Chase Bradford

EMILY: Oh, Lorelai, I’d like you to meet Chase Bradford.

Lorelai turns up for Friday Night Dinner without Rory (who’s out with Dean) to find that Emily has wasted no time in attempting to set her up with a former neighbour named Chase Bradford (Paul Cassell), who’s just moved back to Hartford.

It’s really very sudden, as the previous Friday it seems as if Richard and Emily might have tried to get Lorelai back with Christopher, Rory’s father. Lorelai received a marriage proposal from Christopher less than a week ago, which she turned down – I wonder if Emily pushed him into doing that?

Emily is desperate to find Lorelai a man who isn’t “that diner guy”: Lorelai’s recent admission to Emily that she might be interested in Luke appears to have made her extra determined to get Lorelai into a safe relationship. She’s picked out practically the first man to come along, and he’s extremely dull, and slightly creepy. Lorelai might sympathise with Lane, who also feels her mother is starting to lower her standards when choosing blind dates for her.

Chase Bradford’s suitably preppy name might have been inspired by Chase Bank, formerly Chase Manhattan, one of the largest banks in the US. His surname might be after William Bradford, one of the pilgrims from the Mayflower, who became Governor of the Plymouth Colony. He has numerous descendants, many of them wealthy and well-connected, so there might be a suggestion here that Chase is one of them.