's gonna she wants to do it well,
and she's gonna practice and maybe be horrible.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
She didn't she didn't sound like she was too good, right,
This is so so it was different for me.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
I mean, I think I think it's the kind of
thing that she's going to grow out of in a
few weeks.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
I mean, Lane's Lane is.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
Not psychologically developmentally, Lane is a little developmentally young from
her age. I think, you know, she she provides some
of that foil to Rory, because Rory can be so mature,
and Lane just kind of shows us how mature she is,
because Lane is is not.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
And she's very she's very childlike.
Speaker 2 (31:13):
So she's going to have that sort of she'll grow
out of it and she'll be into into planes next week,
and then the week after that she'll be into something else.
So she exactly exactly, I don't expect her to stick
with it, and so but I mean that comic relief
(31:34):
and it's an important I mean, it's an important.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
Building block to the show.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Again because you know, some of these things are there too,
Some of these characters are put in place, and the
way the storylines are built are kind of built to
kind of supplement or or build up certain factors about
other characters.
Speaker 3 (31:53):
Right, So Lane helps us, it helps.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Foil Rory and shows us how mature is for her age,
for Candy, for her age.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
That's interesting, you know, that's a various student observation, very
interesting observations.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
Not just a pretty nice.
Speaker 1 (32:10):
You are stirring the pot, buddy, let me tell you
I like it all right. Cocktail launch party. Emily throws
Richard a big launch party and invites all of his
clients and potential clients and friends to drum up his business.
He ends up hiring that Karen for his secretary anyway,
(32:31):
and he is happy to be work scoring deals or
bagging the suede as they say. And what Emily worries
cast She blames Lorelai for that accident, and it's like,
here we go again. We saw it coming a mile away.
Speaker 2 (32:47):
But she she even she she foreshadowed that in the
beginning of the episode when she was like, how am
I explain why you had a cast on.
Speaker 3 (32:55):
To her? So, I mean, but that's not That's just
that's who she is.
Speaker 1 (32:59):
Right, and uh and Rory Laurlai get into a yelling
match in the hallway outside the office. When Rory expresses
her frustration with everyone blaming Jess. I mean that got
very heated. Rory heads home by herself. She wants some
time alone, right, But of course Emily blames Laura I
(33:22):
immediately that that's her default position, Emily. You think Emily
uses moments like this to undermine Laura. I mean, it's
just a constant barrage of sabotage.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Emily doesn't have anything going for herself, right, I mean,
and she she reminds me, also, what was that?
Speaker 1 (33:39):
What was the.
Speaker 3 (33:42):
Crap?
Speaker 2 (33:43):
I can't even if it's friends, but was Monica Monica's
relationship with her mom on friends?
Speaker 3 (33:48):
Right where?
Speaker 1 (33:50):
And that's also I think I've heard.
Speaker 2 (33:52):
I believe it's not uncommon for women and their daughters,
you know, a little bit of a little bit of competition,
a little bit of trying to not belittle each other
all the time, but not wanting to let not wanting
to admit that their daughter has grown up and is
perhaps more stable than they are. Right, And Emily's not
(34:15):
really ever had anything going for her except for being a.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
Rich so so.
Speaker 2 (34:24):
She is she Yeah, she has to belitve Laura because
I don't think her self esteem is high enough at all.
Speaker 1 (34:31):
Which of course is ironic because you raised her right
and in a sense broke her, and Laurel has been
putting the pieces back together ever since. So Laurel, I
screams at her daughter. When my daughter comes home broken,
I get to hate the guy who broke her. That's
how it works. He's gone.
Speaker 3 (34:49):
I win.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
Claiy, do you agree with that? Yes, parenting style, that's
a tough love kind of a situation where it's like.
Speaker 3 (34:59):
Hey, tough lover.
Speaker 2 (35:01):
I mean, I'm not doesn't go over well in my
house always. But but yeah, I totally she's right.
Speaker 3 (35:11):
She was actually.
Speaker 2 (35:14):
Generous to Rory a little bit too, because she blames
it all on Jess and it's not all Jess's fault.
Rory's right about that, so she's being extra generous to
take all of her anger and hate out on him.
But yeah, I mean, I think she has every right
to be angry, and she has every right to be
(35:36):
certainly skeptical about what Jess may turn not turn her
daughter into, but the influence that he has he could
have on her.
Speaker 3 (35:45):
So I don't blame her for that.
Speaker 2 (35:46):
And this is this has come from somebody who gets
annoyed by her a lot.
Speaker 3 (35:49):
So I thought she was in the right there.
Speaker 1 (35:51):
Right because you know, this is a kid, love or
hate him, who can destroy Rory's life. There could be
you know, she's having forbacks to her own teenage years
when she got pregnant, and she's seeing Jess as the
same animal, right, like, oh, this is not going to
happen to my daughter. You know. The apple has fallen
(36:14):
not very far from the tree on this.
Speaker 2 (36:16):
One, which makes you wonder now, to go back to Emily,
how much she history repeats itself, right, And even as
I am forty something years old, I think about, oh God,
I'm doing exactly what my mother would have done.
