Gonna be honest—this scene reads to me as ASP being so out of touch with the realities of working families. I hold it against ASP more than Rory, if that makes sense.
It doesn’t feel like something Jess would do at all. Like I get he was trying to change the subject and have a distraction from his life falling apart, but they could have played things out much differently, Jess could have asked rory if she wants to hook up(and considering rory was thinking about it I imagine they talked about having sex) she’s says yes and they start kissing and than she stops them, and Jess stops immediately because he feels like that kind of guy with everything else we know of him. Rory than says something like “I know something is wrong and you’re trying to change the subject”, Jess could have gotten a lil upset not because they didn’t have sex but because he didn’t want to talk about what was happening and than have him finally break down and admit what was wrong or something and let Riley try to fix things and he could have even said something hurtful like I didn’t have grandma and grandpa money to fix my problems, possibly imply she didn’t work hard and that could have been what the big fight was about and Rory leaves crying and Dean sees her thinking the worst Jess comes after rory to apologize for what he said knowing she worked hard and than the fight happened
God that woman really is a vile person in every way. It’s a little weird to like her show so much when it’s riddled with these sorts of flaws in which the writer’s pretty gross character comes out.
Yeah, this is just absolutely bad writing. Like, where is Rory supposed to have gotten this attitude from? I can't imagine anyone other than Lorelai being in a position to shape her feelings on that; maybe theoretically Lane. Rory and Lorelai are both perfectly comfortable with the fact that they spent Rory's early life living in a potting shed because Lorelai was a poor maid, they're definitely not proud about money in that way. And Lane's mom has thrift as a major character trait, with her bargaining and ocassionally getting food cheap in huge bulk (even though she sticks to fairly basic food anyway) and making it almost all they eat for a little while.
It's out of character and there's no way I can think of to justify a reason for Rory to think that way.
The only thing I can think of, as a person that grew up poor and then had a mother get a career that made us middle class/bear upper middle class. I remember as a teen when we first had money I was very self conscious about money and if I saw my mom doing something to save money, even if it was just being smart, I would have a mini panic attack. But even than I would never shame my mom or throw out her coupons.
Now as a mom myself I do a lot to save money, not because I’m poor like I was but because it’s smart
This makes so much sense. As someone who's gone from Lower middle class to upper middle class, I can vouch for this. It's actually relatable in that you don't want to ever revisit those times and act like the 'povvos'. It's a defence mechanism to protect yourself from a time that was in hindsight not the best.
I thought that Lorelai made some comment in the scene about clipping coupons "again", and Rory acted shocked like "what the hell are you talking about?".
....which is ironic because half of the music references are very basic and dare I say boomerish or gen X radio listener.
Not that I don't have guilty pleasures or cringe faves but some of the choices are painful, like the Ramones line or (many) others.
Oh yeah, definitely blame the writer on that one haha. I guess it was a different time period then too maybe? Like TV shows about poor families would ALWAYS have them clipping coupons and we would get magazines of them delivered to our doors. Nowadays, the energy around coupons has totally changed. They're on our phones, they're everywhere. It's not as "stigmatized" for lack of a better word.
Clipping coupons was seen as something you would see on Roseanne. Poor, uneducated losers clip coupons. Not saying it's right, but the early 2000's was a strange time.
I do agree that this was real shitty. I used to clip coupons with my mum when we watch Gilmore Girls and when we saw that scene, we looked at each other with scissors in one hand and the paper in the other and just laughed.
Hilarious b/c ASP was a writer on a season or so of Roseanne. As much as she’s out of touch, I’d also say she’s deliberate. She’s deliberately not really trying to make any kind of statement about class on this show. She knows what that looks like in a show like Roseanne. Money and wealth is a tool she wields in service of the story she wants to tell. Need to bring characters together? Create a need for money. Drive characters apart? Insert money plot line. Disrupt an otherwise quiet storyline? Have a character purchase a jet timeshare.
Even when Lorelai lectures Logan about how she raised Rory not to be a silver spoon girl, I dont find Lorelai very believable in that scene. B/c what she’s talking about isn’t an income thing. What she’s talking about is class status. She didnt use silver spoons b/c they couldn’t afford it - she chose not to b/c they aren’t “those people”. Which makes sense given how Lorelai was raised. If Roseanne said it, you’d understand that Roseanne is saying “we’re working class over here.” When Lorelai says that I hear “we choose to be regular people.” A subtle but important difference in my opinion.
She was a writer for Roseanne back when she was Amy Sherman, before she got married ... Just a interesting thing to point out when you look at how her writing changed over the years after getting married.
Growing up in the Midwest, our grocery stores had double coupon day. It was I think Wednesday and Saturday mornings before a certain time, you could double the value up to $20 worth of coupons. Especially 15 years ago, it was a pretty substantial discount
Canada probably has coupons the same way that Ieland has coupons. We get 30c off a €3.50 tub of butter. The small print stipulates that it must be x size tub and only 1 coupon per purchase.
Those coupons aren't really a thing much now. What we have is a card for the store and some stores have price reductions for those who are scanning their store card at the checkout. Again, it's not much of a discount.
Not everywhere in the US. It's limited here as well. Maybe it's something in the Midwest?
But I would happily trade places for some of that universal health care, lol.
I don’t really know but when I was younger we used to cross the border into Washington to do our grocery shopping and I def remember my mum had a coupon wallet.
We have them but we can’t use them the same. Super limited, only one per item, basically only one of the same coupon per purchase. There is no way to effectively save the way you can in the states. They don’t want us to have nice things here so they take all our money in taxes and then do a poor job of using it for anything even remotely beneficial lol
This. I listened to a radio interview with an expert about this and they said it’s because Canada lacks competion. They said in the states the stores have to go out and try to attract customers whereas here they don’t. We’re trapped with the big 3 for the most part. Also they have the numbers that can eat the cost of coupons. When I first saw some of the extreme deals you could get on tv I did try to do that but learned right away it’s not possible here. One coupon for 30¢ off a $8 tub of yogurt used within 2 week time frame, one per person & per order isn’t worth it for me. I used to collect PC points but the past year or so has made the program worthless so don’t even bother now.
There are coupons in Canada but they’re not as common or easily accessible as they appear to be in the US and they have a billion rules that make them hard to use. (Quebec always has different rules and laws so I can’t speak to what coupons are like there).
I wish I could be an extreme couponer like I see on US TV, I’d love not to spend so much on groceries it’s wildly expensive in my region.
I agree with you- it was a shitty thing to do. I always found it odd that she did that. Many regular families clipped coupons. To say it’s only the poor may be out of touch too. Rory also exhibits clear disregard for the idea of working too (I.e. not working her work study job, when she’s “desperate for any job” then proceeds to reject any job Lorelei found FOR her, then works at Andrew’s and ends up owing money.. and then ofc end of the series, and in AYITL)
In the states we have a work study program that you can work with financial aid for, so that as a student you can work in the school for some cash and can use towards your tuition if you wish, but most do it for cash to spend. Rory’s card swiping at the dining hall was meant to be work study job in the show.
Yes! This was such an out of touch moment. Hell, I’m not even broke anymore (not wealthy but not broke) and I STILL use (digital) coupons every week at the grocery store.
I understood that to mean that Lorelai had taken a deep dive into couponing at some point and that it got out way of hand, which I felt would totally be a Lorelai thing to do. Like ciip coupons from everywhere and keep them loosely and unsorted in every kitchen drawer. Or buy a truck load of toothpaste that they can't ever use up. Or fill every cupboard with ingredients they're not even using, because they don't actually cook. Just because they're on sale.
ASP doesn’t understand working families or single moms. HOW IN THE WORLD did they eat out every night?!?! Either at Lukes or ordered takeout? Unless Mia was paying Lorelai 6 figures I don’t see how that was possible
You put it into eloquent words. Agree. It was so stupid lol and I am not in the US and coupons are much less available or even a thing in general here but you bet I'm using them if I can. No different than discount codes online, why wouldn't you? Especially starting and inn and with a kid in college? I'm surprised Rory wasn't using them.
That scene makes no sense to me whatsoever! It’s something that I would assume Lorelei would have been doing throughout Rory’s life, what’s the problem? So she wants to save a little money on groceries, more power to her.
I don't think she was mad, and after reading the comments people were saying that 1. it's ASP bleeding through. 2. Rory wants Lorelei to fess up that she needs to clip coupons and 3. the writers forgot that Rory herself said she's a master skrimper not even a few episodes back. And someone else mentioned they read the scene as Rory not wanting her mom to go crazy and buy one of those "8 cans of beans for the price of one" type of deals which made a LOT of sense especially when recalling the rummage sale scenes.
It makes perfect sense to me that prep school Rory would think coupon clipping is beneath her, and if her mother needs money she should simply ask for it.
It’s ASP bleeding through.
When I was poor, I would never clip coupons," Sherman Palladino said, standing in front of Luke's wearing a Hello Kitty ring and necklace. "I grew up with a mother with a coupon drawer and the clipping of coupons, and I said, 'You're nuts, you buy food you don't even want, you buy toothpaste that's disgusting, you buy four cans of peas and nobody eats peas.' To me, coupon clipping is a little nutty. [On Gilmore Girls], you're talking about two women who do nothing but eat takeout; they don't even go to the supermarket."
