Sadie, Sadie

Hey, everybody. We're back. I know you missed your Gilmore fix. First things first. Dear Amy Sherman-Palladino: I love your show. I love your writing. I'm very happy that you're executive producer on your own show. I think it's neat that your husband often directs these episodes. I would like to ask that you no longer direct the episodes, though. You have a tendency to film the actors in a way that makes them look over-painted, tired and dirty. You have strange camera angles that don't follow how our eyes want to go. You have a tendency to lay on the symbolism just a tad thick. Can you please keep writing and executive producing? If you look at the differences between this episode and the one, you should be able to see what I mean pretty easily. Thanks. Love, Pamie.

Previously on Gilmore Girls: Lorelai and Rory are mother and daughter, but they're just like sisters. Rory loved CuteDean. Mustang Max, Rory's teacher, proposed to Lorelai, but she might actually love Luke. "Now a future must be chosen," the announcer tells us. Here we go.

The yellow daisies are still decorating Stars Hollow, so it's just the day after the last episode. Rory tells Lorelai she should get married in Italy. Lorelai doesn't want to keep talking about the wedding she hasn't decided on yet. Rory carries a bundle of yellow daisies. She says that Lorelai should walk down the aisle to some Frank Sinatra and carry a bouquet of something that smells good. "Pot roast," Lorelai offers. ["I carried a cured ham. Ah, memories." -- Wing Chun] Lorelai asks again to change the subject, since she hasn't made up her mind; she doesn't want to fantasize until then. Rory thinks the bridesmaids should pick their own dresses. Lorelai tells Rory that she can't stop thinking about how Archie Bunker would pretend to hang himself whenever Edith was yammering on. Rory says she's done, and that she's taking the bundle of flowers to Lane's. They agree to meet up at Luke's. Rory asks Lorelai to pick up a newspaper for her, and Lorelai jokes that they make her hands black.

I'm so glad they didn't change any of the opening credits. Oh, wait! They added CuteDean and Paris to the opening credits. Huzzah!

Lane and MamaLane are bickering as Rory walks up. Lane asks MamaLane to give her a hint. "Parents should know what their children can handle," MamaLane says. "I'm sorry. Was that the hint?" Lane asks. MamaLane walks off. Lane follows. Rory finds Lane and gives her the flowers. She asks whether Lane's okay. Lane says she's certainly not okay. "Did yout mom find your CD burner?" Rory whispers. Lane says that she's getting shipped to Korea for the summer to stay with her cousins. This doesn't seem to bum Rory out in the slightest. Lane then adds that there's no return date: the ticket is one-way. Rory asks whether Lane's sure. Lane's called the airlines to confirm it, and MamaLane is humming and happy after discussing things with Lane's father all morning. Rory tries to get Lane to calm down, but Lane knows that these are her final moments in America. She says it's going to be just like the Sally Field movie where she goes to look for her daughter. Rory says that Lane's reacting prematurely, and that there's probably a reason she doesn't have a return flight yet -- like a holiday, or an airline mix-up, or a discount rate. Lane shakes her head, and Rory says she'll really miss her. MamaLane sing-songs for Lane to come into the other room. "I have to go," Lane says. She puts her hand on Rory's shoulder and gravely says, "You've been a good friend." Lane walks off stoically. I can't believe Rory's not even upset. ["That was odd." -- Wing Chun]

