In which we say farewell to the citizens of Stars Hollow…until November 25, that is!
Here’s What Happened:
Christiane Amanpour
She’s been Rory’s role model forever and now she’s a guest at the Dragonfly! Rory doesn’t believe it, not even bothering to change out of her pajamas when Lorelai drags her out of bed to come see. It’s got to be one of Lorelai’s bits, right? A mistaken identity like that Sandra Day O’Connor time, perhaps? Nope.
Just Friends
Lorelai and Rory make plans for their roller coaster road trip while Rory prepares a huge stack of resumes to be mailed off to presumably every daily paper in the country (OK, 74, but that’s still a lot). Rory’s also still mourning the loss of crybaby, all-or-nothing Logan, but not too much.
What about Lorelai? Rory asks if she’s over Luke. Lorelai thinks they’re done, even after the song. He may not be over her (according to Rory), but she’s over him.
Hold that thought, Lorelai.
At least he’s the type of friend who will make all the burgers for the reenactment graduation party. Uh, what party, Rory wants to know. The one for all the Stars Hollow folks who couldn’t go to the real thing, duh! Did you just move here, Rory? Do you not know how we do things here?
Liz drops by the diner hoping to press Luke into babysitting service. She also asks if Luke gave Lorelai the necklace yet. Come on Liz, the necklace was just a backup gift for Rory and the karaoke song meant nothing, I tell you, nothing!
Rory has to take a drinks meeting during Friday night dinner to make sure all her job opportunity bases are covered. Emily is miffed that it bites into her time with her granddaughter. She does have an idea for Lorelai though…how about adding a spa to the inn? They’re so IN right now.
Rory finally arrives with some news.
She leaves in three days to cover Barack Obama’s campaign trail for Hugo Gray, that contact she made a Logan’s party a while back. Good thing it wasn’t Mitt Romney’s campaign trail. That would not have been as much fun. Needless to say, the roller coaster trip is out. And this will be the final Friday night dinner for a long time. After dinner drinks for sure!
No Rory, no party
Lorelai and Rory go to the diner to break the “no party” bad news to Luke and ostensibly the rest of the town.
Luke stops by the Dragonfly to see Sookie with an idea. Let’s throw the party anyway before Rory has to go. And let’s make it a surprise party for both mother and daughter. Sookie thinks it’s a great idea.
Meanwhile, the girls continue their furious shopping trip for all the supplies Rory will need for the road. They stop as Miss Patty’s to see her about a “back support thingy” to find the studio mysteriously locked. She cracks the door with the excuse of needing to consult her muse in privacy.
The girls go, and the planning meeting continues with Taylor trying to muck up the works with his “this meeting violates Roberts’ Rules” and “do you have a permit to BBQ in the town square, Luke” and “no mylar balloons, Lulu!” You know, Taylor being Taylor.
Either join them, Taylor, or stay home and comb your beard. Now let the planning continue.
Time with Lane
Rory spends some of her final time with her childhood bestie.
LANE: How weird is this? Yesterday we’re sitting on your porch playing jacks and praying to grow boobs, and now look at us. I have a husband and two babies in there, and you’re about to go off and conquer the world, or at least write about it.
RORY: We’ve come a long way, baby.
Zack tries to cut the friend time short because Luke and the other townies want to set up for the party, and Lane’s porch just happens to overlook the town square. Lane essentially tells him to stuff it. It’s her last night with her best friend, and they’ll be done when they’re done. The town will have to wait.
In those two minutes, Rory’s had a chance to stop and think about what’s going down and starts to freak out. Lane talks her down, and they share a moment basking in the sisterly love they have for one another. Awww!
Rory returns home to find Lorelai ironing all Rory’s clothes. Rory wonders how Lorelai can be so OK with everything. Why isn’t she freaking out too? It’s too soon.
Big tent
Party prep is finally underway in the town square when Babette comes running up with bad news: her ankles are swelling. It’s going to rain buckets. It’s 1 a.m. now, a little late to come up with alternative plans. Nice idea, man.
Lorelai sneaks into a sleeping Rory’s bedroom to slowly start the falling-apart process.
Across town, Luke spends all night busily sewing tarps together for his own plan B.
And it works. The Gilmore Girls can’t find anyone picking up their phone the next day because it works.