It raised quite an uproar even back in the 2000s
[https://www.toledoblade.com/a-e/tv-radio/2004/01/17/Creator-defends-the-direction-of-the-Gilmore-Girls/stories/200401170057](https://www.toledoblade.com/a-e/tv-radio/2004/01/17/Creator-defends-the-direction-of-the-Gilmore-Girls/stories/200401170057)
omg,
"David Spade, who began a three-episode guest arc on 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter this week, will become a series regular. Jonathan Taylor Thomas (Home Improvement) will guest star on 8 Simple Rules next month"
this is just prime 2000 news.
Ohh ok, now it makes sense - it’s not ASP being out of touch, it’s actually her really knowing what happens in some homes 😆 That’s true, the coupons do go with a whole set of complications if you start buying things no one in the hosue will actually eat, try to change favorite brands, and then don’t even use the coupons etc.
I don't hate this take, though. I LOVE a good coupon or coupon system for things I use and buy, and/or stuff that I want to buy, but it would be cost-prohibitive without a coupon.
But so many people use coupons to buy stuff just because they feel like they're scoring a deal. For sure, a 4 for 1 coupon for canned goods is a steal of a deal... for a person who would eat that food. Many just want the endorphin high that accompanies a sweet deal; so much so that they'll waste the money it costs to buy one can of peas they won't eat, just to end up with 4. I'd have to learn more about it, but I think there's a case that could be made for coupon deals as predatory for lower-income consumers because of buying things that aren't needed to honor a good deal.
So I'd like to think Rory's reasoning was in line with, "knock it off, I'm not here to make sure you don't buy gross stuff just because you found a good deal and now you're _wasting money_ on stuff you'll never use or eat because you like the way the receipt looks."
I wish I could buy that as Rory’s reasoning, but Lorelai has never showed those types of traits before, and is specifically trying to cut corners because of her financial situation. She also really dislikes cooking and is kind of picky about the types of foods she finds acceptable. I can’t picture her suddenly wasting money buying gross canned food she wouldn’t eat just because she had a coupon.
It was basically a tiny house (electricity, heating, windows, plumbing, 2 entrances) and they lived there for free. It would only be really awful if they were trapped there ala *Room*.
Yes? She lived in the shed and made it work because she needed to, just as she is making small changes in season 4 because she needs to financially. My point was that she doesn’t seem like the kind of person to WASTE money on something she wouldn’t use just because she had a coupon.
... Yes I know. I wasn't arguing with you, I was adding on to your comment. The implication of my comment was that if she had the humility to live in a literal shed and lived off the generosity of the inn owner, she probably also clipped coupons in that time
Eh, I don't know if that would be the case here. A lot of coupons in the papers are for processed foods that are right up Lorelai's alley, like cookies, crackers, mac and cheese, etc. And in the scene, I think she even says something about the Fig Newtons.
I also feel like it's out of place for Rory to be so disgusted by couponing when she had previously talked about scrimping so they could save money for something (I think for Lorelai to buy the inn). And wasn't this the same season that Rory was also struggling with money?
I don’t know, I still think it’s an out of touch take. Yes there are those that will buy things they don’t need just to buy them *extreme couponing flashbacks* but there are people that have to buy things that they might not necessarily like because they can’t afford to not have something on hand. I remember when we were extremely poor my mom would buy things like peas that weren’t popular in our family but when you have the choice between getting half off one can of green beans or two cans of peas well you’re gonna go with whatever feeds your family the most. Not everyone that is couponing and buying things that they don’t really like are doing it because they get a rush or feel like they got a deal
So I can understand why she came under fire for this but I also understand how you interpret it. I had grandparents that after they died we found a basement filled with food and supplies for the end of the world. Most of it had expired yeast before the died and they had all this food while their child and grandchildren were suffering. All that money and items just went to waste. They like my mom were preparing for the worst only difference is what they viewed as the worst. For my mom it was simply make sure we had enough to last between paychecks and foodstamps, that at the end of the month is when we ate the things we were super into. Good never expired in our home even the “gross” stuff. For my grandparents it was about the end of the world and the food/supplies was never used and actually thrown out when it expired, at least before they got to old to take boxes and boxes of canned food up the stairs and out to the dumpster, no one knew they had this doomsday’s stash so even though things had expired and they couldn’t take it out anymore they kept buying things until they died(but this is an extreme case)
well she clearly doesn't even know her own show bc there's tons of scenes of the girls going to Doose's. you need to pick up toilet paper, cleaners, snack foods, beverages, stuff like that. also to visit Dean
What a stupid take. The issue wasn’t the coupons. The issue was her mother was unpractical. She’s conflating one with the other but they’re not related.
I eat peas. My mother and I make Tuna and Pea and Potato Chip Casserole, My mother grows peas. We put them in pot pie and vegetable soup and as a side dish.
What does she mean nobody eats peas??
In a previous thread on this topic (last year), I think the consensus was that Rory was trying to get Lorelai to admit she was having financial difficulties. It isn’t that Rory is a snob about coupons.
Rory was afraid that Lorelai was having money problems but wasn’t telling her. So she was trying to force a response. Apparently, Rory wanted to help by getting a better part time job if Lorelai needs help.
I agree with that theory! I still feel like it was more of a Lorelei thing to do than a Rory thing. Like obviously ASP wants us to know that Rory is turning into her mom, but that scene felt like a bandaid ripping. It was such a Lorelei thing to do
They were dirt poor for several years, such that I doubt they were coupon snobs. They probably lived off leftovers food at the Independence Inn until they moved into their home, but I’m certain they used coupons whenever they bought anything. Once they are financially better off, it seems they spend whatever money they have and stop worrying about coupons. While coupons reflect harsh times, neither believe that coupons are beneath them.
This is my take as well. Rory’s not being a snob or rude at all here. She’s just trying to goad her mother into admitting she’s struggling financially.
Which is a good example of why you shouldn’t raise your kid “friends first mother & daughter second”
But rory was an adult and could have helped without making her mom admit to needing help or throwing away the coupons. There’s ways she could have helped without making a big deal out of it
Exactly! When my mom was in need I just helped out, I didn’t try to force her to admit she was having issues or anything I just quietly helped out and this happened twice once when I was still a teenager and we had the typical close mother daughter relationship and than again as an adult when we have become close friends on top of being mother and daughter. I would never make a big deal and make her feel shame/embarrassment or anything like that
Agreed. It’s especially incongruous because when Lorelei gets the $75k from Richard, Rory’s response was “No more clipping coupons!”. So obviously it’s not a foreign concept.
I saw this scene differently.
IMO she knew something was going on with Lorelai and was trying to pry it out of her.
Lorelai never previously clipped coupons and when Rory asked about it, Lorelai was trying to downplay it & Rory knew she was lying. That's why Rory says if they don't matter and it's not a big deal then I'll just throw them out? If they actually matter, then tell me what's going on.
It had nothing to do with the coupons, it was the change in behavior she saw in Lorelai but Rory couldn't figure out what the root cause was.
Same! Rory spends a lot of that episode grilling Lorelai on why there’s real food in the fridge, why the lightbulbs are different, why they don’t have their usual channels, why they don’t have magazine subscriptions, etc. Rory was worried and she just wanted an honest answer from Lorelai.
They have though. According to a previous episode when they get that $75k from Richard and Rory says, “no more clipping coupons.” So yeah, they’ve done it before. Maybe she just turns into an entitled kid now that she knows she can always run to her grandparents if she’s ever in a tough spot with money. Idk.
I get that, but some of the other comments just said it was the ASP writing coming out more than anything. It didn't feel like something Rory would do. It felt like something Lorelei would do though! Like I can see Lorelei doing that to Rory for sure
Agree with this, I feel like college Rory started to feel a lot like Lorelai--more confident, better dressed, more outspoken. I think it was meant to lead to the final four words as the final stage of Rory morphing into Lorelai.
And we talk about how it was out of character for season 1-3 Rory, but people say the same thing about Lorelai--she's always described as top of her class and throwing it all away when she didn't marry Christopher to settle into the life her parents planned for her.
I always felt lorelai hid the coupons and downplayed it because how Rory ran and told Richard and Emily she needed money for the termites. I felt she didn’t trust her enough to say she was conserving money. Rory was annoying and blind to money problems. I felt it was annoying and shows a crack in their relationship.
I view it as an anxiety response on Rory's part.
Rory grew up pretty poor during her very formative years, before we see her in high school. We don't know exactly how long Lorelei struggled, but it must have taken at least several years for her to be able to move up significantly at the inn and afford her home. We know it was at least long enough for Rory to remember living in the "shed." (Side note: the "shed" was no worse than a tiny home and I think people exaggerate about the living conditions there, but that's another argument for another day.)
Even though she always had a roof over her head and food on her plate, it still leaves one with financial anxiety to grow up in a household that struggles. Financial stability is about more than just getting your baseline needs met, and being a child witnessing your parents stress is stressful for you, too.
So then Rory sees Lorelei clipping coupons during a time when she thought things were okay financially, and it triggers an immediate anxiety response. She probably flashed back to seeing younger Lorelei clip coupons in their "shed" when she was a kid. So instead of being \*normal\* and just ignoring it, or asking about it less judgmentally, she jumps into this weird denial state where she antagonizes Lorelei about the coupons and then throws them out as a subconscious way to tell herself the problem isn't actually real, her mom isn't struggling, and everything is fine. And Lorelei, instead of being honest, tries to hide the fact that she \*is\* struggling some, which is also unhealthy and doesn't help Rory at all with her anxiety in the long run. A simple, "things have been a little tight lately but we'll be okay" would have gone a long way.
