There’s The Rub originally aired April 9, 2002.  This episode was written by Sheila R. Lawrence and was directed by Amy Sherman-Palladino.

We open this episode with Lorelei and Rory at the diner, where there’s a lot of construction going on.  Lorelei gets a phone call from Emily, who has a certificate for a weekend at a nearby spa.  Lorelei makes it sound so good that Emily decides to go with Lorelei, since it’s good for 2 people.

Rory will be alone for the weekend, and we see Rory at Chilton, where Paris is upset that she got an A- on an assignment or a test.  Rory has plans, but she offers to help Paris after their quiz the following week.  Lorelei and Emily check in at the spa while Rory tells Dean she wants to be alone because she can eat Indian food and do laundry exactly the way she likes it.  Rory is worried that Dean is mad, but he says he’s more confused than anything else.

Emily is starting to annoy Lorelei, who goes into a quiet room in order to get some peace and quiet.  Rory is doing laundry and is ordering Indian when Paris comes over.  Rory says she can only study for an hour when Jess arrives with a care package from Luke.  She invites Jess to eat with her and Paris, while Lorelei and Emily get ready to go out for dinner because tofu isn’t appealing to them.

A guy is checking out Emily, while Paris, Jess and Rory have this conversation about Jack Kerouac and Jane Austen.  Dean calls because he’s on his way over to say hi in person, and arrives to find Jess leaving.  Dean is mad, and pretty much yells at Rory because she lied to him about wanting to be alone.  Rory is trying to explain, but can’t seem to get the words out.  Paris says it’s because she saw Jess at the diner once and wanted Rory to set something up.  Dean apologizes for yelling while Rory tells him it’s justified.

Emily dances with the man who was checking her out and ends up leaving because she practically cheated on Richard.  She blames Lorelei for letting them eat at the bar and says Lorelei kept pushing it even though Lorelei says they were having a good time and weren’t fighting.  It’s not how Emily wanted to act in front of her daughter, so they decide to leave the spa early.

They talk about how Lorelei and Rory are best friends first and mother and daughter second, while Lorelei and Emily are mother and daughter always.  Emily talks about how she was taught to be a role model to her child and not best friends with her child.  They steal the robes in their rooms as a way to bond before going home.

At the diner, Lorelei and Rory talk about the spa and everyone coming over.  Rory goes to pay while Lorelei is heading out to do some stuff.  She thanks Luke for the care package, but he has no clue what she’s talking about.  Rory asks Jess about it, and we learn Jess lied about Luke sending it over.  Lorelei sees Dean outside, and tells him Rory didn’t want Jess there and that she wouldn’t lie about wanting him there.

Thoughts:

There are a couple things I wanted to talk about.  First, the talk Emily and Lorelei have at the end of the episode.  We frequently see how different the relationships are between Lorelei and Rory and Lorelei and Emily.  And even the relationship between Rory and Emily.  So it was nice to see that Emily does want a relationship with Lorelei.  It was also nice to see how Lorelei and Emily have different approaches to parenting and what Emily learned.  And how Lorelei wanted her and Rory to have a different relationship than the one Lorelei had with Emily.

And now we go to Dean, who is so dang frustrating!  I don’t get why he’s so convinced Rory was lying, because technically, she was home alone until Paris and Jess came over unexpectedly.  I also think Dean should be apologizing to Rory because she didn’t ask Jess to come over and Rory just wanted to do the nice thing and invite Jess to have some food.  He’s definitely possessive and most certainly jealous.  I get he doesn’t like Jess and that he doesn’t particularly like Rory and Jess hanging out, and it’s really starting to seem like Dean feels threatened by other guys who show an interest in Rory.  Granted, there’s not much to go on, since we only have Tristan and Jess as examples, but I’m kind of thinking Dean needs to tone it down a little.  Also, Rory not lying…I’m not sure what to say about that, so I’m just not going to say anything.

Pop Culture:

I wasn’t really paying attention to pop culture, and other than realizing the beat writers and Jane Austen being the only ones I have notes on, I have nothing!

Favorite Moments:

Lorelei and Jess telling Rory to burn the house because she ordered Indian food

Episode Rating:

I’m wavering between liking it and thinking it was an okay episode, but the Emily-Lorelei talk about mother-daughter relationships and the Lorelei-Dean talk at the end were particularly interesting.  There’s The Rub gets 3 mugs of coffee.

Lost And Found originally aired February 26, 2012.  This episode was written by Amy Sherman-Palladino and was directed by Gail Mancuso.

We start off Lost and Found with Lorelei talking about to Rory about how she injured herself while cleaning out the rain gutters.

They arrive at Luke’s, where Lorelei goes to talk Luke into making breakfast for them, because she doesn’t want Cesar to make her pancakes.  Luke’s apartment is a mess, because Jess’ mom finally sent over all his stuff.  Later that night, Lorelei stops at the diner to talk to Luke while Rory gets some of the necessities for movie night.  She thinks Luke should get a bigger place, because the office-turned-apartment isn’t big enough for one person, much less two.  As Lorelei leaves, Luke asks her if she’s found someone to clean her rain gutters.  He volunteers Jess, but Lorelei says she needs to check with a couple people first.

