2.20 - Help Wanted

[bingbong]

Caryn, how can you deprive us of another glorious rant? 

I like the thinglet/friendish comparison. But the difference is in their usage. Rory was using friendish to side-step her feelings for Jess and there was an element of deception involved. I felt that Lorelai was downplaying her fight with Luke by calling it a thinglet  for Rory's benefit. Rory was feeling guilty as the cause of their dispute and Lorelai didn't want Rory blaming herself. Lorelai is the master at dancing around her issues but in this instance i think it was for good cause.

For me, this episode is not truly complete until Lorelai sings her weekly praise of Dean:

RORY: Maybe it just hasn’t sunk in yet, maybe he’ll be mad tomorrow.
LORELAI: Maybe Dean is even more terrific than we thought he was.

LORELAI: Dean knows ya, hon. He knows you wouldn’t do anything to hurt him, he gets it. So, you’re lucky, just focus on that. Jess is gone, now you guys can start over.

RORY: What if it’d been Dean, huh? What if Dean had been driving? Would everyone be assuming that it was his fault?
LORELAI: No, because if Dean had been driving there wouldn’t have been an accident because Dean is a much more responsible kid who loves you and would’ve been driving more responsibly.

[lessa]

To paraphrase Bujold on honor and reputation: While the good person can sustain himself with honor intact as his reputation sinks, so must his soul be destroyed if his reputation rises to rarefied heights while his honor lays crumbled at his feet. Being given credit for being the good girl you're not is definitely a soul-crusher. Poor Rory. I guess...

Anyway, I feel more for Luke - Lorelai's personal opinion of Jess notwithstanding, the town hated him for a reason. They were looking for excuses to hate him because he was a jerk, he stole stuff, lied, taped over Dumbo, and annoyed people. The brief scene with Lane explains why he's flunking in spite of his brains. No matter what misleading frame was surrounding Jess, he didn't want to fit in and play it straight, not even to the goofsnarking extent Lorelai does it.

Think of it this way - Luke knew darn well the accident wasn't Jess's fault, but he let Jess leave, anyway. Maybe after a certain point, it doesn't matter why the emotional wreck is wrecking things up for other people. Or, in metaphorspeak, what's sauce for Rory is sauce for Jess. If she can be blamed for her natural inclination to hesitate and hold things back, why would Jess get a pardon for refusing to take anything seriously? Though I guess the town pardoning Rory while the fans hang her is equivalent to the town running Jess out while the fans defend him. XD

[laurla205]

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.

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.

This is one of my favorites as well.  Sometimes the unspoken words carry much more weight than the spoken ones. 

As far as Lorelai’s behavior around Emily I very much agree that Lorelai would do well to just be straight with Emily on so so many occasions.  But alas, she is in the Gilmore home and it’s near impossible for her to do so in that setting.  Something about walking through that front door still causes her to regress about 15 years, even when she knows full well that it is the case.  It's delightfully frusterating.

Emily has a point though.  Isn’t Lorelai’s haste to blame Jess for the accident the same as Emily’s haste to blame Lorelai?  They both wholeheartedly (want to) believe that the person they’re pointing their finger at is completely to blame when that person really had little control, if any, over the exact moment of the accident. 

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.

I didn’t mean to diminish the position of an office manger.  I meant that in Richard’s eyes (regardless of his level of respect for Margie or Lorelai as a result of the duties performed while in that position) that the position itself is not necessarily one of greatness no matter how detrimental, which should make the individual holding it relatively interchangeable.  Margie wasn’t a necessity, or even a party, to him having the light bulb moment of his new business venture so it’s odd that he wouldn’t realize that it was possible to succeed without her.  What of the other secretaries at his prior firm (blanking on the name at the moment, that’s annoying) who assisted his colleagues in being successful?  Surely they were similar to Margie in one way or another and, in twenty or so years, he would have been witness to that.


I too am missing the ranting this week.  Only a fabulous show like GG could induce such a strong response in someone

[bingbong]

... Isn’t Lorelai’s haste to blame Jess for the accident the same as Emily’s haste to blame Lorelai?  They both wholeheartedly (want to) believe that the person they’re pointing their finger at is completely to blame when that person really had little control, if any, over the exact moment of the accident. 

