Teach Me Tonight

Season	Episode
2	19

INFO

Airdate

30 April 2002

Written by

Amy Sherman-Palladino

Directed by

Steve Robman

EPISODES
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"Hey, I am sorry about Rory. You know I care more about her than I do myself, but at least you know where Rory is and at least you know that she’s okay. Now, I have to find Jess and I have to make sure that he’s okay, and if that cuts into your screaming time, well that’s just too damn bad!"

—Luke to Lorelai

Teach Me Tonight is the 19th episode of Season 2 of Gilmore Girls.

Synopsis[]

Luke (Scott Patterson) learns that Jess (Milo Ventimiglia) is flunking out of school and asks Rory (Alexis Bledel) to tutor him, but a break during the study session takes an unexpected turn that sends Rory to the emergency room.

Recap[]

Lorelai's complaint about Taylor's choice for "Movie in the Square Night" lands her the responsibility for picking the evening's entertainment, but her enthusiasm for the task is quickly dampened when Taylor informs her that she must make a choice from a list of free movies which does not include any masterpieces. Luke is called in to see the Principal at Stars Hollow High, who informs Luke that Jess is in danger of flunking out due to his erratic attendance. Luke confronts Jess. Luke asks Rory to help Jess. After initially balking at the idea, and against her better judgment, Lorelai agrees to Luke's request that Rory tutor Jess. Rory asks Lorelai to lie to Dean if he calls for her while she is tutoring Jess. Rory and Jess decide to take a break from studying to get some ice cream, and with Jess behind the wheel, they get into a car accident which leaves Rory with a fractured wrist and a totaled car. A distraught Lorelai blames Luke for the accident, creating a serious rift in their relationship. Christopher arrives in the middle of the night ready to go after Jess, but he has already left Stars Hollow to return home. Kirk's short film premieres at Movie Night In The Square.

Starring[]

Lauren Graham as Lorelai Gilmore

Alexis Bledel as Rory Gilmore

Melissa McCarthy as Sookie St. James

Keiko Agena as Lane Kim

Yanic Truesdale as Michel Gerard

Scott Patterson as Luke Danes

Liza Weil as Paris Geller

Jared Padalecki as Dean Forester

Milo Ventimiglia as Jess Mariano

and Kelly Bishop as Emily Gilmore

special appearance by

Edward Herrmann as Richard Gilmore

Recurring cast: Liz Torres as Miss Patty; Michael Winters as Taylor Doose; Sally Struthers as Babette Dell; Sean Gunn as Kirk Gleason; and David Sutcliffe as Christopher Hayden

Guest starring: Mary Lynn Rajskub as 'Girlfriend' in Kirk's Film; Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs as Principal Merton; Rich Topol as Doctor; with Jon Polito as 'Father' in Kirk's Film

Co-Starring: Julia Silverman as the Teacher; Chantal LaMourelle as the Nurse

Quotes[]

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Luke – You stole their baseballs? Why would you do that? What could you possibly need five hundred baseballs for?

Jess – Can we talk about this later?

Luke – Why, you got a big Frisbee heist going down at 6?

Jess – I’ll live where I live, I’ll work when I need money, and I’ll see where I end up

Rory – You could do more

Jess – Oh, here come the pompoms

Rory – No, no pompoms, just me saying you could do more

»

Jess – I made sure she was okay

Luke – I know you did

»

Lane – Tomorrow. Oh yeah, that’s plenty of time. No one will still be mad then

Rory – Sarcasm does not become you

Lane – [smiling] Maybe not, but it does sustain me

Lorelai – Hey, why isn’t Jackson here?

Sookie – Oh, he’s singing to his persimmons tonight. They’ve been a little sour lately

Lorelai – Oh, right

Christopher – Right? You just accept that explanation?

Lorelai – Yeah, why shouldn’t I?

Christopher – Because she just told you the man isn’t here because he’s singing to fruit

Trivia[]

Jess still does not believe that he can accomplish anything in life.
Rory and Jess get into a car accident, Rory has a fractured wrist. Her car that she got from Dean is wrecked, too.
Jackson is singing to his persimmons this episode, danced with the watermelon crop in 2001 and in 2004 he, Lorelai, Sookie and Michel sleep with Jackson's zucchini crop.^[1]
Jess goes back to live with Liz in New York.
Lorelai and Christopher make up, but Lorelai is now in a fight with Luke instead. This marks the first big on-screen fight between Lorelai and Luke.
a film by kirk premieres in Stars Hollow.
According to an interview with People, this is Milo Ventimiglia's favorite episode.

ALLEGORY

If you want to read into it, there is a lot of biblical snake-in-paradise, as well as Snow White, analogy in Jess giving Rory a beautiful red apple, which she accepts with intrigue. What follows Rory (Eve) accepting the apple is the destruction of Lorelai's (The Lord) Stars Hollow (Paradise) with Rory being in perceived danger (temptation threatening virtue) and Luke and Lorelai falling out (Adam and The Lord). The only difference is that The Lord places no blame with Eve, but with Adam AND the snake. In short Lorelai views Jess as a snake in Paradise. Very dramatic, the Snow White version even more so as The Queen (Jess) actually did wish to harm Snow White (Rory), whereas Jess of course does not.