Gilmore Girls, Season Five

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Rated: TVPG

Reviewer: Charity Bishop

The fifth season of the highly successful television show brought about the relationship everyone was waiting for, and a handful of new surprises. Unfortunately, it also kicked up the content just enough to make it a little less recommendable than its predecessors. But nevertheless, the town of Stars Hollow is just as charming and eccentric as ever.

Since discovering that her daughter Rory (Alexis Bledel) had made a huge error of judgment in sleeping with her married former boyfriend (Jared Padalecki), Lorelai (Lauren Graham) is uncertain how to proceed. Things are strained between the two of them, particularly since her daughter refuses to talk about what happened. To make matters worse, Lorelai's parents have announced their separation. After forty years of marriage, Emily and Richard Gilmore (Kelly Bishop, Edward Herrmann) can hardly stand the sight of one another, resorting to talking through the house staff when Richard moves out into the boat house. His being gone at odd hours has Emily in an uproar of curiosity, and it makes it even more awkward for the weekly family dinners.

After the kiss shared between Lorelai and local diner owner Luke (Scott Patterson), romantic sparks spread into a fire that soon has the entire town worried that a potential breakup will force everyone to choose sides. And then there's Rory's life at college, where her roommate Paris (Liza Weil) is mourning the loss of her favorite professor (and lover) to an unexpected heart attack. Not to mention the obnoxious boy (Matt Czuchry) who enjoys hitting up Rory in the hall, but shies away from commitment. Throw into the mix Rory taking an internship with a newspaper, the opening of the Dragonfly Inn, and the normal crazy antics of the deranged townspeople, and you have a season full of interesting moments and moral paradoxes.

Just when you think things are going well, something will implode in your face and leave the citizens of the town with another mess to sort out. I liked two things in particular about this season: that we actually got to see Lorelai in a healthy relationship with Luke, and that eventually Richard and Emily were reconciled. As the only truly moral force behind the show, it was painful to see them separated for so long. But there are the usual complications, and Emily never knows when to stay out of it, leading to further emotional distance from her daughter. Rory also has some complex issues to deal with in figuring out whether or not she has a future with Dean, and a tough moment of brutal honesty that makes her rethink everything about her life, ending the season on a somber note. That being said, I wasn't terribly pleased with the morals depicted on the show. It has never been a glowing example, but I'm just sorry to see Rory following in her mother's footsteps of casual sex.

Though we never actually see anything, the season premiere opens with Rory and Dean talking in bed. Later on, she sleeps several times with Logan, but insists that it's just a casual dating relationship and they are free to see "other people" (friendship with benefits, in other words). Rory does come to realize that she cannot do that, but it doesn't change the fact that she's morally astray. Along similar lines, although Luke and Lorelai have known one another for years, it was nevertheless surprising that they wound up in bed after their first official date. Lorelai spends most of the rest of the season spending the night at his place; again, nothing is shown except good nights and the fact that she often wanders around wearing nothing but his shirt. The one bright spot is that Rory's friend Lane (Keiko Agena) turns her boyfriend down in the issue of sex because of her religious upbringing.

A fair amount of mild language occasionally surfaces in the scripts, but it's no heaver than it has been in the past. I admittedly loved quite a few episodes this season, including one involving Rory investigating a daredevil school clique and "To Live And Let Diorama," which is a particularly hilarious episode centering around the local temporary museum. Fans of the show will no doubt love it regardless of its faults, but should be aware of the amoral lessons it tries to teach.