Rory asks her who she needs to check with, and wants to know why Lorelei isn’t giving Jess a chance, even when Lorelei said she would.  Lorelei still isn’t comfortable around Jess, and even tells Rory that she doesn’t have to like Jess, even though Rory does.  Lorelei finally agrees to let Jess have the job.  They also talk about why Lorelei liking Jess is so important to Rory- which is because they’re friend-ish and because he’s Luke’s nephew.

I found this whole scene interesting.  Lorelei has a point when she tells Rory that she doesn’t have to like Jess just because Rory does.  Lorelei doesn’t have to like Jess or give him a chance just because Rory wants her to.  Given Rory’s insistence that Lorelei like Jess, you’d think Lorelei would make more of an effort.  Then again, you have two very stubborn people and this is what happens when they don’t meet in the middle.

We see Luke and Jess apartment hunting, and that they can’t seem to agree on an apartment.  Jess also arrives to clean the rain gutters, where Lorelei actually seems to make a little bit of an effort with Jess.  Jess, of course, goes silent when around Lorelei, and Rory follows him outside to ask him why he carries on a conversation with her but no one else.  Jess tells Rory that he doesn’t have to get along with Lorelei just because she’s friends with Luke or because she’s Rory’s mom.  Rory counters his statement with one of her own: he should act civil if he cares about her in any way.

So: this is classic Rory- of course, this is because I’ve watched the entire series several times, and so I feel like I have a good feel for Rory as a character.  I know she wants them to get along, and they’ve (subtly) made it clear they don’t want to make an effort to give the other a chance.  It’s also interesting that they both say pretty much the same thing, but we also see them attempt to make an effort.  The lack of effort is sort of annoying.  If they tried, and they still didn’t like each other, I’d understand not wanting to give it a try.  But they’re not even trying, which makes it frustrating to watch.

Rory is browsing the Stars Hollow book sale, where Dean waits by a pile of books.  Rory wants to browse a little more, even though she tells Dean she’s looked at everything when…he notices she is not wearing the bracelet he made her.  She tells him she took it off because of a rash she got from her Spanish mid-term, but as the viewer knows from a couple episodes ago, she lost it at the dock.  Jess took it, and has been holding onto it this entire time.

Naturally, Rory is freaking out and even tells Lorelei what’s going on with her missing bracelet.  She can’t remember the last time she remembered having it on and is convinced Dean will be mad that she lost it.  Knowing Dean, he probably would be mad about that.  Because he gets mad about a lot of stuff.  They look all over town for her bracelet, and Lorelei even takes a break to help Luke look at an apartment that is in a building owned by Taylor.

We see Jess come out of Rory’s room- he says that he wanted to see if she had a particular book.  Which Rory does have.  Lorelei is suspicious, but doesn’t say anything.  Rory comes home, talks to Jess about the bracelet, and how Dean will read more into than he should.  She looks in her room again, finds the bracelet, goes to Lane’s house to tell her she can stop praying…

…and Lorelei tells Jess he’s a jerk for making Rory look all over town for the bracelet that means the world to her.  She accuses him of stealing it, which is ridiculous, because WE KNOW IT FELL OFF, but Jess gets blamed, because, well, someone needs to be blamed, and why not blame it on the town bad boy?  Jess thinks the Rory/Dean relationship should be re-evaluated, because Rory didn’t even notice it was missing until Dean said something.

This is also an interesting point.  Was holding onto the bracelet a really crappy thing to do?  Of course it was.  And was holding onto the bracelet while Rory was freaking out also a crappy thing to do?  Of course.

But Jess did ask an interesting question.  I don’t wear jewelry all the time or anything, but if I do, it’s probably going to be a necklace.  How do you not notice a bracelet is missing for several weeks?  I am not understanding this at all.  I get that Rory barely takes the thing off, and she clearly doesn’t pay attention to whether or not she’s actually wearing it.  It’s entirely possible that she’s so used to it that she doesn’t notice anymore.  But…IT’S ON HER FREAKING WRIST.  I don’t about anyone else, but that’s something I happen to see out of the  corner of my eye for most of the day.  I’d like to think I’d notice a missing bracelet.

Luke comes over and talks to Lorelei about how he owns the building next to the diner so Taylor can’t open up a collectible plate shop.  We learn that Luke thinks Rory would be a good influence on Jess, and the episode ends with Luke smashing a hole in their apartment.

Favorite Line:

Lorelei, to Luke: “Are you getting attacked by your possessions again?”

Pop Culture:

Calgon, Mission Impossible

Episode Wrap-Up/Rating:

I think I’ve covered all of the highlights.  I really liked this episode, and it brought up some interesting points for me- including stuff that I didn’t pay attention to the first few times I watched this episode.  Lost And Found gets 4 mugs of coffee!

Should’ve Been Lorelei originally aired February 12, 2002.  This episode was written by Daniel Palladino and was directed by Lesli Linka Glatter.

We open this episode with Lorelei and Rory at an empty Luke’s.  Lane calls Rory at Luke’s, and we learn Lane is still grounded over the Henry thing and that Rory has an upcoming debate at Chilton.

From there, Rory and Paris do more prep for the debate- and they probably know more about doctor-assisted suicide than anyone.  Chris calls, and since he’s in the area, Lorelei invites him to Rory’s debate.  While walking to the bus the next day, Rory gets a call from Lane on the payphone Rory walks by, and tells Rory she NEEDS the latest Bella Sebastian single.  At least, it sounded like Bella Sebastian, but I couldn’t quite figure that part out.  Rory says she’ll try to get it.