Emily's rant was directed at her own daughter and she did it right in front of Rory. Lorelai's rant was directed agatinst a guy who she perceives to be bad news for her daughter. Lorelai is trying to protect Rory from Jess. What exactly was Emily trying to achieve with her rant? I can see pros and cons about Lorelai's stance against Jess and her involvement (meddling?) in Rory's relationships. I see no pros in Emily going into auto-pilot and mindlessly barking at Lorelai about being an irresponsible mother. Part of Emily's anger might have been over Lorelai's lie, but that merely served as her launching pad. 

[lessa]

Well, Emily is a placeholder for wrath and control issues that Lorelai can't say out loud, if Emily says it's Lorelai's fault and she should have done more to protect Rory, that's what Lorelai is thinking. Of course, she gets to think that now that Jess seems to have validated her inner Emily. Well, I know everyone doesn't share my opinion that the supporting cast occasionally fill in as metaphors for Lorelai's and Rory's minds, but Lorelai didn't stand up to Emily about Rory's ability to think for herself. She blames Jess and indirectly, Luke, but in this moment, facing her demon, it looks like avoidance of blaming Rory mandates her blaming herself.

I thought that was ironic, since Emily is equally secretive about blaming herself for Lorelai's cock-up. Which made the scenes with Richard all the more touching; Lorelai and Richard will never agree on whether Lorelai belongs with her family's business or out running the streets and living her cocked-up life. But instead of blame being at issue, it's about him wanting something he can't have - for his daughter to want to be his "good" girl again.

[honkifuluvGG]

Jim - I love your Ode to Dean moments that you shared on Lorelai's behalf.  I've always gigled at these moments since it's been mentioned, but until you listed them all in your post I hadn't quite realise how many there were in this episode.

There are a few moments in this episode in which I adore the dialogue.  Thought I'd share them with you.

LORELAI: Are you sure it's closed?
KIRK: Well, first I read the sign and then I tried the door in case it was some sort of elaborate ruse.
LORELAI: Designed to keep only you out?
KIRK: There's precedent.

Poor Kirk.  I feel so sad for him that there is a precendent for excluding him and him alone from an establishment.  Who wouldn't want his craziness in their lives?

EMILY: Yes, Richard Gilmore, please.
LORELAI: [in high voice] Oh, um, uh, certainly, may I ask who’s calling?
EMILY: Emily Gilmore.
LORELAI: And does he know what this is about?
EMILY: Well, I hope so, I’m his wife.
LORELAI: [giggles] Oh, but Richard didn’t say anything about being married.
EMILY: What!
LORELAI: Mom, relax, it’s me.
EMILY: Lorelai?
LORELAI: Yes.
EMILY: Well, you’re crude and unprofessional.
LORELAI: Well, I’d like that on my tombstone, please. Now what can I do for you?

I know there are a lot of people who don't like Emily, but I love her.  I know she's not always the nicest, but with these kinds of Lorelai/Emily interactions I wouldn't want her character any other way.  Too much fun!  Plus this little encounter inspired me to make a sig to wear for this week of the Viewing Party.  *twirls around to show off new sig*

RORY: Right, makes sense. Luke?
LUKE: Yeah?
RORY: It wasn’t his fault.
LUKE: I know it wasn’t.

Like I said... a little common sense prevails.  I know I said I wouldn't go on a rant, but I just want to say that whilst Jess has the rude, disrepecting, rebellious teenager thing down pat, there is a large canyon to jump before you hit the Jess that would wish physical harm on somebody.  Yes he's had the odd schoolyard fight, but they involve more than one "delinquent".  In this car accident situation I find it amazing that the town as a whole can be so malicious as to go on a full on assault on a youth without entertaining the notion that Rory has mentioned that they swerved to not hit some animal.  You would think the entire Rory-loving population of Stars Hollow has not once ever had a car accident.  I know the town is small, but surely not that small.

[bingbong]

I also love Emily. I love to hate Emily, i hate to love Emily and on occasion i love to love Emily. She is a Gilmore Girl, the dark side.