Speaker 3 (36:31):
And.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
How much in common Emily might have with that too,
Like were there things in Emily's past that she doesn't
want Laura to repeat, you know, being useless for example.
She doesn't want Laura to be useless like she is,
and so she is much tougher on her. She caviously
takes it out in a different way than Laura I
(36:54):
does with Rory. But there's no doubt Emily loves her daughter,
just doesn't know how to show it right. And they're
probably your commonalities there. I mean, they're both they're both
trying to defend and protect their kids. They're just doing
it in very different ways. Laurel I's been through things
that maybe Emily didn't go through, and so she I
(37:16):
didn't even think about the fact that she was thinking
about getting pregnant at the same age and wanting to
make sure the same thing didn't happen to her daughter.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
Right, Yeah, well, I think that's primarily the fear, and
even beyond getting pregnant. Is you know this guy, he's explosive,
he's unpredictable, you know, but he's hot, so it's okay, dangerous,
I guess. So that's why I didn't dislike him. You know,
(37:48):
just just put on a wife beater and chop would
and you're good. You know, there you go, just go
over there and do that. That's what I do. That's
always how I do it. You know, this final scene,
we've discussed this a little bit, you know, in Luke's response,
(38:12):
I know it wasn't his fault. It's a simple. But
yet that's the economy of this writing is beautiful. It's
it's a very emotional statement. And why do you think
it's important for Rory to too Rory, for Luke to
know jess As not to blame. Why is that? Well?
Speaker 2 (38:28):
Because they because Luke's the only other person who cares
about him, right, and she doesn't want her, she doesn't
want him to believe something bad and then have nobody
care for him. So, I mean, that's that seems somewhat obvious.
She I think she also wanted validation a little bit too.
She she wanted to get him. She needed somebody on
her side to go against the mob, right, and she
(38:54):
probably recognized that he would be a safe place because
he has an affinity for Luke too's I mean for
you know also so he uh, she she.
Speaker 3 (39:04):
Knew was a safe place to be there.
Speaker 2 (39:07):
And like I said, it was just an opportunity for
them to bond over something they had in common.
Speaker 1 (39:11):
To mm hmm.
Speaker 3 (39:13):
You want people on your side, you want someone on
your chain.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
Right right, right, But it sets up all of this
potential conflict with Lorelei and everybody else in the town
because now these two are aligned. They feel we see
they feel the same way, and as you so aptly
put it there, maybe they're going to go up against
the mob in a sense, and I have kind of
interested kind of drama.
Speaker 3 (39:36):
Then you won't have a TV show.
Speaker 1 (39:38):
There you go, there you go, beautiful setup. Right, We
got some some questions for you, sir. Uh all right,
here we go. Uh, if you could choose one of
your songs to be the Gilmore Girls theme song. Which
one would you choose? Oh?
Speaker 2 (39:55):
Well, I didn't have very many songs of my own,
so let me think of what would be appropriate. I
had a song called I Survived You, which I think
would be pretty appropriate for it. It's about it's about
surviving a very difficult relationship and persevering after it. And
I think every character in the show at some point
(40:18):
had to survive something and became stronger because of it.
So I think it would be appropriate for the for
Gilmore Girls.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
M hm. Okay. So, as you have stated, you started
your singing career, or you start singing at very young age,
when you started to grow as a singer, what was
that adjustment like when your voice started to change?
Speaker 3 (40:43):
It never did?
Speaker 2 (40:45):
Oh is that right? Well, I mean obviously it changed some,
but I definitely definitely still sound like a girl. I
didn't have to worry about that. It didn't bother me
because I think one I.
Speaker 1 (40:56):
Was always told.
Speaker 3 (40:56):
First of all, it didn't change much.
Speaker 2 (40:58):
I was an alto when I I was in fifth grade,
and I could be an alto today if I had to.
They call us countertenors now. So my voice didn't make
too much of a change. Unlike my son, he went
from sounding like this, don't look now he Mine didn't
change any Plus, since I sang steadily through that pubescent
(41:20):
period and I was doing I mean singing every day
in school and a part of choirs and doing stuff
after school, I've been told that because of that, you
kids whose voices are used a lot and they sing
a lot, their voices don't crack as much. On the
other hand, today haven't sung in quite a while, so
today I sound like I'm going through puberty, but I
(41:42):
didn't crack when I was in middle school.
Speaker 1 (41:43):
Is there a Gilmore girl's character you relate to the most?
Speaker 2 (41:48):
Well, I probably should say I relate to Lauraai the most,
even though she annoys me, and maybe she does annoy
me because she's she's She's definitely the wittiest one, right,
Not that I'm complimenting myself and saying that I'm the wittiest,
but god, now, I've never thought about this, so I'm
having to think about it now and therefore not doing
(42:09):
as deep a dive as I could.
Speaker 3 (42:11):
But probably mean it probably would be.
