Season 2, Episode 4
Original airing: October
23, 2001
My Rating: 68
The Good:
As a follow up to the end of the engagement, this episode
did alright. I’m really glad there was a scene with Rory expressing her
feelings about it all. Rory has a strong point when she states that it was
unfair for Lorelai to make a unilateral decision that highly affected both of
their lives and then refuse to even discuss it. Rory may be young, but she’s
definitely old enough to have a right to know what’s going on in Lorelai’s head
when it concerns both of them. Of course, Lorelai shouldn’t get married if she
doesn’t love Max, but her refusal to even discuss the situation is extremely
irritating. However, when she finally opened up, it was done in a calm manner
that gave the admission some impact. I feel as a viewer that she made the right
choice, but in a poor manner.
I found the Bed’n’Breakfast scenes to be entertaining, but
on the verge of too much. Luckily, Ladon’s crazy had limited screen time and
that kept it from becoming overwhelming. Instead, we got to enjoy some
quirkiness which would have been missing from the episode with the short time
spent in Stars Hollow. The B’n’Bers were really just filling in for Miss Patty
this time around.
Sookie and Luke’s reactions to the cancellation of the
wedding were spot on. I loved Sookie just cutting up the cake. She knows that
when Lorelai makes a decision, that decision is solid. And Luke’s sudden mood
change towards Kirk was a great gag. Naturally, he’s thrilled.
It was also nice to see Emily’s reaction and Lorelai’s
reaction to her. This could have been the scene we’ve seen over and over where
Emily berates Lorelai, which she starts to do when she thinks she’s been left
out of another part of Lorelai’s life. But when she learns the wedding is
cancelled, she shows a surprising amount of tact. Of course, Lorelai picks a
silly bicker over the gift, but it’s much better than the blow up that could
have occurred. It’s great to see the show trying to maintain realism in the
development of their relationship. And I think after the veil conversation
(S2E2), this was a logical moment for them to have.
What I think this episode did best was refocus the
audience’s attention on the future for the Gilmore girls. The trip to Harvard
was very good. It was great seeing Rory’s excitement about college paired with
Lorelai’s empty nest worries. As Luke says to Lorelai, of course she’s excited
and sad at the same time! Lorelai and Rory have been joined at the hip since
Rory was born and it will be a huge adjustment to be separated by college.
So it’s good to see Lorelai has a plan to avoid wallowing.
The idea of an inn co-owned by Sookie and Lorelai has come up before and been a
dream. This is an excellent time for it to start becoming reality.
The Bad:
My bad is still my bad/unknown from last week. Lorelai
doesn’t mention any kind of conversation with Max. I feel safe assuming at this
point that he does know the wedding is off. With the whole town being informed,
it would be bizarrely cruel to allow him to show up that weekend expecting to
get married. But I still feel like this is a gap in the storyline that could be
easily corrected. Either this episode or last episode, Rory could ask Lorelai
what Max’s response was and we’d have this issue solved. However, Max has never
really been important to the Max and Lorelai storyline. The show has always
completely ignored his existence when he isn’t in a particular scene, so I
guess this is just par for the course of his treatment. And while I’m not
really concerned about Max, his emotions or his reactions, it would be nice to
know Lorelai actually broke up with him, and didn’t just run away.
I was not a fan of Lorelai and Rory wandering in to the open
dorm room and making themselves at home. I thought this was a touch too far on
the level of decency. I could see them poking their heads in and taking a
glance, but sitting down on the bed and at the desk to pick up a stranger’s
things was creepy. And I thought the lack of reaction from the girl as they
were leaving was wrong.
It’s good to see Lane return, but I’m disappointed overall
with the summer in Korea storyline. I’m curious if anything will come of this
trip. It was a surprisingly detailed storyline over multiple episodes not to
have a purpose. If the purpose was supposed to be just a dramatic moment in the
Rory and Lane’s friendship, I think the show really dropped the ball. Rory’s
complete lack of care in the earlier episodes sucked all the emotion right out
of the story, even with Lane’s freakouts. And the impact of them spending three
months apart was complete lost by the time jump over those three months in the
last summer. For the viewer it’s been two weeks since we saw Lane. And Rory
never even mentioned that she missed her best friend. This could have been
handled in a much better manner.
Favorite Moment:
It was wonderful to see Rory and Lorelai outside of the
Harvard gates. The perspective of the shot really did make Harvard feel
appropriately larger than life. This was a great moment to emphasize the first
step in realizing Rory’s lifelong dream.
The Bottom Line:
As a follow-up to the wedding storyline, this episode did
pretty well. It’s good to get some explanation and emotion from Lorelai, but I
still feel the lack of a conversation with Max. However, using the episode as a
transition to put our focus on Harvard and the new inn was well done. In the
end, we were able to put the wedding in the past and turn our eyes to the
future.
