Gilmore Girls

At Friday night dinner, the conversation centers on the Atlantic City trip for Richard's clients. Emily is appalled by the tawdriness of the event but Richard seemed pleased that it was quite a success and enjoyed by the clients. Lorelai asks Emily and Richard if they had read any of Rory's articles for theYale Daily News. They are all very impressed with the work she had done. Rory reminds them that she is not on the paper yet; the articles she is writing are try-out articles. They all express great confidence and pride in her work.
At the Yale Daily News, Rory is perusing the paper for an article she had written on a chamber-music recital while Paris complains about the hoops they are forced to jump through in order to be on the paper. Rory realizes her article isn't in the paper and asks Doyle if it was an error. She is hurt to hear him describe her article as boring. To add insult to injury, Paris celebrates when she sees her article in the paper.
In Stars Hollow, Lorelai, Rory and Lane are walking down the street while Rory bemoans the poor evaluation she received from her editor. Of course, Lorelai and Lane offer their support. Lane is excited about an upcoming call from Dave. She tells them she misses him but he will be home for Christmas. Lorelai reaches Sookie's house and leaves Rory and Lane. She bumps into Michel who is sitting on the porch. Sookie doesn't want the baby getting sick so she has banned him from the house because he sneezed. Lorelai goes in and begins talking baby talk to Davey. Michel is feeling sorry for himself and contributes the odd snarky comment. Lorelai begins the meeting by reporting on the progress of the Dragonfly. As Lorelai speaks, Bruce enters the room. Lorelai expresses how special it was to be present at the birth but Bruce maintains her stern countenance. She lectures Lorelai about how speaking baby talk to a baby can retard language acquisition. She announces that the baby will feed in five minutes and leaves the room. The meeting ends as abruptly as it began.
At the Yale newspaper office, Rory gives Doyle another sampling of her writing. She is surprised and a little discouraged to see him crossing large sections out. It's is of little consolation to Rory to hear that this article was better than the last. Doyle explains that her research is fine but advises her to write what she thinks.
At the Yale Theater, Lorelai and Rory are taking their seats at a ballet performance. Lorelai is excited by the great seats but Rory is still discouraged and is questioning her talent. Lorelai encourages Rory and suggests she just has to adjust to a new environment. To Lorelai's delight the performance is deeply flawed and worthy of great mocking.
The next day at the Yale newspaper office, Doyle is reading Rory's review of the ballet and is properly impressed. Rory is pleased and regains her confidence when he sends the article to layout.
At Kim's Antiques, Mrs. Kim finishes with a customer and calls to Lane. She asks Lane to send a gift to Dave from her. Lane is pleased by the gesture.
Lorelai is walking down the street chatting with Michel about baby talk. When they reach Luke's, Lorelai goes in to get something to eat while Michel leaves for the Inn. Lorelai is shocked to see Nicole sitting at the counter. She begins to babble awkwardly with her and finally flees in embarrassment.
At Yale, Rory talks to a rather upset Lane on her cell phone. Lane has just had a fight with Dave. She explains that didn't send him the jug but she phoned him to warn him that Mrs. Kim's intended gift was her marriage jug. Dave was not very pleasant about the news and they fought. Rory tells her he is only eighteen and has just started college so his reaction to the idea of marriage is natural. When Rory arrives at her dorm door, the words DIE JERK are written on her door. Rory says good-bye to Lane and goes into her dorm room to find Paris, Janet and Tanna trying to figure out who might have written those words. Paris has made a list and gotten her '860 partners' to take care of them. Janet and Paris leave while Rory and Tanna watch TV.
In Luke's, Lorelai greets Luke by asking him what's new, trying to elicit the news that Nicole is back in his life. Luke is oblivious to the intended meaning of her question and tells her about his new coffee pots. She persists but Luke has nothing new to report. Lorelai finally confronts him…
Lorelai: Nicole, Luke. Nicole was here. She's the one who told you that I was here and didn't stay. She's new. Nothing new.

Luke: Well, you saw her, so it's not new.

Lorelai: Oh, it's so new. What's going on there?

Luke: Well, we're kind of seeing each other again.

Lorelai: Thank you, and. . .boy!

Luke: It's not heavy-duty.

Lorelai: So you're not getting divorced?

Luke: Yeah, we put it on hold.

Lorelai: Put the divorce on hold?

Luke: Yeah.

Lorelai: Can you do that?

Luke: I don't know. It's all new to me.

Lorelai: So, um, is she moving in with you?

Luke: No.

Lorelai: What, no? You're husband and wife. It's not a crazy question.

Luke: No, we're man and woman. We're just seeing each other as if we're not husband and wife.

