Gilmore Girls Recap: “Introducing Lorelai Planetarium “

Title: “Introducing Lorelai Planetarium”
Original Airedate: 11/21/06

Early in the morning and Lorelai is on the phone leaving Rory a message to please call her, STASAP (Sooner Then As Soon As Possible). She wants to see Rory that very day and man does she seem anxious. Chris hands over coffee and insists Rory will call her when she wakes up. In the living room Chris starts talking of ways to redecorate the house, something about waterfalls, reclining chairs and giant flat screen TV’s. His wife (can you believe I am writing that?) is appalled but soon realizes he’s kidding. Sneaky Chris admits it, well except for the flat screen TV thing. He’s down with living in Star’s Hollow and the whole small town deal but he wont compromise on the TV. Hard to believe Lor, lover of the all powerful boob tube, doesn’t want one. I would sell my soul for a shiny LCD TV. Okay not my soul, but I hear kidneys can get you top dollar, and I have two of those.

Rory calls, finally awake after avoiding her mothers phone calls since 5am. She wants to know how her parents trip went but Lor promises she’ll tell her everything when she comes over that night. Too bad Rory can’t make it since she has a study group. Her mother makes up a story about French snails for dinner and plainly guilt’s her daughter into coming over. I want to become a mother simply for that power. After hanging up the phone Chris is excited to tell their daughter about the marriage but Lor thinks maybe she should talk to Rory alone at first. Chris points out they agreed to tell her together and Lor knows he’s right; she’s just so used to it being just her and Rory. Lor will just feel better once Rory knows and Chris is certain that she’ll be happy. Which of course has to mean that she won’t be.

Rory’s getting off the elevator at the penthouse talking on the phone to Logan, who surprises her by actually being in the apartment. Rory is all kinds of excited and demands to know why he’s back. It’s his pre-launch launch party for his internet company that was planned last minute. For lack of a company name I’m calling it Bad English Accents Incorporated, BEA Inc for short. Rory can go to the partyright? You bet, right after dinner with her parents. Logan asks her to look at apartments with him the next day in Manhattan, because he’s moving there for work. YES! If I can’t have lots of Luke I’ll take lots of Logan. Rory is excited about having her boy-toy within driving distance so doesn’t seem upset that he wont be back at the penthouse with her, since he’ll be working long hours and the drive would take too long. Logan tells her not to worry, that everything will stay and he’ll buy all new stuff for his place. God Logan, why must you be a fictional character when you could be real, yet still unattainable?

Aprils at the dinner table studying about bears and Luke’s making her close up her books to have dinner. They’re talking and it’s like Luke is SuperDad, knowing the gossip about April’s circle of friends and knowing to wash her jean skirt in preparation for a party she’s going to. Aprils pretty psyched about the party, which is being thrown by a popular girl, but her Dad is shocked to find out that boys will be there. April’s 13 years old though and her Mom is “totally” cool with her going. Luke, handsome but naïve, decides to bring up the topic of kissing…yes with his 13 year old daughter. April literally screeches every time her dad says the word “kissing”, grossed out about talking about it, so Luke quickly back peddles and drops the subject.

Rory’s home and her parents are there to greet her. It’s a little eerie in my opinion since Lorelai is wearing an apron and Chris is wearing this dress shirt/sweater combination. It all looks a little “Leave it to Beaver” to me. Rory is just as shocked about the apron, and even more surprised that her mother actually did cook snails for dinner. Is this the first time we’ve seen Lorelai cook? I think it just might be. Rory wants to know about the Paris trip but they ply her with wine first before Lor drops the marriage bomb. Rory is understandably shocked and almost doesn’t believe it. You and me both Sister. She offers up her congratulations and wants to know the details. They were at some town where somebody famous painted some flowers and it was all so romantic. Did they go there to get married? No, but it was perfect and they were happy so they just did it. Chris is super excited and chatty but once he runs off to get champagne out of the garage Lor asks Rory what she really thinks. Turns out she was faking happiness because she’s MAD but she can’t talk about it with her Dad in the other room. Chris burst in with more alcohol, completely oblivious to the tension in the room.

