Episode Report Card Pamie: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT One Down, Two to Go
By Pamie | Season 4 | Episode 16 | Aired on 03.01.2004
Among the papers, Emily finds a carbon copy of a letter Gran wrote to Richard. She reads it out loud. It plainly asks Richard not to marry Emily, who isn't Gilmore material, and to consider Pennilyn Lott again. Gran tells Richard that he's making a terrible mistake, and that even though this is the eve of his wedding, she's begging him to not marry Emily. Lorelai can't believe Gran wanted Richard to leave Emily at the altar. Emily: "She begged him to leave me at the altar! She begged him in writing and then she saved the carbon!" Emily is in shock. She's standing in Gran's basement, covered in dust, organizing Gran's estate, cataloging her things, taking hundreds of phone calls to make sure everything is the way she wanted it, and all this time Gran never wanted Emily in the family. Emily declares that she's over Trix, and over all this nonsense. She's no longer handling the funeral arrangements. That woman is officially dead to her. Lorelai looks terrified, mostly because she knows she's in charge of a funeral now. She reminds Emily about Richard, but Emily says that Richard skipped Emily's best friend's funeral to play golf. Emily says they should either toss Gran in a box and be done with her, or toss her in a ditch and let a wolverine eat her. Lorelai says finding a wolverine near a ditch will take lots of planning. Emily tells Lorelai to do whatever she wants, since Emily's going to have a drink. Emily leaves as Lorelai whines that she doesn't know the system.
Skipping to the next generation, we go to Lorelai's kitchen, where Rory is handing papers to Lorelai, who has her own system now. Rory can't believe Gran's letter. She says it was cruel. Lorelai says it was so cruel she wonders if Gran didn't know Emily would find the letter some day. Rory says that's too mean, and she doesn't want to think there's a possibility of something so mean in her bloodline. Lorelai breaks the worst news to her: they come from inbreeding. She tells Rory to count her toes. Rory is freaked out. She says she always thought it was cool that they had the same eyes, but now she knows it's some kind of genetic mutation. This scene is brought to you by Argyle Sweaters. Argyle Sweaters: Only For the Flat-Chested. Lorelai says she's got to deal with the people who made Gran's headstone. If she's getting buried in the family crypt, does she need a headstone? Also: remember how the teasers for this episode have Lorelai freaking out that her name is on a headstone? That scene got cut. Lorelai says that Gran requested to be buried in "fresh clothing," and Lorelai doesn't know what that is. Rory says it's safest just to buy new clothing. Lorelai says that she's got to rewrite the obituary. She says she should let Emily do that: "I believe it would go: 'Yay.'" Rory offers to write the obituary, since she has use of the database at the Yale paper. Lorelai says that would be great. Rory says she feels bad for Richard. Lorelai says they were really close. Rory realizes that Gran and her husband had the same great-grandfather. Lorelai tells her to try not to think about it.