Sing It

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As we learned last week, Rory does not get the Reston Fellowship and we're all terribly sad about it. No, really. It IS sad. And she comes home to Stars Hollow and OH MY GOD SHUT UP, THIS WAS THE BEST EPISODE EVER LORELAI SANG "I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU" AT KARAOKE AND LUKE HEARD IT AND SHE SANG THE WHOLE SONG AND EVERYBODY ALMOST CRIED and… and… zzzz. Y'all. Okay, okay. Rory has a dream -- an awful dream -- that everything in her life is crazy and backward and wrong. She's humbled and upset by the Reston rejection, realizing that this is the first time she's really lost out on something she wanted so badly, and she's stressed about her future prospects. She goes home to wallow in the sadness. Also sad? Luke, when April has to cancel their boat trip, and Lane, when she realizes that she has to make the mature decision and stay home with her babies while Zach tours with another band. Life is hard, people! Learn the lesson! Things don't always work out like you wanted, and that sucks like a mighty wind. LEARN IT! Things are a little easier, however, for Lorelai -- she's pleased to see that Luke is again wearing the blue baseball cap she gave him. Still wallowing, Rory tells Lorelai that the only thing that will lift her spirits is for Lorelai to sing at Kacey's karaoke night. So, being a good mom, Lorelai gets mildly bombed and kills "I Will Always Love You" and, as Luke walks in during the super-sad part, their eyes meet, sparks fly, and I am willing to bet a space-time continuum rip occurred from the East Coast squeeing alone. Those high-pitched screams were no doubt replaced by gasps, however, when Lorelai gets a big surprise -- Logan shows up and asks for her permission to ask Rory to marry him. Want more? The full recap starts right below!

Class is in session at...Chilton? Rory is sitting in class listening to her teacher talk about Roosevelt when Headmaster Charleston comes in and has a whisper with the teacher. "Rory Gilmore," Teach says, "there's been a mistake. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Dun dun duuuuuuuh! Rory stumbles, confused, out the classroom door and straight into...the foyer of the CrapShack. "Mom, I've had the most awful day," she says to Lorelai, who is skipping down the stairs, luggage in hand. Thing is, Lorelai doesn't have time to listen -- she's off to Hawaii, doesn't know when she'll be back. "I need a break, kid," she says. "Take it easy; try not to kill any plants." Totally discombobulated, Rory wanders into the kitchen, where she hears plates and silver clinking. Sure, because it's Paris and Doyle and their precious children, eating dinner and sighing about how they're really not looking forward to having Salman Rushdie over for dinner. "Is he bringing that boring wife of his?" Paris asks. Doyle: "Padma is fine," Doyle says, and while he means that she's a perfectly acceptable dinner guest, I must point out that the other definition of "fine" applies as well. "Cookbooks, Doyle," Paris snarks. "Her husband wrote The Satanic Verses and all you want to talk about is cookbooks." Doyle shrugs: "I like Top Chef."

As the tiny Gellar-Doyles chow down, their parents bemoan their difficult careers. While Paris hopes that she gets called to the hospital for a heart transplant to avoid boring ol' Mrs. Rushdie, Doyle points out the drawbacks to being the executive editor of The Washington Post. "I finally had to fire Broder," he says. "He knew it was coming, but still." Rory stands in awe of the whole scene -- not least because she sees the fridge pictures of Paris with Bono and Hillary Clinton. So awesome. Suddenly, the successful family notices she's in the room. "Hi, Rory," Paris says, tentative. "What are you doing here?" Rory says that this is her house. "Oh, Rory, we've been through this," Paris says. "It'll always be your house in your heart, but we own it now." Doyle sweetly asks if Rory needs money. "You better get going!" they tell her. "You don't want to be late...for work!" Both of them, to her horror, hand over the implements of her old job: trash picker. In a cold sweat, she finally wakes up from this bad dream, with a pretty significant nightmare-hangover.