Rory’s shown up to the BEA Inc launch party and lets Logan in on the whole “my parents got married in France” thing. Logan, the supportive (and hot) boyfriend that he is, offers to go talk with her about it if she wants to. Rory promises that she still needs to process this information, so the party will help distract her. Logan starts pointing out and making fun of the high society at the party when Bobby and the boys show up to say hello and give air kisses. The guys run off to take care of some things when up walks Trip, some pompous ass building a house on some random island. He starts going on and on about construction, and everyone pretends to be interested in what he’s saying. Bobby thankfully pulls him away so Logan takes Rory over to meet the one normal looking guy in the place, Hugo, whose starting his own online magazine. Logan has to take care of business, so Hugo and Rory have fun mocking the rich party goers. They talk about Rory’s writing and Hugo tells her she should submit some work for his site, wanting her to write about social situations. Like the party they’re at now. Logan comes back, Hugo has to leave and the happy couple is again trapped into conversation with Trip. Suckers.

Lorelai is on the phone leaving another message for her daughter. She understands that they’d talked before about Lor taking the Christopher thing slow and that the marriage is “sorta the opposite of that and sorta not”. With that Mommy Dearest hangs up the phone. Okay I get that Lor and Chris have this MASSIVE history with each other but still Lor, you have to admit this has all been beyond fast. Like speed of light fast.

Morning time at the penthouse of the ridiculously attractive and Logan’s reading Rory’s article, which she stayed up all night writing. This might explain why Rory is wandering around rambling about her article and ignoring the messages from her mother? Logan isn’t saying anything, but from the look on his face I’d say the guy is pissed. Turns out she really did write an article about the party, the rich people there, the snotty and self involved way they act and she mocked it all to high heaven. She thought she was being funny and she didn’t mean to offend her man but Logan takes it all personal because after all he is “one of them”, and in his opinion so is she. Rory denies it but he points out that she too went to prep school, she goes to Yale and her grandparents are naming an astronomy building after her. Rory starts shouting back that it’s different because she’s not living off a $5 million trust fund. He points out that she’s not exactly paying rent either. Oh Logan, do not make me hate you. Rory actually says “Screw you Logan” and walks out the door. I don’t know who I’m siding with on this one but way to have a back bone there Gilmore.

Back in Luke’s kitchen and April is getting ready for her party, but her stomach is hurting a little. Luke suggests she eat something and notices she’s looking pale. She doesn’t look pale to me, but I bet she would if I had a nice big screen LCD TV. Sigh. Luke brings up the whole kissing thing again but refers to it instead as “juggling” as to not send his daughter into a fit of hysterics. He tells April that even if everyone else is “juggling” or if she’s interested in “juggling” that she just shouldn’t “juggle” before she’s ready. Like any other 13 year old she just rolls her eyes, but Luke’s pretty sure she’s not ready and makes her promise “no juggling with boys”. She agrees and Luke’s a happy man, that is until he notices April walking funny and he realizes she has a fever. Luke can’t let his sick daughter go to the party and she is none too impressed with that. She screams she’s fine and even accuses her father of not trusting her. He promises her there will be other parties. Before storming away April yells to Luke: “You suck as a Dad!” You know, I’m totally buying how this father/daughter relationship is going, and I love they show how close those two are getting by having them fight. Just like me and my Dad did when I was 13 or you know…last week.

Lorelai is checking her answering machine (no messages from Rory) and Chris is moving some stuff into the house. Lor even finds her old “Police – Synchronicity ” TV shirt that Chris swore 22 years ago he didn’t have. Again with the sneakiness Chris, it’s like trend with you. Chris takes some stuff into Rory’s room or as he likes to call it now, Gigi’s room. Seems the little girl is pretty excited about having a room so close to the kitchen. Kids, they’re cute but beyond strange. Chris starts moving some of Rory’s things, and wants to move her desk to the garage, since Gigi wont need it. Lor does not like this and doesn’t want to move anything until she’s had a chance to talk to Rory about it. Her Dad assumes she’ll be fine with it since she’s graduating soon, but Lor points out that she might want to come home after college. Why can’t they just leave it as is? Chris points out that things are going to change, but Lor is worried about Rory. He thinks she’ll be fine, that is until his wife finally informs him of their daughter’s unhappiness with the marriage. That seriously deflates his sails, even more so when he finds out Rory is avoiding her mother’s calls. Lor promises Rory just needs some time to adjust and Chris just says “okay”. Whoa. Wait. Am I actually feeling empathy for Chris right now? Oh no.