We see the debate, and naturally, Chilton wins.  Chris arrives with Sherry, who we get to meet for the first time.  After the debate, Lorelei invites them over to the house.  This is when things start to get a little interesting, because Sherry and Lorelei talk in the kitchen while Lorelei is getting everyone something to drink.  Sherry talks about how she and Lorelei don’t need to be friends, and that she really wants to get to know Rory because of how important Rory is to Chris.  Sherry presses the issue of doing something Rory that night, even though they have their Friday night dinner.  Lorelei calls Rory to give her the heads up, and that it might be good to get it out of the way now.

A few hours later, Chris and Sherry stop by, and Chris and Lorelei head off to Friday night dinner, while Sherry and Rory go to a movie.  Chris and Lorelei talk about her conversation with Sherry and how Lorelei isn’t happy that Chris left her out of meeting Sherry, and how she’s in the picture because she’s Rory’s mom.  He mentions how he never met Max, and how he didn’t even know Lorelei was engaged until she called him from her bachelorette party.  She says it’s completely different.

Emily has this huge melt-down, and isn’t happy Rory is out with Sherry.  Chris and Lorelei try to work with Emily and Chris apologizes a few times, but Emily thinks they’re patronizing her.  Emily pretty much interrogates Chris about “that woman” before she stalks into the kitchen.

When Lorelei goes to talk to her, she demands to know how she could let Rory go with that horrible woman, who will get her claws into Rory and make that they’ll never see Rory again if Sherry has her way.  She makes sure that Lorelei knows how important it is to not let Sherry have her on weekends.  Emily is heart-broken because she had this image of Chris, Lorelei and Rory finally being a family and accuses Lorelei of taking too much time.  Emily thinks Lorelei should have been the one to help Chris get his life together, but because she took her sweet time, it was Sherry who helped with that.  Lorelei isn’t happy about Emily putting that on her, and tells Emily that even though she may have feelings for Chris, his happiness and well-being is more important to her.

Lorelei and Rory talk about their night at Luke’s later that evening, and the next morning, Chris and Lorelei have this…interesting conversation where Lorelei talks about how she unconsciously sabotaged every relationship she was in because she and Chris together was always in the back of her mind.  She’s ready to move beyond that because something about seeing him and Sherry triggered her need to let him go.  He’s mad that she’s blaming all of her relationship unhappiness on him, and he leaves the diner to find Rory so he he can say goodbye to her before he and Sherry leave.

Thoughts:

Here’s what I’m thinking: I didn’t really like Sherry in this episode.  I think I was neutral about her in previous viewings, but this time around, I didn’t like how she pressed the issue of doing something with Rory.  I know Rory’s contact is limited to weekly phone calls, and you have to assume she only sees Chris whenever he decides to show up.  I feel like part of it is to set up the Emily stuff later in the episode, but I also get that this is a golden opportunity to get to know Rory and that she wants to take advantage of it.  Sherry’s kind of acting like she’s never going to see Rory ever again, so it has to be now OR ELSE BAD THINGS WILL HAPPEN AND SHE’LL NEVER GET TO KNOW RORY.

Rory spending time with Max versus spending time with Rory…I’m a little torn because I get where both Chris and Lorelei are coming from.  It really isn’t that different, because Max and Sherry were/are potential step-parents to Rory, who should get to know the people her parents are seriously involved with.  Lorelei is the one who’s raising Lorelei, so I get why Max and Sherry are two different things to her.  It’s almost like Lorelei feels threatened by Sherry’s possible presence in Rory’s life, and is very protective of who gets to “mother” Rory.

As for Emily…she really got carried away with the evil step-mother bit.  I get her hopes and dreams for Lorelei, Chris and Rory, and I get her melt-down.  I felt bad for Emily, who just wants them to be a family after all this time.  Lorelei’s speech to Chris was a little unfair, and I don’t blame him for thinking she was blaming him for all her relationship problems.  In all honesty, it seems like Lorelei is in love with the idea of her and Chris being together, but doesn’t truly want to be with him.

Pop Culture:

The Godfather, Dr. Kevorkian, Outer Limits, Twilight Zone

Favorite Lines And Scenes:

Paris snapping her fingers at Rory during the debate because Rory isn’t talking fast enough

Brad’s classmate, opposing school, at debate: You look sick.

Brad, former Chilton student, to classmate: I feel sick.

Episode Wrap-Up:

I get where a lot of the characters are coming from, and I felt a little bad for Emily and Chris.  It’s a pretty good episode, but not amazing, so Should’ve Been Lorelei gets 4 mugs of coffee.

A-Tisket, A-Tasket originally aired on February 5, 2002.  This episode was directed by Robert Bertinger and was written by Amy Sherman-Palladino.

We open up this episode with Rory and Lorelei shopping for baskets.  We have another town event, and with this one, baskets get auctioned off.  Lorelei goes up front to look for more baskets, and runs into Miss Patty, who has a picture of Lorelei in her wallet for the purposes of setting Lorelei up with somebody.

Miss Patty sends Lorelei some resumes of guys for Lorelei to date, and Lorelei totally decides that she needs to shut this down, before Miss Patty goes really overboard with setting Lorelei up with somebody.  We also see Jackson and Sookie talk about how Jackson should renew the lease on his place.

