Episode Report Card Sara M: A- | 135 USERS: B- YOU GRADE IT A Poolhouse Is Rory's New Home
By Sara M | Season 5 | Episode 22 | Aired on 2005.05.17
Rory comes to breakfast to find Lorelai putting a new decoration on the fridge: Rory's mug shot! Ha ha ha! I love it. She then gives Rory a breakfast consisting of a loaf of bread and a glass of water, which is awesome. Rory says she's glad her mother is enjoying this situation so much. "Rory, the penal system is not something we enjoy," her mother answers. "It's something with a name that makes us giggle." Oh, so true. Lorelai then says that she heard about a shipment of plutonium down at "the docks" that she thought she and Rory could steal while dressed as nuns -- disguises that will both prove distracting and give the appearance of innocence. Rory says she has a final to take first. Lorelai then grabs two phones from a chair, puts them on the table, picks one of them up, and tells Rory to pick up the other. Rory obliges her, because Lorelai obviously went through a lot of work and put a lot of thought into all the ways to make fun of her daughter, so the least she could do is go with it. Rory calls an end to visiting hours and thanks her mom for letting her borrow the Jeep to drive back to school. Lorelai says she didn't have a choice: if she didn't let Rory borrow it, Rory would just steal it. Rory asks how long "this bit" is going to last. "Twenty to life," says Lorelai. Just keep setting yourself up like that, Rory. And, sure, Lorelai's attitude about her daughter's arrest should probably be a little less flippant, but that scene was a lot more fun than, say, watching the Camdens cry about their daughter ruining her life for TPing the school gym. I wonder what would happen if Rory were to accidentally run a child over and kill him. A half-hour of pure comedy gold at the very least.
Lorelai does get a little serious for a second when she and Rory talk about getting a lawyer. Rory's afraid that Lorelai will get one from Richard and Emily, whom Rory would prefer remained secure in their convictions that their granddaughter is perfect. Lorelai assures Rory that she won't tell them anything. I think Rory says she's sorry again, but it's really hard to tell what Alexis Bledel says sometimes -- especially in this episode -- because she slurs her words half the time and I'm not going to figure out how to activate the closed captioning on my parents' TV because an actress either doesn't know how to enunciate or got plastered right before shooting. Rory leaves for Yale. The phone rings. It's Richie, calling for Rory because he can't reach her cell, since it knew that Richie and Lorelai's talking would further the plot of the episode and decided not to work in order to allow this to happen. Richie gets a less-than-warm reception from Lorelai, especially after brings up his father, who will be hiring plenty of lawyers to make this whole thing go away. Lorelai says that Mitch has done more than enough already, and that the last thing she and Rory need is Mitch's help.