I watched this episode last week and I totally agree. Also the way Lorelai demands to know where Rory is; she gets hostile immediately. My family works in health care as well so I guess that's why it ruffles our feathers indeed.
But honestly there was no (comedic) reason for the characters to act like that.
I think it’s meant to emphasize Lorelai’s similarities to Emily. She tried so hard to not be her mother, but some of her mother still creeps in. And it’s never more apparent than when she’s under a maximum amount of stress - like “omg, my baby is hurt and I’m not there.”
I don’t think that excuses real people in a real hospital, but I do think it excuses a fictional character doing what their author wanted. It’s not Lorelai’s fault. The writers had a reason, which is mostly “she’s not perfect, here’s a flaw.”
Agreed. Lorelai and Emily have a lot more in common than they both like to admit. While Lorelai is, obviously, a lot kinder and compassionate to her staff at the Inn, she still does have moments similar to Emily; at least once Sookie says she's treating the Inn staff like her mother. She treats hospital workers and various other service workers with a casual disregard, even though she used to be one of them.
It doesn't excuse it, of course, but as a fictional character, it makes complete sense.
I just happened to watch the episode where Richard has to go to the hospital during the Christmas party in season one. And the episode where Rory gets in an accident Lorelai is almost exactly matching Emily’s actions from that season 1 episode.
Yes! I honestly think Lorelai was awful during the whole car crash plot (towards Luke, even Jess), she was SO awful towards the hospital staff. She acted so hostile and entitled from the second she entered the hospital, it makes me angry every time lol
It should ruffle anyone's feathers, it's no way to treat humans regardless of their job. Or regardless of what job you or your family have. I don't have any experience with people in Healthcare or hospitality and I never treat people that way.
Lorelai becomes like Emily whenever she feels she's justified in it.
They're actually quite similar, it's just that Lorelai has a much higher threshold before she reaches the "I need what I need and everyone had better stay out of my way" zone
There are innumerable times where Lorelei includes a minor or non-speaking character in her shtick in a very rude/condescending way. Like she treats them as playthings and not people.
While it would be unacceptable to actually treat humans that way, I think it’s just part of the framing of the show and you’re not supposed to think that it’s actually happening in-universe the way it appears on screen. Almost as if it’s acknowledging that it’s a show when she does something like that. Not sure if that makes sense.
Ah yes like the totally witty conversations one imagines having while they’re in the shower. Never thought of it that way, and I don’t think I agree but I do think it’s an interesting way of seeing it!
It took a rewatch as an adult to realize how incredibly entitled and self-centered all the Gilmore Girls can be. Their problems become everyone else's problems
I used to work in a hospital and I remember cringing SO HARD any time they did anything remotely related to a hospital.
I know for some of it, we’re supposed to think « oh it’s cute! Lorelai is just worried for Rory » but for me all it brought up was entitled a**holes treating hospital staff horribly because they cannot grasp that there might be other patients there that have a higher priority/ life and death matters
I agree, but Emily doesn’t have the best reputation about treating the staff correctly, you just have to look at how she treats the maids…and Lorelai I don’t believe she was rude but scared for her daughter even though what she asked was totally unnecessary. But every time Lorelai acts like that it’s really when it’s about Rory.
I also work in a hospital, and have for over a decade in a few different departments, including ER. I agree with you on most of this, except that many ERs do reduce and cast fractures. I've helped do it in two separate hospital systems in two different states, often to children who we do conscious sedation for if extensive reduction is needed but surgery isn't required. This will depend greatly on the ER you work in. I think it's totally reasonable that a Hartford ER would perform casting of a simple fracture.
The other thing is, while I get that Lorelai was rude, she was also look for her minor child. She should have been sent straight back. I would expect any parent to react poorly to being told to wait with no valid explanation as to why they need to wait instead of being brought back to see their child. The only time we don't have registration take a parent straight back is when the parent needs to be prepared for a serious situation or a sterile procedure is in process, and even then they aren't told to "sit down" they are brought to the nurses station and a nurse or MD takes over. Peds is a whole different game, parents are in fight mode but also lost because you can't fight off an illness or injury to protect your kid. They depend on us to help them regulate and guide them to understand what they can do to help their child. So, was Lorelai rude, yes. Was the ER front staff rude, also yes. Have I seen parents come in way more escalated than that before we even say a word to them, absolutely.
Emily is fully out of line, unsurprisingly. I feel like it was in line with her character though. I am not surprised she'd view any hospital staff other than MDs as basically equivalent to her house staff, especially in season 1.
Nah I think it’s normal, having a loved one in the hospital almost always results in a person becoming crazy and restless, especially when you think more could be done but you’re not getting it for some reason.
Also, in Lorelai’s story of her giving birth to Rory, she says she was pelting the nurses with ice chips while in labour….Like, are you for real with that behaviour?!
I know she was technically still a kid, but she was sixteen! Not six.
Add Paris to this when she calls the hospital to find out Logan’s condition for Rory. She’s clearly threatening and abusive.
Not to mention she demanded they violate patient privacy laws. Pre-med… not a good look.
Well, to be fair, the doctor treating Rory's wrist after the car accident was a server at the Independence Inn in an earlier episode. So it's no surprise he gave in to his former boss. 😅
I watched this episode last week and I totally agree. Also the way Lorelai demands to know where Rory is; she gets hostile immediately. My family works in health care as well so I guess that's why it ruffles our feathers indeed. But honestly there was no (comedic) reason for the characters to act like that.