This isn't the last time I'll feel for Rory in this great episode. My husband is working through his comps process for his PhD this week, and our entire household, down to the dog, is hopped up on the stress, running around here like a bunch of loons. I haven't had so many anxiety dreams since I...was about to graduate from college, actually, when I would often dream that I suddenly realized I had enrolled in a class at the beginning of the semester, forgotten to ever attend it, and now would never graduate as a result. I still have those dreams occasionally, and I graduated from college more than a decade ago. ["Ditto." -- Miss Alli] Last night, however, I merely dreamed that my band had a showcase, and that as I walked on stage, I realized I had neglected to learn any of the songs, including, for whatever reason, this one. Y'all. The human brain is a terrible jokester. It is like the Carrot Top of life-sustaining organs.

Rory pulls herself together in time to attend FND, where Grandpa jovially and healthily passes out drinks. He's been following his doctor's orders, eating right and working out. "I can tell you're super ripped under that jacket," Lorelai says. Emily interrupts all the healthy chat to say that she's sorry Logan couldn't join them for dinner, and Rory reports that since his meetings were going so well in California, Logan decided to stay a few extra days. They chat about Rory's upcoming finals until finally Emily is overcome by excitement -- they have a surprise for Rory, they say. They're buying an apartment in New York that would be theirs, but Rory could live in it when she starts her fancy internship at the Times. Rory's face falls. "It's a very generous offer," she says. "But I don't know if I am actually going to be moving to New York after I graduate...I didn't get the internship at The New York Times." Of course, everyone is shocked, unaccustomed as they are to Rory not achieving greatness, but no one is more surprised than Lorelai, who has not heard this news until this moment. Rory tries to downplay the whole thing, saying it isn't a big deal, but no one will allow that. "This is preposterous," Emily says. "Who could be more qualified than you?" Aw. Family pride. Rory again tries to say that it wasn't that important to her, but everyone knows the score and, at her request, they move quickly to the dinner hour.

The morning, Lorelai strolls into Luke's (again wearing a dress that is slightly too short with boots that are not weather-appropriate, though, let's keep it real, she looks great) and runs into Miss Patty and Babette, who are whispering frantically at each other over a table. Seems they're planning their cabaret act to debut that night at Kacey's. "We're saving our voices," Babette whispers. Lorelai: "I think that ship has sailed!" Brilliant. However, whispering is far worse for your voice than just, say, shutting up. There's a lesson in there somewhere for this entire cast...

Lorelai looks confused. She thought tonight was karaoke night at Kacey's. "It is," Babette says, "so we went over there this morning and signed ourselves up for the first 15 songs." They can't decide whether or not to open with Streisand or Porter, and Lorelai rightly assures them that they can't miss with either one. "You gotta come, hon," Babette says. "It's gonna be fantastic." When Luke comes over to deliver hot water for Miss Patty's tea (also bad for your vocal cords, sorry), Lorelai is momentarily taken aback. He's wearing her hat again! The blue baseball cap! Pulling herself together, she sits at the counter to discuss the upcoming boat trip he has planned with April. They're going up the Maine coast. Lorelai wonders aloud if going on this trip is really a good idea, given the myriad dangers of boating. "Haven't you seen Dead Calm? Open Water? Das Boot?!" Luke rolls his eyes. "Okay, first of all," he says, "I did not purchase a U-boat." She keeps on ribbing him, mentioning Titanic, but he cuts her off, saying April's very excited about the trip. Finally, Lorelai breaks it down for him. "April says she's very excited," she says, "but if I were you, I would plan a couple nights in a hotel so she can wash her hair and order room service." Luke nods. "Okay," he says simply. Also, Lorelai says, he needs to spend as much time as possible on the southern coast of Maine and go to a place called Barnacle Billy's. Though Lorelai is being her traditional pushy self, Luke takes it all in stride and appears grateful, for once, for her advice. Satisfied that she has done her duty for the price of a free donut and coffee, Lorelai heads out to the harmonious strains of Miss Patty and Babette, singing "So Long, Farewell."

