Gilmore Girls: Introducing Lorelai Planetarium

December 7th, 2006

Season 7, Episode 8

Gilmore Girls This was what I’d call a “stop-gap” episode - a few arrows pointing in different directions but no major movement. After a spur-of-the-moment Paris wedding, Christopher is moving into Lorelai’s house and already fantasizing about rearranging the furniture and getting a flat-panel television. It’s clear that Lorelai will have some adjusting to do.

The first person they want to tell about their elopement is Rory, which they do over dinner. When Christopher leaves the table for a bottle of wine, Rory tells Lorelai that she’s feeling angry. Lorelai is under the impression that Rory is angry for getting married, but Rory just wanted to be there. But over the course of the episode, Rory dodges her mother’s phone calls because has a whole lot of other stuff (mostly interpersonal) to deal with. Unfortunately, Lorelai thinks Rory is angry and ignoring her. This is all resolved by episode’s end, and after it’s discovered that Christopher has been hiding Lorelai’s Police concert T-shirt for the past twenty-two years.

Meanwhile, with the Rory / Logan plot line, Logan is leaving London and moving to New York for business - Rory’s understandably excited. Of course, Rory will have to decide if she’s going to stay in his apartment. They attend a fancy party with Logan’s friends: trust fund kids, socialites, and business associates - all wealthy, young, pretty people. The mixed-drink laced conversation involves the size of diamonds, mansion renovation hassles, and personal jets. Rory spends some time chit-chatting with a web magazine guy (a Mike Arrington wannabe?), who encourages Rory to submit an article to his site.

Thinking it will be funny, Rory writes a sarcastic article about the party, talking snidely about the superficial people and their lavish, moneyed lives. Logan reads it and gets angry - he hates it. Rory sheepishly defends herself. Logan accuses her of being no better than the people she’s making fun of - a rich, privileged kid just like him and his friends. While Logan isn’t exactly my favorite character, he has a valid point and does put Rory in her place - she’s not exactly paying rent, either.

This confrontation brings up an issue the show has been dodging for quite some time: class. Rory (and now Lorelai to some degree) are obviously a bit caught between the upper-class and blue-collar worlds. I’m surprised nobody’s called her on it except Logan. I’m hoping this issue is explored further in episodes to come.

Meanwhile, Luke has some issues with April and how to be the perfect dad. April wants to attend a party that includes the dreaded - boys. Not really knowing what to do, Luke freaks out in his typical manner, becoming overly protective and inappropriately sensitive. I really didn’t like the scenes of Luke trying to be a perfect dad and arguing with April, using the awkward metaphor of “juggling” for the birds and the bees. Are we living in 1950? To cap it off, April yells “You suck as a dad!” She should probably be yelling at the episode’s writer - not Luke.

April comes down with a fever and has to go to the emergency room. In a panic, Luke calls Lorelai, who comes to the emergency room. A doctor assumes they are April’s parents, noticing Lorelai’s wedding ring, which Luke notices, too. No words are spoken but Luke gets what happened between Lorelai and Christopher in Paris.

At the hospital, Luke spends some time watching The Philadelphia Story on the room television. In the film, “rich guy” Cary Grant and “ordinary guy” James Stewart both fall in love with Katharine Hepburn’s character. I bet you can guess which role Luke identifies with. This season has been about as subtle as a brick to the head.

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