March 6, 2007: Gilmore a la Mode
Our three Gilmore girls together on a road trip to North Carolina? You'd think it would be witty Lorelai providing the comic relief, but this time it was typically humorless Emily! Driving the Jag in the slow lane with a parade of cars behind her. Fighting with Lorelai over the power window button, and winning by using the child-proof feature. A stop at a greasy spoon, where Em actually ordered a chardonnay. "That's the clear one," she informed the waitress. And of course, there were show tunes for entertainment. (For those of you who aren't theater geeks, that was "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" from
Oklahoma!. Love the irony.)
Afterwards came some much-needed bonding. (This
was a road trip, after all.) Which did you think was more powerful? That Emily sought out Mia for some old pictures of Lor and Rory? After all, the woman was essentially Lorelai's surrogate mother and Emily's nemesis. (Talk about swallowing your priceless pride.) Or was it when Lorelai finally admitted to her mom that it must've been hard when
she upped and left home. Of course, Lorelai had the kinder reaction; she was visibly touched. Emily barely uttered an acknowledgement. Typical. But she did eagerly join Rory and Lorelai for a night of junk food and a movie at a cheap hotel. How gauche! And how freaking cool! Oh, and Will Smith?
Really?
But kudos goes to Rory. Finally... for months she seemed so lost and off track. Last week I said she's back, and she continues to prove it. The girl who had been tip-toeing around an out-of-control Logan actually stood up to him in the most powerful way possible. She agreed with Mitchum. "I love you but I am not going to support every stupid decision you make," she lectured a stunned Logan. "I don't see you getting your bearings, I see you hiding out, not facing your responsibilities. You're being a jerk!" My sentiments exactly! Old Rory would have caved when Logan swooped in on Mia's wedding "to talk." Not this time. "This is so last year's Logan!" she hissed at him. "You think you can fly anywhere I am and overwhelm me by your grand gestures. I'm just not impressed." Neither am I. I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for her to see through all the expensive gifts and vapid displays of wealthy wooing. She finally put it together in just one sentence: "If I am going to do this, I am going to do this on
my terms," she explained to a shocked Lorelai. (Oh, and by the way, good advice for Mom, too.) She might be tough, but she's still our Rory, which means she'll always be supportive when Logan does right. And when he told her that he quit his father's company, Rory was proud of him. I've never been a big Logan fan, but I'll admit it: That move took serious
cojones. Good for him.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the great, and at times hilarious, interaction between Luke and Zack. It makes sense that Lane and Zack would want a father figure for the twins, especially since Mr. Kim is MIA and Zack's dad "left when he was like, 10." And who better than Luke, who was wonderful with Rory and now April? Did you catch the stunned look on Luke's face when they asked him to be their children's godfather? (He thought they were going to ask him for money!) I think he should have been more freaked out at the diner when Zack asked if he should have the boys circumcised. Really, the best part was when Zack started to panic about becoming a father (I think he might have been crying) and Luke calmed him down. "I found my dad mode. So will you," he told the soon-to-be father/rocker.
Didn't it feel like everyone found their mode? Absolutely no complaints here.
