On the surface, Emily Gilmore was a caricature. An over-the-top rich Connecticut woman of society, always clad in a matronly power-suit, speaking in the fanciest of American accents, and living and dying by Emily Post's etiquette guide. Underneath that caricature, however, was an often overlooked performance by Kelly Bishop, who breathed heart, soul, and empowerment into the matriarch of the Gilmore Girls.Emily could have easily been the villain of Gilmore Girls. Upon my years watching as a teen, I often viewed her in that light, compelled to do so from watching the show through Lorelai's and Rory's point of view. Emily's hold over the younger Gilmore girls was manipulative, at times vindictive, and sometimes downright cruel.Over the years, I've had the pleasure of re-watching the former WB staple more times than I should admit. Okay, I'll just come out and say that I've seen every episode 15-20 times, and consider myself to be an expert on all things Gilmore. While some of my opinions on the show are firm (others have wavered for me as I've aged with the show.At one time, Emily was a villain. Now, however, I don't see her in that dark cloud, cackling in the mirror as she plots her next course of action which will force her daughter to have a relationship with her. When I watch the show now, I find Emily to be a heartwarming character with immense growth, who deserved more credit than Lorelai and Rory ever gave to her.Emily was a traditional mother. She says it best in the season 2 episode, "There's the Rub" when she explains her mothering skills to Lorelai:It's a heartbreaking and raw explanation that has made me question everything I ever believed about Emily.Emily may embody all of those characteristics I listed earlier, but often the audience forgets some of the other traits that she also carries; loyalty, protectiveness, generosity, longing, and the desire to do everything in her power to give her family the best.Of course a teenage Lorelai would have felt oppressed. Most teens feel oppressed, including the ones who have a great amount of freedom. That being said, Lorelai's oppression led her to leave her home, with no notice, at the age of 16. Initially, I thought it was incredible and brave that Lorelai went out on her own () but upon more viewings, I've given a lot of thought to the other side of that decision. Imagine being Emily, who has already handled the struggle of her teen's pregnancy, and her daughter has packed up and left with her newborn grandchild, leaving no notice, no forwarding address, and no true explanation. The fear, the worry, the complete and sudden detachment...Emily's heart was broken, so much that Richard says she "couldn't get out of bed for a month." Does that sound like the uncaring, oppressive dictator that Lorelai has led the audience to believe Emily was? Additionally, was Emily acting as a dictator, or as a parent to a teenager, one who has a smart mouth and a habit of underage drinking, as we learned in a season three flashback? Lorelai's view of her "oppression" was not enough to warrant her treatment of Emily in that scenario.Consider now, the sixteen years we know little about. Lorelai and Rory only see Emily on holidays. Emily is never given an opportunity to get to know her granddaughter, and yet when Lorelai is in need and reluctantly goes to Emily, she is given money with no hesitation, other than a contract for dinner every Friday night. Emily should not have had to resort to a monetary contract to spend time with her daughter and granddaughter. But she saw an opportunity, and chance to force her family to come together, at the very least, every week and she took it. She is generous, always willing to give Rory and Lorelai anything and everything they needed, and sometimes even things they didn't need.Emily always has the best interests of her daughter at heart. She wants Lorelai to have a happy ending as much as the rest of the audience does. In Emily's mind, that happy ending should include Christopher, Rory's father. At the end of season 2, Lorelai shared her giddiness over reuniting with Christopher with her mother. Emily saw that happiness, and later Lorelai's broken-heartedness when Christopher moved on with someone else. So naturally, when Christopher became a viable option for Lorelai once again, Emily saw an opportunity to bring Lorelai and Christopher back together. It could be argued that due to Lorelai's stubborn reluctance to share anything with Emily, she had no idea just how seriously Lorelai felt about Luke. She did, however, remember how seriously Lorelai felt about Christopher, and she tried her best to give Lorelai happiness. After her error in judgement is pointed out to her from multiple sources, Emily realizes what would truly make Lorelai happy, and she went to Luke and encouraged him to reunite with Lorelai.Emily longs for a relationship with Lorelai, one that is organic, and not obligatory. She reaches out to her daughter in ways that are fitting for her character. She tries to go shopping with Lorelai. She brings her to a spa weekend. She wants to fix Lorelai's house, she happily walks down a runway at a Chilton fashion show with her. There's no shortage of moments when Emily reaches out to Lorelai to attempt to build a foundation. Lorelai continually brushes Emily off, dodges her calls, pretends she's not home, and truth be told, it's quite sad, and doesn't paint Lorelai in the best light. The lack of relationship between them isn't for lack of Emily trying, and once the viewer can see that, the show takes on a very different tone.The moments that have become my favorites on the show are ones that include Emily and Lorelai bonding. The stolen bathrobe, the drunken life conversations, the dvd player... the times that now I watch, and think to myself,Emily is the rounded and incredible character that she is because of the endless talent of Kelly Bishop. She has the ability to express ten emotions with just one look. She made viewers love her, hate her, love to hate her, and hate to love her all at once. It would take a woman with an extraordinary screen presence to stand next to Lauren Graham and somehow steal the scene. Kelly Bishop did it with ease and confidence.Watch Gilmore Girls again, and this time, try to see the show from a different point of view. See how differently you feel about Lorelai and Rory when viewing them through Emily's eyes, and see how differently you feel about Emily. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.Emily Gilmore, I bow to you, and to your greatness.