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.

Like Mother, Like Daughter originally aired November 11, 2001.  This episode was written by Joan Binder Weiss and was directed by Dennis Erdman.

This episode opens with Lorelei and Rory at Luke’s and are talking about how it’s busier than normal because they can’t get a table.

Lorelei’s car won’t start, so she calls Michel for a ride to work.  Meanwhile, Rory is rearranging her backpack so all of her reading-for-fun books can fit.  Lorelei keeps asking why she needs different books, and Rory’s explanation is that she needs to be able to switch between different books if she’s not in the mood for a particular type of book.

Lunchtime, part one: Rory is sitting at a table by herself, listening to music, and reading when a counselor arrives, wanting to talk to Rory when she’s done eating.  The counselor and the headmaster are concerned about Rory’s social behavior at school, because she talks to people in class, but doesn’t socialize outside of class, except for the Franklin.  Lunch is when Rory catches up on reading, and disagrees (super politely, of course) when the counselor says that colleges and universities don’t look too kindly on loners…because loners are those guys that wear outdated clothing and walk around with duffel bags.  The counselor thinks that Rory is denying she has a problem, and how it could affect her future because good grades aren’t enough, even though Rory seems to think so.

Later, Rory tells Lorelei about what happened at school, while Kirk is fixing Lorelei’s car.  Lorelei thinks it’s ridiculous and is mad that the counselor did that to Rory, and doesn’t want Rory to doubt herself because schools like Chilton try to stamp out every vestige of individuality a person has.

Mini-Rant: It is not ridiculous for Rory to be involved.  She spends a lot of time with her classmates, so the counselor and Headmaster are not out of line.  Seriously.  And why is it a problem all of a sudden?  It wasn’t a problem before, why now?  And you’d think Rory would be more involved, since it’ll get her into Harvard.  Apparently her freaking out about not having the extracurriculars Paris does in season one didn’t last very long.

Lorelei goes to the school, and meets with Headmaster Charleston and talks to him about how she raised Rory to do what she wants as long as it doesn’t hurt anybody, and doesn’t get why listening to a Walkman and reading a book is hurting Rory.  She disagrees with the Headmaster when he says that it’s hurting Rory.  Based on Lorelei’s lack of participation, Headmaster Charleston seems to think Rory not participating is because Lorelei isn’t involved with anything.  He hopes she will find a group to volunteer with, especially if she wants to do what’s best for Rory.

Rory arrives home, wondering why Lorelei didn’t pick her up.  Lorelei fills her in on the meeting, and has been thinking about how they did the Chilton thing so Rory could get into Harvard.  Lorelei suggests going along with the “fanatics” that run Chilton, since they write the recommendations that will get Rory into Harvard.

Mini-Rant #2: Yes, it is hurting Rory because she’s not getting involved and making herself stand out from all the other A+ students who will be applying to Harvard!  And heaven forbid those “fanatics” educating Rory do their damn job by making sure she goes off into the world able to socialize with other people and getting involved with things and participating instead of just watching from the sidelines.  And raising Rory to do whatever the hell she wants is kind of backfiring…at least in my opinion.

Lunchtime, part two: Rory goes to sit by herself, but changes her mind at the last minute, and sits with a group of girls…who turn out to be the secret sorority at Chilton- the Puffs.  Paris asks Rory her secret for sitting with them, and Rory mentions that she just sat down.  Paris asks Rory to talk her up, because her entire future is dependent on getting into the Puffs.

At Friday night dinner, Emily brings up Lorelei’s meeting, and how humiliating it was after everything they did to get Rory into Chilton.  Emily blames Lorelei for Rory’s lack of involvement, when Lorelei reveals that she’s joined the Boosters.  At the Booster Club meeting, they are talking about the fashion show fundraiser they’re planning.  Lorelei volunteers the inn, and tells Emily about how Emily is going to be one of the models since she was so concerned about her education.

The fashion show happens, it is a huge success, and when Lorelei gets back, she tells Rory that the Puffs are coming by in the middle of the night to take Rory out to breakfast…when, in reality, they’re going to the school for the Puff induction ceremony.  Rory doesn’t want to go along with it but does anyway, only to get caught.  The headmaster lectures them and talks about possibly suspending them and giving them detention and how they’ll have to do extra credit to maintain their grades.  Rory talks about how it’s unfair she’s getting in trouble for doing what the headmaster said, and how she has a boyfriend and friends and is really close to Lorelei, but they don’t see it because she doesn’t live there.  He says she won’t be suspended, because they may have acted hastily in her case and Lorelei picks up Rory who explains what happened.

Mini-Rant #3: How does the headmaster go from considering suspension to not suspending Rory?  If it was only considered, why would change his mind out suspending her?  Anyway, yes, they did make a snap judgement about Rory at school, and didn’t see what her life was like outside of school, but I also understand why they acted they did.  And who the hell is Rory friends with?  I mean, there’s Lane and Dean, who are only friends her own age.  Other than that, we have Sookie and Lorelei- and I’m not completely sold on other people in Stars Hollow, because I’ve never gotten a friends with Rory vibe from any of them.  So, like, does Rory have a bunch of friends that we don’t know about because it was never mentioned on the show?  I think I’m going with Rory having a super-small group of friends, because if she did have other friends, I’m pretty sure we would have seen them.

Luke and Lorelei have a fight about the best way to Hartford and how Luke shouldn’t date a Chilton mom, who thought he was cute.  The episode ends with Rory sitting a table by herself, reading when one of the Puffs asks if she can sit there.

Favorite Lines:

Michel: “I am not talking to Carol, she ate all of my cheese.”

Pop Culture:

Macarena, Walkman, Wizard of Oz, Disney, Barry Manilow

Final Thoughts:

Well, if you’ve made it this far, thank you for sticking around to read this post!  There’s just a lot going on, and some things I need to rant about…so…this episode is my least favorite episode to date, and is easily the most frustrating one to watch.  This episode gets 1 mug of coffee.