This is Part 3 of a series analyzing the Gilmore Girls pilot for lessons writers can use in their work. We have this script, along with 15,000 others, in the Screenwriters Network Script Hub, just one of many perks that comes with being a member, all of which is free. Read Part 1 on Teasers and Part 2 on Story Engines.
Today we’re going to look first at Lorelei’s money solution in Act 2 and then Rory’s heel turn in Act 3.
Let’s Make a Deal
Up until this point, the goal has been clear – get Rory into Chilton – and our two main characters are working together in that pursuit.
Lorelei, having exhausted each of her other options, goes to her parents for money. We can quickly tell that this is a distant relationship, and a world that Lorelei no longer fits in with, if she ever did. By the end of the scene she gets the money – but with a catch. If she takes the money, she and Rory now has to participate in regular Friday night dinners (part of the story engine we discussed in the last post).
Lorelei has no choice but to agree – and suddenly she’s solved one problem by creating a new, even larger issue for herself – right as we head into the act break.
Crushes
We come out of that act break into Dean and Rory hitting it off at the start of Act 3. And though it isn’t explicitly stated, this leads to Rory changing her mind in the next scene where she tells her mom she’s no longer interested in going to Chilton.
In fact, Rory lies about it, coming up with other excuses for the change in heart. Lorelei has to force the truth out of her, and then plays her trump card – she’s the mom, and Rory’s going to Chilton, schoolgirl crush or no.
In the course of one act and four scenes, what had been a unified team and plan has completely fallen apart. Not only that, but the foundational theme of the show – mothers and daughters, whether they can be friends and parents both – gets interrogated as a result.
The audience gets to learn more about who these characters are get left with a new interesting complication – how will these two characters reunite? What will happen with Chilton? And how will they make it through Friday night dinner?
Complications
In each of these instances, what was the straight line of goal/obstacle – get Rory to Chilton – is complicated in new and surprising ways. Ways that dig deeper into who these characters are and pull at not just the external stakes – will Rory get this education? – but also the internal stakes – will Rory and Lorelei be able to remain close?
Additionally, these complications come from character. Emily wants to be able to connect with her granddaughter, and Lorelei has to weigh Rory’s needs against the family she has long spurned. Rory changes her mind because of hew new attraction, and Lorelei is pushed by the sacrifice she just made to change the nature of her relationship with Rory.
When outlining your story, it’s good to look for ways you can complicate your plot outside of just external circumstances. Think of your characters on a journey. They were going to take one road, but discover it’s closed and have to take an alternate route that’s a little bit longer. That’s not a very good story.
By focusing on complications that arise from internal circumstances – I’m still trying to get to our destination but my copilot has changed her mind and wants to go somewhere else – or that increase the difficulty and stakes of the goal – there’s a fork in the road and we can either go the safe way that gets us there too late or the dangerous off-road path and make it in time – will help continue to build the narrative momentum of your story while investing us in the interesting choices your character makes.
Check back tomorrow for our final part in this series analyzing the Gilmore Girls!