Episode Report Card M. Giant: C+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Ooh, That Smell
By M. Giant | Season 7 | Episode 5 | Aired on 10.23.2006
Lorelai's cell phone rings, and she's happy to see that it's Rory, who's calling from Logan's apartment, in her bathrobe. Lorelai leads with the news that Stars Hollow smells like pickles: "A pickle train crashed." "Is this a joke?" Rory asks, becoming the first person to make that mistake. "Is this a long, boring joke that I'm not going to get?" she clarifies, suddenly going from completely wrong to spectacularly correct. Lorelai insists that she's telling the truth about the pickle train, and then does a little bit about what a good pickle train conductor she'd be. And then about what a good pickle train conductor Rory would be. "I can't believe I'm missing this," Rory says, and Lorelai responds, "Well, you can celebrate next year on the anniversary." Ha! Okay, at least one of the new writers has this town's number. Rory says that she's bailing on tonight's Friday dinner, because Logan's in town. Lorelai gasps. "I can't believe you let me go on and on about pickle train conducting when you had actual news," she says, as if there would have been any stopping her. Lorelai asks how Logan and Rory are filling the next six and a half hours Logan has left in the country, but then backs off, thinking maybe she doesn't want to know. Not that she's suggesting anything, of course: "You might be farming rutabagas or something, and I wouldn't want to know because, boring." Rory just tells her about the plan to meet Logan in Manhattan to celebrate his purchase of the company. Did Logan ever tell her exactly where to meet him, or is she just supposed to head into Manhattan and poke her head into places? It's not that big an island, after all. Rory rather insincerely apologizes for skipping Friday dinner at the G-rents, but Lorelai tells her not to worry: "I'm bringing your dad...I thought it was time he meet the parents." Heh. Rory says that's "pre-pickle news" as well. So Lorelai realizes that the whole conversation has gone all wrong and decides to start over: "Hi, Rory, how are you?" Rory: "Fine. Logan's in town." "Lorelai: "Oh, my goodness. That's wonderful." Rory: "We're farming rutabagas." Lorelai: "Oh, you're a filthy child. I will disown you. Bringing your father to dinner. Pickles, pickles pickles, smell, pickle train conducting." Rory: "Alas, alack." Lorelai: "Good talk." Rory: "The best." Lorelai: "Bye." Hang up. Nice old-school moment there, but it would have saved me a lot of time if they'd gotten the conversation right in the first place.