Good rant, Caryn, though not quite the venom you gave us last week! There is a case to be made against Lorelai at the end of this episode. The accident gave her the ammunition she craved, but her vilification of Jess has taken on a life of its own. That line to Rory "I won, he's gone" came off as petty, far from sounding like genuine good-hearted concern. It's the kind of line that can make a teenager turn rebellious, perhaps even cut school and run off to New York for a day. It doesn't matter so much what Taylor and other town peeps say, but it's not a good sign when Lorelai's fears turn her deaf, refusing to believe or even listen to Rory when the truth of the matter comes out. She is supposed to know Rory better than anyone, and she normally does, but i wonder how much she wants to understand what Rory is feeling. I agree she is (in part) blaming herself and Lorelai is perhaps channeling her inner Emily, as lessa would say (i wish Emily would channel her inner Lorelai, though not this Lorelai). But when she and Rory agree to disagree, there is no sense that Lorelai might hear Rory even in a moment of calm. But for all that, i still see a qualitative difference in the way Lorelai and Emily reacted. Emily instinctively pointed the finger at Lorelai, while Lorelai went to great lengths to avoid pointing the finger at Rory. Neither is anything to be proud of, and they both need to find the middle ground. But for Emily it's her bread-and-butter, while for Lorelai it's an exception to her usual manner of not only listening to Rory but wanting to listen.

[lessa]

Hey, wow, thought I was losing my mind for a second there.

Wait, Rory skip school? Never! She's a good girl! Heehee, but the problem with Lorelai's dictum is that she didn't win, Jess isn't gone until her teenage daughter says he's gone. But Rory coming back with an injury does give her a right to create a barrier. It's one thing if your daughter is screwing up her relationship for a bad boy, another entirely if she's letting him squire her around SH and break her arm instead of tutoring him like she promised. Jess may not have any bad intentions towards Rory, but Rory herself is losing control of herself and the situation, which could make a guy like Jess way more dangerous than he means to be.

If I wanted to defend Emily here, it would be for taking the point of view that its always the mother's fault. No doubt a part of her probably wishes she'd instructed the maid to shoot Christopher on sight! But Lorelai was flatly determined about taking risks with him, anyway, and in the end, she got her own way. There was no way Emily could have stopped it by "winning" that kind of argument, but I can certainly understand why she didn't just hand Lorelai a packet of condoms and a health insurance card.

[bingbong]

Ha, poor Lorelai does not have the benefit of Fast Forwardy Land. The saddest thing about her dictum is that she is so desperate in wanting to believe she won. Does she think Jess was shipped off to Alaska?

I get that Lorelai's initial reaction following the accident would be to erect a barrier to protect her daughter. Not that she has done any such thing. Her last decision on the subject was in allowing Rory to tutor Jess (for which she is now kicking herself). And she was not the one who put Jess on the bus. But remaining in freak-out denial mode everytime Rory brings up the subject is not helping her cause. I think the comparison with Emily dealing with teenaged Lorelai has its limits because of the different relationship between Lorelai & Rory and the person Rory is; if Lorelai's concern is what Rory might do next because of Jess, she could take comfort in those factors, rather than bulldoze over them. That's easy for me to say because i'm not the concerned parent, but i don't think Rory is losing control of the situation (and one excursion to NY won't change that). The riskiest thing she's done is cruise around S.H. when she was supposed to be tutoring a guy who was not going to be tutored. Sure, anything can happen, and i suspect Dean & Taylor of conspiring to place the furry animal in the road.  But Rory did not downplay the seriousness of the accident and knew full well what she did wrong, which is precisely what she was trying to communicate to her deaf mother. She is the one trying to take her fair share of responsibility; shouldn't that give comfort to the concerned mom, to know her daughter sees her wrong-doing and does not want to point the finger? Or is Lorelai so lost in a wilderness of panic and self-blame right now that she can't see that Rory is displaying a quality that makes her such a remarkable person in the first place? It's not often that Lorelai connects with Richard better than with Rory.

If Rory does a few careless things, it only proves she is stepping out from her ultra-reserved demeanor and tasting life. Again, a concerned mom might not take such a detached view. But Rory came across in this episode as more controlled than Lorelai. She blurted the story to Emily in a rude manner out of frustration, but the words she said were accurate and they remained accurate during the argument with Lorelai. Paris would have been proud of Rory's debating skills, able to remain reasonable in the heat of the moment. By comparison, Lorelai came across as a mom not interested in the truth, without access to Fast Forwardy Land and taking a vacation in Denial Village. It shouldn't take an outburst by Rory to get Lorelai's full attention, not that it made any difference. Nope, she could only turn to everybody's favorite uncle.

