“The Ins and Outs of Inns”
Season 2, Episode 8
Original airing: November 20, 2001
My Rating: 63
The Good:
- It's awesome to hear more about Lorelai's past, and I especially like Emily's scene with Mia.
- Lorelai is a highly flawed character, which is great, but sometimes the show forgets to take the time for her to apologize and atone for her mistakes (See: Nick & Nora/Sid & Nancy). I appreciate that this episode humbles her with her apology to Emily, her apology to Sookie, her vulnerability with Luke, and her fear about confronting Mia.
- Sookie standing up to Lorelai is a great moment. Sookie is so often used (to excellent effect) for comic relief that it's easy to forget how well Melissa McCarthy can do emotional scenes. Seeing Sookie stand up to Lorelai, especially when she holds her accountable even during the apology scene is reminiscent of Luke standing up to Lorelai last episode. It shows a new side to her personality and let's us know that she can be strong.
- Luke and Lorelai's heart-to-heart is great. I like seeing him be so supportive and seeing her open up to him. I also love hearing her verbalize the difference between the confidence it takes to do what you have to do and the confidence it takes to go after your dreams.
The Bad:
- As exciting as it is to meet Mia, I wish she had a brighter chemistry with Lorelai to help make their relationship more believable. It's an uphill battle since she's being introduced midway through the second season of the show.
- The phony crime scene prank is kind of stupid and I'm not sure the show understands the difference between delinquent behavior (stealing charity donations) and silly pranks (drawing a chalk outline and putting up some caution tape). I think that distinction needs to be made in order to better understand Jess as a character as well as the town's reaction to him.
- Lorelai and Sookie buying their own inn still doesn't feel as real to me as I think it should for this episode to fully work, especially with Fran refusing to sell her property. And the scene where Lorelai and Sookie try to ask Fran about her death doesn't play as funny, it's just weird.
- Also not funny is the joke about Mia not understanding Michele. It's the kind of joke that would work with a throwaway character, but doesn't feel believable for one of the more fully formed characters.
- Several little things stuck out to me, like Lorelai's random placement of the place cards and the inconsistency of Rory's age. She should be turning 17 this fall, but Mia says Lorelai showed up 15 years ago almost to the day. If Rory took her first steps at the inn, she would need to bee a lot younger than two when Lorelai moved there. Also why is Lorelai eating a fruit bowl in the last scene?
Favorite Moment:
Luke and Lorelai's heart-to-heart
The Bottom Line:
Despite this episode's problems, several emotional moments between characters make for highly engaging and memory scenes.
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