We see some of the bidding on the baskets- Lane’s cousin bids on her basket, Jess outbids Dean on Rory’s basket, and Jackson doesn’t bid on Sookie’s basket at all- Kirk is the lucky winner of Sookie’s basket.  We learn that Jackson didn’t bid on Sookie’s basket because he thought they should move in together.  Sookie was apparently supposed to know this the other day, but didn’t pick up on it.  Keeping it brief: why couldn’t Jackson just talk to Sookie about moving in during their first conversation about the lease on his place?  I’ve never experienced the whole let’s move in together conversation, but wouldn’t that make more sense than bringing it up without actually bringing it up?

We also see random guys bidding on Lorelei’s basket before Lorelei asks Luke to help her- which he does.  Lane also had this whole convoluted plan to have the picnic with Henry, but it doesn’t work out, and Lane goes home upset.  Jackson works things out with Kirk to get Sookie’s basket, Mrs. Kim isn’t happy with the whole Henry situation, because the pay phone wasn’t working and he called Lane at home, and tells Lane it isn’t going to work out.

So…what I really want to talk about is Jess out-bidding Dean.  It’s no surprise that Dean is not happy Rory wants to have the picnic with Jess.  He doesn’t care if it’s tradition because it’s not for school and she’s not getting graded.  I’m not one to point out when guys are possessive or jerks or anything like that- it’s a combination of not paying attention to it, and not caring about it either way, but for some reason, Dean brings out this need for me to point it out.

Dean thinks Rory is hurting by doing this, and her telling him not to make a big thing out of it definitely doesn’t work.  Dean talks to Lorelei about the whole thing, and how he doesn’t trust Jess, because Jess gets into fights at school (when he bothers to show up), and he just knows Jess is going to get Rory into trouble because she just has to be nice to people.

It’s just…having seen every single episode, like, 3 or 4 times, I know Jess isn’t as bad as everyone else makes him out to be.  We see him be nice to Rory in this episode.  Yes, Jess has issues.  And yes, Jess is doing things like out-bidding Dean on the basket to get a reaction of Dean.  If Dean would STOP FREAKING REACTING to what Jess was doing, it probably wouldn’t be as fun for Jess.

Anyway, Lorelei tells Dean that trust is a big part of loving someone, and that Rory isn’t going to do something that will mess things up.  Also, she tells him that flying off the handle isn’t going to help things.

We do see Jess being nice to Rory.  There are quite a few things about Rory I like, but there are a lot of times when I find her to be slightly unbelievable.

Like the time she apparently tried to read The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand at the age of 10, before giving it another try when she was 15.  What 10-year-old tries to read The Fountainhead?  Her reading it at 15 is a little bit more believable, but not by much.  And she can get through Ayn Rand and Tolstoy but can’t get through Hemingway?  I’m totally going off of my own experience here, but what 10-year-old even knows about The Fountainhead?

Here’s what happens next: Lorelei tells Rory about her concerns about Jess, and how she and Dean are concerned that she’s going to get hurt.  Rory’s argument is that they don’t know Jess, and he’s not as bad as they think he is.  This is when we see Lorelei mention how Rory is young and naive and gives people a chance when she shouldn’t.  Lorelei has known guys like Jess, and knows he’s trouble.

At Friday night dinner, things are quiet, and Emily finally gets them to tell her why they’re fighting because Rory gets a page from somebody.  Lorelei assumes it’s Jess, because Rory won’t tell her who it is, and Rory eventually excuses herself to Richard’s study.  Emily agrees with Lorelei, who wants to like Jess but can’t.  Rory can’t see how bad Jess is, and won’t take Lorelei’s word for it, but Emily wants Lorelei to stick to her guns, and set boundaries.  I disagree with Emily’s statement that Lorelei needs to do whatever it takes to keep Rory from making stupid decisions- changing her curfew or locking up Rory if necessary.  And Lorelei being Rory’s eyes, ears and brains is…frustrating to say the least.

Here’s where my thoughts get a little weird.  I would like to acknowledge that I am not a parent, so I do not know what all that entails and how challenging it can be.  I know they’re worried about Rory hanging out with Jess, and they don’t want her to get hurt or make decisions.  That one part of it.  But here’s the other part: Rory can’t be sheltered from bad, horrible people forever.  She’s going to make mistakes (as we see in later seasons), and sometimes, it takes getting hurt for something to sink in.  Not that I’m saying that Jess needs to hurt Rory in anyway, because I’m not.  Something about Rory and how young she is and she doesn’t know any better bothers me.  My initial reaction is that she’s not going to learn it if she’s sheltered but I haven’t given it any further thought.

Lorelei and Rory make up, because Lorelei wants to trust Rory’s judgment, and because Lorelei’s a little freaked out that Emily agreed with her.  I never got the vibe that she really does trust Rory, because while she said it, she was just (understandably) not willing to hear what Rory says.

Pop Culture:

Ghostbusters, Dungeons And Dragons

Favorite Lines:

Sookie, to Jackson: “Are you pregnant?”

Mrs. Kim, to Lane, about Henry: “You’re sure he was Korean?”

Final Thoughts:

I have so many thoughts about this episode, but I think I’ve managed to hit the important, non-rambly ones.  This was a great episode, and I really liked it because there’s a lot going on.  It gets 4 mugs of coffee.

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.

