(S01E03) Heartstrings were pulled again repeatedly on this episode of 'Life Unexpected,' were they not?

After minor meltdowns from Lux, Baze and Cate last week, the three of them seem to be moving into something of a routine now, having gotten past the sketchy friends and threatening to move out portion of their relationship. Last week, we dug a bit deeper into Lux's life, and this week, we meet Cate and Baze's respective families, who are loud, obnoxious, annoying and intrusive ... which seems pretty much par for the course as far as families go.

As Cate becomes more comfortable with her role as Lux's parent, she exercises some sound judgment and takes her out of the inner city school all wayward youths are forced to attend and transfers her to the posh public school which she attended. However, she does this without even talking to the kid first, which is an ill-advised move.

I'm on Lux's side here. Any kid who has to transfer to a new high school, no matter how crummy their old one is, is not going to be pleased. In the midst of this, Baze has come clean to his parents, as well, about Lux's existence. While kind of thrilled at the news, Baze's overbearing parents insist on a family dinner, despite lingering tension over Baze's overdue rent on the bar.

Baze's parents are no picnic, and are just shy of Emily and Richard Gilmore levels of judgmental hubris. Cate's mom, likewise, seems like a Lorelai Gilmore throwback. Boozy, chatty and totally out of place among the upper crust. Not sure what to make of Cate's sister yet, though the writers did a nice job of shoehorning her into the plot. Of course she used to have a HUGE crush on Baze, thereby setting up the prerequisite romantic conflict and tug of war between the sisters. Ugh, I hope that's not the path we are going down.

Anyway, after Lux forgives her new Mommy and Daddy for making life choices for her without even talking to her, we're all set for a dinner at Baze's parents' house, which turns into a conflict-ridden passive aggressive feast, just as we would expect. Baze and his dad get into a fierce and sincerely hurtful argument that digs up old wounds about unfilled expectations, all capped of with a nice round of "you're just mad because I didn't want to be like you!' to bring it home.

Honestly, the subject of the argument was cliched, but props to both actors here for not over selling the shouting match and keeping it believable.

While the dinner time dramatics were refreshingly grounded in reality, perhaps the most disingenuous part was Lux forking over $3,200 to Baze's father, paying off the rent he owed. While Lux's gift is unbelievably touching, it's also, well ... just totally unbelievable. In a CW world, a 15-year-old orphan may have zero abandonment issues, but to assume she's willing to part with that kind of cash for someone she just met is stretching it pretty thin.

Perhaps Lux is a bit like Rory Gilmore, however -- remarkably well-adjusted and too mature for her age. I'm conflicted about this tiny plot detail. The gesture is adorable and goes a long way towards establishing how much the quarreling at dinner affected Lux, who realizes that even having a family is no picnic, but Baze's stock has totally plummeted.

Dude, take out a loan from your deadbeat friends if you have to. Borrowing your daughter's life savings with no plan to pay them back? Not cool. Lux, who's had to fend for herself for 15 years, with no one to lean on, has years of maturity on Baze, who's had someone to lean on his whole life.

Despite that hiccup, the final scene, where Lux's new family meets her orphans-only family, jerked out a few tears. The roof-top dinner party was warmer and more inclusive than the ambush family get-together at Baze's parents' house, and, like everything else in this episode, had a distinct 'Gilmore Girls' vibe.

The soft, strummy guitar music playing in the background, the warm yellow lights and Baze's eerie resemblance to Luke were a welcome call back to Stars Hallow. So the story telling isn't perfect; it's well done enough to keep me watching and manages to be touching instead of cloyingly sentimental.

So, viewers, what did you think? Is Lux a believable teen? Are we pulling for Baze to grow up or just get thrown to the curb? Plus, who wants to know more about Lux's friends then their crappy families?