Previously on Gilmore Girls: Rory gets into Chilton, CuteDean (tm Pamie) asks after her, and he watches her everyday. She's smitten. Lorelai meets Max Medina, Rory's teacher. Rory's late and doesn't get to take her test. She does some screaming. Lorelai gives both the Headmaster and his comrade Medina a very large piece of her mind. Then she and Rory bond while looking for the deer that ran into the car. Max leaves a message on their machine explaining that Rory can make up for the test by doing extra work this term and admits he wants to see Lorelai again.
Grandmother's house. Three generations of Gilmore women are enduring a Friday night dinner. Grandfather is away in Germany. Lorelai cracks, "Dad's firm is insuring Nazi's now?" Emily, in between taking a bite of her dinner and wiping the sides of her mouth with her napkin, says, "Your father doesn't know any Nazi's." Lorelai and Rory attempt to explain the concept of sarcasm. Emily simply holds up her wine glass in protest. Then she announces she's got some bad news: Lorelai's cousin Claudia has died. "Who?" Lorelai asks. Emily repeats "Claudia" a couple of times as if repetition will breathe life into the reference. Claudia was her father's grandmother's sister's girl. Which makes her? "Nothing," Lorelai snaps. It doesn't matter because blood is blood, and Emily thinks they'll all go to the funeral together on Thursday. "Two problems," Lorelai explains. "One: impossible to get away from the inn on Thursdays. Two: I've never met this woman." They banter back and forth about how Lorelai has met her dead cousin Claudia. Apparently, both Lorelai and Emily went to her house in Grotten to see the first moon landing. Which was in July of 1969. Which would have made her one when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon. Lorelai claims, "I have no memory of this whatsoever." Of course not, you were barely a toddler. Emily turns to Rory: "Correct me if I'm wrong, but men have walked on the moon regardless of whether your mother remembers or not?" Rory shuffles in her seat a bit but says, "That's the rumour." All three women have abandoned their dinners for now. They tensely converse about how Lorelai's not going to the funeral this time. Emily cracks that Claudia's probably not planning on dying a second time. Rory giggles. She's very cute when she giggles. Dinner resumes. Emily puts her wine glass down and wags her finger: "Oh, wait! Rudolph Gotfried." Lorelai assumes this is another cousin. "No. A Nazi that we knew. I forgot. We stayed with him once in Munich. Nice old man, interesting stories." Horrified looks from Generations Two and Three. Lorelai chastises her mother violently. Words like "heinous" and "despicable" are tossed onto the linen tablecloth until Emily says, "No, dear, that was a joke." Rory laughs out loud, and Lorelai looks less than impressed.
They play a really nice theme song that I don't hate. I wiggle my head and smile. We're now in the other dimension.
Cinnamon's Wake
A very dour Lorelai is watching television in the kitchen. There is loud music by Rancid coming from Rory's bedroom. The Chilton-plaid daughter insists that her mother is cranky. I think Lorelai hasn't had enough coffee this morning. She cracks, "The world has a formidable opponent this morning." With a gargantuan apple in her hand, Rory points a finger at her mother: "Wait! Shouldn't you be baking?" Lorelai snaps: "Shouldn't you be knitting?" She is grumpy. The Chilton bake sale is today. Lorelai has it covered. They expect things to be homemade. Lorelai knows. Other than Dolly Madison. Lorelai repeats that she has it covered. All of the parents pitch in, Rory says, so this is "really, really important." For the third time, Lorelai says she has it covered; she pours herself a well-needed cup of coffee. The motherly organizational button is pushed as Lorelai barks, "Now get your stuff and hit the stereo; we're late."
In Rory's bedroom, Lane is skanking. Her arms are flailing. Her legs are kicking. Why isn't she at home? Lorelai screams at Lane, "Where does your mom think you are?" Lane quips, "On a local park bench contemplating the re-unification of the two Koreas." All three women leave the house. Lane runs off, and the Gilmore Two meet Babette, Morey, and Cinnamon coming up the lane. Cinnamon is riding in a miniature covered wagon with a yellow canopy that Morey made. Babette explains her cat isn't walking very well these days. Apparently, Cinnamon, despite being somewhat incapacitated, loves her "nice walks." Only they say it in Italian. Don't ask. The canopy allows Cinnamon to be "alone." The neighbours trot off, carting the world's most embarrassed cat behind them. Rory cracks, "Okay, our town is just weird." Hallelujah! At least they're not all hanging out on a tired coffeehouse set pretending to be New Yorkers. Oh, did I say that out loud? Right, Rory gives her mother a quick kiss on the cheek and runs off to catch her bus. Lorelai teases her daughter some more about forgetting the bake sale and gets called a sadist in return. Finally, we see a bright yellow knapsack carting itself down the road.