2.20 - Help Wanted

[Gilmore_Luver_08]

Ali = haha! yeah! Im always quoting GG around our friends,cause none of them watch it! lol u should start!

I love this episode,though!

[gilmore_luver_07]

Ill try lol but sumtimes its hard to member all of them.. I love "oy with the poodles already!!" and " thingLET if u will" lol those ones r hilareous.

[Gilmore_Luver_08]

Its easy for me,like one time I was mad and everyone was like are you seriese and i was like "not usualy,but right there,yeah I had a bit of seriese going!" thats a Lorelai qoute and one time Stef goes Emily,Im special and I go "yeah,Like Eat-The-Paste-Special" lol Thats a Rory Logan qoute! Its simple! lol

[Crackrobat]

No, I agree it wasn't anyone's fault.  It was an accident.  But, in light of "little birds dress her" and "Logan did this to Rory and Logan made Rory do that" and "Rory's like an angel you put on the Christmas tree" and other things that have been said at various times that seem to indicate that the viewer is supposed to see Rory as some saint, or worse someone who can't make a decision on her own (Logan couldn't do have the things that he's accused of unless he practiced mind control over Rory) it's just nice to hear someone not describe Rory as perfect.  Even if it's Rory herself.  And, it was very mature of her to do so.  The accident itself wasn't her fault (or Jess', since it was an accident) but the townspeople and Lorelai were acting like Jess tied her up, threw her in the car and purposely wrecked it.  Or that Jess practiced his special boy hoodoo art (the hoodoo art Logan currently has) to get Rory in trouble. 

It was nice of Rory not to put the whole blame on Jess.  But, it was more than nice.  It was a real "you go, girl" moment for Rory herself.  She was saying that she is a fully functioning human being.  She wasn't someone who could be led around by a boy.  I think she was frustrated because, maybe in their eagerness to turn on Jess, everyone treated her like an idiot.  Taylor could have just accepted Rory's apology, or told her that it was okay.  But, I think Babette is what made Rory say she was being treated like she was being led around by a boy.  I mean, she went on and on about Rory losing her morals and good common sense.  I think it was a little insulting how the town was treating her.  Rory wasn't beating herself up or taking undue responsibility over the accident.  She wasn't taking any more responsibility than she actually had.  And, telling her no, not letting her do it, or even just telling her it's okay, no hard feelings, is the mental equivalent of patting her on the head and saying she's too stupid to be held accountable for anything.  Did they mean to imply that?  No, they meant to imply that Jess was all bad.  But, I still think that they inadvertantly insulted Rory, and I'm glad she didn't like it.

I agree 100%. I'd even take it a step further and say that this is the way they attempted to paint Rory and Jess's characters through-out Season 2 & 3. Jess was the bad boy and no matter what he did it was bad and wrong and Dean would just never do it.  Rory was a mindless zealot to the bad boy and couldn't do anything wrong and was clearly misled by Jess. There was a patronising element to it from Lorelai's perspective too. She was always there with the "I've been there before" speech and the "I've known guys like Jess" rant. She did need to have a little more trust in Rory and perhaps back off a little and give them room to breathe.

[gilmore_luver_07]

4 words..eat the paste specail  lol.

[violaplayer1234]

Okay.  Here we go.

I love Rory in this episode.  I love how she decided to not let everyone rule her actions and thoughts about Jess.  She was sick of everyone saying she had nothing to do with it.  Did anyone in that whole town stop to think about the fact that maybe, just maybe, it was an accident?  Had Jess decided to not swerve for the little dog/cat/possum he would have hit it and killed it.  And the town would then call him an animal murderer.  There was no way Jess could win, as all the odds were completely against him.  It was partly Rory's fault.  She told him to keep going, turn right.  But through this whole episode, everyone kept hating Jess and sympathizing with her.  I loved Rory yelling at Lorelai, and basically saying that she had responsibility in the whole thing.

Except Luke.  The scene at the end is my favorite, I love how Luke is the only person who believes Rory.  Who agrees it was an accident, that both are at equal blame.  He truly shines in this episode.  He and Rory are on the completely same page.  And I love that. 

I liked Lorelai helping Richard, but I felt horrible for him when she basically yelled at him.  He knew she had a job.  I think, quite frankly, he was just enjoying spending all this time with his daughter, he got to see this whole other side of her, this successful side.  And she may have had to get back to work, but Lorelai was overall rude to him at the end of her help.  They had their little apologetic dance at the party, but still. 

I think it would've been an interesting twist if Rory would've been driving.  And she crashed.  That could've hurt her image as Princess Rory, although I bet people would've still blamed Jess.  And not her at all.  Because the princesses are never wrong.  Grrrr.

[SIDNEY]

I liked Lorelai helping Richard, but I felt horrible for him when she basically yelled at him.  He knew she had a job.  I think, quite frankly, he was just enjoying spending all this time with his daughter, he got to see this whole other side of her, this successful side.  And she may have had to get back to work, but Lorelai was overall rude to him at the end of her help.  They had their little apologetic dance at the party, but still.