Rory is over at Lucy and Olivia’s place explaining what happened with Logan. Olivia is reading the article while Lucy offers for Rory to move in with them, even if it is a dorm room. Obviously she can’t live in the penthouse anymore. Olivia loved the article but yeah it’s mean, and Lucy has to agree. Rory actually seems shocked by this and then feels horrible, even more so because she didn’t plan on being mean.

Luke is trying to feed April some ginger ale but she’s laying on her bed insisting she‘s fine. Luke realizes her fever has gotten worse so he runs to the phone and calls…Lorelai? Yeah. There is no time for awkwardness as Luke explains what’s happening with his daughter and asks his ex-fiancée’s advice. Lor suggests it could be appendicitis and he should get her to the hospital right away.

At the hospital Luke is in the waiting room when Lorelai shows up to check on everything. It was indeed appendicitis but they got her into surgery and she’s fine now. Luke thanks her for coming, because she didn’t have to. Lor admits there is nothing worse then having to take your child to the emergency room, and they commiserate over how scary it is. Sigh. I miss Luke and Loreali. The doctor comes out to let Luke know that “you and your wife can go in now” to see April. They’re both shocked and Luke explains that Lor isn’t his wife, and then notices that shiny gold band on her finger. He looks not only stunned but pained yet doesn’t say anything and Lor can’t seem to look him in the eye. He says goodbye and heads to see his daughter, leaving her to stare down at her ring.

Logan is on the phone but quickly gets off when Rory enters the penthouse. Logan apologizes for what he said, admits to being way out of line, and that he loves her living there. Rory apologizes for the article and that she didn’t mean to go that far. Logan lets her know she doesn’t have to agree or approve with everything he does, but she tells him that she really does, and that’s she’s proud of him. He compliments her writing and then they’re fine, kissing and making up. However, Rory still wants to move out, just as something to do for herself. Oh Rory…soon you will realize the independence is just a fancy word for “broke”. They’re interrupted by a knock at the door, its Lorelai coming to see her girl. Logan’s no idiot so he goes to run some “errands” so the ladies can talk.

Lorelai says she knows it all seems impulsive but she and Chris have been 20 years in the making. Rory lets her mother know she’s not upset about the marriage, she’s happy her parents are married, she’s just upset that she didn’t get to be there. She should have been there. Lorelai agrees and apologizes but her daughter wants to know why she didn’t just pick up the phone and call her. She would have caught the next flight out to Paris. Lor admits that talking to Rory would have meant she’d have to think, explain or analyze it, and she didn’t want to talk herself out of it. She just wanted to do. Rory admits she would have tried to talk her mom out of it, you know…like most sane people. Oh and Rory’s okay with the changes, like Gigi getting her room. Plus Lorelai is keeping the name Gilmore (thank God) because “Lorelai Gilmore without the Gilmore is…like…Gil-less.” Classic.

Lor is in Rory/Gigi’s room moving the desk, which has awoken Chris in the process. Chris asks about April – she‘s fine, Lor shares that she saw Luke – that was fine, and that she saw Rory – whose happy about the marriage. This makes relieves Chris. They’re back on track, which is good, because there was a scary 30 seconds there where I wasn’t sure. Phew.

Luke’s sitting at April’s hospital bedside, watching TV as his daughter sleeps. He is flipping through the channels, seeing a special on bears and lovingly stroking her hair. He changes the channel again and ends up on an old black and white movie, with Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant titled “The Philadelphia Story”. He just stares at the TV as we fade to black. Oh man, this definitely means something, I just have no idea what that is.

Here’s a link to some info on “The Philadelphia Story”, if you haven’t already seen it. Let’s discuss shall we: http://www.dramatica.com/story/analyses/analyses/philadelphia_story.html

Being born and raised amongst the igloos of Canada shaped Whirl’s love of hockey, beer and the warmth of the television screen. Though she refuses to wear spandex she has sworn to use her powers of sarcasm for the greater good of man kind, and disguises herself daily as a mild mannered office clerk. Oh yeah, and she’s not too bad at Trivial Pursuit. Seriously. Seriously.