Secrets And Loans originally aired January 22, 2002.  It was written by Linda Loiselle Guzik and was directed by Nicole Holofcener.

Secrets And Loans starts off with Lorelei waiting at Luke’s for Rory.  Rory comes in with her PSAT scores, and isn’t happy that she did better in math, because verbal is her thing.  Lorelei tells her that she did great, and that it’s only her PSAT’s, so it doesn’t matter as much.  They make plans to see Rocky Horror to celebrate.

It is very Rory to worry about doing better with the math section…and that’s all I’m going to say about that.  Also, this is one of those things that dates the show, because the scoring system for the SAT’s has changed since this episode originally aired.

We next see Lorelei on the porch, when her foot goes through the porch.  As it turns out, they have termites that have caused $15,000 in damage.  Lorelei is worried, because she doesn’t have that kind of money.

At Chilton, Paris, Madeleine and Louise are talking about their PSAT scores, and Paris is trying to get Rory to talk about her score.  This scene definitely highlights the competitiveness of Paris, and how she sees Rory as a threat academically.

We next find the Gilmore Girls at home, where Lorelei can’t sleep because she “hears” the termites.  They end up at Sookie’s house, where Jackson is hiding in the closet for 2 reasons.  One, he wears picture pajamas, and two, Sookie didn’t want to turn them away.  Lorelei talks about how her involvement in the community won’t get her a loan at the bank she talked to.

Rory goes to see Lane, who has been AWOL, and Mrs. Kim chases Rory out of the house because Rory is a carrier for termites.  Rory goes home and is telling Lorelei about how Mrs. Kim sprayed her with a water hose because she didn’t want termites to get into her house and eat the antiques.  Lorelei has been turned down by a bunch of banks when Rory suggests talking to Emily.  Lorelei refuses to consider it, and tells Rory not to tell Emily.

At dinner, the termites come up, because Lorelei has a headache, and Rory explains to Emily what is going on, even though Lorelei is giving her a look and tells her not to say anything.  Rory and Lorelei are telling 2 very different stories.  Lorelei isn’t happy with Rory, who had no right to bring it up because Lorelei told her not to.  It really isn’t an option for Lorelei.

Rory telling Emily about the termites even after Lorelei specifically told her not to was really irritating.  You’d think she’d know by now that it’s not an option for Lorelei.  And to do it with no regard for what Lorelei wants just because she thinks they should ask Emily…it’s just irritating.  

We see Dean and Rory talk, and we also Lorelei on the phone with the bank, before Emily calls and tells Lorelei that she set up a meeting at her bank for Lorelei.

Rory sees Lane in a cheerleading uniform, and starts…well…judging Lane for being a cheerleader.  Lane says that Rory isn’t around as much because of school and Dean, and Lane just wanted to try it.  She also doesn’t have to justify it to Rory.

What is going on with Rory in this episode?  She’s also judgy because Lane wanted to try something different…because Lane is now part of the group that they used to make fun of.  I never thought of it before, but this is really an interesting moment in the Lane/Rory friendship.  I mean, Rory’s at Chilton and Lane isn’t, and this moment really shows how different their lives seem because their lives really seem to be going in different directions.

Luke takes a look at the foundation, and offers to loan Lorelei the money, but Lorelei turns it down.  We see Lorelei go to the bank for the meeting, only to get turned down for the loan.  The only way to get is to have someone co-sign the loan, which Emily knew would happen.  Lorelei (begrudgingly) asks Emily to co-sign the loan, and is doubting Emily’s motives for doing it- which is that she just wanted to do something nice for Lorelei.

I do like that Lorelei is trying to take care of it on her own, but also seems to realize that Emily co-signing the loan is the only way to get her back to normal.

We see Rory at the pep rally, and actually see Lane cheering.  Rory apologizes to Lorelei, who tells Rory that she has the right to fix any problems without interference from Richard and Emily, and that Rory needs to respect that.  Mostly because Lorelei has a track record for keeping Rory alive, and because Rory has yet to see Lorelei mess things up.

Lane and Rory make up after the pep rally, and Lane assures Rory that she’s still the same.

At Friday night dinner, things are really quiet.  Lorelei apologizes to Emily, because she’s not used to people- meaning Emily- to do nice things with no strings attached.  Emily accepts Lorelei’s apology before telling her that her DAR meetings will be held at the inn from now on.

Favorite Lines/Scenes:

Nothing from this episode jumped out at me

Pop Culture:

Rocky Horror Picture Show, Coyote Ugly

Final Thoughts:

This is another episode that is meh for me.  Rory is acting kind of bratty in this episode, first with telling Emily about the termites and then with Lane about the cheerleading.  It’s like Rory has no sense of boundaries.  I totally get Lorelei doesn’t want to go to Emily for help again and why it’s not an option for her, but I’d like to think that it would be a last resort for her if nothing else worked out.  This episode gets 2.5 mugs of coffee.

The Bracebridge Dinner originally aired December 11, 2001.  It was written by Daniel Palladino and was directed by Chris Long.

We open with a snow-man making contest.  Is that the right way to say it?  Snow-man making?  Or is building the right word?

I live in San Diego, it’s not like I need to know these things.

Moving on…Lorelei and Rory are building a snowman.  And they’re talking about what they’re going to do while Rory’s on vacation.

