

S7E2:Does anyone else find Lorelai’s “Asia” party incredibly uncomfortable?
Every time I rewatch Gilmore Girls, I struggle to get through the “Asia” party Lorelai throws for Rory in S7E2. The whole thing feels so heavily orientalized and fetishized that it genuinely makes me uncomfortable, and I usually end up skipping most of it.
I know this episode aired almost 20 years ago, and obviously I understand that some things were treated very differently on TV back then. But that context doesn’t make the scene any less uncomfortable to watch now.
What frustrates me even more is that such an important moment in the storyline happens during this party: Christopher calls Lorelai, leaves a voicemail, and Rory hears it and realizes that Lorelai slept with her dad. It’s a pretty significant moment between Rory and Lorelai, so I can’t just skip the entire scene without missing something important.
I just wish this conversation hadn’t been wrapped in this over-the-top, stereotypical mashup of “Asian” cultures. It makes an otherwise important scene so unpleasant for me to rewatch.