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Gilmore Girls: He's Slippin' 'Em Bread... Dig?
by Joel Keller, posted Nov 23rd 2005 8:53AM
I never realized this, but explaining Gilmore Girls to some one who's never watched it before is almost as exhausting as trying to explain Arrested Development. I found this out the hard way, as I tried to explain everything that went on in this episode to a visiting friend of mine, who was a newbie to the show. Think about it for a second: Rory's back! But why did she leave? Why is she doing community service? Who is Christopher, and why does Lorelai always have issues whenever he's around? This guy Luke, with the backwards hat... he has a daughter? And he never knew about it? Why is Sebastian Bach in a band with people half his age? And why is there a dog named Paul Anka that likes to lick sugar off people's toes? Thank goodness I taped the episode, because if I had to squeeze all that explanation in during the commercials, I would have hyperventilated worse than Sookie.Well, you folks know all about the background, so I don't have to go into it here. Suffice to say, this was the first episode all year that felt like the good ol' days, like a nice comfortable old shoe. But, of course, nothing is comfortable in Stars Hollow, as the foreshadowing is thick, my friend... thick as pea soup after a day in the refrigerator.
It does seem like things have gotten back to normal in a hurry, hasn't it? Rory and Lorelai are bantering about in the new master bathroom, and it seems like Rory is back to being the Rory of old: straight hair, super-perky, and full of spunk. She has had to adjust to a few things that happened during her separation from her mother; the dog, the engagement, the new parts of the house... but it seems like the transition is quite smooth. Lorelai takes out a hatbox full of notes she jotted down during the "crappy time", as she put it, that would serve to catch her daughter up on the goings on about town. She does awful, spit-filled drumrolls all over town to re-introduce Rory to Luke, Sookie, and everyone else in earshot, who are all happy to see her; heck, even Michel smiled when he layed eyes on her.
Oh, did I mention that Christopher is back in the picture? Well, I think I alluded to it last week (damn teasers), but still... he makes his twice-yearly appearance to shake things up and throw Lorelai off her solid footing. But this time he has good news: his grandfather died. Well, that's not the good news, but the millions that he left to Christopher is. Chris wants to take care of the Gilmore Girls, to make up for all the years that he flaked out on the love of his life and his daughter. Lorelai is set, but will ask Rory if she needs anything. Rory, having spent a few months under the thumb of her oppressive grandparents, wants Christopher to pay for Yale so she isn't beholden to Emily and Richard. Fair enough, Lorelai thinks. There's a summit meeting between the three and it's settled.
Of course, Christopher knows this is a way to get back in to the girls' lives, but doesn't say anything. He's just there to provide for his kid, nothing more. It's interesting though, that Lorelai refused to tell Chris about the rift, considering they hadn't seen each other in almost a year. Chris suspected something, considering he knew the elder Gilmores were paying Rory's tuition, but decided not to press the issue. Stay tuned on this one.
Speaking of providing for a kid, Luke unburdens himself to his suddenly reappearing sister Liz, who is conveniently using Luke's diner to cook a disastrous Thanksgiving dinner. He tells her about April, and how neither she or her mother have reached out to him, so he's just going to forget about it. Yeah, that's it. That's the ticket. But after Lorelai comes clean to him about the Christopher meetings, and Luke approves, thinking that it's about time Christopher come through for his kid, he decides to try to contact April and her mom, but hangs up when he gets the machine. Whew. Dodged a bullet there. But he still isn't telling Lorelai; things are going well, and he doesn't want to mess things up. Wrong idea, Luke... not looking forward to the episode where you spill the beans and Lorelai kicks you in the groin for hiding this from her.
Oh, and there's a Lane plot! Amazing! Seems like the band is about to play a showcase for a label. But Lane's having problems with the fact that all their songs are named after women who were Zach's life, but there's not a song called "Lane." No biggie, says Zach, nothing good rhymes with Lane. Later, in Carole King's music store, Brian tinkles a keyboard and tells the band that the song is called "Lane." Lane's flattered, but Zach is incensed. Brian's horning in on his girl, and on his control of the band. The jealously peaks at the showcase, where he starts barking orders, telling the band it's his stage. Not a note is played before Gil drops his guitar and takes down Zach. In the alley, Lane finds Zach and cries about how he let her and the band down. Good scene for Keiko Agena, who gets to show a little range for once. But, damn, Zach. It takes a lot to make Lane cry. You really, really screwed up big time. Let's hope we don't have to wait another three months to see what happens next here.
Finally, Rory finds out from Logan's sister that he considers the two of them broken up, even though Rory just figured it was a "hiatus." Oops. Looks like this is going to drag out for a little while longer, isn't it? Told you not everything was hunky-dory in Stars Hollow. But, then again, that's the reason why we love Gilmore Girls, isn't it?
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