[lessa]

Hah. if Lorelai throws a few tantrums, she is just stepping out of her ultra-liberal I'm-more-trusting-than-my-mother schtick. If Rory was there because she wanted to be bad, it puts Lorelai in exactly the same position. Not because Jess turned her bad, but because Lorelai has no way of knowing how bad Rory wants to be. Whether Rory is experimenting with her future or just her reputation, she just isn't the same girl that Lorelai (eventually) decided she trusted the first time she was out all night with her boyfriend. The idea that Rory wanted to engage in behavior that got her arm broken rings just true enough to invoke the nightmare, and no matter whose fault she thinks it is, she believes Rory won't behave that way anymore once Jess is gone. If she's right that it's Jess's fault, removing him solves her problem at the cost of a big stink. If she's wrong, it's hopeless, and all she can do is try to slow it down until Rory gets her ovaries under control.

It's pretty similar to her reaction to Rory's first crush, come to that. I think she would have both believed Rory and trusted her to handle it (provided her grades stayed up) except for one difference: now she has a boyfriend who's getting hurt by her need to flirt with badness. Strangely enough, that seems to steam Lorelai's whistle almost as much as picking up her daughter at the hospital. Rory doesn't hate Dean, and Jess does, so she adds 2 and 2 and gets "It's all Jess's fault."

It kind of puts me in mind of the MYOB school of friendship. That is, that a relationship runs into trouble more often if you interfere in your friends' lives uninvited. I have some very wonderful, caring friends who are frequently prepared to take that risk in spite of multiple warnings, lectures and screaming matches on the subject. Some people just can't leave things alone when they care, so we eventually came up with a list of taboo topics through a lengthy trial and error process. I learned a lot about when I lash out, and they learned a lot about how not to "help," and, long story short (too late) we figured out how to not give each other well meant kicks when we were down.

Don't know what made me think of it , exactly, except that men trouble seems like a taboo subject between Lorelai and Rory. Not that they don't talk about men, just that they have to watch what they say with respect to men trouble. Lorelai crossed a line because she was afraid for Rory, the most noble of reasons, but it shows it's affecting their relationship and how much info they share as much as it did with Emily and Lorelai.

[honkifuluvGG]

There is a case to be made against Lorelai at the end of this episode. The accident gave her the ammunition she craved, but her vilification of Jess has taken on a life of its own. That line to Rory "I won, he's gone" came off as petty, far from sounding like genuine good-hearted concern. It's the kind of line that can make a teenager turn rebellious, perhaps even cut school and run off to New York for a day.

Heh!  Too right there's a case to be made.  This whole line from Lorelai ("That’s right! I’m sorry, but when my daughter comes home broken I get to hate the guy who broke her. That’s how it works. He’s gone, I win. You are wearing a cast and I get to hate him forever!") for me was I think the thing that tips it over the edge and allows me to rant away on a character I otherwise love, even in her worst moments.  It was not only taking on a life of it's own, but it was a poor and pathetic way to justify the opinion she had already formed of Jess.  She didn't get to hate him because of the broken arm, she already did.  This was just a way to justify her continual barrage  against the boy.

Ha, poor Lorelai does not have the benefit of Fast Forwardy Land. The saddest thing about her dictum is that she is so desperate in wanting to believe she won. Does she think Jess was shipped off to Alaska?

I get that Lorelai's initial reaction following the accident would be to erect a barrier to protect her daughter. Not that she has done any such thing. Her last decision on the subject was in allowing Rory to tutor Jess (for which she is now kicking herself). And she was not the one who put Jess on the bus. But remaining in freak-out denial mode everytime Rory brings up the subject is not helping her cause. I think the comparison with Emily dealing with teenaged Lorelai has its limits because of the different relationship between Lorelai & Rory and the person Rory is; if Lorelai's concern is what Rory might do next because of Jess, she could take comfort in those factors, rather than bulldoze over them. That's easy for me to say because i'm not the concerned parent, but i don't think Rory is losing control of the situation (and one excursion to NY won't change that). The riskiest thing she's done is cruise around S.H. when she was supposed to be tutoring a guy who was not going to be tutored. Sure, anything can happen, and i suspect Dean & Taylor of conspiring to place the furry animal in the road.  But Rory did not downplay the seriousness of the accident and knew full well what she did wrong, which is precisely what she was trying to communicate to her deaf mother. She is the one trying to take her fair share of responsibility; shouldn't that give comfort to the concerned mom, to know her daughter sees her wrong-doing and does not want to point the finger? Or is Lorelai so lost in a wilderness of panic and self-blame right now that she can't see that Rory is displaying a quality that makes her such a remarkable person in the first place? It's not often that Lorelai connects with Richard better than with Rory.

