Episode Report Card Pamie: A+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Bully For You
By Pamie | Season 3 | Episode 2 | Aired on 09.30.2002
Lorelai walks out the front door to see Christopher starting his motorcycle. Where's the Volvo, dude? She tells him to give it some time. He leaves, without a helmet.
Walking through Stars Hollow at night, Lorelai says that was a fun night. "Yep," Rory says. "I haven't had that much fun since labor," Lorelai notes. "Ba-dum-bum," Rory finishes. Rory can't believe that Christopher just came over. "He misses you," Lorelai says. "He misses you," Rory counters. "We're very missable." Lorelai says that Christopher loves Rory very much and never meant to hurt her. "No, he never means to," Rory says. "But he does. And I don't care what he says or does, I'm not going to his wedding." Lorelai says that Rory might regret that in the future, though. "It's the wrong wedding," Rory says. Lorelai says that things happen for a reason. This is her new philosophy, along with her being a Communist because she looks kick-ass in red. They decide to splurge on some late-night junk food. As they map out their plan outside Doose's Market, Kirk walks up. "Oh, no," Lorelai says quietly. Lorelai tells Rory to go inside, saying she'll deal with it. Kirk tells Lorelai he knows she hasn't made up her mind yet, but he'd like to know if she has an allergy to tuna. Lorelai says she doesn't. Kirk goes to leave, but Lorelai tells him she's made up her mind. "And it's fully formed?" he asks. He offers to have his mother call her. Lorelai says she just got out of a weird relationship and she's not fully over the shock of it yet and she doesn't want to hurt Kirk because he's her friend, so she has to say no. She apologizes. "Was the tuna inquiry too personal?" he asks. "Oh, no," Lorelai says perfectly. "I thought it was very thoughtful." Kirk asks if she might be interested later, but she says she won't. "Well, at least I asked," he says. He says goodnight and leaves.
Rory runs into Jess in the aisle where she first kissed Dean. Jess asks why she's giving him the cold shoulder. He follows her, asking how Washington was. She starts asking how his summer was. He says nothing happened. She keeps asking, so he makes some small talk about snow cones and a heat wave. Finally he tells her that the girl's name is Shane. "As in, 'Come back'?" Rory asks. "Yep," Jess answers. Rory goes on about how great that all is. Jess asks if she's upset about something. He says that he noticed Shane didn't bring a smile to Rory's face. Rory says she "could care less" about him and Shane. No, Rory, you couldn't. This is the second recap in a row where I had to point this out. People! If you say you could care less it means you actually care. You have care invested. You care. It means you care. Rory says Jess's relationship with Shane surprised Rory because of what happened at Sookie's wedding. Jess asks whether he heard from Rory at all this summer -- whether she called or wrote to him even once. "You kiss me. You tell me not to say anything -- very flattering, by the way. You go off to Washington, then nothing. Then you come back here all put out because I didn't just sit around and wait for you like Dean would have done? And, yeah, what about Dean? Are you still with him? Because last time I checked, you were. And I haven't heard anything to the contrary. Plus the two of you walking around the other day like some damn Andy Hardy movie? Seemed like you were pretty together. I half-expected you to break into a barn and put on a show." Rory says she's amazed Jess saw her at all with Shane's head plastered to his face. Jess asks again whether Rory called Jess at all or wrote to him or even tried to contact him: "Are you still with Dean?" She falters, so he tells her just to say yes or no. Rory confesses that she's still with Dean. "Glad to hear it," he says. "Glad to tell it," she says. "See you around." "Whatever." "Right back atcha." Ladies and gentlemen, this is the first scene ever where I liked Jess. Yep, it's true. I like him when he doesn't need her, and he's not trying to meddle her out of a relationship. I like it when she can't just have him however and whenever she wants. I like pissed-off Jess who doesn't really give a shit about Rory. I hope this sticks around for a little while, as I'm enjoying this Rory-is-Christopher thing.