Back at her apartment, Rory arrives home to find Paris having a little party with other Yale seniors recently accepted into Harvard Medical School. "A good chance to size up the competition," Paris says secretively to Rory. She knows a few of them from her classes and thus already knows that she can crush them when the time comes. "Elise and Tim are new to me," she adds. "But Elise's hand was shaking a little when she was cutting into the cake, so I've got her pegged for an early exit into podiatry." Rory: "Sounds like quite a party." Paris: "It really is." When Paris offers Rory a piece of naked guy cake -- they couldn't get a corpse cake, so had to settle for a porn cake from a novelty baker -- Rory graciously declines. "It's a little early for cake for me," she says, cringing. I must agree that even I, a true frosting addict, would have difficulty enjoying frosting designed to look like, you know, body hair of any kind. "It actually tastes pretty good once you get past the whole pornographic dessert issue," Paris insists, but Rory has bigger things (ha) on her mind. A letter has come from the Chicago Sun Times. "They're not hiring," she says, and when Paris expresses concerns, Rory repeats her current catchphrase that "it's not a big deal." She goes into her room, steels herself, and whips out her really complicated cell phone. God, this part is really hard for me to even type. She...calls the lady who interviewed her for the newspaper job a few weeks back. You know, the one she turned down? Eeeeek, it's so cringey I can't take it. She just wanted to check, she says, since the ProJo job is so great, um, is it, maybe, you know... No. No, it isn't. "Of course," she finally says, downtrodden. "You've already filled the position. Well...thanks!" Ugh. Seriously, I do get nostalgic for my early twenties sometimes -- the exuberance of youth, the new independence, all that -- but mostly when I remember that upheaval, I look back on myself and tsk loud enough to wake the neighbors. Right now, I am having terrible post-college flashbacks and must go at once to bury my head in some ice cream.

I have returned, full of sugar and self-forgiveness. Meanwhile, Lorelai has made her way to the Inn, where Sookie is cooking up some morning meatballs, one of which she happily waves in Lorelai's face. Lorelai declines to taste a meatball at 9:00 AM. "It doesn't even taste like a meatball," Sookie promises. Lorelai: "Does it taste like a Danish?" All meatball talk is postponed so that Lorelai can update Sookie about Luke's hat. "He hasn't worn it since we broke up, I mean, not once," Lorelai says. Sookie says she's right. "He wears that black hat now," she says. "Gives him a slightly more menacing quality." Yes, it did. It was all wrong. Viva le blue hat! Lorelai wonders what it all means. "It's good," Sookie says. She thinks the return of the blue hat means Luke is past his pain and glad he and Lorelai are friends again. Lorelai agrees and wonders if she should reciprocate. "Maybe," she says, "I should wear my own hat, as it were." Sookie gasps: "Did he give you a hat?" Hee. No, girl. That is what "as it were" means. Lorelai says she got rid of all her Luke-related stuff, so she can't show up wearing something he gave her, but she doesn't want to leave this hat gesture unacknowledged. "Hey," Sookie brilliantly suggests, "you could throw on a flannel shirt.!" Awesome. I know just where she can get one, too.