Speaker 2 (42:12):
Her because she does like to be she does like
to be the center of attentional and I can't say
that I don't and I think that I think that
she's probably a lot. I mean, she's definitely a lot
more vulnerable than she wants to appear.
Speaker 3 (42:31):
To people.
Speaker 2 (42:33):
So I mean I would go I could go with her, probably.
I mean, I mean, I'm as clumsy and clueless as
Suki as but I I'm gonna go with Laura La
for now.
Speaker 1 (42:44):
Mm hmm. Okay. And you, as you mentioned, you have
a sixteen year old son seventeen now, he just turns
seventeen years seventeen. Wow, Yeah, what are some of the
values that you're hoping to pass down to him.
Speaker 2 (42:58):
I mean i'd say that I say that as we
as we were in this period where dads and their
kids do the same thing. I think that I was
saying good women and their daughters do. I mean, I
do think a strong work ethic, being willing to sweat
and be sore at the end of the day. You know,
(43:19):
I had to do that as a kid, and I
stumbled into a career where I don't as much and
as a result, don't have.
Speaker 3 (43:28):
To make him as much.
Speaker 2 (43:30):
So I hope to kind of push him to be
uncomfortable sometimes. I think it's important for all of us,
and I think sometimes we've gotten especially as with some
of the younger generations. Now I'm going to really get
people pissed to me where we try to make life
as easy and pleasant for them as possible, which obviously
(43:50):
you want to do for your kids, right, But then
when you get in the real world and things aren't
easy and pleasant, you don't know how to deal with it,
you don't know how to cope with it, you don't
have the coping skills necessary. And so I think that
being uncomfortable helps us create, helps us create the coping
skills we need to be successful in every situation. So
(44:13):
I kind of I mean, I do hope at times
he's uncomfortable and can be more a better problem solver
for that.
Speaker 1 (44:20):
Reason, right, right, are you team Jess or team Dean?
Speaker 2 (44:26):
I'm probably team Dean, but that again, that's only because
I think Jared's cute. I mean, listen, listen, I would't
tick either one. I'm out of bed, all right, So.
Speaker 1 (44:38):
Who do you side with in this episode? Laura I
or Luke in this episode?
Speaker 2 (44:45):
Well, I mean cannot considering the context from other ones,
I would side with Laura, I because she is just
trying to defend her kid, right, And you have to
understand the motivation for someone who's just trying to defend
their kid. If you take into account, you know, the
(45:05):
other factors, like at the very least, I mean, the
fact that Jess's background and how he's sort of treated poorly,
then you obviously start seeing Luke's positions more clearly, Right,
So I could side with him. But if I'm just
looking at this episode just understanding that there's been an
accident and my kid's hurt and it's a kid who
(45:26):
and it was with a kid who has a reputation
for or and you got a side with Laura, you
see where she's coming from. But I think we see
later on more facets to the story. And we saw
a little bit before before and after this episode, we
see more. And I would probably be personally inclined to
(45:47):
be on Luke's side because I like to try to
be more empathetic that way. But you can't blame them
parent for being selfish for their kid to defend their kid.
Speaker 1 (45:57):
No, No, absolutely not.
Speaker 2 (45:59):
Especially given that she doesn't know everything that she wont
you know, at some point might.
Speaker 1 (46:04):
Right, any plans to tour anytime soon, I'm going to
get it back out.
Speaker 3 (46:08):
Well, you know, I stopped.
Speaker 2 (46:10):
I stopped performing for years and just have gotten back
into it a little bit. So my kid's old enough
now that he wants me to leave as much as possible,
and he and and he doesn't need supervision all the time.
So I've I'm getting back into performing and doing stuff,
(46:31):
and I do plan on doing some shows. I don't
know if there'll be a tour in the next six months,
but there's going to be music and new music.
Speaker 3 (46:39):
That's the plan.
Speaker 2 (46:41):
Which is which is a new thing for me because
I haven't done that in fifteen years.
Speaker 1 (46:44):
Oh, that's going to be exciting for your fans. Anyway,
Good luck with everything, and hope to see you back
out there on the road doing your thing and making
people happy. Klay Can thank you for your time, much appreciated.
Thank you best fans on the planet. And remember I'm
going to be in Brighton, Michigan at a Gilmour fan
(47:06):
fest on September Gosh, twenty is it gonna be twenty ninety?
That weekend Friday and Saturday of that weekend September twentieth,
can't wait to see everybody out there. It's Lorgie Margie.
Speaker 3 (47:21):
That's what she.
Speaker 1 (47:21):
Calls large marchi margin. That's right. She will. She will
not largelye Margie will not be in Brighton, but I will, yes,
exactly see now came to you and my thanks to
our special guest Klay Aiken, the one and only. And
remember where you lead, we will follow all the best everyone,
(47:41):
Stay safe, everybody, and don't forget. Follow us on Instagram
(48:13):
at I Am all In podcast and email us at
Gilmore at iHeartRadio dot com
Hosts And Creators
Amy Sugarman
Danielle Romo
Scott Patterson
Tara Soudbaksh
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.