Episode Report Card Al Lowe: B- | 1 USERS: A+ YOU GRADE IT Not So New, Not Especially Improved
By Al Lowe | Season 6 | Episode 1 | Aired on 09.12.2005
Morning dawns anew at the Gilmore guest house, where Rory is suddenly and violently disturbed by her grandmother and the maid barging in to redecorate. "There's plenty of time to sleep when you've gone up a couple of dress sizes," Emily tells her, ripping open the curtains. Rory woozily tries to say that the place does not need to be redecorated, but Emily insists, placing a wallpaper sample on one wall before almost immediately tearing it down and deeming it "insane." She lures Rory out into the dining area with the promise of coffee, and we see that there is a breakfast spread laid out large enough to feed at least twenty-five people. Emily presents Rory with keys to all the houses and gives her the alarm code for the panic room, whispering "1-1-1-1-1." She implores Rory not to tell anyone else the code, especially the maid. "They tell their children," she says, "and then their children grow up and rob you." Classism is funny. We're hardly left any time to reel from this before Emily asks Rory where the rest of her things are. They're at Lorelai's, which is bad news for Emily, though she says she'll take care of getting it all moved over. Richard calls on the intercom to announce that the attorney has arrived, and Rory scurries to get ready.
Later, at the meeting, Rory has the conscience to cringe visibly as Richard and Charlie engage in Xtreme Cronyism. "If you knew the number of truly guilty criminals put back on the street by this man, here," Richard says, "you'd never believe in the criminal justice system, again!" Uh, congratulations? Rory gets a wrinkle in her forehead, but says nothing. When she finally gets a chance to ask a question, she says she'd just like to know what's going to happen. Davenport condescends to her like she is an infant, and explains how he's going to schmooze up the prosecutor and get him to agree on an easy plea bargain. Rory thanks him and swears she'll never need his help again.
Rory makes it back to the guest house, which she couldn't have left more than an hour ago, and finds it almost completely empty. Emily's project has begun. Rory sits down on one of three potential new chairs, and thinks. And then we make a weird transition to later that same evening (I guess) where we see...Rory again, getting ready to go out. And, like a breath of spring into a stagnant atmosphere, comes Paris. Thank God. Five minutes on screen, and she pretty much saves this whole episode. Paris asks Rory if she has any fear of sleepwalking right into the pool outside. "I do now," Rory answers. Paris is over to borrow a dress to wear to yet another event to meet members of Doyle's family. "He's got, like, five hundred cousins," she says, "and you know what? He's the tallest one in the family." Poor Doyle. Paris continues: "Every family get-together is like a Lollipop Guild Convention; I have to stop myself from asking how it's going at the Chocolate Factory." Love it. ["Sure, but it's not like Paris is Wilt Chamberlain herself." -- Wing Chun] "Good, good," Rory coaches, "get it all out, now."