Hooray! We are reunited, and it feels so good, with our long-lost Lane. She has just painstakingly, but triumphantly, put both babies down for their naps when Zach comes in from grocery shopping. Allow me this nitpick, but I strongly question the presence of Trader Joe's in Stars Hollow, and yet I immediately recognized my beloved Honey Nut Os that Lane unpacks from the bags. Speaking of stuff in the bag, she is alarmed when she pulls out the name-brand diapers (only one package! For twins?! Hahaha!) and name-brand chips -- these things are not within their tight family budget. "I know," Zach says, "but I got some great news in the grocery store, and this was the only way I could think of to celebrate." Seems one of their favorite bands, Vapor Rub, called to see if Zach could fill in for their injured guitarist. Todd-Lowe-No-Relation does a fantastic job in this scene as well as this whole episode, by the way, even when he and Lane now proceed to name-drop enough real and fictional bands and venues to make Google crash. "Oh my God," Lane says, thrilled. "I want to yell, but I don't want to wake the babies. I'm yelling, on the inside." Zach says the band wants him to finish off a two-month tour with them, and that Lane and the boys will be coming along. "I told him I can't go if I can't bring the family," he says, "and he talked to the band, and they were into it." Lane still must contain her excitement. "Right now, she says, "I am howling at the top of my lungs, just so you know." But there's more news! When they get to Philly and DC, Zach says, the band will be opening for Tokyo Police Club. "Foot stomping," Lane says, "so much foot stomping happening here!" Zach says yeah, it's gonna be awesome. They'll be playing at the 9:30, The Black Cat, and First Unitarian. Lane is so excited for him and this opportunity. "So many people are gonna see you play," she says. "I'm so proud of you, Zach." He wonders if they should wake the babies and share the good news, and a look of burning steel enters Lane's eyes. "Do it," she says, "and die."

Driving a humongous vehicle that I have learned from investigation belongs to the Dragonfly, Lorelai arrives home to see that Rory is also there. Lorelai finds her in her room, hiding under the covers of depression. "I tanked it," Rory says. "My final." Lorelai tries to talk her down, but Rory is pretty sure she did, in fact, tank it. "Why?" Lorelai asks. "'Cause," Rory moans, pulling a blue book from the sheets, "I didn't even turn all of it in." She's totally chagrined. Halfway through her third blue book, she says, she just started wondering "what's the point?" about all of this school stuff, since she's never going to get a job anyway. Lorelai listens as Rory describes the Cringe Hall Of Fame moment of calling back the ProJo and begging for that chance again. "They already gave it to someone else," she says. "Some non-idiot who didn't think they were too good and turn it down." Lorelai insists that Rory's not an idiot. "I am," Rory says. "I can probably never show my face in Providence again." Heee. Lorelai thinks she probably can, and brooks no further bullshit. "Honey, you had a setback," she says, "and that is really hard and terrible, but there is some paper out there that is going to hire you as their future superstar; that's just a fact." She says it's obvious that Rory's just having a meltdown, which is fine -- after all, everyone needs to have a meltdown every once in a while. You know, Lorelai was far less chipper about Rory's last meltdown, but whatever. In any case, she's right, but Rory's not having it. "Do you know what the worst part of this is?" Rory says. "I thought I was so in at the Times. I was just saying that I wasn't going to get it, because I was trying to be humble, but I was so not humble. I was so cocky. I was already picturing myself working there!" She describes her fantasy lunches with Maureen Dowd and fantasy chats with Bill Keller and cringes anew as she remembers that she'd already picked out her outfit for her official ID photo. "The new suit with the red Theory shirt," Lorelai says automatically. Rory: "Yeah." She says that the idea of telling everyone that she didn't get it is humiliating and it sucks to disappoint everyone. "Honey," Lorelai assures her. "You could never disappoint me. Ever. Ever, ever. Ever." Except...when you slept with a married dude and later stole a boat. But who's counting those? Certainly not me. I love Rory again.