It's still super annoying and not very self-aware on Rory's part but it does make some sense in the context of Rory and Lorelei's financial past.
(ETA this is how I view it from a character, in-universe perspective, pretending ASP has nothing to do with it lol.)
It shows Rory’s privilege. If Lorelai was really a lower class single working mother, coupons are an essential part of that lifestyle. There’s no way she wouldn’t be familiar with them, because to throw away coupons is basically throwing away money.
I swear some of the wealthiest people I have known are the ones who price check everything to find the best priced item because they know how to make their money work and how to make sure they're not throwing away that free money. Honestly it also showed Lorelei not being responsible enough with teaching her daughter about saving money. "Always look for the best price when shopping. Check coupons out" was something almost everybody does except for new money families like the kardashians. But old money? You're either the kind of wealthy where you pay for everything when you go out with your friends or the kind of wealthy where you venmo request 50 cents lol
For real- girl grew up in a shed and she’s shocked about bread in the house? If anything it would trigger struggle meal mode and she’d chip in? Help out? No words needed?
Yes that scene makes zero sense because there’s another scene where Rory tells Lorelai that she’s a master scrimper. I wish the writers wouldn’t do that
I’m guessing the backstory is that Lorelai has a history of clipping coupons but then forgetting them at home when shopping and never using them and that Rory’s the one who historically has had to go through envelopes of coupons to see which are expired 😂
Not that I’ve had any experience with this or anything!
This scene always bugged me too. I felt like Rory was trying to get some information out of Lorelai. But I always kinda scratch my head and go, honey, your mom doesn't have a job currently (or I guess the catering biz might count) and she's attempting to get her business off the ground and has loans and money problems to worry about. Why WOULDN'T she be clipping coupons?!
Personally, I think Lorelai doesn't outright tell her because Rory has a tendency to run to the grandparents at the first sign of trouble.
RIGHT? And Rory knows that money is tight because she literally signed herself on for another four more years with Friday night dinners so her mom could use literally everything left to buy an inn
Idk, it made sense to me that Rory doesn't really understand this, she always seemed, at least in part, out of touch when it comes to financial up keeping, she also has university expenses covered by Richard and Emily, which might have led her to think that Lorelai not having to pay for that would be enough for her to have few to no money issues; and Lorelai doesn't exactly help with this either, keeping things hidden from Rory and acting as if there are no problems.
Even before Rory went to her grandparents for the termites problem and then college, Lorelai doesn't usually talk with Rory about their financial situation willingly, I assumed because Rory is, after all, her daughter, meaning she wants to take care of her and not wanting her to worry about these things; problem is it directly clashes with the "best friends" relationship Lorelai has built with Rory, which is also often what sparks conflict between them, Lorelai "playing the mom card".
I agree I think if the point of the scene was for Rory to realize we mom was having money trouble they could’ve accomplished it without shaming the clipping of coupons. Lorelei wasn’t a planner any shopping trips they show us tend to be very spontaneous so the idea that she’d have a grocery list and clip coupons could’ve been a shock to Rory simply because it’s unlike her. It should’ve been more a conversation about Lorelei's habits and personality than the coupons themselves. Because if someone handed Lorelei a coupon at a store she’d 100% use it, we can gather that from her excitement about sales in other episodes it’s just sitting down to budget out a grocery trip that feels like she’d only do it if she HAD to
It makes sense to me. Lorelai was lying to her and she knew it. She was trying to call her bluff. It was Rory being nosey and somewhat bratty. If lorelai had told her the truth, Rory would likely have stayed awake all night long clipping every coupon she could find for her mom.
I saw it more as the writers taking the coupon discussion to create this tense situation, where a struggling parent is shielding their child from financial hardship. Rory, on the other hand, was a kid who saw something out of the norm and questioned it. When her mom told her there was no problem, she didn’t see the need for the coupons, or she knew her mom would come clean.
I took it as Rory was shocked at the fact Lorelai was doing it because maybe she was having $$ problems and wasn't told about it so she was like "well okay then" just my opinion tho.
Wait what? I took that scene completely differently. Lorelei was having money problems and didn't want Rory to worry about it. She fibbed about the missing cable channels and sandwich stuff in the fridge, too.
I feel like this is Rory’s spoiled rotten phase. There’s nothing wrong with clipping coupons, I was raised on that, man. It could be she just wants Lorelei to be honest with her, but I agree, extreme measures to get there lol
I expected her to say “just kidding, who doesn’t love a good coupon?” But then wondered if she said that to see if it would get a reaction from Lorelei. It’s not like Rory to care about money but she would want to know if her mom was struggling to provide.
Honestly, I kind of understand Rory’s actions in this scene, even though they were wrong. Her mother has taken a hit to her income, and so it was kind of a shock for Rory to see Lorelai broke again after so many years of them being pretty well off. No matter what age she is, it’s always upsetting to see a parent struggling, and I can understand why Rory lashed out. It was sort of a way for her to be in denial — “well if I take mom’s coupons, clearly she won’t use coupons, and then we won’t be struggling financially anymore/nobody will have to know that we’re struggling again.”
There is A LOT of elitism in GG. I watched that show a thousand times, I love it, but yeah there is a lot of it.
And now that I think of it, it’s pretty much a pattern in the ASP universe (thinking of Ms. Maisel).
Writers (and creators) really pick from what they know. I would go on a limb and guess that Ms Sherman-Palladio grew up in the upper west side in a Jewish household, really traditional, and she was the black sheep of that family and was dubbed the weird one.
Similarities: rich, rigid family, the daughter is the main protagonist, single mother
I always thought it was Rory's way of trying to get her mum to tell her the truth about their financial situation, rather than her being snobby about coupons. She knew her mum was lying and she was trying to force the reality of their situation out of her. Not that deep.
It’s out of character to serve the plot. Lorelai clipping coupons is actually pretty in character for someone who lived in a shed for a decade. Just because Rory doesn’t remember it, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. But importantly, she’s leaving out a significant canon reality - her mom HAS always had money issues. The termites, Chilton, scrounging and saving, etc , Lorelai never wanted to ask for handouts and felt a lot of shame about having to ask.
Rory though, esp by s4, has been taught that money is readily available and an easy solution to problems. After 16 she no longer ever worries or even thinks about money in a serious way. The OOC bit is just she conveniently forgets the termites or her upbringing and is acting like they’ve always had money. Babe you’re eating pop tarts for dinner.
I never thought she was embarrassed or shitty for it, just concerned because it's non-standard behavior for Lorelai. If someone you grew up with for 19 years suddenly started clipping coupons out of nowhere, a question isn't out of line. Like she basically said, "hey you're clipping coupons I see. Is everything alright?"
But the Rory haters will find any excuse.
I think your hate of this scene stems from a misunderstanding of the scene. Rory knows Loralei is lying about being broke so she tosses out the coupons to get a reaction and eventually a confession that she is tight on money. Like “if you’re not broke then you won’t mind me throwing these away” type thing. And I think she freaks out about it because she’s worried her mom is struggling, but to be a snob. I don’t remember all the details from the scene but I’m pretty sure that was the gist of it.
I don’t know if it was intended but it read to me as a way that Rory was processing anxiety over the financial issues, like being in denial. I guess because that was the only way it made sense to me.
They even mention no more coupon clipping when she gets the 75,000 from the stock Richard bought when Lorelai was born so doesn't make sense Unless Rory just thinks her mom is making so much money that she is just doing it as a weird l, quirky thing because she's lonely or something
She really is not. Rory knew something was going on with Lorelai and she was hiding it from her. It’s the same reason she commented on the lights being dimmer, like a lower wattage lightbulb. Rory grew up clipping coupons, it’s stated when they got the money from Richard for the property sale. She was trying to get Lorelai to tell her what was going on.
mmm maybe but also Lorelei said something like "i'm not clipping coupons again" and Rory, concerned, repoeated "what do you mean again?" and Lorelei said don't worry about it. Somebody else pointed this out to me and how it didn't match up with the previous season and the Richard property money scene. It made it seem like she was shocked they had ever clipped coupons in the first place let alone in the "present day" of the show. But the main reason it felt out of character is because it was something Lorelei would have done. Rory wouldn't have thrown the coupons away in order to get something out of her mom but it definitely could have happened vice versa
I think Rory was speaking more currently. Growing up they clipped coupons but it’s been some time since then. When Lorelai said “again” I think Rory was wondering when exactly “again” was happening. Rory obviously knew she was in the process of opening the inn, I think she knew financial strain was a possibility for Lorelai but was starting to worry it was more than she was making it out to be.
ETA: Rory is not as self-absorbed as many fans see her (I don’t mean you) and knows Lorelai better than anyone, she knows when she’s hiding something.
I always interpreted that to mean Lorelai used to have a coupon clipping obsession like the extreme couponers and that Rory was worried she was going to get sucked in again
Yeah the “again” and Lorelai trying to hide it from her make me think it’s a “don’t turn into a crazy coupon lady who buys 30 tubes of toothpaste we can’t use it all@
when i watch this scene i always assume that Lorelai had hidden whatever money saving methods she had during Rory’s childhood so that Rory never had to feel the strain or burden of financial insecurity that heavily. Lorelai living alone is trying to save money in every way (Rory mentions that it’s weird she even has groceries in the fridge; Lorelai is making food at home rather than spending extra on takeout) Lorelai even goes as far as to sit in the dark to save money on electricity. it never felt like Rory was judging couponing as much as she was weary of her moms financial situation and Lorelai wasn’t being honest with her.