It was nice to see Lorelai offering by herself to help her dad. It was so nice indeed. But Richard -as you said- enjoyed it too much to let her go. He kept refusing to hire anyone based on no reason. He was selfish and didn't care for what Lorelai wanted (typical). He just assumed Lorelai was going to work for him the next day and the day after that until he decides otherwise.

It's so funny the way Lorelai talks to Emily on the phone especially when she says " Oh, but Richard didn't say he's married". 

I think it would've been an interesting twist if Rory would've been driving.  And she crashed.  That could've hurt her image as Princess Rory, although I bet people would've still blamed Jess.  And not her at all.  Because the princesses are never wrong.  Grrrr.

No they wouldn't blame Rory. Why? Because it's a matter of history. In all the time SH knew Rory, they never saw her do anything bad or hurt anyone. She was always sweet and always wants to help. In the other side, in the time they knew Jess, he was nothing but a trouble maker so i think they have a point. Although i got anooyed by everyone treating Rory as if she had no will. As if she was a toy anyone can move the way they want.

[bingbong]

Rory's record on taking responsibility is spotty, although she eventually will admit the error of her ways. After sleeping with a married man, it took part of a summer in Europe for her to admit she was wrong. With the car accident she came out with it fairly quickly, as much as a point of honor on behalf of Jess as for herself. She deserves kudos for taking responsibility and it's a relief to see her getting fed up with the "Perfect Rory" image who is mindlessly led astray by a guy. However, to some extent i can see where people like Taylor and Patty are coming from. They feel protective about Rory, as people who (in their minds anyway) have taken part in raising her. But in a way i felt like they were using the incident as another excuse to berate Jess and with good reason. This truly was an accident and Jess was a good guy when he told Luke that he stayed with Rory at the hospital to make sure she was ok. But he has not earned the benefit of the doubt from the town. He has been a menace and creep to most of the people since arriving, first with the vandalism and onward with anti-social negativity. I'm thinking, if Shane had been in the car with Jess, the Star's Hollow peeps would have used the incident just the same to berate Jess. The "Perfect Rory" aspect would have been missing, but they would have ripped Jess just the same. As for Lorelai, i can certainly understand her reaction as Rory's mom. She never liked Jess to begin with, with some justification, and this incident, though it was an accident, would only appear to justify her worst fears. Lorelai was a bit too much "i know better than you" towards Rory, but Rory is everything to Lorelai, practically the definition of her own life. I cut Lorelai slack on this one.

[thevoid99]

I think the part I liked in that episode is Lane in the music room with Wilco's "Heavy Metal Drummer" playing in the background as she has found her destiny!  Great choice of music. 

[laurla205]

This is one of my favorite episodes.  I love to see Lorelai and Richard bonding.  The steps they take towards understanding each other just a little bit better are so refreshing after that horrible trip Richard took to Stars Hollow.  Lorelai seems to be the only voice of reason at FND when explaining to both Emily and Richard that he can indeed start a business without the infamous Margie.  Up until now I would have thought that the only woman Richard is dependent on for making sure his daily life goes according to plan is Emily.  But to find out he doesn’t even have a pen and paper without Margie is somewhat astonishing.  I suppose it is a fair representation of the old fashioned businessman.  Of course there still are businessmen who won’t make their own coffee (I know, I work for one) but you just don’t see them as often anymore.  The repartee that Lorelai and Richard establish here, and the respect Richard gains for Lorelai as a businesswoman, is nice to see.  I’m not sure yet how much of a slight it is that Lorelai is only completing ordinarily office management tasks.  How little of an opinion did Richard have to have of Lorelai to be impressed in this manner.  I think that can be overlooked in this situation only because of the regard that Richard also had for Margie.  He simply couldn’t run a business without her despite the sort of work she did for him.  Lorelai, after proving herself capable, was his first choice as a replacement.  In his own way that says a lot.  I like that Lorelai was not afraid to remind him that she had her own life/job to get back to.  It’s too bad that it takes her practically throwing a fit in order to get anything through to the man (where the line is with parenting Rory and now where the line is with herself on a professional level).  It’s almost just another case of taking one step forward to take two back.  But they manage to smooth it all over in the end with a nice exchange over bagging the Sweed as only Lorelai could. 

I also love how Lane has this ‘ah ha’ moment about her calling in life.  If only it were that easy for all of us!

I did enjoy the moment that Rory and Luke shared at the end of the episode.  The two of them against the world in this instance. 