Lorelai walks over to the newly installed newspaper stand in Stars Hollow. Let's hope that Newspaper Stand Man is just a one-time occurrence. Bootsy is his name. I'm hoping that's a shout-out to Savannah Smiles. Or Parliament Funkadelic. Bootsy reads from his tabloid that they shoot pig gland into Ivanna Trump's ass twice a month to keep her looking young. "Wow, hope she's not Kosher," Lorelai jokes. "I don't know. Doesn't say here," Bootsy says, for no comedic effect. Lorelai starts to walk off, and finds that the entire right side of the newsstand is covered in bridal magazines. She slows down and eventually walks backwards and stares at the magazines. Happy music starts to play. Lorelai raises her hand to touch one of the magazines and Bootsy says, "Hey!" Lorelai jumps back, the happy music abruptly stops, and I'm getting Ally McBeal flashes in a way that makes me uncomfortable. Bootsy asks whether Lorelai's a Leo. Lorelai says she's not. Bootsy says that's a good thing because "those guys are screwed this week." Wacky music starts up again, and Lorelai grabs a magazine. She opens it and starts looking at the dresses. She makes a few noises and shakes her head. Bootsy keeps reading his tabloid. "Whatcha reading?" Rory interrupts. Wacky music gets yanked, and Lorelai tells Rory to not sneak up on a person like that. Rory's beaming over the wedding material. She asks Lorelai whether she got any ideas. Lorelai says they should have cake more often. Rory pays for the magazine. Miss Patty walks up at this moment and freaks out when she sees the bridal magazine in Lorelai's hand. Miss Patty and Rory celebrate that Lorelai said yes. Lorelai reminds them that she's still standing right there and she hadn't said yes yet. Patty says that Max is a great man. ["Patty is clearly high." -- Wing Chun] Lorelai agrees. Patty asks Lorelai whether she's told Luke yet. Lorelai says she hasn't, because it just happened last night. Patty gets very solemn. Lorelai says it's not a big deal, adding that she's on her way over right now, and will tell him then. "Be gentle," Patty says. Lorelai says that she and Luke are.... "Just friends," Patty echoes with Lorelai. Patty's got daisies chained around her neck. Rory grabs Lorelai by the shoulders and pushes her towards Luke's. "Well, it is," Lorelai says to Rory as they walk off. Rory says she knows. Behind Rory and Lorelai, Patty's assembling a group of townies, whispering that Lorelai is about to tell Luke the news. Lorelai wonders why nobody believes her about Luke. Lorelai and Rory chatter on about nothing as a very large group of people gathers behind Lorelai and Rory like Drew Carey's about to bust out with a song and dance number. Slow, strummy music plays as Lorelai and Rory walk towards Luke's. Lorelai and Rory turn around to see the crowd that's gathered behind them. Lorelai and Rory turn around sharply at the same time and the crowd all turns around and pretends to be just milling around outside of Luke's. Lorelai says she can't wait for the movie theater to re-open as they walk inside.

Lorelai and Rory take a seat at the table by the windows as the crowd of extras over-enthusiastically fills in all gaps of space behind them. The extras are all pointing and cooing and gossiping as if everyone needs to be told which one is Luke, which one is Lorelai, and which show they're on. Rory looks at the group that's gathered and asks Lorelai to go tell Luke. Rory says someone's going to be pushed through that window in about five minutes. Lorelai asks why this is such a big deal for everyone. Rory says that everyone knows that Luke has a thing for Lorelai. Lorelai argues that Luke doesn't have a thing for her, and Rory tells Lorelai to go tell him. Lorelai says that she and Luke argue all the time, she repulses him with her eating habits, and he hates it when she calls him Ranger Bob.

Lorelai walks over to the counter. Luke says the fresh coffee will be ready in a minute. "Unless you want to just roll up a dollar bill and go nuts," he says, and I enjoy my first laugh of the new season. Luke notices the crowd outside and calls the town "crazy." He says everyone should be medicated and put in a room with Ping-Pong tables and hand puppets. Lorelai looks down at her hands and says that she has something to share with him. She says that you want to share exciting things in your life with people in your life who might find them exciting. Luke asks what it is. Lorelai starts with, "Well, it's very..." Luke says he knows it's exciting, and he's all ready to jump up and down if necessary. Lorelai finally says that Max asked her to marry him. Luke stares for a second and says, "Yeah, I figured." He says it was pretty obvious, with the way the two of them were getting so close and Max was around all of the time and last night they were going on about the "life-changing event" and all. He figured a proposal was the big news. He asks whether Lorelai has set the date. Lorelai admits she hasn't even said yes yet. Luke says she's going to say yes. Lorelai asks, "How do you know?" Luke says that Lorelai's making a big deal out of telling Luke that Max proposed. Lorelai squints and says she's not making a big deal out of it. She was just sharing, as in doing a nice gesture. She compares it to when you're a kid and you have those rectangular Popsicle that come with two sticks and you break the Popsicle in half and give one stick to your friend. "You offered me a Popsicle," Luke says. Lorelai says she did, and now he knows. Lorelai makes a noise, throws up her hands and orders coffee and muffins. Luke warms up the muffins. He says he thinks it's good that Lorelai's doing it. Lorelai agrees. She stammers that it's not that she's doing this, but if she is doing it, then it will be good. Luke asks whether they're going to live in Stars Hollow or Hartford. Lorelai says they haven't really talked about it. Probably Stars Hollow, though. Luke says that Hartford is probably better, since it's closer to the school for Rory. Lorelai agrees. Luke says that Hartford would be a big commute for Lorelai to the inn. Lorelai agrees. Luke adds that it's only a consideration if Lorelai even keeps her job. "Excuse me?" Lorelai asks. Luke says that she and Max have probably talked about all of this already. Lorelai says that they haven't, but she thinks that Max and her father have come to an agreement on how many goats she's worth. Luke says that this is all great. "You gonna have more kids?" Luke asks. Lorelai says that's a personal question. Luke says that Max probably wants more kids. "In the world, yes," Lorelai replies, adding that these things are none of Luke's business. Luke asks whether they've discussed joint checking accounts. "You do know his last name, don't you?" he asks. Lorelai asks for her Popsicle back. She says this is her business. Luke says his parents never discussed anything their entire marriage, and it worked out fine for them. Of course, when his mother died, she'd never told his father where she kept the coupon drawer, and it took him ten years to find it. Turns out she kept the coupons in a coffee can. Luke then says that it makes more sense to have a coupon drawer instead of a can. Lorelai asks for her muffins. Luke congratulates her again. Lorelai walks over to the table with her muffins. The crowd outside has turned away, but are all staring at something. Rory's at the window. "Now what's going on?" Lorelai asks. "Kirk passed out." Heh. I love Kirk. Lorelai pouts at the table. "How'd he take it?" Rory asks. "Fine," Lorelai says. "He took it fine." Fade to commercial.

