‘Gilmore Girls’: Scott Patterson Sides With Emily Gilmore on ‘Rory’s Birthday Parties’
Luke Danes agrees with Emily Gilmore? Say it ain’t so. Scott Patterson, who played Luke on the hit comedy Gilmore Girls, revealed that he agreed with some of Emily’s often-hated actions. During the June 14, 2021 episode of Patterson’s Gilmore Girls rewatch podcast, called I Am All In, the actor discussed season 1 episode 6: “Rory’s Birthday Parties.” Fans often saw Emily as a villain in this episode, but Patterson saw things from her side. Here’s what he thought.
What happened on Rory’s birthday?
In this episode, Rory Gilmore (portrayed by Alexis Bledel) prepared to turn 16 years old. She and her mother, Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham), planned a big birthday bash with all their Stars Hollow friends. However, Rory’s grandmother, Emily (Kelly Bishop), wanted to throw a proper and elegant party at her and Richard Gilmore’s (Edward Herrmann) mansion.
Without telling Rory, Emily planned the party at her home and invited all of Rory’s schoolmates at Chilton Preparatory School. As the new girl in school, Rory hadn’t made any friends yet, so she became very uncomfortable when she learned about the party from her classmates. Still, Rory and her mother reluctantly attended the birthday party.
After a stressful evening trying to dodge snide remarks from her classmates, Rory’s grandmother asked her to give a speech. This was the final straw for Rory, who snapped at Emily for the first time in the series. Emily became angry with Rory, which caused an argument between Lorelai and Emily.
Scott Patterson doesn’t think Emily did completely wrong
During the discussion of the episode on I Am All In, Patterson revealed that he didn’t “know how Emily tolerated Lorelai, even from the very first scene.” He went on to say that he believed Emily knew Lorelai was a “lost cause” when it came to having a loving mother-daughter relationship, but she saw hope with Rory. Patterson said he thought that’s why Emily threw the unsolicited party; she thought it was in Rory’s best interest.
Patterson went on to explain that he wondered what was in Emily’s “bloodline” to make her such a perfectionist and a stickler for maintaining a high-society culture. When Emily invited Rory’s classmates to the party, Patterson saw it as Emily’s way of letting everyone know that Rory came from the high-society Gilmore family and that nobody should get in Rory’s way.
Patterson did admit that Emily should have discussed the party and the guest list with Rory first. However, when Rory refused to give the speech, Patterson “felt like she was being a little ungrateful.”
“I think [Emily] did it with good intentions. She wants Rory to fit in. And I don’t know if Emily is even aware of the conflict that Rory is having at school,” the actor said. “The Gilmores had their back by throwing that party. ‘Cause they’re saying to the other families, ‘Don’t mess with this girl anymore.'”
Patterson is forming strong opinions about ‘Gilmore Girls’ characters
Patterson is only six episodes into his Gilmore Girls binge, but he has already had a lot to say about the characters. So far, the actor has interviewed co-stars like Yanic Truesdale, Sally Struthers, Rose Abdoo, Sean Gunn, Ted Rooney, Michael Cohen, and more. He’s reminisced with the cast about some of their favorite episodes and formed his own strong opinions about Gilmore Girls‘ plotlines.
“Every single second of this series so far has been perfection,” Patterson said in the June 14 podcast.
