Sorry for the tumbleweeds, but it’s likely to continue for a few days. In the meantime, let’s talk about good TV. Tonight’s ep is:
Twenty-One Is The Loneliest Number. As Rory’s (Alexis Bledel) twenty-first birthday approaches, both Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory are saddened by the fact that their ongoing estrangement will keep them from spending the day the way they had always planned. Richard (Edward Herrmann) tries to convince Lorelai to help him with a plan to get Rory back to Yale, but Lorelai insists that Rory has to make the decision herself. While Richard continues to worry about Rory’s future, Emily (Kelly Bishop) throws herself into planning an elaborate birthday party. Meanwhile, Emily and Richard are shocked when they realize that Rory and Logan (Matt Czuchry) have been having sex. Melissa McCarthy, Scott Patterson, Keiko Agena and Liza Weil also star. Bob Berlinger directed the episode written by Amy Sherman-Palladino
Sounds like a winner and the writing credit soothes.
The first episode (maybe) that I’ve truly loved this season. No one quite manages Amy Sherman-Palladino dialogue like ASP herself. The Madeleine Albright cameo was excellent and they just nailed the yearning and distance between Lorelai and Rory throughout. It was interesting how irrelevant the grandparents became in their shadow.
And “drinking a My-Little-Pony” and the scene with the reverend and all those sausages.
Only complaint: Why was Lane wearing a velvet potato sack? She is rock and roll.
More tomorrow.
It’s a script like this that highlights the difference between clever dialogue and dead-on sharp fantastic dialogue on this show. God, it’s good to hear the characters sound just right.
Really loving the increasing desperation of the grandparents, and Emily becoming more blatantly monstrous in her manipulations. This episode highlighted the thing she’s trying to do to Lorelai, her need to make L feel shut out of Rory’s life the way Emily’s felt shut out of it for so long. I think this sort of triangle is one of those basic family dynamics people absorb at an early age, then recreate around them for the rest of their lives, and pass on to the next generation. Lorelai, though I don’t blame her for it, has definitely made a point of letting Emily know that L&R “get” each other in a way that Emily never will. Now Emily is trying so hard to be the one with the direct connection to Rory and to cut Lorelai out, and it’s just awful to see. Both because it hurts Lorelai so much and because it’s so pathetic on Emily’s part. And Rory hasn’t been above feeding into that, in her own anger and need to push her mom away, though it looks like maybe she’s made enough of a separation that she’s ready to start moving toward Lorelai again.
I agree this ep did a wonderful job of conveying the irrelevance of the grandparents against the real bond between L&R, even while the two of them barely spoke. AS-P did some interesting storytelling to get that across.
Bless Madeleine Albright for doing that cameo.
Love love love the brief flashes of shared understanding between L and R at the party, and the parallel scenes showing how in sync they are even while estranged. Just a beautifully done episode.
As for next week’s trailer… well, I have never been so glad to see Jess!
Stupid hurricane; in addition to all the destruction and general lack of power, it kept me from watching Rory’s 21st birthday.
So is this week’s episode new?