Back at Lane's, she ably handles a dual diaper change with Brian's help while they both continue to gush about Zach's recent call up to the medium leagues of rock. Kwan, by the way, does not like to be naked. He protests loudly when his onesie is open. "Uh-oh," Lane says as she finally gets him changed. She employs the time-tested mother technique of SNIFFING the baby's BEHIND, and determines that Kwan is in need of another change. While she starts the unbuttoning process all over again, Brian talks about Zach's tour. Apparently, the drummer of this Vapor Rub band is only sober for two hours a day and, while they're on tour, Lane might get called upon to fill in. "Wouldn't that be something?" Lane trills, all excited. At this moment, she has reached Kwan's ground zero and realizes his diaper is free and clear. "Oh," Brian says. "Steve is now emitting a very foul odor." Ah, the ol' switcheroo. He brings Steve back over as Kwan launches into his round of protests, setting off Steve in the process. "Ugh," Brian says, "I hope the tour bus comes equipped with a nanny." A flicker of doubt crosses Lane's face as he wonders aloud at her ability to handle all this baby stuff. "My mom," Lane says, slightly surprised at herself, "has actually been really helpful." When Brian says that maybe the bassist's girlfriend will be good with kids, the furrow in Lane's brow deepens.

At Luke's, Lorelai and Rory engage in some diner food therapy while Lorelai tries to cheer Rory up with examples of people who overcame struggles to be successful. The best she can come up with are Alanis Morissette ("she dated Dave Coulier!") and Jackson Pollack ("from Heaven, he'd tell you he was glad [he struggled]!"). Yeah, somehow, Rory is not feeling cheered, even when Lorelai busts out an awesome homespun Successory: "A setback is really just a set-up for future accomplishment!" Rory scowls, but Lorelai lays it on the line: "Most of the things you've gone for, you've gotten," she tells Rory. "A setback might help you have some perspective." Rory very reluctantly agrees and digs deep to come up with her own struggle-to-success example: Mark Twain. When she gets a call from Logan and goes outside, slightly cheered, Luke comes by to ask Lorelai how things are going. "She's okay," Lorelai shrugs. "Rory's used to getting what Rory wants." Luke smiles sweetly and says he knows. He tells Lorelai he took all her advice about the April trip -- even making a reservation at Barnacle Billy's. "Bring me a to-go box," Lorelai says. She smiles so big and so beautifully, I don't understand how Scott Patterson doesn't hit a knee and propose. Instead, Luke goes on a bit about the trip, saying again how excited he is about it and how even though it's a six-week trip, it should be a lot of fun. Lorelai seems glad for him, though I detect a certain sadness when he mentions that "six weeks" part. She says that she and Rory have plans that night to go see Miss Patty and Babette at Kacey's. "It should be a hoot!" she says, totally cute, but Luke kind of pshaws, saying he isn't in the mood for going. "Yeah, uh, no..." Lorelai stutters, trying to indicate that she wasn't saying he should go with them. Awk...ward. Luke shrugs again, saying that maybe if he has free time, he'll stop by, and Lorelai flutters uncomfortably until he is called back to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, outside, Rory is on the phone with Logan, who is not quite sure when exactly he'll be coming back. When he hears her sad voice, he tells her not to worry about the Reston or her bad final; he has a feeling things will be looking up for her in the few days. Back inside, she and Lorelai prepare to go shopping. "Nothing I love more than shopping after a huge meal," Rory says, receiving my sympathetic ugh from across the airwaves. As they walk out, something else occurs to her. "Luke," she whispers to her mom, "changed his hat." Lorelai plays the innocent, shrugging, "Did he?"

On the wall, Luke's phone rings. It's April, calling from New Mexico. She's got some news. She's been invited to the Met's Science Camp, a huge honor and a great opportunity. The only thing is, she says, it's right during the boat trip Luke has planned. He is, of course, crushed, but he is happy for her. "It's too good an opportunity for you to pass up," he says. "I am so proud of you, kid." He hangs up, sighing.

Later that night, the joint is jumping at Kacey's as Miss Patty and Babette rock the house. They're making somewhat of a mockery of various classics, but I know those two ladies can sing. As Babette screeches through "Fever," dedicated to her dear Maury, the rest of the townies stare and cheer along with Lorelai and Rory. "Hey," Rory says. "You know what would really put me over the top, spirit-wise? If you sang." Lorelai says sure, yeah, on the way home tonight she'll roll down the windows and belt it out. No, Rory explains, she means if Lorelai sang some karaoke. "Oh, no," Lorelai says, shaking her head. "I'd have to be way more drunk for that." Rory smiles. "Well," she says, "we can arrange that." When the waitress passes, Rory orders "shots," and though we are left to wonder what sorts of shots they are, we must assume they are shots containing booze powerful enough to make Lorelai act a fool up in front of the town. We've seen these nameless "shots" work their magic in the past.