At the inn, Roon is cleaning, and is afraid to clean the artwork, because he thinks an alarm is going to go off.  He and Michel clearly don’t get along.  We also see Sookie and Jackson in the kitchen talking about mushrooms, which Sookie needs because they are hosting the Bracebridge Dinner.  The group doing this bought out the inn in order to have this event, which includes music and a recreation of a 19th century meal.  Jackson ends up as the squire of Bracebridge, because he’s the only one who can fit into the costume.

At Friday night dinner, Lorelei asks Richard about their travel plans, because they usually go out of town this time of year.  This year, however, they’re not going anywhere, and Rory talks about how it’s nice to stay home sometimes.  Richard goes to make some calls, and we learn that Richard is still having some trouble at work.

At the inn, Sookie is talking to the extra people they’ve hired about what they’re expected to do.  Lorelei comes in and tells Sookie that the dinner is canceled, because the group is in Chicago. and they got snowed in…with no way to get to the inn.  Later on at Luke’s, they decide to invite all of their friends over, since there’s all of the food.  And since the inn will be empty, they can all spend the night at the inn.

Jess gets into a fight, and Dean breaks up it.  We also see Lorelei and Rory at home, looking at Christmas cards, including one of a really ugly baby, and one Christopher sent.  They talk about how there’s an empty room, which Rory wanted to save for Richard and Emily, and how it can’t hurt to invite them.

We finally get to the Bracebridge Dinner, and Babette and Mory are the first to arrive, much to the dismay of Mory.  Paris stops by to drop off some stuff for the paper…so they seem to be getting along at the moment.  Well, as good as Paris and Rory can get along, at any rate.

Lorelei stops by the kitchen to check up on things, and sees Roon ACTUALLY CHANGING IN THE KITCHEN.  One, how did no one notice this until Lorelei walked in?  Two, why would anyone change clothes in the kitchen?  Especially when you’re in A FREAKING INN.  There has to be somewhere else he could go.

We see Sookie trying to figure out what the dish needs, because she knows what ingredient is needed…and it turns out that she’s forgotten the word for salt.  Actually, I may have answered my own question…of course Sookie wouldn’t notice someone changing clothes in the kitchen until Lorelei points it out.

Lorelei talks to everyone once they’ve arrived and put their things in their room, and tells them that there are horse-drawn carriages for everyone.  Dean goes with her younger sister, we see Luke and Lorelei talking, and we see Richard and Emily enjoying themselves.  We also see Jess and Rory talking, and Jess wants to know what Rory and Dean talk about.  Jess thinks that Dean doesn’t really seem like Rory’s kind of guy, based on what Jess has seen of Dean in class.

I’m not even going to comment on what Jess said, other than to agree with him.

Back at the inn, dinner is served, and we see Mrs. Kim asking Lane about why no one said grace.  Lane tells her that they said it quietly, and she asks Babette if they said grace.  Babette laughs…but then says grace.  Lorelei gets Kirk to break character.

And then we get to the big event of the episode.  Richard is telling a story about a trip he took to Prague with Emily, and Taylor says that Richard is pretty interesting for an insurance man.  We learn that Richard is retired, much to the surprise, of, well, everyone.

It’s now bedtime, and Lorelei finally tells Rory that Chris had called and invited Rory to stay with him.  Lorelei apparently didn’t take it well, because she has dibs on this time of year, and she had plans, and she doesn’t want Rory to spend time with her stepmother…even though Chris and Sherry are only dating.

Emily comes in, because she can’t share a room with Richard, but ends up going for a walk because she can’t sleep.  She runs into Richard in the lobby, and he apologizes to her for retiring and not telling her.  He tells her what happened, and he starts to tell her about their financial situation before she tells him they should go to bed.

The next morning, everyone goes home, and Lorelei and Rory take a ride on the horse-drawn carriage, seeing that someone has destroyed this really nice snowman.

Favorite Lines/Scenes:

The 2 times we saw Mrs. Kim

Jess: I’ll wait for the clog dancing.

Pop Culture:

Mr Potato Head, Anne Heche talking to aliens, The Shining, Monopoly, Dr Doolittle, Bjork, Hotel California, Days Of Our Lives

Final Thoughts:

I liked this episode, which was a surprise because I haven’t liked an episode since the 2nd one.  I am curious about Emily and Richard’s financial situation, because it seems a little inconsistent.  Like, they can afford Rory’s tuition and a maid and a cook, and they seem to be well-off…but Richard starts going into detail about how he quit, so he had to forgo some stock options and some of his pension.  Then again, well-off when Richard is working is different than living off a pension and whatnot.

This was a fun episode to watch, and not nearly as dramatic as the last few have been.  It’s not, like, amaze-balls or anything, but it’s not god-awful or annoying.  This one gets 3 mugs of coffee.

Run Away, Little Boy originally aired November 11, 2001.  It was directed by Danny Leiner and was written by John Stephens.

We start off this episode with Lorelei getting a wedding present, and wanting to return the ice cream maker someone sent her.  However, there is nothing saying who this gift is from, and Lorelei is determined to figure out who sent it.

At Chilton, each class gets assigned an act from Romeo and Juliet.  Rory gets teamed up with Madeleine, Louise and Paris, because apparently Rory can’t be assigned to work with anyone else in her class.  Each group is supposed to do their own interpretation of the scene, which will be half of their final grade…so no pressure or anything.