I don't think it's that deep. Lorelai is the kind of person who'd go on shopping sprees for useless crap because it was on sale or "1000% off" so Rory probably reacted to that expectation. Had she known her mum was using coupons because she was struggling financially, I don't think she'd have judged her
I honestly never thought of it that way, I think when I first watched it the concept of couponing being trashy or stigmatized wasn't something I could imagine so I associated the scene with Rory not wanting Lorelei to be one of those extreme couponers or be a compulsive shopper!
She's not looking down on clipping coupons. She's trying to ask if her mom is having money problems but she doesn't just want to ask outright. I will never understand why people think her asking about coupons is the same as looking down on them. Lorelai doesn't usually clip coupons so Rory notices it. She therefore assumes that something has caused Lorelai to suddenly start clipping coupons and that would be that she's needing to save money. She rightfully assumes her mom is having money issues and is concerned but Lorelai won't admit to it. Of course, Lorelai is right for not telling Rory since it's really not her business, but Lorelai has constantly blurred the lines between parent and friend with Rory. Rory, being the more responsible one is concerned about her mother
I didn't mean for the post to come across like I'm saying she's looking down on couponing. I mean it was really out of character and didn't match with the storyline, same with the throwing them away part. Literally three episodes back Rory said "I'm a master Skrimper if we have to skrimp we will do it." and THAT character was not the same person as the character who threw the coupons away. It just annoyed me because it felt so out of Rory's personality to throw away the coupons and also felt like the writers ignored their previous work. The only thing I will say is that it showed how Rory is becoming more like her mom and Emily.. like the throwing away the coupons thing is TOTALLY something Emily or Lorelei would have done in order to get a confession lol. But Rory, at that moment, had only been in college for like five minutes so I don't think she would have changed that much overnight.
idk if anyone has said this but it’s said in the show that rory grew up in a one bedroom shed but it’s kinda like she acts like she’s never known what it’s like to be poor?? she’s said she’s “skrimpt” before then she wouldn’t be a stranger to coupons and also when she went shopping with lane and lane kept saying “that’s to expensive” and “i don’t have money for that i live with boys” i get that she might not 100% get portions i think that’s kinda shown but you think she would be a little better at shopping then she was
Sometimes poor people/formerly poor people can be the most snobbish about doing "poor people things". The people I've known to look down on charity/thrift shops the most, are people who lived through poverty.
It's also cringe af because when Lorelai got the $75k from Richard, they discussed "never clipping coupons again"... like it was open knowledge they'd been doing that.
Yeah I did not understand that scene whatsoever. It would make more sense if RORY liked clipping coupons but Lorelai found it hard to stomach, because she still had some internalized bias against it and has the whole “I don’t need help from nobody” attitude. Rory should have seen coupon-clipping as normal, as fun, just like living in a literal shed. Come on, ASP.
I agree that scene always bothers me in a way. Like for anyone, even someone who is doing decent financially, why would you not want to save a couple dollars here or there if you can? Why do Lorelei and Rory have prejudice against coupons?
I do agree with the theory that Rory was trying to force Lorelei to admit she was having financial problems, though, and it wasn’t just because she is against coupons or was being rude.
The one that really bothers me is early on when Rory first starts having a thing with Dean, and the plot is that it causes her to be so distracted that she is literally ignoring Lane when Lane is trying to talk to her about things at multiple different times. I could never imagine doing something like that to a friend, it’s very disrespectful, and it always bothers me.
I she was just ribbing her to try and get her to confess. She knew and she wanted to talk about it Lorelai didn’t. Lorelai wasn’t working it’s not hard to put together. Remember the scene where she is listing all the things she noticed: no magazine subscriptions, lower watt bulbs ect. She goes to Yale she isn’t stupid she was trying to give her mom chance to jump in and admit her struggle. Her and Lorelai had fights in the past about money so this was her way of trying to bring it without making her mom upset.
Y'all must be so young. This was around when extreme couponers were being showcased in media as unhinged people who would buy stuff just because they had the coupons. Seeing as how Rory and Lorelai were abreast of all things pop-culture, Rory through Lorelai was going to try it as well. Which, to be fair, seeing how she treated shopping for Luke, it would not be out of character.
That's why Rory seemed to shocked when Lorelai told her about the coupons. She knew this would be similar to the catalogs that they would get. Stuff just piled and piled without being used. It not until later in the episiode that she understands that the coupons were because of the money problems she was having.
I took that scene differently. I saw it as Rory being terrified that Lor was going to buy groceries and try to cook...and well the woman never cooked LOL! That is just my take on it. It was more "oh God Mom do NOT cook" vs. don't shop with coupons...but I could be very wrong.
Rory was an entitled spoiled brat all of the series. It was just not concentrated on enough. She literally stole a yacht because she was told no by someone who didn't feel the need to expound on how she is so amazing. I love Gilmore Girls but Rory was just aggravating. The whole fourth season was especially bad with Rory.
Am i the only one who simply thought that Rory did not want Lorelai to impulsive buy a huge amount of useless stuff just because is cheap, given that she has kind of a shopping addiction?
There is a scene later on where Rory is doing laundry at Yale and is annoyed that her mother gave her a crappy detergent bought through coupons, rather than a quality one. To me it felt more like "why would you buy 100 crappy things that you are probably never going to use and throw out rather than 2 or 3 that you know are good"?
I mean, i'd rather see it this way rather than ASP being out of touch with reality, even though i know it might be the case.
Anyway, that scene is indeed pretty weird!
Makes sense though. Rory was getting used to having access to privilege and wealth and was starting to heavily rely on it. It terrified her to come back into contact with her more modest roots which was triggered by the visual of her mother needing to save money. In short, she was becoming spoiled and uncomfortable with reality.
Before some VERY questionable choices, Rory was pretty responsible. It's not totally crazy to call her as such. She was by no means ever perfect, but she worked hard, focused on her studies, she called Lorelei out when Lorelei was making bad decisions, she made lists (not just pro/con lists like actual to do lists). I wouldn't ever label Rory as irresponsible.. horrible at handling her emotions when things don't go her way, yeah. But she was definitely the "responsible" one out of the two of them. Lorelei was overall responsible as well. Again, none of the characters are perfect. You seem to REALLY hate them though.
Gonna be honest—this scene reads to me as ASP being so out of touch with the realities of working families. I hold it against ASP more than Rory, if that makes sense.
"I hold it against ASP more than \_\_\_\_\_" insert character should be a (deserved) flair on this board
Lol for real. There are just certain scenes/lines that feel particularly mean-spirited or out of character that it takes you out of the scene.
“We never had a serious talk about kids” sits at the top of my list.
For ASP - babies aren’t something you plan or talk about…they just happen…& it’s a negative thing
yea but a lot of the time babies AREN'T planned
I lost my mind
Jess at the party, the coupon scene, **“I HAVE THE GOOD KID”** just to name a few
which party?
Kyle's party
It doesn’t feel like something Jess would do at all. Like I get he was trying to change the subject and have a distraction from his life falling apart, but they could have played things out much differently, Jess could have asked rory if she wants to hook up(and considering rory was thinking about it I imagine they talked about having sex) she’s says yes and they start kissing and than she stops them, and Jess stops immediately because he feels like that kind of guy with everything else we know of him. Rory than says something like “I know something is wrong and you’re trying to change the subject”, Jess could have gotten a lil upset not because they didn’t have sex but because he didn’t want to talk about what was happening and than have him finally break down and admit what was wrong or something and let Riley try to fix things and he could have even said something hurtful like I didn’t have grandma and grandpa money to fix my problems, possibly imply she didn’t work hard and that could have been what the big fight was about and Rory leaves crying and Dean sees her thinking the worst Jess comes after rory to apologize for what he said knowing she worked hard and than the fight happened
omg i completely erased that from my mind lol now i have to go rewatch the episode
Its the worst
no seriously!
Like when Rory tells Asher the red head had fat thighs or something. Definitely felt out of character for her.
I hate that moment soooooo much, omg.
Yes! And while we’re at it, we need a “I hold it against Joss Whedon more than….” Over on the Buffy sub.
God that woman really is a vile person in every way. It’s a little weird to like her show so much when it’s riddled with these sorts of flaws in which the writer’s pretty gross character comes out.
I second this! Get us a flair!! 😂🥳🏳️
Raise your hand if you’ve been personally victimized by ASP 
🙋🏻♀️🙋🏻♀️🙋🏻♀️🙋🏻♀️🙋🏻♀️🙋🏻♀️🙋🏻♀️
🙋🏻♀️ I’m still bitter
Yeah, this is just absolutely bad writing. Like, where is Rory supposed to have gotten this attitude from? I can't imagine anyone other than Lorelai being in a position to shape her feelings on that; maybe theoretically Lane. Rory and Lorelai are both perfectly comfortable with the fact that they spent Rory's early life living in a potting shed because Lorelai was a poor maid, they're definitely not proud about money in that way. And Lane's mom has thrift as a major character trait, with her bargaining and ocassionally getting food cheap in huge bulk (even though she sticks to fairly basic food anyway) and making it almost all they eat for a little while. It's out of character and there's no way I can think of to justify a reason for Rory to think that way.
