Cordia's Review of S2E11 - Secrets and Loans

Secrets and Loans

Season 2, Episode 11

Original airing: January 22, 2002

My Rating: 46

The Good:

This episode was all about the character highlights for me. Several actors had opportunities to shine in small scenes. Here’s a list of moments I enjoyed.

·         Mrs. Kim chasing Rory with the broom and then with the hose to protect her wooden antiques from possible termites.

·         Dean actually being a good boyfriend by recognizing why and how Rory is upset and utilizing his knowledge of what she likes to help her feel better.

·         Lane becoming a cheerleader and being completely spot on with Rory’s expected reaction (“Two are pompoms, one is a POM!”)

·         Paris’ obsession with discovering Rory’s PSAT score and, presumably, learning who had the best one. However, it was sad that this got dropped and had no resolution in the episode.

·         Sookie hiding Jackson in the closet to avoid upsetting Rory’s delicate sensibilities.

·         Jackson’s high school wrestling pajamas.

·         Luke offering Lorelai a loan without offering her a loan.

The Bad:

Unfortunately, I was really disappointed with the main story of the episode. I believe we’re supposed to appreciate and support Lorelai’s tenacity in her pursuit of a loan, but she comes across as petty and short sighted. Her absolute refusal to let Emily help her when she has completely failed to secure funding on her own seems absurd. It looks even worse when it seems like Emily is legitimately only interested in helping. I kind of liked that Lorelai only had to swallow half her pride to ask for a co-signing. Emily jumps right in without making Lorelai drag out the request.

But this small moment was completely ruined at the end when it was revealed Emily wants to host her DAR meetings at the Inn from now on. This sudden demand for “payment” completely undermined her good works at the bank and just proved the point that Lorelai was right. It appears Emily will never do something for her daughter without expecting a tit for tat in return. I’m not sure if this was supposed to be the point of the episode, but it didn’t leave me feeling like Lorelai’s previous behavior was justified. I just felt disappointed in both women.

Favorite Moment:

I loved Luke playing along with Lorelai’s Rocky Horror Picture Show costume planning. It’s different from his usual response to her teasing, which is to act as if she’s crazy. This was a cute spin and felt very natural.

The Bottom Line:

I was very disappointed in the main story. Neither Emily nor Lorelai came off well and it doesn’t help that it felt as if the writers wanted me to feel Lorelai was right in her petty behavior. But the rest of the episode was chock full of great moments, so I sort of just peaked through the cracks.