Episode Report Card Pamie: B | 38 USERS: C+ YOU GRADE IT Oh, Boy!
By Pamie | Season 3 | Episode 10 | Aired on 2003.01.14
Bakery. CuteDean and Rory debate for quite some time where the best place to sit would be. Rory doesn't really want to sit too close to the bathroom, but then gives a lengthy speech about why one table has to be near the bathroom because something has to be there, blah blah blah. They choose the most window-having seat in the shop. Now, I don't know why they made such a big deal out of sitting by the window, because it's not like anybody sees them sitting together in this scene. It ends up that they just debated this for a minute and a half for nothing. Why draw out this big "where shall we sit" if it doesn't come into play later? I don't get it. Rory should be nervous to sit with CuteDean where everybody who just saw her tonguing her boyfriend could see her sipping with her ex. But the debate about where to sit seems to be just because they're both nervous about being together. So the debate should be about scones or mochas instead, so we don't feel like this is foreshadowing, or has something to do with the plot.
Kirk -- always a favorite -- hops right into frame to take CuteDean's and Rory's orders. He gets to say the word "marzipan," which is always funny. I'd love to get a page of Kirk's day planner. CuteDean asks for a piece of pie. Kirk tries to run down the list of thirty pies, but CuteDean already knows what kind of pie he wants. Kirk whines that they made him memorize all these pies, but CuteDean doesn't need to hear the list. Kirk asks if CuteDean wants ice cream on it. CuteDean asks how many flavors they have. "Thirty-two." "Just the pie," CuteDean concludes. Rory says she's not hungry. She's not even getting coffee? Way to trick CuteDean into thinking you wanted to get coffee with him. Now he looks like a loser and you look like you're doing this out of pity. CuteDean says that, in all the years he's known her, she's never not been hungry.
CuteDean thanks Rory for coming, and points out how incredibly uncomfortable she is. I don't think I would have known that if he hadn't said it, since Rory's uncomfortable face is the same as her going to Emily's face or her talking to Paris face or her studying for Trig face. Rory says he's not making her uncomfortable, it's the situation that's uncomfortable. CuteDean says he understands and knows the situation. He asks how she's doing. She says she's fine. "You?" she asks. "I'm doing okay," he says. They chit-chat about his history teacher. He tells her he applied to Southern Connecticut State. Rory: "Wait. You do know that Southern Connecticut State is a four-year college." CuteDean: "Yeah, I read that in the brochure." Rory asks what happened to community college. "I changed my mind," he says. "Why?" she asks. "You," he answers. With her talk about Harvard, and all the books she pushed on him, and how she always told him that he could do more, he decided to do more. CuteDean. So cute. Yes, he's not the best actor, but he's getting a Christian Slater quality about him that I'm really enjoying. And it's not Jared Padalecki that I love as much as I just love the character of Dean. I love what Dean represents about teen love. He's that boyfriend we all wanted, or that boyfriend we had who we fucked up, shattered his heart and then wished we could get back. Rory is quite proud of CuteDean and offers to help him with admissions stuff. He says he'll take her up on that. CuteDean's pie arrives. Rory asks when all of this college stuff happened. He says it was over the past few weeks. When he got the envelope, he wanted to call her, but then he realized he couldn't. She says he could have called her. He says he can't get over how weird it all is; he went from seeing her every day to not seeing her at all. "I know," Rory says. They both agree that it's a hard thing to just let go of. CuteDean asks if maybe, maybe, um, maybe they could just be friends. Rory says she really wants to be friends. CuteDean smiles and exhales. "But...?" Rory starts. CuteDean interrupts to tell her not to ask him what he's going to do about Jess. "I have no idea," he says. They agree to take it one step at a time. He offers her a bite of pie. She takes it. The pie metaphor. Love it. Rory asks how Clara's horseback riding lessons are going. (Clara, for those of you who didn't see the one episode where she existed, is CuteDean's younger sister.)