Richard In Stars Hollow originally aired on January 29, 2002.  This episode was written by Frank Lombardi and was directed by Steve Gomer.

We open this episode with another weird Friday night dinner, in which Emily is asking Lorelei if she’ll ever get married, because there’s only enough room for Emily, Richard, Lorelei and Rory, and if Lorelei gets married, they’ll have to move someone to the annex that Emily wants to buy.  They decide to move Cecile in the event that Lorelei gets married.

Friday night dinners are some of my favorite scenes because they’re usually entertaining.  This one, however, has me confused.  I get that mausoleums have limited space, and the Gilmore’s have used this one for years, but…wouldn’t Emily take into account that Lorelei might get married someday?

Moving on, dinner continues with Lorelei telling Rory to not ask Emily what they’re eating before asking Richard how retirement is going. He’s been unusually observant and has noticed things he’s never noticed before.

We move on to a meeting of the Franklin, where Paris isn’t happy about the fact that she and Rory are the only ones who care about the paper and winning the Oppenheimer award.  We then find ourselves at Emily and Richard’s house, where Richard is telling Emily how he wants to go on her errands with her.  She suggests going to the club, even though it’s a Wednesday afternoon.

Lorelei and Rory are having a movie night, and while Rory is picking out a movie, she sees a couple kids looking at a movie that’s a little too old for them, and tells Kirk while Lorelei is talking to Emily about how Richard is driving her crazy.  She wants Lorelei to take him off her hands for a day and Lorelei agrees.  The next day, Lorelei is trying to get Rory to skip school so she’s not alone with Richard for the day.  When Richard arrives, they read the paper before going to Luke’s, where Lorelei ends up ordering a grapefruit because Richard thinks it’s the best way to start off your day.  Lorelei heads to work while Richard wanders around town, and it turns out that they are short on linens.  Richard stops by, having seen the town, and he asks her where her work jacket is before going to sit down.

Richard tells Lorelei there are no tablecloths, and overhears Lorelei talking on the phone with Manny about the linens, and just needing something to get through the night.  He’s not happy with how she handled a business call, because flirting isn’t an appropriate way to handle things.  He goes on about proper procedure, and how he’s telling her this for her own good.  Lorelei needs to listen, because Richard knows how to properly conduct himself in a position of authority.

As much as I like Richard- I think I’ve critisized him the least- he was really frustrating in this scene!  I mean, hospitality and insurance are two very different fields, and just because he acted a certain way doesn’t mean it’s going to work for Lorelei.  Lorelei can be a flirty character, but I didn’t get that sort of vibe from her, so Richard and I clearly have different definitions of what flirting is.

While this is going on, Rory and Paris are trying to find something for their article about the seedy underbelly of Stars Hollow, and don’t find anything until we learn of the Rory curtain…and that most of the movies in the store have been moved to the section behind the movie curtain.  Paris is glad they finally have an article, while Rory just wanted the movie on a higher shelf.

Lorelei and Richard get back to Lorelei’s house, where they decide to get Chinese food from Al’s, and Richard sees Rory’s room. which has a ton of books and a board full of Harvard memorabilia.  Rory and Lorelei have a menu full of food to order.  Richard believes that Rory is learning how to be wasteful, even though Lorelei says they’ll be eating the left-overs for a week.  He’s also not happy that Rory wants to go to Harvard, and that he can help Rory get into Yale.  He thinks it’s ridiculous that Rory wants to go to Harvard, and thinks that it’s because Lorelei wants her to go there.

Dean arrives with Rory’s car, but Richard insists that Rory can’t have it because it’s not safe.  He and Dean go to have Gypsy check it out, and Richard finally says it’s safe for Rory to drive.  Rory goes to get the food, and Lorelei and Richard talk about how Richard wasn’t offering constructive criticism and how he doesn’t have to think Rory’s car is safe because it’s her decision, and he just has to deal with it.  Richard knows he’s there because Emily asked Lorelei to invite him over, and how he never thought about retirement.  He feels like he’s gone from a productive member of society to being a decrepit old man going to the club on a Wednesday afternoon.

He goes home to tell Emily that his day was good, and that he’s going to organize his stamp collection.  The episode ends with Richard sitting in his study.

So, I found this part really interesting.  Lorelei does have a point when she says that it’s not up to Richard to think the car is safe, but at the same time, I see where Richard is coming from.  I mean, Dean did build the car with the help of father, and Richard is concerned about Rory’s safety.  As for the Harvard-Yale thing, I know there’s this huge rivalry between the two schools, but it’s a little unfair to say going to Harvard is ridiculous just because he went to Yale.  He does have a point when he says that he can help Rory get into Yale and set things up, and it seems like Lorelei doesn’t want to consider it because Richard went there.

Favorite Line Or Scene:

None for this episode

Pop Culture:

Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde

Final Thoughts:

This was an interesting episode- I feel like I’ve said everything I wanted to say, which isn’t much.  It did show a different side of Richard, and how much of his identity is wrapped up in work.  It can’t be easy being retired when it’s something you never wanted.  This episode gets 3 mugs of coffee.