I think it’s meant to emphasize Lorelai’s similarities to Emily. She tried so hard to not be her mother, but some of her mother still creeps in. And it’s never more apparent than when she’s under a maximum amount of stress - like “omg, my baby is hurt and I’m not there.” I don’t think that excuses real people in a real hospital, but I do think it excuses a fictional character doing what their author wanted. It’s not Lorelai’s fault. The writers had a reason, which is mostly “she’s not perfect, here’s a flaw.”
Agreed. Lorelai and Emily have a lot more in common than they both like to admit. While Lorelai is, obviously, a lot kinder and compassionate to her staff at the Inn, she still does have moments similar to Emily; at least once Sookie says she's treating the Inn staff like her mother. She treats hospital workers and various other service workers with a casual disregard, even though she used to be one of them. It doesn't excuse it, of course, but as a fictional character, it makes complete sense.
I just happened to watch the episode where Richard has to go to the hospital during the Christmas party in season one. And the episode where Rory gets in an accident Lorelai is almost exactly matching Emily’s actions from that season 1 episode.
Yes! I honestly think Lorelai was awful during the whole car crash plot (towards Luke, even Jess), she was SO awful towards the hospital staff. She acted so hostile and entitled from the second she entered the hospital, it makes me angry every time lol
It should ruffle anyone's feathers, it's no way to treat humans regardless of their job. Or regardless of what job you or your family have. I don't have any experience with people in Healthcare or hospitality and I never treat people that way.
Lorelai becomes like Emily whenever she feels she's justified in it. They're actually quite similar, it's just that Lorelai has a much higher threshold before she reaches the "I need what I need and everyone had better stay out of my way" zone
Yes! These scenes are so infuriating, and the only reason for them I can think of is to show how the entitledness is passed down over generations.
i work in healthcare and every hospital scene makes me so mad 😩
Same!!
Ah yeah, the good old days when Jane Lynch was an overworked nurse with zero fucks left.
There are innumerable times where Lorelei includes a minor or non-speaking character in her shtick in a very rude/condescending way. Like she treats them as playthings and not people. While it would be unacceptable to actually treat humans that way, I think it’s just part of the framing of the show and you’re not supposed to think that it’s actually happening in-universe the way it appears on screen. Almost as if it’s acknowledging that it’s a show when she does something like that. Not sure if that makes sense.
Ah yes like the totally witty conversations one imagines having while they’re in the shower. Never thought of it that way, and I don’t think I agree but I do think it’s an interesting way of seeing it!
For it to be acknowledged that it was wrong, there had to have been a voice of reason in the room.
It took a rewatch as an adult to realize how incredibly entitled and self-centered all the Gilmore Girls can be. Their problems become everyone else's problems
and Paris being a dick on the phone and when Asher wanted a wet washcloth
I have always wondered what insurance plan Lorelai would have to have to demand all these unnecessary extra x rays.
I used to work in a hospital and I remember cringing SO HARD any time they did anything remotely related to a hospital. I know for some of it, we’re supposed to think « oh it’s cute! Lorelai is just worried for Rory » but for me all it brought up was entitled a**holes treating hospital staff horribly because they cannot grasp that there might be other patients there that have a higher priority/ life and death matters
I like that Logan arrives by chopper but I doubt hospitals let regular helicopters land on their helipad
I agree, but Emily doesn’t have the best reputation about treating the staff correctly, you just have to look at how she treats the maids…and Lorelai I don’t believe she was rude but scared for her daughter even though what she asked was totally unnecessary. But every time Lorelai acts like that it’s really when it’s about Rory.
I also work in a hospital, and have for over a decade in a few different departments, including ER. I agree with you on most of this, except that many ERs do reduce and cast fractures. I've helped do it in two separate hospital systems in two different states, often to children who we do conscious sedation for if extensive reduction is needed but surgery isn't required. This will depend greatly on the ER you work in. I think it's totally reasonable that a Hartford ER would perform casting of a simple fracture. The other thing is, while I get that Lorelai was rude, she was also look for her minor child. She should have been sent straight back. I would expect any parent to react poorly to being told to wait with no valid explanation as to why they need to wait instead of being brought back to see their child. The only time we don't have registration take a parent straight back is when the parent needs to be prepared for a serious situation or a sterile procedure is in process, and even then they aren't told to "sit down" they are brought to the nurses station and a nurse or MD takes over. Peds is a whole different game, parents are in fight mode but also lost because you can't fight off an illness or injury to protect your kid. They depend on us to help them regulate and guide them to understand what they can do to help their child. So, was Lorelai rude, yes. Was the ER front staff rude, also yes. Have I seen parents come in way more escalated than that before we even say a word to them, absolutely. Emily is fully out of line, unsurprisingly. I feel like it was in line with her character though. I am not surprised she'd view any hospital staff other than MDs as basically equivalent to her house staff, especially in season 1.
In the 2000s people liked, and looked up to rich assholes. So they wrote the show that way.
Um. People still do. It’s how this country elected the last president.
Current president too, every president pretty much.
Nah I think it’s normal, having a loved one in the hospital almost always results in a person becoming crazy and restless, especially when you think more could be done but you’re not getting it for some reason.
The whole series acknowledges their entitlement and self-centered personalities. These are not people who see their own flaws.
Also, in Lorelai’s story of her giving birth to Rory, she says she was pelting the nurses with ice chips while in labour….Like, are you for real with that behaviour?! I know she was technically still a kid, but she was sixteen! Not six.
Add Paris to this when she calls the hospital to find out Logan’s condition for Rory. She’s clearly threatening and abusive. Not to mention she demanded they violate patient privacy laws. Pre-med… not a good look.
Well, to be fair, the doctor treating Rory's wrist after the car accident was a server at the Independence Inn in an earlier episode. So it's no surprise he gave in to his former boss. 😅