So this episode is a true illustration of why Jess is, in fact, a jerk. Don't get me wrong, I'm in love with Jess as a character and for the potential that lived in the Jess/Rory relationship, but the way he totally came down on Luke for trying to "fix"things whether or not people wanted them fixed was totally uncalled for. I think Luke's desire to always make things right even when he's not popular for doing it is admirable...we should all aspire to pursue doing the right thing to such a degree. But of course, Jess isn't gifted in the communication department, so if he sees something going on that he knows is headed in a bad direction, his brain says "Not my problem." and he dismisses it. The outstanding reason why Jess decides to give Luke this speech is NOT because he's speaking with authority on behalf of every other person in Luke's life, it's just based on how he feels about Luke's involvement in his OWN life at this point. Later in the series we see a more grateful, humble Jess, but the Jess in this episode is only at the beginning of a long road of development, where he's still got a lot left to learn and a long road to get there. Jess was perfectly happy living with his mom and breaking all the rules and rebelling every way he could...he was getting his way 100% of the time, so of course he was happy with that. It was Liz that had the problem, so when she uprooted Jess from his very comfortable, have-it-your-way environment, and the reality that things don't always go your way set in, Jess started lashing out at everyone around him, and I believe that's when he turned a cold shoulder to the outside world and became the bitter teenager we see in this episode.
One thing that surprised me in this episode was during the scene where Lorelai comes home and Luke is drunk and trying to fix her window and cuts his hand. Lorelai is sitting beside him on the couch, trying to doctor up his hand with Barbie bandaids, and Luke is totally drunk...I was on the edge of my seat because I was expecting him to make some sort of profession of love, or at least gaze at her longingly and say "...you're pretty." No such luck! I was a little disappointed, I really expected something along those lines to happen here.
And who does Jess think he is to be the one running off every time he sees Rory? Rory explains it perfectly when she and Lorelai are at Babette's visiting. This is RORY'S town, and JESS is the one who left and screwed everything up...so if anyone deserves the momentary satisfaction of turning their back and walking out on someone in order to make a statement, it's definitely Rory. I love the way she handles it at the end of the episode, when she's trying to run away from him. I wasn't really all that surprised to hear Jess tell Rory he loved her, I was just shocked that more dialogue didn't ensue. I shouldn't have been, though. When Rory kissed Jess back in the day at Sookie's wedding, there wasn't much explanatory dialogue there, either. And in the episode where Rory sees Jess on the buss and we see after Rory gets off the bus that Jess has all his stuff packed and is leaving town, there is no dialogue in which they discuss the fact that Jess is leaving. The whole Jess situation, from start to finish, constantly leaves us on the edge of our seats, wanting more...which is exactly how Rory described the ideal relationship to Paris in the episode where she is helping Paris get ready for her first date with Jamie. Hmm.