Y'all, isn't anyone worried about Ryan Philllipppe being unleashed on Dawson's Creek? I certainly am. Someone needs to give that boy a haircut.

It must be Friday night again. Lorelai pulls the Jeep up to Emily's house. She's flustered, and keeps screwing things up, like getting tied to the emergency brake and leaving her keys in the ignition. Rory mentions that Lorelai got lost six times on their way there. Lorelai says that's a testament to her self-preservation instincts. Rory asks whether Lorelai's thinking about Max. Lorelai says she isn't. Rory says she's lying. I don't know what's going on with Lorelai's hair in this shot, but it looks like she's balding. It's all teased out and frizzy like she normally wears extensions and they've been pulled for this scene. It makes Lorelai look ten years older. Emily answers the door beaming, cheering their arrival and announcing to Richard that they've arrived. She tells the girls to come in. Lorelai says she won't, because Emily is scaring Rory. Emily laughs at how funny Lorelai's joke is, and walks into the house. She pulls the girls by the arms and shuts the door. She walks them in, jabbering away about how she's got Antonia making some puffs, and that she'll fix them a drink and la, la, la. She calls for Richard again. He tells her not to say anything until he gets there. Emily starts making drinks and asks the girls what's new in their lives. Lorelai says, "Uh, nothing." Rory asks what the big news is all about. Emily says she can't say until Richard's there. She calls for him again and curses. Lorelai asks Emily just to tell them what's going on. Emily sits down and says she can't wait for Richard all night. Emily says, "Well, you know I'm very good friends with Bitty Charleston, the headmaster's wife? Well, we have this little arrangement where she keeps me apprised of all the goings-on at Chilton. You know, she tells me all the gossip on the students, and their parents, and any pieces of information I might find useful." She says she just found out that Rory has finished in the top 3% of her class. She celebrates. Lorelai says she already knew that. Emily asks Lorelai who she knows at Chilton. "Rory," Lorelai says, pointing. "Oh," Emily says. Rory says it wasn't definite, but that she had a good idea. Richard walks in at this point and announces that Rory finished in the top 3% of her class. Rory says she knows, and Lorelai says that J. Edgar Hoover had just finished telling them. Emily and Richard bicker over leaked the information too soon. Lorelai says they already knew, and that it's good news either way. Emily and Richard say they're proud of Rory. Emily says that week they'll have a special dinner. "Gramma, all of your dinners are special," Rory says. Wow, that was so cute. Emily says that week's will be extra-special. She says they'll make all of Rory's favorite foods, and that Rory can bring friends. Richard says they'll even have presents. Emily and Richard are going on about how special Rory is and how she started late but is now one of the best students in her school, but Lorelai is no longer listening. It concerns school and smarts, so naturally Lorelai is looking down at her hand. She takes the butterfly ring off of her index finger and puts it on her left ring finger. It's an awkward shot from over Lorelai's hand and takes way too long for us to see how Lorelai feels about it. I mean, we're just watching her hand. Antonia announces that dinner is ready. Rory, Richard, and Emily leave for the dining room. Lorelai tells them to start without her, explaining that she's got to make a call. She says that Michel is all alone at the inn and people are surely dead by now.