Episode Report Card Pamie: A | 1 USERS: D YOU GRADE IT The Safety Dance
By Pamie | Season 5 | Episode 1 | Aired on 09.20.2004
As Rory heads over to the Dragonfly, she passes a meat market, where Lindsay is arguing with a butcher over how to make roast beef. Lindsay needs to make a really good roast beef tonight so that her husband won't leave her. Lindsay asks the butcher to tell her how to make it again, but to write it down this time. Rory watches, and then runs off to have sex with Dean, since Lindsay's going to be busy learning how to cook a roast.
You can tell by the sound of the horse that we're still at the Dragonfly. Rory, Lorelai and Emily are sitting on some white wicker at an outdoor table, getting served by a waiter. Emily comments on the lovely weather. Rory and Lorelai agree that it is lovely, but won't make any eye contact. Emily says there's no point in putting off her announcement any longer: she's separated from Richard. Since both Lorelai and Rory already knew, the news is met without as much drama as Emily had anticipated. Emily asks Lorelai how many other people she told besides Rory. "So you haven't read Page Six?" Lorelai quips. Emily tells Rory that if she needs to talk to someone about all of this to make it make sense, then by all means she shouldn't ask her mother. Lorelai apologizes, saying she thought it was just a thing Emily and Richard were going through, and that they'd make up. Lorelai somehow doesn't feel partially responsible for any of this, even though it was her relationship with Digger that started Richard and Emily's troubles. Lorelai asks if they're really separated. Emily says they are, and that Richard's moving into the pool house, where rich men sleep with they don't want to leave their actual homes. "So then you're not separated," Lorelai says. "You're separated by the pool."
Emily calls for an end to the conversation. She says she's on her way to Europe by herself for the first time since college. She's leaving tonight, actually. Her travel agent bumped someone from a church group off a flight to Paris, and now it's all hers. But instead of going alone, she'd rather go with Rory. Every young lady should apparently do Europe "the proper way" once in her life. I wonder when it's my turn to go. ["When I'm rich, I'll take you." -- Wing Chun] Lorelai takes all this in, and then quickly realizes how smart it'd be to ship Rory off to Europe for the summer, away from her adulterous boyfriend. "I think you would really enjoy that," she says. She reminds Rory that she doesn't have anything special planned for the summer. Rory smirks, and agrees that she doesn't have anything special. Emily is thrilled, and says she'll "bump another Baptist" to get her precious Rory to Paris. Lorelai is a little shocked at her daughter's impulsiveness, but not enough to stop the trip from happening. Emily excuses herself to use Lorelai's phone (even though we know Emily has a cell phone). "Europe," Lorelai says to Rory. "Cool." Rory asks if this is a Henry James novel: "The young lady acts up and her family ships her off to Europe?" Lorelai protests at first, but then realizes she is shipping her daughter away due to her behavior: "I wasn't planning on it, but maybe somewhere in the back of my mind I just thought..." "Say goodbye to Daisy Miller," Rory says. Lorelai says the trip will give her time. "To travel back to the turn of the century?" Rory asks. "To think," Lorelai finishes. She tells Rory that she didn't have to accept Emily's offer, since she's an adult now and capable of making her own decisions, no matter how erroneous they may be: "You can handle your own affairs. Sorry, that's a bad choice of words." Heh. Lorelai says that Rory could have told Emily she didn't want to go, so she must want to go. Rory doesn't protest, so Lorelai asks Rory why she wants to leave. She asks what she's going to do about Dean. Rory tells her mother that it's none of her business. Lorelai asks if something happened, if there was a fight or if it had something to do with Lindsay. Rory says that she and CuteDean are perfect: "I wanna go so I can get away from you!" Lorelai tells Rory she's five years too late on this bratty phase: "At this point? Storming into your room and blasting your Goth rock? It's just gonna confuse your roommates." Rory stomps off, announcing that she has to pack.