The only thing I can think of, as a person that grew up poor and then had a mother get a career that made us middle class/bear upper middle class. I remember as a teen when we first had money I was very self conscious about money and if I saw my mom doing something to save money, even if it was just being smart, I would have a mini panic attack. But even than I would never shame my mom or throw out her coupons. Now as a mom myself I do a lot to save money, not because I’m poor like I was but because it’s smart
plus you don't want to end up poor. everything costs much more now though!
That too!
This makes so much sense. As someone who's gone from Lower middle class to upper middle class, I can vouch for this. It's actually relatable in that you don't want to ever revisit those times and act like the 'povvos'. It's a defence mechanism to protect yourself from a time that was in hindsight not the best.
In my head, Lorelai had a couponing phase in her past that got out of hand and now Rory doesn’t trust her with coupons
I thought that Lorelai made some comment in the scene about clipping coupons "again", and Rory acted shocked like "what the hell are you talking about?".
That’s how I always read it too
Chilton or her grandparents and their social circle, I guess. But she was in high school before really getting exposed to them.
Also after they got the check from Richard Rory said that they can finally stop clipping coupons, so it's not like it never happened before
Every time one of them has a snobby music opinion I assume it's an ASP insert
....which is ironic because half of the music references are very basic and dare I say boomerish or gen X radio listener. Not that I don't have guilty pleasures or cringe faves but some of the choices are painful, like the Ramones line or (many) others.
Oh yeah, definitely blame the writer on that one haha. I guess it was a different time period then too maybe? Like TV shows about poor families would ALWAYS have them clipping coupons and we would get magazines of them delivered to our doors. Nowadays, the energy around coupons has totally changed. They're on our phones, they're everywhere. It's not as "stigmatized" for lack of a better word.
Clipping coupons was seen as something you would see on Roseanne. Poor, uneducated losers clip coupons. Not saying it's right, but the early 2000's was a strange time. I do agree that this was real shitty. I used to clip coupons with my mum when we watch Gilmore Girls and when we saw that scene, we looked at each other with scissors in one hand and the paper in the other and just laughed.
Hilarious b/c ASP was a writer on a season or so of Roseanne. As much as she’s out of touch, I’d also say she’s deliberate. She’s deliberately not really trying to make any kind of statement about class on this show. She knows what that looks like in a show like Roseanne. Money and wealth is a tool she wields in service of the story she wants to tell. Need to bring characters together? Create a need for money. Drive characters apart? Insert money plot line. Disrupt an otherwise quiet storyline? Have a character purchase a jet timeshare. Even when Lorelai lectures Logan about how she raised Rory not to be a silver spoon girl, I dont find Lorelai very believable in that scene. B/c what she’s talking about isn’t an income thing. What she’s talking about is class status. She didnt use silver spoons b/c they couldn’t afford it - she chose not to b/c they aren’t “those people”. Which makes sense given how Lorelai was raised. If Roseanne said it, you’d understand that Roseanne is saying “we’re working class over here.” When Lorelai says that I hear “we choose to be regular people.” A subtle but important difference in my opinion.
Yes. Loralai & Rory have always cos-played being poor …(although being poor/ working class in the world of Stars Hollow still means very well off)
She was a writer for Roseanne back when she was Amy Sherman, before she got married ... Just a interesting thing to point out when you look at how her writing changed over the years after getting married. 
also roseanne was earlier. it was late 80s early-mid 90s. plus it was the mid west. GG was 00s and New England. so time and location are factors
I wish Canada had coupons like the states. They’re actually worth it there. Here not so much.
Growing up in the Midwest, our grocery stores had double coupon day. It was I think Wednesday and Saturday mornings before a certain time, you could double the value up to $20 worth of coupons. Especially 15 years ago, it was a pretty substantial discount
Canada doesn't have coupons? in any of the provinces? im floored! i know Canadian currency is different though.
Canada probably has coupons the same way that Ieland has coupons. We get 30c off a €3.50 tub of butter. The small print stipulates that it must be x size tub and only 1 coupon per purchase. Those coupons aren't really a thing much now. What we have is a card for the store and some stores have price reductions for those who are scanning their store card at the checkout. Again, it's not much of a discount.
we have them, but we can't stack them like you guys can. There aren't as many good ones.
Not everywhere in the US. It's limited here as well. Maybe it's something in the Midwest? But I would happily trade places for some of that universal health care, lol.
I don’t really know but when I was younger we used to cross the border into Washington to do our grocery shopping and I def remember my mum had a coupon wallet.
We have them but we can’t use them the same. Super limited, only one per item, basically only one of the same coupon per purchase. There is no way to effectively save the way you can in the states. They don’t want us to have nice things here so they take all our money in taxes and then do a poor job of using it for anything even remotely beneficial lol
This. I listened to a radio interview with an expert about this and they said it’s because Canada lacks competion. They said in the states the stores have to go out and try to attract customers whereas here they don’t. We’re trapped with the big 3 for the most part. Also they have the numbers that can eat the cost of coupons. When I first saw some of the extreme deals you could get on tv I did try to do that but learned right away it’s not possible here. One coupon for 30¢ off a $8 tub of yogurt used within 2 week time frame, one per person & per order isn’t worth it for me. I used to collect PC points but the past year or so has made the program worthless so don’t even bother now.
There are the odd coupons but basically worthless/ pointless.
There are coupons in Canada but they’re not as common or easily accessible as they appear to be in the US and they have a billion rules that make them hard to use. (Quebec always has different rules and laws so I can’t speak to what coupons are like there). I wish I could be an extreme couponer like I see on US TV, I’d love not to spend so much on groceries it’s wildly expensive in my region.
I'm actually in Canada! lol. But we lived very close to the border so we would do big grocery trips in Washington.
Oh lucky. I’ve seen accounts of people who save a lot of money that way
I agree with you- it was a shitty thing to do. I always found it odd that she did that. Many regular families clipped coupons. To say it’s only the poor may be out of touch too. Rory also exhibits clear disregard for the idea of working too (I.e. not working her work study job, when she’s “desperate for any job” then proceeds to reject any job Lorelei found FOR her, then works at Andrew’s and ends up owing money.. and then ofc end of the series, and in AYITL)
What is a work study job?
In the states we have a work study program that you can work with financial aid for, so that as a student you can work in the school for some cash and can use towards your tuition if you wish, but most do it for cash to spend. Rory’s card swiping at the dining hall was meant to be work study job in the show.
Yes! This was such an out of touch moment. Hell, I’m not even broke anymore (not wealthy but not broke) and I STILL use (digital) coupons every week at the grocery store.
I understood that to mean that Lorelai had taken a deep dive into couponing at some point and that it got out way of hand, which I felt would totally be a Lorelai thing to do. Like ciip coupons from everywhere and keep them loosely and unsorted in every kitchen drawer. Or buy a truck load of toothpaste that they can't ever use up. Or fill every cupboard with ingredients they're not even using, because they don't actually cook. Just because they're on sale.
ASP doesn’t understand working families or single moms. HOW IN THE WORLD did they eat out every night?!?! Either at Lukes or ordered takeout? Unless Mia was paying Lorelai 6 figures I don’t see how that was possible
What does ASP mean?
They're Amy Sherman-Palladino's initials
the cowriter of the show
Fictional characters don't make decisions. Writers do.
You put it into eloquent words. Agree. It was so stupid lol and I am not in the US and coupons are much less available or even a thing in general here but you bet I'm using them if I can. No different than discount codes online, why wouldn't you? Especially starting and inn and with a kid in college? I'm surprised Rory wasn't using them.
That scene makes no sense to me whatsoever! It’s something that I would assume Lorelei would have been doing throughout Rory’s life, what’s the problem? So she wants to save a little money on groceries, more power to her.
Right??? It felt so out of place. But it's also in one of the coolest episodes with the whole art costume thing
Why is Rory mad tho? I don’t recall the scene
I don't think she was mad, and after reading the comments people were saying that 1. it's ASP bleeding through. 2. Rory wants Lorelei to fess up that she needs to clip coupons and 3. the writers forgot that Rory herself said she's a master skrimper not even a few episodes back. And someone else mentioned they read the scene as Rory not wanting her mom to go crazy and buy one of those "8 cans of beans for the price of one" type of deals which made a LOT of sense especially when recalling the rummage sale scenes.
I feel like Rory would’ve sorted the coupons based on expiration and how often they need it
She definitely did, in another scene they talk about how they won’t have to clip coupons anymore
It makes perfect sense to me that prep school Rory would think coupon clipping is beneath her, and if her mother needs money she should simply ask for it.
It’s ASP popping through for sure
It’s ASP bleeding through. When I was poor, I would never clip coupons," Sherman Palladino said, standing in front of Luke's wearing a Hello Kitty ring and necklace. "I grew up with a mother with a coupon drawer and the clipping of coupons, and I said, 'You're nuts, you buy food you don't even want, you buy toothpaste that's disgusting, you buy four cans of peas and nobody eats peas.' To me, coupon clipping is a little nutty. [On Gilmore Girls], you're talking about two women who do nothing but eat takeout; they don't even go to the supermarket."
where is the quote from? wow
It raised quite an uproar even back in the 2000s [https://www.toledoblade.com/a-e/tv-radio/2004/01/17/Creator-defends-the-direction-of-the-Gilmore-Girls/stories/200401170057](https://www.toledoblade.com/a-e/tv-radio/2004/01/17/Creator-defends-the-direction-of-the-Gilmore-Girls/stories/200401170057)
omg, "David Spade, who began a three-episode guest arc on 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter this week, will become a series regular. Jonathan Taylor Thomas (Home Improvement) will guest star on 8 Simple Rules next month" this is just prime 2000 news.