[bingbong]

One of my favorite Lorelai-Richard moments is during the party when Richard says about his new secretary, "she's no.... Margie." They both know the name he almost said and how true it is. It does not quite make up for Richard's disastrous visit to S.H., but it's a start. It would be even better if Richard appreciated Lorelai's managerial skills at the inn. Maybe by inference from this episode he is beginning to show the respect she deserves, but it would be nice if he said it outright. Not until late in the series did he take that step. But the way he views Margie, Karen and Lorelai, he apparently can't imagine women in managerial authority, at least not in the insurance business.

In this episode, Lorelai & Richard interact almost as co-equals, or at least as two grown-ups. But with Emily, Lorelai is still the teenager who instinctively hides things from her mother. I noticed that Lorelai did not for a second consider telling Emily the truth about Rory's arm. Sure, she knew Emily would freak and point fingers, that's what Emily does. But it reminded me of her decision to keep the Jason relationship a secret from E & R; she said she would inform them in some distant future without thinking it through. How did she think she would keep Emily from finding out about Rory's arm? The bee story was silly. Not that i put it all on her. It is sickening the way Emily goes into auto-pilot and yells at Lorelai about being an irresponsible parent, blah blah. Who wants to hear that crap? My point is, if Emily is a regular part of her life she might as well deal with it head on and not try to avoid things with childish stories about bees. She can't or won't make an attempt to break out of the pattern. Neither will Emily, but i don't expect much from her to begin with. But i guess parents and children tend to remain in their familiar behavioral patterns unless some cataclysmic event alters everything.

I get a kick out of this dialogue:
EMILY: He’s a consultant.
LORELAI: Meaning?
EMILY: Your father is an international insurance consultant.
LORELAI: Yeah, yeah, but what exactly does that mean?
EMILY: He consults on matters relating to international insurance.
LORELAI: Wait, wait – when Dad goes to his new office, he sits down and he. . .
EMILY: Consults with international clients on insurance matters.

[lessa]

Ah, the sweet consultant rap. I hear it every time I ask a consultant's spouse what he or she does. I wanna write into their dialog: "Well if everybody knew what he did, they wouldn't need to consult with him, would they?" True on many levels, according to Scott Adams.

I like the parallel Lorelai's temp job creates between her and Rory. I mean, here Rory is trying to convince everyone that she wanted to be bad, while Lorelai is going through the motions of her childhood ambition and trying to explain to her father that she actually prefers her life outside the Gilmores' idea of good.

I don't think of a consultant's office manager as inferior, though, as Richard's reluctance to proceed without a stellar one demonstrates. He was confident in his business only if he had the right person on his team. What surprised me was how quickly he adapted to Lorelai being the right man for the job, and it reminds me of a deeply buried reference in FFytown when Richard is telling Rory about how much Lorelai idolized him and his work as a child. I'll dig it up later, but it's the one where he talks about Lorelai stealing his Yale diploma and hanging it in her room.

[bingbong]

What surprised me was how quickly Richard was ready to dump the business because he didn't have Margie. I thought it was a bit too much, to think he would take his disappointment that  far. He is a narrowly focused guy but he supposedly has his business mojo back and he's incorporated the company under the mighty Gilmore banner. It's one thing to rely on a member of the team; it's something else to dismantle the entire enterprise over the loss of one player (even if there are only a total of two players). If Lorelai had not been there, would he have really chucked the whole thing and gone back to his purposeless life? It didn't ring true to me.

[lessa]

I dunno, what if Lorelai hadn't gone to the Dragonfly with Sookie and Michel? Margie was sort of a symbol of the structure that aimed his mojo in his old firm. Breaking up a winning team is scary, even if you're the most talented at what you do, and in that moment, he was probably wondering how much of his success had been him, and how much had been synergy with the people out of whom he presumably sucked the soul. Given that he's never bought office supplies, operated a thermostat, can't answer his phone, and has never hired someone to do those things, I can't say I blame him.

I loved the way Hermann delivered the mixture of vulnerability and stonewalled independence here. He knew he could do what he was dreaming with Lorelai on his team, but he didn't know if he could without her. You can't pay someone enough to believe in you, whether they have a life to get back to or not. When Richard lost Lorelai, he found his new Margie, and at the party he found he didn't need to sign her paycheck to have her in his cheering section.

[honkifuluvGG]

And again we see how similar Lorelai and Rory really are.  Only episodes ago we watched as Rory downplayed something via the way of friends to friendish.  In this episode we see Lorelai downplay her and Luke's fight fromt a thing to a thinglet.  My how these Gilmore Girls like to dance around their issues!

It's nice to see that even International Insurance Consultants can walk into an office supply warehouse and be just as dazzled as the rest of the little folk.  I think it's my favourite scene in this episode.  Such disdain at the absurd enormity of the place and then slowly, bit by bit the allure of all the pretty office things, capped off with Lorelai's office supply wisdom, he is won over.

And I'm kinda not gonna comment on the rest of this episode because it'll get me ranting a la last week's episode.  But I do love that Luke and Rory have that moment at the end.  It was nice to see some sense prevail somewhere in Stars Hollow.