Even Richard and Emily have been invited to the shindig.
The party continues throughout the day and into the evening. The rain has stopped but the tarps held up beautifully. Richard and Emily are headed home. Emily is a little disappointed that Lorelai nixed her spa idea, but she has another. How about a tennis court? They are willing to lend Lorelai the money for such a project as long as they can check in from time to time.
LORELAI: Mom, why don’t we just talk about it Friday night at dinner?
EMILY: Oh, so our Friday-night dinners are going to continue, then?
LORELAI: Well, we might as well. I’ve kind of gotten used to it.
EMILY: All right. That sounds fine. But don’t be late and don’t wear jeans.
LORELAI: When have I ever worn jeans to dinner?
EMILY: Well I don’t know, it could very well be Rory who enforces the dress code. I’m just saying I don’t think that jeans are appropriate.
LORELAI: Fine, spandex and a tube top it is.
Time for them to say goodbye to Rory. *sniff*
She walks them to their car while Lorelai has a moment with Sookie, expressing surprise and gratitude at what Sookie pulled off. Time to set the record straight.
SOOKIE: No, I just did all the baking. This was all Luke.
LORELAI: What?
SOOKIE: He made me promise not to tell you, but I don’t care. This is all Luke. He did all of it. He’s the one that came to me and said, “let’s do the party,” and then he planned the secret town meeting, everything.
LORELAI: Really?
SOOKIE: Yeah. I mean last night when we thought it was gonna rain and we’d have to cancel the party, he went around and collected everybody’s tarps and tents and raincoats. I don’t know how he did it. He must have stayed up all night doing this. Can you believe that?
LORELAI: Yeah… I’ll be back.
Now come back to that thought, Lorelai.
Bus Wisdom; at Luke’s
The morning has come. It’s time for Rory to go. Lorelai has some final advice to impart regarding bus seating choices, shorts wearing and the wonders of ziploc bags.
One stop left before she goes–early morning breakfast at Luke’s of course. Rory compliments Lorelai on the new necklace she’s wearing.
And so, panning out, we end where we began. A mother and daughter sharing life and laughter over a cup of a coffee in a diner they know and love. It’s been a heck of a journey for them and those who have been fortunate enough to go with them.
What a catchy tune:
“Inside Out” by The Mighty Lemon Drops
Hey, this is the first time I’ve noticed:
Lane and Zack have an NYC manhole cover on their apartment wall. Is there a story behind how this was acquired or this decor supposed to be rock ‘n’ roll?
Why I want Sookie for my personal chef:
She is the pie queen, including one I’ve never heard of before but am dying to try, sour cream peach.
Kirk’s current job:
Town Sash Maker
A reason Season 7 is not so bad:
This episode, the best of season 7. Amy and Daniel may be absent, but the spirit of what they created is perfectly captured here from Babette’s weather forecasting ankles, to Kirk’s crazy sash. Luke showing his love through his actions and Lorelai’s nighttime look-in on her sleeping daughter.
Other Random Thoughts:
♦ The Dragonfly is such a charming inn; why haven’t they yet paved the driveway with something other than ugly gray dirt? Pebbles? Mulch? Brick? Something?
♦ He’s worked at Luke’s Diner for years, but he’s never spoken the entire time. Who is he? What is his name? In my head, I’ve called him Chuy. crazy-internet-people.com refer to him as Asian Caesar in their transcript.
♦ A huge thank you to those of you who have come along for my and Katie’s journey through the first seven season of this wonderful little show. We’re sure that you’re just as excited as we are about what’s to come on November 25. We’d love to hear your thoughts on the new episodes. Was it worth the wait?
♦ Speaking of waiting, we’re nearing the end of waiting to give these wonderful Gilmore Girls gifts away. This is a last call to all of you who have been putting off throwing your hat in the ring. We may want to keep this stuff for ourselves, but even more so do we want to share the Gilmore love with other fans. so don’t be shy.
Click here for the super adorable Santa Burger holiday greeting cards.
Click here for a chance to receive the arty “In Omnia Paratus” poster.
Click here for a chance to pick up a Doose’s Market tote bag.
Click here for the Luke’s coffee mug question.
Click here for a set of 8 Gilmore Girls fandom pins/buttons.
The Great Gilmore Girls Rewatch 