Rory gets home to find that Lorelei is still making calls, trying to figure out who sent the ice cream maker.  Lorelei heads off to class, where she gets asked out by a guy in her business class, but she turns him down.

Back at Chilton, Paris announces that traditional Elizabethan is their interpretation, because the point is to get an A, not turn the scene into a Vegas lounge act.  Doesn’t reinterpreting the scene in your own way show you understand the themes?  There’s no doubt Paris and Rory have a good grasp on Shakespeare, and my guess is that Louise does do.  So as smart as they are, sticking to the original doesn’t show you understand what’s going on.  Rory is Juliet because Juliet has more than 3 lines and is supposed to be chaste and Tristan joins the group, which saves Brad, who we met a few minutes earlier, from being Romeo.

At the inn, Lorelei tries to donate the ice cream maker, and has this conversation with Sookie about how Lorelei hasn’t gone on any dates, even though Lorelei has moved on since breaking off her engagement.  After talking about it with Sookie, Lorelei says she’ll reconsider.

Paris isn’t happy that 2 other groups are practicing in the great hall, even though she reserved it in advance.  Paris, being Paris, is worried about people seeing their interpretation, so rehearsal gets moved to Miss Patty’s.  Rory asks Lorelei for advice, because of her kissing Tristan after she and Dean broke up.  While Lorelei loves Rory’s honesty, she also thinks it’ll do more harm than good.  While the group (minus Tristan) waits for Miss Patty’s class to leave, Rory heads over to Doosey’s, because Dean is working, and Tristan is headed over there.  Tristan gives Dean a hard time, and Dean is not happy that Tristan and Rory are playing Romeo and Juliet.  Rory apologizes and says she’ll pretend like Tristan doesn’t exist when the project is over.  Dean doesn’t know why she’s apologizing.

I get that Dean doesn’t like Tristan and Rory playing Romeo and Juliet, and that Dean doesn’t like how Rory and Tristan are thrown together a lot.  While slightly weird that Rory is consistently paired with the same 3 or 4 people throughout her Chilton years, I also realize that with an already large cast of characters, they’re only going to focus on a select few of Rory’s classmates.  Rory shouldn’t have to apologize to Dean because he doesn’t like Rory and Tristan working on a class project and she shouldn’t have to avoid Tristan just because Dean doesn’t like him…especially since Rory and Tristan seem to have several classes together.

We move on to Luke’s, where Lorelei tells Rory about her date.  Dean wants to see Rory practice, and decides he’s just going to do it even though Rory doesn’t want him to.  This is why I am not a fan of Dean.  I get he doesn’t trust Tristan but it’s also like he doesn’t trust Rory, which is irritating.  We also see Rory talking to Tristan at school, and she asks him to not mention the kiss.  I definitely got this vibe that it meant nothing to Rory, but it seemed to have meant something to Tristan.

We see Rory’s group rehearsing, and it seems like Tristan knows his lines, but is pretending like he doesn’t know them.  Paris tells them they’re staying until they get it right, and Rory asks Dean to leave, because they need to rehearse and Dean is making things worse.  Tristan just ups and leaves.

Moving on to the next big scene: the play itself.  Tristan’s not there, Brad’s transferred to a different school, and Paris is freaking out because there is no Romeo.  We learn Tristan is getting sent to military school because he acted like an idiot, so Paris fills in as Romeo.  Once the play is over, we see Lorelei and Sookie talking about how Luke goes hot and cold with his emotions, and Sookie says it’s because Luke is into her, and how he sees her go from guy to guy, and that when he saw the guy she went on a date with, he likely wondered if she would go out with everyone before she went out with him.  Lorelei seems pretty resistant to the idea that Luke is into her, but apparently everyone can see it except for Lorelei…and probably Luke too.

At the diner, Lorelei tells Luke about how she’s not good at the whole dating thing, and asks Luke if he’s good at it.  She tells him she doesn’t have a lot of people she can trust, but does have the town and Sookie and Rory and hopefully Luke…who says she does have him as someone she can trust.

Favorite Line:

Rory, in reference to Paris pulling out a sword: “Tell me you didn’t just have that lying around.”

Pop Culture:

Emily Post

Final Thoughts:

This is one of those episodes that reminds me of how I really dislike Dean.  I am wondering if there’s a part of me that looks for how irritating Dean is and for reasons to not like him…and then acts all pissy because of something that is out of Rory’s control.  And the ice cream maker!  It’s admirable Lorelei wants to return it, but we never learn who sent it.  I never thought of this before, but I wonder if Emily sent it.  We know that Emily told Lorelei she was saving for when Lorelei does get married, and it mysteriously appears with no note months after the wedding is called off.  It was just okay for me, so this one gets 2 mugs of coffee.

The Inns & Outs Of Inns originally aired November 20, 2011.  This episode was written by Daniel Palladino and was directed by Michael Katleman.

We open with our go-to opening of Friday night dinner.  Richard is in Akron for business, and is miserable there, which Rory doesn’t like,  This is the perfect opportunity for Emily to bring up Rory sitting for an oil portrait that will go in Richard’s study.