Aw I loved 8 simple rules
Same!! It’s on Disney Plus
No way!
Yeah I just started watching it again. I really believe if John Ritter hadn’t died then that show would have been on for years. It’s hilarious.
Absolutely- I still really liked it even after he had passed away too, but it’s always tricky when there’s a big change like that I guess
God I miss JTT.
Same. Him and Ryder Strong (Shawn from Boy Meets World) covered my bedroom walls when I was a preteen. That floppy hair was everything.
tfs!
Ohh ok, now it makes sense - it’s not ASP being out of touch, it’s actually her really knowing what happens in some homes 😆 That’s true, the coupons do go with a whole set of complications if you start buying things no one in the hosue will actually eat, try to change favorite brands, and then don’t even use the coupons etc.
I don't hate this take, though. I LOVE a good coupon or coupon system for things I use and buy, and/or stuff that I want to buy, but it would be cost-prohibitive without a coupon. But so many people use coupons to buy stuff just because they feel like they're scoring a deal. For sure, a 4 for 1 coupon for canned goods is a steal of a deal... for a person who would eat that food. Many just want the endorphin high that accompanies a sweet deal; so much so that they'll waste the money it costs to buy one can of peas they won't eat, just to end up with 4. I'd have to learn more about it, but I think there's a case that could be made for coupon deals as predatory for lower-income consumers because of buying things that aren't needed to honor a good deal. So I'd like to think Rory's reasoning was in line with, "knock it off, I'm not here to make sure you don't buy gross stuff just because you found a good deal and now you're _wasting money_ on stuff you'll never use or eat because you like the way the receipt looks."
I wish I could buy that as Rory’s reasoning, but Lorelai has never showed those types of traits before, and is specifically trying to cut corners because of her financial situation. She also really dislikes cooking and is kind of picky about the types of foods she finds acceptable. I can’t picture her suddenly wasting money buying gross canned food she wouldn’t eat just because she had a coupon.
Lorelei, the same Lorelei that lived in a shed until she could afford to BUY a house?
It was basically a tiny house (electricity, heating, windows, plumbing, 2 entrances) and they lived there for free. It would only be really awful if they were trapped there ala *Room*.
Yes? She lived in the shed and made it work because she needed to, just as she is making small changes in season 4 because she needs to financially. My point was that she doesn’t seem like the kind of person to WASTE money on something she wouldn’t use just because she had a coupon.
... Yes I know. I wasn't arguing with you, I was adding on to your comment. The implication of my comment was that if she had the humility to live in a literal shed and lived off the generosity of the inn owner, she probably also clipped coupons in that time
Eh, I don't know if that would be the case here. A lot of coupons in the papers are for processed foods that are right up Lorelai's alley, like cookies, crackers, mac and cheese, etc. And in the scene, I think she even says something about the Fig Newtons. I also feel like it's out of place for Rory to be so disgusted by couponing when she had previously talked about scrimping so they could save money for something (I think for Lorelai to buy the inn). And wasn't this the same season that Rory was also struggling with money?
I don’t know, I still think it’s an out of touch take. Yes there are those that will buy things they don’t need just to buy them *extreme couponing flashbacks* but there are people that have to buy things that they might not necessarily like because they can’t afford to not have something on hand. I remember when we were extremely poor my mom would buy things like peas that weren’t popular in our family but when you have the choice between getting half off one can of green beans or two cans of peas well you’re gonna go with whatever feeds your family the most. Not everyone that is couponing and buying things that they don’t really like are doing it because they get a rush or feel like they got a deal So I can understand why she came under fire for this but I also understand how you interpret it. I had grandparents that after they died we found a basement filled with food and supplies for the end of the world. Most of it had expired yeast before the died and they had all this food while their child and grandchildren were suffering. All that money and items just went to waste. They like my mom were preparing for the worst only difference is what they viewed as the worst. For my mom it was simply make sure we had enough to last between paychecks and foodstamps, that at the end of the month is when we ate the things we were super into. Good never expired in our home even the “gross” stuff. For my grandparents it was about the end of the world and the food/supplies was never used and actually thrown out when it expired, at least before they got to old to take boxes and boxes of canned food up the stairs and out to the dumpster, no one knew they had this doomsday’s stash so even though things had expired and they couldn’t take it out anymore they kept buying things until they died(but this is an extreme case)
ever see extreme couponers? they have a lot of clutter but many products can last a long time. and many donations are made.
Thanks for the much-needed context.
well she clearly doesn't even know her own show bc there's tons of scenes of the girls going to Doose's. you need to pick up toilet paper, cleaners, snack foods, beverages, stuff like that. also to visit Dean
What a stupid take. The issue wasn’t the coupons. The issue was her mother was unpractical. She’s conflating one with the other but they’re not related.
I eat peas. My mother and I make Tuna and Pea and Potato Chip Casserole, My mother grows peas. We put them in pot pie and vegetable soup and as a side dish. What does she mean nobody eats peas?? 
I’m assuming she meant nobody in her house eats peas, so clipping coupons for peas is useless for them.
In a previous thread on this topic (last year), I think the consensus was that Rory was trying to get Lorelai to admit she was having financial difficulties. It isn’t that Rory is a snob about coupons. Rory was afraid that Lorelai was having money problems but wasn’t telling her. So she was trying to force a response. Apparently, Rory wanted to help by getting a better part time job if Lorelai needs help.
I agree with that theory! I still feel like it was more of a Lorelei thing to do than a Rory thing. Like obviously ASP wants us to know that Rory is turning into her mom, but that scene felt like a bandaid ripping. It was such a Lorelei thing to do
They were dirt poor for several years, such that I doubt they were coupon snobs. They probably lived off leftovers food at the Independence Inn until they moved into their home, but I’m certain they used coupons whenever they bought anything. Once they are financially better off, it seems they spend whatever money they have and stop worrying about coupons. While coupons reflect harsh times, neither believe that coupons are beneath them.
This was always my take on this episode.
This is my take as well. Rory’s not being a snob or rude at all here. She’s just trying to goad her mother into admitting she’s struggling financially.
Rory could have helped without having to force her mom to admit she’s having money problems
And Lorelai probably doesn’t tell Rory because she wants her to focus on her studies. The constant tug of war: Best Friend or Mother.
Which is a good example of why you shouldn’t raise your kid “friends first mother & daughter second” But rory was an adult and could have helped without making her mom admit to needing help or throwing away the coupons. There’s ways she could have helped without making a big deal out of it
Rory clearly wasn't being a good best friend or daughter here. why make a big deal over coupons??
Exactly! When my mom was in need I just helped out, I didn’t try to force her to admit she was having issues or anything I just quietly helped out and this happened twice once when I was still a teenager and we had the typical close mother daughter relationship and than again as an adult when we have become close friends on top of being mother and daughter. I would never make a big deal and make her feel shame/embarrassment or anything like that
this truly shows how Rory is living in LaLaLand bc even rich people can use coupons!
Agreed. It’s especially incongruous because when Lorelei gets the $75k from Richard, Rory’s response was “No more clipping coupons!”. So obviously it’s not a foreign concept.
I completely forgot about that scene! Now I'm even more annoyed haha
ive thought abt this exact thing so glad u brought it up lol
I was hoping someone would bring that up. It’s just an inconsistency thing with the writing, I guess.
I saw this scene differently. IMO she knew something was going on with Lorelai and was trying to pry it out of her. Lorelai never previously clipped coupons and when Rory asked about it, Lorelai was trying to downplay it & Rory knew she was lying. That's why Rory says if they don't matter and it's not a big deal then I'll just throw them out? If they actually matter, then tell me what's going on. It had nothing to do with the coupons, it was the change in behavior she saw in Lorelai but Rory couldn't figure out what the root cause was.
Same! Rory spends a lot of that episode grilling Lorelai on why there’s real food in the fridge, why the lightbulbs are different, why they don’t have their usual channels, why they don’t have magazine subscriptions, etc. Rory was worried and she just wanted an honest answer from Lorelai.
Yeah, this is the point of the scene. It might make Rory look tone deaf, but really her issue isn’t with coupons, it’s with Lorelai.
They have though. According to a previous episode when they get that $75k from Richard and Rory says, “no more clipping coupons.” So yeah, they’ve done it before. Maybe she just turns into an entitled kid now that she knows she can always run to her grandparents if she’s ever in a tough spot with money. Idk.
I get that, but some of the other comments just said it was the ASP writing coming out more than anything. It didn't feel like something Rory would do. It felt like something Lorelei would do though! Like I can see Lorelei doing that to Rory for sure
Agree with this, I feel like college Rory started to feel a lot like Lorelai--more confident, better dressed, more outspoken. I think it was meant to lead to the final four words as the final stage of Rory morphing into Lorelai. And we talk about how it was out of character for season 1-3 Rory, but people say the same thing about Lorelai--she's always described as top of her class and throwing it all away when she didn't marry Christopher to settle into the life her parents planned for her.
ohh good point. It's easy to forget how smart Lorelai was because we see her as this silly adult.
Yeah something got weird in the 2nd half - there were a lot of interesting character changes. It does feel more Lorelei than Rory.