Meanwhile, at the diner, Luke does the books as Zach mops up for the night, still glowing about his tour news. He's megapsyched about all the places they'll be playing, including The Magic Stick, one of Detroit's finest venues. Luke is grouchy from his April letdown, so he's not exactly turning cartwheels about Zach's big trip, especially when Zach begins crowing about how perfectly the schedule is working out with Luke's trip plans. Luke breaks the news -- the trip's off. Immediately, Zach puts his own happiness on the back burner and tries to provide a shoulder for Luke to cry on. Luke, however, refuses to admit his deep and utter flannel-soaking sadness. "I'm sorry," Zach says, "I get it. You're processing." Lane arrives for her free night on the town to go with Zach to Kacey's. "He just got some totally devastating news," Zach stage-whispers in her ear. Luke: "It's not a big deal." Zach: "He's still processing." Lane and Zach both try to get Luke to come along and drown his sorrows. "You guys go ahead," he says. "Maybe I'll catch up."

Outside, as they walk to the bar, Zach notices how quiet Lane is. "I just kind of realized something today," she says. "I realized I can't go on tour." She says she would really love to, and that she's really sorry. "You don't have to be sorry about anything," Zach says. "I'll just call Graham tomorrow and tell him we can't go." Aw. But that's not what Lane's saying. "I'm saying I can't go," she says. "I still want you to go." Zach: "You do?" Lane: "Hell yeah." Awesome. She tells him that he can't leave her and the boys for two months, but she says that's the whole point -- two months isn't a long time, and she can see a lot of his shows. "You," he tells her, "are the coolest."

Speaking of the coolest, back at Kacey's, Kirk is KILLING the place with his own take on Culture Club's "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?" Oh, Boy George, you crazy, crazy man. Please get your insane ass in gear and come back out to take over the world. We are simply sitting here waiting. The crowd sits in awe as Kirk lays it down. "I must be drunk," Lorelai says, "'cause he sounds pretty good." Rory says Lorelai should start warming up then, because she's up . "I can't follow Kirk," Lorelai says in a faux-panic. "He can really sing!" Lane and Zach arrive to hugs all around. Lane and Rory catch up as Lorelai and Zach hit the bar. Rory tells Lane about the Reston meltdown, and Lane fills her in on the Vapor Rub news. Rory worries about Lane and Zach's original band. "Hep Alien," Lane says, "will live to rock again, but right now, opportunity calls." She says it will be hard for her to be apart from Zach for two months, but they will make it work. "Hmm," Rory smiles, "when did you get so mature?" Lane says that she thinks maybe the mature gene kicks in once you become a mother. Perfect setup, yes, for Lorelai to engage in some supermature behavior on stage. "Honey," she says into the microphone, "it's another really embarrassing moment for your diary." One day, internet, I will tell you all about the Korean karaoke bar/"massage parlor" right down the road from my house and all the strange and horrifying times I have had there. Well, in fact, maybe I won't tell you.

Lorelai puts her shot down just in time for her song to cue up. "Happy Graduation," she says, as strains from "I Will Always Love You" fill the bar. This is sweet for approximately nine reasons, three of which are as follows: 1) I don't know if she's trained or anything, but it's obvious Lauren Graham can actually sing and she's faking bad singing. Bad singing, if one is capable of carrying a tune, is hard to fake; 2) The music is that of Dolly's original; 3) The crowd or townies loves it, cheering when she kicks into the chorus.