We go from Friday night dinner to Lorelei and Luke talking about owning a business.  Lorelei has a potential location for the inn she wants to open with Sookie- the property Rachel, Luke’s ex, found back in season one.  We learn that the inn is owned by Fran, the lady who owns Westin’s Bakery, so Sookie and Lorelei go to talk to Fran about buying the Dragonfly Inn.  Fran is surprised, but doesn’t want to sell it, because she has no siblings and no children, and it’s really the closest thing to family Fran has, so Fran is going to own it forever.  It was sort of amusing to see Sookie and Lorelei ask Fran about what will happen to the inn when Fran dies…without actually mentioning Fran dying.  Fran doesn’t get what they’re getting at, so Fran goes back to work, and asks them if they want a cupcake because they look so sad.

Meanwhile, Lane and Rory come across a “crime scene” at Doosey’s Market.  Taylor is convinced that a crime was committed because someone was murdered, when, in reality, it was just a chalk outline with some crime scene tape around the outline.  It turns out to be a prank.  We are talking about Stars Hollow here, so of course it’s a prank.

Back at the inn, Sookie is telling Lorelei and Rory about a dream she had about everyone and Fran.  Michel comes in and tells everyone to pretend like they’re working because the big boss is there.  Lorelei and Rory go out into the lobby to see Mia, who apparently is the owner of the Independence Inn.  The three girls catch up at Luke’s, where we learn Luke was a Trekkie, and always helping people around town when he was younger.  Mia misses small-town life after seeing Taylor and Luke argue about Jess being the prime suspect for the chalk outline.  Mia talks about how the inn is really successful because of Lorelei and how she feels redundant because Lorelei is doing a great job and how she remembers when Lorelei first came to the inn almost 15 years earlier with Rory.

After that, Lorelei is telling Sookie about how it never occurred to her to tell Mia about wanting to open her own inn, especially after everything Mia has done for her.  We also learn Mia has been there for Lorelei the most.  Emily calls, interrupting the conversation Lorelei and Sookie are having.  Rory isn’t sitting still, and Lorelei suggests having reading sitting and reading a book, which Emily eventually agrees to.

If Mia is such an important person in Lorelei’s life, why is this the first time we even HEARD of her?  I want to give the writers the benefit of the doubt, and am hoping that the reason why we’ve never heard about Mia before because there was never a good way to work it in.  When you factor in all of the recurring characters, I can get why we’ve never heard of Mia before.

Moving on, Mia, Rory and Lorelei go to the town meeting, and see Luke, who is also on his way to the meeting.  It looks like Lorelei and Rory are going to be on time for once, but when we get there, we learn the meeting has started early because the business community wanted to talk about the “Jess” issue.  Luke wasn’t invited, because if he had taken care of it, there wouldn’t be a problem.  Luke’s not happy that the town thinks they were better before Jess got there.  Lorelei defends Luke and says he’s doing the best he can.  Luke leaves, as do Lorelei, Mia and Rory.  Rory goes off to check on Dean, while Lorelei finally tells Mia about wanting to open her own inn.  This is when we learn that Mia gets a lot of offers to sell the inn, but hadn’t considered it because she didn’t want to do that to Lorelei.

At the inn, Lorelei is distracted and has a huge fight with Sookie about opening their own inn.  Lorelei thinks they should look at other locations, because there is no guarantee they’ll be able to get the Dragonfly, since they pretty much have to wait for Fran to die, and Lorelei goes on about how unreliable Sookie is.  Sookie is really confused, because they were going forward with it and on the same page, and now they’re not on the same page.  They do make up, though.

At Friday night dinner, we see the oil portrait of Rory, reading.  Lorelei says the portrait is nice, but doesn’t have the reaction Emily was expecting, because Lorelei goes to apologize and then tells Emily about the fight with Sookie, and how the Independence Inn is going to be sold.  Lorelei isn’t taking it well, because she doesn’t like the thought of not being at the Inn, and Mia not being around, because it was her home for so long.  Emily accepts the apology but still seems upset about something.

We see Emily at the inn, meeting Mia for the first time.  Mia’s wanted to meet Emily, and tells her about the day Lorelei arrived at the inn with Rory and how Mia took Lorelei in because she’d want someone to do that for her daughter, while Emily would want someone to send her daughter home.

One thing I’m not sure about is if Emily and Richard knew where Lorelei went when she left home.  I feel like they’ve visited Lorelei and Rory when Rory was a baby, which would mean they knew where Lorelei was living.  Was it a while before Lorelei contacted her parents, so they had no way of knowing where she was until she was legally an adult?  Because I can see Lorelei not wanting to have a lot of contact with her parents, especially after leaving home.  And while it was thoughtful of Mia to take in Lorelei and Rory…why didn’t she send her back home?  Maybe Mia tried and decided not to push it after seeing Lorelei’s resistance?

The episode ends with Lorelei and Rory at Luke’s, eating.

Favorite Scenes:

Anytime Michel was on screen, especially the scene were Rory was (wrongly) translating what Michel said to Mia

Pop Culture:

Danger Will Robinson, Star Trek/Trekkies, Glitter, To Kill A Mockingbird, Holden Caufield

Final Thoughts:

Just…so many unanswered questions!  It’s just…when you have 3 really stubborn and strong-willed people who have major communication issues- plus a whole host of other issues- you have moments where no one is willing to see the other person’s side…you wonder about things.  At any rate, this one was okay.  We sort of learn about Lorelei’s early days in Stars Hollow, which really isn’t mentioned on the show…there’s only one other time we learn about her arrival in Stars Hollow that I can remember, and I believe it’s in a future season.  This episode gets 2 mugs of coffee.