More “Lord of the Rings” references for all us drooling geeks who can’t take the hint.
October 05, 2004
Again with the kick ass pop culture references. As Lorelai and Luke share their first real date at a small and cozy restaurant that we’ve never seen before, Lorelai tells him that she likes it, it’s “very Prancing Pony.” Ahh, and our geek cups runneth over with glee. It’s increasingly true that The Gilmore Girls is the only geek show on TV that doesn’t revolve around geek things (superheroes, space travel, demon hunting, vampires, witches, etc) and I think that this fact gives it something that most geek shows don’t have. Mainstream credibility. I mean look atStar Trek (Yes, LOOK at it), will it ever be more than a joke to the general public? Probably not. Gilmore Girls is that rare show that one can watch and indulge their geekness, and still enjoy it with non geek friends. (Like we’d be able to get any of those.) And before Lorelai and Luke leave the restaurant, Lorelai finds herself asking whether or not Paul Thomas Anderson wrote the depressing (and LONG) history on the back of the menu. Yes, that’s right, a Paul FREAKING Thomas Anderson reference on what at first glance would appear to be a fluffy WB show.
Anyway. . .
So, Lorelai and Luke’s decision to not tell the town yet is rather short lived as she goes wandering down to the café in her morning after garb of a T-Shirt and little else and then, everybody knows. They do save their gossip for a town meeting where they debate the merits of the relationship, the possible effects of it, and what cataclysmic results the eventual break-up might have. Turns out there are even charts and maps on the subject. Luke, however, already seething from being dragged to the town meeting in the first place is having none of these shenanigans and tells the town that the relationship is not theirs, it’s his, well and Lorelai’s.
Meanwhile, Rory’s return to school puts her face to face with another anonymous and rude rich kid that acts like he’s better than her friend. This little storyline felt rather unnecessary, but who knows, the guy could become more important in the future. It just had a whole been there, done that.
Oh! And Asher died. Yep, good ole Michael York. Dead. No more creepy May-December relationship for Paris. Nope, now it’s creepy widow mode for Paris as she tries to manage disputes between his children (who are all, I’d imagine, older than her) and plans a kinda-sorta wake in the dorm room she shares with Rory. The wake is strange and almost turns into a keg party, but the keg is diverted before Paris can see it. In the end, she takes solace with Emily.
Yep, Emily Gilmore.
See, Emily’s having trouble with her arrangement with Richard. She can’t stand having him around, but the very thought that he might be doing something fun annoys her to no end. After harassing Lorelai endlessly, she gets a vague and offhanded suggestion that Rory might be home and shuffles off to visit her granddaughter, accidentally attending Asher’s wake. Emily is a very hard person to get along with, but she and Paris get along famously. They are very much alike after all.
One more thing. At the very end. Rory gets asked out by guy I’ve never seen before this episode but may have been around last season. (His name is Marty. Yes, I took the time to check. I always get distracted when I arrive at the WB’s website. It’s all that irrational hatred [or perhaps rational] due to the cancellation of Angel. So I try not to go. [‘Cuz it results in things like brackets within parenthesis. And we all know that’s not a good sign.]) Well, Marty doesn’t really ask her out, more just wonders aloud if she has a boyfriend. Instead of saying she’s confused, she just stammers out the door. All the way to Dean’s house. Yep. She stammers ALL THE FREAKING WAY TO DEAN’S HOUSE.
Okay, I don’t think I buy that Rory and Dean were meant to be. Especially now. Dean should be as angry at her as he is at himself. She should feel more conflicted about it. It’s kinda icky. It’s not just infidelity within a relationship which, let’s face it, is The WB’s bread and butter with some jam on top. (Only jam tomorrow or yesterday, though, never today) I think Rory needs to find someone new and nice and good. This Marty guy seems nice. In an awkward and non-social way. But aren’t we all who read this site fairly awkward and non-social. Sorta Anti-Deans. Anyhoo. That’s kinda the only thing that didn’t ring true about this week’s ep. I don’t buy that she’d leave a party and several friends (including Paris with her GRANDMOTHER) just to go over to Dean’s to see what’s what. But a minor quibble that I assume will be resolved next week when we find out what happened after he closed that door.
I also find myself really wanting Lorelai and Luke to make it. They’re very good for each other. Sure, I want conflict and fighting and stuff to work through because happy people just don’t make drama, but I don’t want them to just be together long enough for us to care and then break up again and then hold it over our heads stringing us along until finally in the last episode they. . .well, it’s not Friends now is it? (Apparently neither is Joey) All in all, a solid ep. Advancing storylines. Witty banter. Lauren Graham in nothing more than a flannel shirt. Hoo boy! Three and a half out of five cookies.