Gilmore Girls

Even though it was a rerun, here’s my initial review of the episode.

My Girls are back. I have a lot to say about the series in general but will do so after the recap…

Lorelai wakes up to her mistake, Christopher, and hastily leaves his bed and heads home. There she finds Babette doing a load of “her intimates�? and we’re treated to a classic Babette monologue. Too bad I couldn’t really enjoy it because of the previous scene of Lor and Chris in bed together.

Rory wakes up with Logan gone and finds a rocket that he left for her. She obsesses over what it means then heads to the Yale Daily offices to find Paris, being classic Paris- screening a kid and her mother before agreeing to tutor the girl. I love Paris; she is consistently a bright spot in an otherwise depressing situation. Rory then heads to Stars Hollow.

Luke stops by to discuss the previous night’s argument and Lorelai tells him it is over. He leaves angry.

Rory doesn’t want to talk about Logan to her mother and asks her about Luke. Lorelai says they broke up but she doesn’t want to talk about it. So they decide to not talk, but must find something to do to pass the time, so they end up with racquetball. After sitting on the racquetball court and talking about Logan (even though they weren’t supposed to) they begin to play, only to have Lorelai get a shiner immediately. Thus ended the sports playing.

Meanwhile, Taylor has set up a camera on the red light to catch lawbreakers. Rory bounces into town in time for the unveiling. Kirk drives Taylor’s car towards the red light and it begins to take pictures, blinding him and causing him to run into Luke’s Diner. Too funny. I actually laughed out loud. It didn’t even bother me that, hello, the camera is supposed to take photos on the OTHER side of the red light, to catch those that run it. The whole thing made no sense, but was still funny.

Rory goes home to find Lorelai cleaning out Luke’s stuff. When all is said and done the living room will have to be redecorated. Rory obsesses over what Logan’s rocket means and decides to go spend the summer with him in London. She hastily asks if Lorelai will be ok. (Let me interrupt here and say, nothing about that rang true. Remember when Luke dumped Lorelai? Rory CAME HOME FROM YALE to take care of her. She might have agreed to go visit Logan, but to leave her mother so upset, with a broken engagement for months, nah, don’t think so. I think the Logan trip would have waited. And yes, I know, Rory is desperately in love with Logan, but the core of the show is the Rory/Lorelai relationship, I just don’t think she would so quickly agree to leave her mom for months after such a serious heartbreak).

Lorelai goes to bed and Chris calls, wanting to arrange a date. She tells him that shouldn’t happen. The previews from next week show us she changes her mind. (Boo). Rory calls Logan and is disappointed when she finds out he only intends her to visit over Christmas. How will she spend her summer now? And why isn’t she in class? Shouldn’t she be taking classes in order to catch up and graduate on time with that lost semester? Continuity, people, look into it.

In the most heart wrenching scene ever, Luke comes over the next day with his truck loaded with gear and asks Lorelai to go to Maryland or anywhere and marry him. She begs him to stop, but he persists. Finally she blurts out that she slept with Christopher and in a blink, Luke is gone.

Here’s my thing – this was Amy Sherman-Palladino’s show. It was her baby, her creation, her world. It really breaks my heart that she isn’t writing this year. Sure she left a mess, with Lorelai sleeping with Chris, but I know she had a plan to fix it — just like she reconciled Lorelai and Rory last year. (Albeit it took and excruciatingly long time to do so). I know the current show runner Dave Rosenthal was with GG for a long time and should have the whole thing down pat, but I just wish we could see what Amy had planned.

I’m on Team Luke. Luke and Lorelai are meant for each other and that was set up in the pilot. I know that TV is like real life in that there is conflict, drama, etc. and if everything was perfect there would be nothing to watch. Well, my thing is – let someone be happy for a change. How much material could they mine from those two’s wedding ceremony? Bachelor/Bachelorette parties, Rory as Maid of Honor, Sookie going crazy with wedding planning, Davey as the ring bearer, on and on and on. How would a married Lorelai and Luke adjust to each other? How would April fit into their lives? How would Lorelai handle the step mom thing? Would they start their own family? How would Luke handle being a step dad to Rory? PLENTY OF THINGS TO DO once they were married. It just bothers me.

I know plenty of folks love Chris and I used to, I honestly did. But when has he ever followed through? Not one single time, every time they got close, he would bail or knock his ex-girlfriend up, etc. There is something to be said for the family to get together, but they spent years showing Chris as the absent father that would re-enter the girls’ lives, provide them some hope, then bail again and again and again. I’m so disappointed that it looks like they will start to date. I’m hoping it’s just a temporary thing to ease Lorelai’s mind. But if some of the spoilers out there are true, I personally am going to be really upset. And what about the preview of Luke next week, being so cold and saying Lorelai was the one that proposed anyway? I know he’s hurt, but wow. He’s spent all these years trying to get her, I can’t believe he’d let her go that easily. But then again, his worst fear did happen – Chris came back into the picture.

Oh and yeah, the banter was off. It was slower, and not as funny, it showed promise, but wasn’t up to par just yet. I hope they get it together soon or it will be a long season for the Stars Hollow faithful.