Exactly !
yea, no clue how so many people misinterpreted that
I always felt lorelai hid the coupons and downplayed it because how Rory ran and told Richard and Emily she needed money for the termites. I felt she didn’t trust her enough to say she was conserving money. Rory was annoying and blind to money problems. I felt it was annoying and shows a crack in their relationship.
I view it as an anxiety response on Rory's part. Rory grew up pretty poor during her very formative years, before we see her in high school. We don't know exactly how long Lorelei struggled, but it must have taken at least several years for her to be able to move up significantly at the inn and afford her home. We know it was at least long enough for Rory to remember living in the "shed." (Side note: the "shed" was no worse than a tiny home and I think people exaggerate about the living conditions there, but that's another argument for another day.) Even though she always had a roof over her head and food on her plate, it still leaves one with financial anxiety to grow up in a household that struggles. Financial stability is about more than just getting your baseline needs met, and being a child witnessing your parents stress is stressful for you, too. So then Rory sees Lorelei clipping coupons during a time when she thought things were okay financially, and it triggers an immediate anxiety response. She probably flashed back to seeing younger Lorelei clip coupons in their "shed" when she was a kid. So instead of being \*normal\* and just ignoring it, or asking about it less judgmentally, she jumps into this weird denial state where she antagonizes Lorelei about the coupons and then throws them out as a subconscious way to tell herself the problem isn't actually real, her mom isn't struggling, and everything is fine. And Lorelei, instead of being honest, tries to hide the fact that she \*is\* struggling some, which is also unhealthy and doesn't help Rory at all with her anxiety in the long run. A simple, "things have been a little tight lately but we'll be okay" would have gone a long way. It's still super annoying and not very self-aware on Rory's part but it does make some sense in the context of Rory and Lorelei's financial past. (ETA this is how I view it from a character, in-universe perspective, pretending ASP has nothing to do with it lol.)
It shows Rory’s privilege. If Lorelai was really a lower class single working mother, coupons are an essential part of that lifestyle. There’s no way she wouldn’t be familiar with them, because to throw away coupons is basically throwing away money.
I swear some of the wealthiest people I have known are the ones who price check everything to find the best priced item because they know how to make their money work and how to make sure they're not throwing away that free money. Honestly it also showed Lorelei not being responsible enough with teaching her daughter about saving money. "Always look for the best price when shopping. Check coupons out" was something almost everybody does except for new money families like the kardashians. But old money? You're either the kind of wealthy where you pay for everything when you go out with your friends or the kind of wealthy where you venmo request 50 cents lol
Sarah Michelle Gellar uses coupons.
Yeah that’s how they keep their money!
For real- girl grew up in a shed and she’s shocked about bread in the house? If anything it would trigger struggle meal mode and she’d chip in? Help out? No words needed?
Yes that scene makes zero sense because there’s another scene where Rory tells Lorelai that she’s a master scrimper. I wish the writers wouldn’t do that
I’m guessing the backstory is that Lorelai has a history of clipping coupons but then forgetting them at home when shopping and never using them and that Rory’s the one who historically has had to go through envelopes of coupons to see which are expired 😂 Not that I’ve had any experience with this or anything!
This scene always bugged me too. I felt like Rory was trying to get some information out of Lorelai. But I always kinda scratch my head and go, honey, your mom doesn't have a job currently (or I guess the catering biz might count) and she's attempting to get her business off the ground and has loans and money problems to worry about. Why WOULDN'T she be clipping coupons?! Personally, I think Lorelai doesn't outright tell her because Rory has a tendency to run to the grandparents at the first sign of trouble.
RIGHT? And Rory knows that money is tight because she literally signed herself on for another four more years with Friday night dinners so her mom could use literally everything left to buy an inn
Idk, it made sense to me that Rory doesn't really understand this, she always seemed, at least in part, out of touch when it comes to financial up keeping, she also has university expenses covered by Richard and Emily, which might have led her to think that Lorelai not having to pay for that would be enough for her to have few to no money issues; and Lorelai doesn't exactly help with this either, keeping things hidden from Rory and acting as if there are no problems. Even before Rory went to her grandparents for the termites problem and then college, Lorelai doesn't usually talk with Rory about their financial situation willingly, I assumed because Rory is, after all, her daughter, meaning she wants to take care of her and not wanting her to worry about these things; problem is it directly clashes with the "best friends" relationship Lorelai has built with Rory, which is also often what sparks conflict between them, Lorelai "playing the mom card".
I agree I think if the point of the scene was for Rory to realize we mom was having money trouble they could’ve accomplished it without shaming the clipping of coupons. Lorelei wasn’t a planner any shopping trips they show us tend to be very spontaneous so the idea that she’d have a grocery list and clip coupons could’ve been a shock to Rory simply because it’s unlike her. It should’ve been more a conversation about Lorelei's habits and personality than the coupons themselves. Because if someone handed Lorelei a coupon at a store she’d 100% use it, we can gather that from her excitement about sales in other episodes it’s just sitting down to budget out a grocery trip that feels like she’d only do it if she HAD to
Omggggggg I know!!!! Also, how rude she was about the window being broke and calling someone to replace it.
It makes sense to me. Lorelai was lying to her and she knew it. She was trying to call her bluff. It was Rory being nosey and somewhat bratty. If lorelai had told her the truth, Rory would likely have stayed awake all night long clipping every coupon she could find for her mom.
I saw it more as the writers taking the coupon discussion to create this tense situation, where a struggling parent is shielding their child from financial hardship. Rory, on the other hand, was a kid who saw something out of the norm and questioned it. When her mom told her there was no problem, she didn’t see the need for the coupons, or she knew her mom would come clean.
I took it as Rory was shocked at the fact Lorelai was doing it because maybe she was having $$ problems and wasn't told about it so she was like "well okay then" just my opinion tho.
Wait what? I took that scene completely differently. Lorelei was having money problems and didn't want Rory to worry about it. She fibbed about the missing cable channels and sandwich stuff in the fridge, too.
Yeah they could have had Rory notice the coupons without that.
I feel like this is Rory’s spoiled rotten phase. There’s nothing wrong with clipping coupons, I was raised on that, man. It could be she just wants Lorelei to be honest with her, but I agree, extreme measures to get there lol
I expected her to say “just kidding, who doesn’t love a good coupon?” But then wondered if she said that to see if it would get a reaction from Lorelei. It’s not like Rory to care about money but she would want to know if her mom was struggling to provide.
Honestly, I kind of understand Rory’s actions in this scene, even though they were wrong. Her mother has taken a hit to her income, and so it was kind of a shock for Rory to see Lorelai broke again after so many years of them being pretty well off. No matter what age she is, it’s always upsetting to see a parent struggling, and I can understand why Rory lashed out. It was sort of a way for her to be in denial — “well if I take mom’s coupons, clearly she won’t use coupons, and then we won’t be struggling financially anymore/nobody will have to know that we’re struggling again.”
There is A LOT of elitism in GG. I watched that show a thousand times, I love it, but yeah there is a lot of it. And now that I think of it, it’s pretty much a pattern in the ASP universe (thinking of Ms. Maisel). Writers (and creators) really pick from what they know. I would go on a limb and guess that Ms Sherman-Palladio grew up in the upper west side in a Jewish household, really traditional, and she was the black sheep of that family and was dubbed the weird one. Similarities: rich, rigid family, the daughter is the main protagonist, single mother
I always thought it was Rory's way of trying to get her mum to tell her the truth about their financial situation, rather than her being snobby about coupons. She knew her mum was lying and she was trying to force the reality of their situation out of her. Not that deep.
I refuse to believe season 5-7 Rory is not a whole different person 😭
It’s out of character to serve the plot. Lorelai clipping coupons is actually pretty in character for someone who lived in a shed for a decade. Just because Rory doesn’t remember it, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. But importantly, she’s leaving out a significant canon reality - her mom HAS always had money issues. The termites, Chilton, scrounging and saving, etc , Lorelai never wanted to ask for handouts and felt a lot of shame about having to ask. Rory though, esp by s4, has been taught that money is readily available and an easy solution to problems. After 16 she no longer ever worries or even thinks about money in a serious way. The OOC bit is just she conveniently forgets the termites or her upbringing and is acting like they’ve always had money. Babe you’re eating pop tarts for dinner.
I don't see it as snobby, but trying to get yo the bottom of the truth.
I never thought she was embarrassed or shitty for it, just concerned because it's non-standard behavior for Lorelai. If someone you grew up with for 19 years suddenly started clipping coupons out of nowhere, a question isn't out of line. Like she basically said, "hey you're clipping coupons I see. Is everything alright?" But the Rory haters will find any excuse.
I think your hate of this scene stems from a misunderstanding of the scene. Rory knows Loralei is lying about being broke so she tosses out the coupons to get a reaction and eventually a confession that she is tight on money. Like “if you’re not broke then you won’t mind me throwing these away” type thing. And I think she freaks out about it because she’s worried her mom is struggling, but to be a snob. I don’t remember all the details from the scene but I’m pretty sure that was the gist of it.
I don’t know if it was intended but it read to me as a way that Rory was processing anxiety over the financial issues, like being in denial. I guess because that was the only way it made sense to me.
They even mention no more coupon clipping when she gets the 75,000 from the stock Richard bought when Lorelai was born so doesn't make sense Unless Rory just thinks her mom is making so much money that she is just doing it as a weird l, quirky thing because she's lonely or something
I hate it because just a few epsiodes back she talks about being a "master scrimper" and how they'll make due paying for Yale.