If Rory does a few careless things, it only proves she is stepping out from her ultra-reserved demeanor and tasting life. Again, a concerned mom might not take such a detached view. But Rory came across in this episode as more controlled than Lorelai. She blurted the story to Emily in a rude manner out of frustration, but the words she said were accurate and they remained accurate during the argument with Lorelai. Paris would have been proud of Rory's debating skills, able to remain reasonable in the heat of the moment. By comparison, Lorelai came across as a mom not interested in the truth, without access to Fast Forwardy Land and taking a vacation in Denial Village. It shouldn't take an outburst by Rory to get Lorelai's full attention, not that it made any difference. Nope, she could only turn to everybody's favorite uncle.

I love this post Jim.  It so succinctly sums up what I would say on the subject if I a) had the skill to write as you do and b) didn't get so worked up on the subject that I couldn't see straight.  .  And I particularly love the part of your post that I have bolded.  Very funny and I agree - your conspiracy theory could be right on the mark I suspect!

Hah. if Lorelai throws a few tantrums, she is just stepping out of her ultra-liberal I'm-more-trusting-than-my-mother schtick. If Rory was there because she wanted to be bad, it puts Lorelai in exactly the same position. Not because Jess turned her bad, but because Lorelai has no way of knowing how bad Rory wants to be. Whether Rory is experimenting with her future or just her reputation, she just isn't the same girl that Lorelai (eventually) decided she trusted the first time she was out all night with her boyfriend. The idea that Rory wanted to engage in behavior that got her arm broken rings just true enough to invoke the nightmare, and no matter whose fault she thinks it is, she believes Rory won't behave that way anymore once Jess is gone. If she's right that it's Jess's fault, removing him solves her problem at the cost of a big stink. If she's wrong, it's hopeless, and all she can do is try to slow it down until Rory gets her ovaries under control.

I don't know that I could categorise Rory going for ice-cream as bad.  She's not out drinking, she's not out doing drugs or vandalising property.  She went for ice-cream.  Sure she is supposed to be studying, but if she was with Lane or Dean and had agreed to an ice-cream break, one that resulted in a broken arm, you can bet your bottom dollar that the resulting lynch mob would be nowhere to be found.  Rory was simply enjoying her time and decided to relax what is considered by most a pretty regimented study schedule.  And it went bad.  This is another reason why I cannot abide the full on assault that Jess cops in this episode.

Actually come to think of it, lets switch to an alternate universe for a moment.  What if Dean had been driving?  I wonder what Lorelai's reaction would have been then?  I mean it's the same result, daughter with a broken arm, only this time it was Dean behind the wheel.  Lorelai would undoubtedly have to be supportive of Dean, no?  I mean after putting Richard in his place about Dean's ability to build a safe car for Rory and that she had it all under control, I'm sure that Lorelai would not dare back down in this instance.  And she would reason her way around to being the rational parent I would have hoped for in this episode.

[bingbong]

^ ^ Lorelai gave her answer to your hypothetical question when she said "If Dean had been driving there wouldn't have been an accident...", blah blah. But we know it could   happen because Jess would have been the one to place the furry animal in the street!  I'm guessing Lorelai's initial reaction would have been the same. She would have seen the smashed car, thought about what could have happened and freaked. She might have momentarily turned against Dean as a defensive reflex for Rory's sake, but i believe her feelings would pass into rational thought fairly quickly. It's much easier to forgive when you have a basis of trust for someone; without any pre-conceived bias against Dean, she would come to view it as an accident and not some reckless act. She's come this far with Dean, a long way from the all-nighter in "Rory's Dance." But i also think it would take Lorelai a while to feel comfortable about Rory & Dean together in a car, simply because she is a mom.