As she hits the real sad part, where Dolly sings to Porter that she'll always have bittersweet memories of him, Luke walks in the door. Lorelai falters but keeps going. He grins when he sees her up there, but the townies and Rory notice the change in Lorelai. She gets herself together, though, and strongly sings on. "I hope life treats you kind," she sings, "and I hope you have all you dreamed of." When she kicks back into the chorus -- "And I will always love you" -- it's even too much for Luke. He looks down swiftly, steeling his emotions, and quickly looks back up, breathing deeply. Lorelai finishes the song, singing over and over again that she'll always love him, looking right at his face. And, with a little shrug and a wave, she leaves the stage to the cheers of an adoring and moved crowd. If you ain't crying, you're a good bit deader inside than you should be. I mean, hello, she'll always love him. I don't care if we're supposed to think that she loves him now, or that she was saying she loves him but will have to give him up, or that she always loved him even when she did give him up, or whatever. Don't care. It was awesome. And what balls to have her sing the entire song. May those who fail to nominate Lauren Graham for an Emmy and Golden Globe suffer boils and frogs unto their fifth generation. So sweet and well done with the whole town there and everybody playing it to the hilt. I loved it.

Speaking of curses, but not of boils and frogs, the day, Lorelai feels the pain of the evening's booze. Rory, however, is feeling no such pain. In fact, she is pretty much recovered and is about to leave to head back to school to prepare for her final with the full intention of turning in all blue books this time. "I really do feel better, though," she says. "All the wallowing, and the eating, and the shopping and, I don't know...maybe it's because you wished me 'joy and happiness." Hee. She says again that she feels much better. "It's like you said," she tells her hung over mom. "Sometimes you just have to let your feelings out." Lorelai cringes, remember her exhibition of feelings last night. "Yeah," she says, shaking her head. "Sometimes you do."

Zach is clearing breakfast plates at the diner, celebrating the success of Cesar's chilequiles! while they all reflect on last night's karaoke. "Gypsy does a mean Pat Benatar, huh?" Zach says. Luke: "That was interesting." When Zach asks Luke what he thought about Lorelai's performance, the blood temporarily leaves Luke's face. "Uh..." he starts, but Zach quickly interrupts -- he's just asking what he thought of the quality of her singing. Apparently, Zach is the only townie who did not pick up on the clues. He asks if Luke is still bummed about the April boat cancellation, and Luke surprises him by saying he's feeling better. "You know, hanging around here this summer might not be so bad." Yay! Zach suddenly remembers something. "I found your hat," he says, pulling Luke's (evil) black hat from his pocket. "It was wedged in behind the dishwasher. Told you it would turn up." So, he didn't choose to wear the blue hat for her after all... or did he? I mean, I'm just asking -- how did the black hat get wedged? He takes the hat and looks it over, laughing a bit before shoving it in his back pocket.

Back at the CrapShack, Lorelai is watching a movie when her doorbell rings. It's Logan and, surprise, surprise, he's come there to see her. They chitchat about his recent trip -- that's why he's come to talk to her -- he's been offered a position with an emerging internet company. "That's exciting!" Lorelai says. Logan nods. It is exciting, he says, and he feels like the company has a bright future. Lorelai tells him that he doesn't have to convince her: "I voiced my concerns; you told me your plans; we had pie; I'm cool." Logan says that means a lot to him, but there's more. Taking this job would mean he would move to San Francisco. Lorelai says she's surprised Rory hadn't told her this. "I haven't told her yet," Logan says, all nervous. Lorelai: "And...you're here...because you want me to tell her for you?" Logan laughs and says no, he just wanted to talk to Lorelai about it first. Lorelai's still not getting it. "Look," Logan says, taking a deep breath. "I love Rory. She means the world to me, and I want her to come with me to California. But not just as my girlfriend, which is why I'm here." In fact, he says, he's there to ask Lorelai's permission -- he wants to ask Rory to marry him. Silence reigns. "Lorelai?" Logan says. "Lorelai?" But she can't answer as a thousand emotions play across her face.