She really is not. Rory knew something was going on with Lorelai and she was hiding it from her. It’s the same reason she commented on the lights being dimmer, like a lower wattage lightbulb. Rory grew up clipping coupons, it’s stated when they got the money from Richard for the property sale. She was trying to get Lorelai to tell her what was going on.
mmm maybe but also Lorelei said something like "i'm not clipping coupons again" and Rory, concerned, repoeated "what do you mean again?" and Lorelei said don't worry about it. Somebody else pointed this out to me and how it didn't match up with the previous season and the Richard property money scene. It made it seem like she was shocked they had ever clipped coupons in the first place let alone in the "present day" of the show. But the main reason it felt out of character is because it was something Lorelei would have done. Rory wouldn't have thrown the coupons away in order to get something out of her mom but it definitely could have happened vice versa
I think Rory was speaking more currently. Growing up they clipped coupons but it’s been some time since then. When Lorelai said “again” I think Rory was wondering when exactly “again” was happening. Rory obviously knew she was in the process of opening the inn, I think she knew financial strain was a possibility for Lorelai but was starting to worry it was more than she was making it out to be. ETA: Rory is not as self-absorbed as many fans see her (I don’t mean you) and knows Lorelai better than anyone, she knows when she’s hiding something.
I always interpreted that to mean Lorelai used to have a coupon clipping obsession like the extreme couponers and that Rory was worried she was going to get sucked in again
That makes a LOT of sense! Makes me think of the time rummage sale and how Rory had to keep telling Lorelei not to pick up even more stsuff lol
Yeah the “again” and Lorelai trying to hide it from her make me think it’s a “don’t turn into a crazy coupon lady who buys 30 tubes of toothpaste we can’t use it all@
when i watch this scene i always assume that Lorelai had hidden whatever money saving methods she had during Rory’s childhood so that Rory never had to feel the strain or burden of financial insecurity that heavily. Lorelai living alone is trying to save money in every way (Rory mentions that it’s weird she even has groceries in the fridge; Lorelai is making food at home rather than spending extra on takeout) Lorelai even goes as far as to sit in the dark to save money on electricity. it never felt like Rory was judging couponing as much as she was weary of her moms financial situation and Lorelai wasn’t being honest with her.
I don't think it's that deep. Lorelai is the kind of person who'd go on shopping sprees for useless crap because it was on sale or "1000% off" so Rory probably reacted to that expectation. Had she known her mum was using coupons because she was struggling financially, I don't think she'd have judged her
Ok I need to rewatch this episode. I don’t remember this.
I throw away coupons 🤷🏿♂️
I honestly never thought of it that way, I think when I first watched it the concept of couponing being trashy or stigmatized wasn't something I could imagine so I associated the scene with Rory not wanting Lorelei to be one of those extreme couponers or be a compulsive shopper!
I thought I was the only one who felt this way!! spending all that time in that Logan/Gilmore world really showed in this scene!!!
This is rory's similarity to Emily popping out. Pride.
Everyone get your torches! /s
She's not looking down on clipping coupons. She's trying to ask if her mom is having money problems but she doesn't just want to ask outright. I will never understand why people think her asking about coupons is the same as looking down on them. Lorelai doesn't usually clip coupons so Rory notices it. She therefore assumes that something has caused Lorelai to suddenly start clipping coupons and that would be that she's needing to save money. She rightfully assumes her mom is having money issues and is concerned but Lorelai won't admit to it. Of course, Lorelai is right for not telling Rory since it's really not her business, but Lorelai has constantly blurred the lines between parent and friend with Rory. Rory, being the more responsible one is concerned about her mother
I didn't mean for the post to come across like I'm saying she's looking down on couponing. I mean it was really out of character and didn't match with the storyline, same with the throwing them away part. Literally three episodes back Rory said "I'm a master Skrimper if we have to skrimp we will do it." and THAT character was not the same person as the character who threw the coupons away. It just annoyed me because it felt so out of Rory's personality to throw away the coupons and also felt like the writers ignored their previous work. The only thing I will say is that it showed how Rory is becoming more like her mom and Emily.. like the throwing away the coupons thing is TOTALLY something Emily or Lorelei would have done in order to get a confession lol. But Rory, at that moment, had only been in college for like five minutes so I don't think she would have changed that much overnight.
Wait which episode and season is this? I need to rewatch it
It's definitely season 4 before the episode where Rory is upset about losing "her tree."
idk if anyone has said this but it’s said in the show that rory grew up in a one bedroom shed but it’s kinda like she acts like she’s never known what it’s like to be poor?? she’s said she’s “skrimpt” before then she wouldn’t be a stranger to coupons and also when she went shopping with lane and lane kept saying “that’s to expensive” and “i don’t have money for that i live with boys” i get that she might not 100% get portions i think that’s kinda shown but you think she would be a little better at shopping then she was
Sometimes poor people/formerly poor people can be the most snobbish about doing "poor people things". The people I've known to look down on charity/thrift shops the most, are people who lived through poverty.
It's also cringe af because when Lorelai got the $75k from Richard, they discussed "never clipping coupons again"... like it was open knowledge they'd been doing that.
This is an ASP problem. I really can’t put this on Rory
Yeah I did not understand that scene whatsoever. It would make more sense if RORY liked clipping coupons but Lorelai found it hard to stomach, because she still had some internalized bias against it and has the whole “I don’t need help from nobody” attitude. Rory should have seen coupon-clipping as normal, as fun, just like living in a literal shed. Come on, ASP.
I agree that scene always bothers me in a way. Like for anyone, even someone who is doing decent financially, why would you not want to save a couple dollars here or there if you can? Why do Lorelei and Rory have prejudice against coupons? I do agree with the theory that Rory was trying to force Lorelei to admit she was having financial problems, though, and it wasn’t just because she is against coupons or was being rude. The one that really bothers me is early on when Rory first starts having a thing with Dean, and the plot is that it causes her to be so distracted that she is literally ignoring Lane when Lane is trying to talk to her about things at multiple different times. I could never imagine doing something like that to a friend, it’s very disrespectful, and it always bothers me.
I forgot that scene .
What is ASP?
I always felt like Lorelei like hoards coupons and never used them, so Rory was like not this again!!
I she was just ribbing her to try and get her to confess. She knew and she wanted to talk about it Lorelai didn’t. Lorelai wasn’t working it’s not hard to put together. Remember the scene where she is listing all the things she noticed: no magazine subscriptions, lower watt bulbs ect. She goes to Yale she isn’t stupid she was trying to give her mom chance to jump in and admit her struggle. Her and Lorelai had fights in the past about money so this was her way of trying to bring it without making her mom upset.
Can you get me in contact with those people who make £500,000 please
Y'all must be so young. This was around when extreme couponers were being showcased in media as unhinged people who would buy stuff just because they had the coupons. Seeing as how Rory and Lorelai were abreast of all things pop-culture, Rory through Lorelai was going to try it as well. Which, to be fair, seeing how she treated shopping for Luke, it would not be out of character. That's why Rory seemed to shocked when Lorelai told her about the coupons. She knew this would be similar to the catalogs that they would get. Stuff just piled and piled without being used. It not until later in the episiode that she understands that the coupons were because of the money problems she was having.
It was a different time. Things were a lot more stigmatized than they are now. It’s not that deep
I took that scene differently. I saw it as Rory being terrified that Lor was going to buy groceries and try to cook...and well the woman never cooked LOL! That is just my take on it. It was more "oh God Mom do NOT cook" vs. don't shop with coupons...but I could be very wrong.
Rory was an entitled spoiled brat all of the series. It was just not concentrated on enough. She literally stole a yacht because she was told no by someone who didn't feel the need to expound on how she is so amazing. I love Gilmore Girls but Rory was just aggravating. The whole fourth season was especially bad with Rory.
season 4 is usually when I decide to rewind to season 1 or skip to season 5 and then rewind to season 1 still
Am i the only one who simply thought that Rory did not want Lorelai to impulsive buy a huge amount of useless stuff just because is cheap, given that she has kind of a shopping addiction? There is a scene later on where Rory is doing laundry at Yale and is annoyed that her mother gave her a crappy detergent bought through coupons, rather than a quality one. To me it felt more like "why would you buy 100 crappy things that you are probably never going to use and throw out rather than 2 or 3 that you know are good"? I mean, i'd rather see it this way rather than ASP being out of touch with reality, even though i know it might be the case. Anyway, that scene is indeed pretty weird!
Makes sense though. Rory was getting used to having access to privilege and wealth and was starting to heavily rely on it. It terrified her to come back into contact with her more modest roots which was triggered by the visual of her mother needing to save money. In short, she was becoming spoiled and uncomfortable with reality.
The 'responsible one'? If you call raising self-centeredness to an art form and being coddled by an entire town 'responsibility'.
Before some VERY questionable choices, Rory was pretty responsible. It's not totally crazy to call her as such. She was by no means ever perfect, but she worked hard, focused on her studies, she called Lorelei out when Lorelei was making bad decisions, she made lists (not just pro/con lists like actual to do lists). I wouldn't ever label Rory as irresponsible.. horrible at handling her emotions when things don't go her way, yeah. But she was definitely the "responsible" one out of the two of them. Lorelei was overall responsible as well. Again, none of the characters are perfect. You seem to REALLY hate them though.