It kind of puts me in mind of the MYOB school of friendship. That is, that a relationship runs into trouble more often if you interfere in your friends' lives uninvited. I have some very wonderful, caring friends who are frequently prepared to take that risk in spite of multiple warnings, lectures and screaming matches on the subject. Some people just can't leave things alone when they care, so we eventually came up with a list of taboo topics through a lengthy trial and error process. I learned a lot about when I lash out, and they learned a lot about how not to "help," and, long story short (too late) we figured out how to not give each other well meant kicks when we were down.

Don't know what made me think of it , exactly, except that men trouble seems like a taboo subject between Lorelai and Rory. Not that they don't talk about men, just that they have to watch what they say with respect to men trouble. Lorelai crossed a line because she was afraid for Rory, the most noble of reasons, but it shows it's affecting their relationship and how much info they share as much as it did with Emily and Lorelai.

For L & R, the best friends thing goes out the window when guys are concerned and it's all about the parent-teenager thing; this held true even when Rory was no longer a teenager with Logan. As the best friend in the traditional sense, minus the mom baggage, i wish we heard more from Lane about the Jess-Dean tussle. We get Lane's opinions on Jess later on and we know she thinks well of Dean, which puts her in Lorelai's corner, but so far it's pretty much only the mom/best friend who has involved herself. If Lane won't say anything, it would at least be nice to see Rory confiding in her. Perhaps she would come up with something better than "friendish" while talking to Lane. But it's as though Rory can't come to terms about these guys in her own mind and doesn't dare speak openly about it. 

Very sticky situation to believe a friend is screwing up in a relationship. Who can be sure what is really going on between two people? To speak or not to speak, that is the question. I guess it depends on the perceived seriousness of the situation and the comfort level with the friend. One of my oldest friends has already gone through a marriage and divorce to a gal who i had mixed feelings about from the getgo. He didn't see a few things i saw, he was crazy over her, and i kept my mouth shut and tried to support him all the way through the marriage and the divorce. Looking back, i'm still not sure if i should have said anything early on. I know it wouldn't have made any difference and no matter how tactful i tried to be he would not have appreciated it.

[lessa]

Well, MYOB is just one more hurdle in the tightwire act of being a friend to your teenager. Lorelai probably blames herself for not even considering the possibility that a study group could get Rory's arm broken.

Of course, taken completely out of context, breaking a tutor session for snacks is completely innocent, but in context, her "it's not his fault" meant that it was her fault. I thought that was the whole point of this episode - whether Lorelai likes/believes it or not, it was only with Rory's permission that Jess could have put her in the position of passenger while he was dodging wildlife and dripping ice cream on his lap behind the wheel. If it hadn't been for her caving to temptation, they would have been back at Luke's before the chicken crossed the road, no harm, no foul, and Lorelai back on track to accepting that Rory was above letting Jess get her into trouble.

It reminds me of Lorelai's reasoning for keeping secrets from Emily. When she feels good about something new, Emily makes her feel bad, and when she feels bad, Emily makes her feel worse.  Lorelai's reality checks on Rory's love life would make a firehouse feel 10 inches tall. If I were thrashing around like that, I wouldn't tell anyone. Well, except Lane, who just wants to know whose side she's on, and Paris, who has no ground from which to throw stones.

I think Rory is like the relationship grasshopper to Lorelai's Master Po, and she seems to think Lorelai takes things like true love and story book middle/everafters way too seriously. Right now it seems like she's losing Dean because he feels that way about it, too, while Rory just wants to relax and relieve the pressure of being in so serious a relationship.

[gg crazy]

I think richard wanted lorelai 2 b his assistant.?

[thevoid99]

Richard definitely wanted Lorelai to be his assistant but he at least realized that Lorelai has her own business.  Yet, I loved the scenes they had together.  It showed their love for creating business and making a mark in the world. 

Of course, this was one of the first episodes I saw and fell in love with.  Notably the scene where Lane enters the music shop with Wilco's "Heavy Metal Drummer" in the background. 

I didn't like how people blamed Jess for what happened as Rory was trying to show everyone that it wasn't his fault.  It was in some ways, her fault which she was trying to say.  I loved that last scene with her and Luke where it clearly showed that they had an understanding and that they know that Jess isn't a bad person.