Lorelai: Oh, well, the state of Connecticut sees it differently, you know. To the state, you're sharing a toothbrush holder and deciding together whether there's enough in the dishwasher to justify running it.
She continues to question Luke about the new status of his relationship with Nicole but doesn't seem to get the answers she wants. She admits that she doesn't think Nicole likes her. Luke tells her that Nicole likes her fine and that they are trying to put off the hassle of a divorce. Lorelai continues the argument but gets frustrated and storms out after telling Luke that his coffee pots are stupid.
At the Yale dining hall, Rory sits down to eat and is approached by a rather irate ballerina. She begins quoting the negative comments Rory made in her review and ends by repeating the threat written on her dorm room…"Bye Jerk, Die Jerk"
Lorelai arrives for Friday night dinner to find Emily stewing because Richard is still in his study working instead of getting ready for dinner. She explains that he is with Jason working on his computer. When they finally come out of the study, Richard is carrying his laptop around the room delighted that it is now wireless. Emily goes into the kitchen and Richard heads out to the patio leaving Lorelai and Jason to talk. They begin to flirt. Jason asks Lorelai if she received the flowers he sent. Finally they begin to discuss Emily's disapproval for Jason. He bemoans the fact that he cannot seem to please her. To Jason that is not all bad since the more Emily dislikes him the more likely it is that Lorelai will go out with him. Lorelai denies that that is the case. Jason decides that he is going to get himself invited to dinner. Lorelai tells him that it is not going to happen but Jason is confident. Rory arrives and meets Jason. At that moment Richard has a problem with his computer and Jason goes to help. Lorelai and Rory sit and Rory begins to relate her encounter with the angry ballerina. She lets Lorelai read her article…
Lorelai: Whoa.

Rory: What?

Lorelai: Well, you really hated this ballet.

Rory: Well, we both really hated it. Remember?

Lorelai: Yeah, I do. Jeez.

Rory: Oh, now, come on.

Lorelai: Well, this is just so harsh.

Rory: Again, you were there.

Lorelai: I know, but there's something about seeing it in print. People don't write as mean as they talk, except you.

Rory: I wrote what I felt.

Lorelai: "The roll around the bra strap"?

Rory: That was your line!

Lorelai: It was? I'm awful.

Rory: And it's not even critical of the ballerina's skills. It's critical of the costumer's skills.

Lorelai: I know, but it sounds like she couldn't fit into a standard leotard.

Rory: She couldn't! But again, the costumer should have put her in a larger leotard.

Lorelai: Do I see the word "hippo" coming up?

Rory: Give me the paper.

Lorelai: I'm sorry, it's just so specific.
Rory attempts to defend herself but she feels too guilty about the things she wrote and finally concedes that she was too hard on the dancer. Emily enters and is surprised to see that Richard is still in the study. She calls to him and is surprised to see both Richard and Jason come into the room. She is obviously displeased to still have Jason around. Jason tells the group that he has to go; he has a cheeseburger to eat. Richard is appalled by the suggestion. Jason explains that it is his favorite meal and that he has had it three times this week. Jason proceeds to tell a horrified Richard that he goes to a stand that makes the hamburgers especially for him. Richard pressures a very reluctant Emily and she finally forces an unenthusiastic invitation. Jason graciously accepts as Lorelai looks on in awe.
The dinner conversation begins with compliments on the delicious dinner. Emily ungraciously suggests because there is an extra person for dinner they can ration but Richard dismisses the idea suggesting there is always enough food. Jason comments that having high speed Internet is going to make more free time available to Richard. He explains that emails are much quicker that phone calls. It is suggested that Emily could also get a lot of use out of the Internet. Lorelai explains that it's great for shopping. Emily begins to rhapsodize about being in a beautiful store, surrounded by beautiful things with people bustling around. Both Lorelai and Rory begin to agree with Emily. Lorelai admits that she misses the fun by shopping on the Internet. At this point, Jason realizes that although he won the battle he has just lost the war with Emily. He looks at Lorelai in frustration. The conversation moves to Rory's review of the ballet…
Emily: Rory, I've been meaning to mention to you, we read that wonderful review you wrote on the ballet. It was excellent.

Richard: Oh-ho-ho-ho, you eviscerated that girl.

Emily: I actually didn't mean to eviscerate her. I was just trying to be honest.

Richard: Well, you honestly sliced her open and ripped out her guts.

Emily: Your pen was your knife.
Rory begins to feel even worse. Lorelai mentions that the ballerina had a bad reaction to the review. Emily defends Rory's review by suggesting that truthful reviews divulge important information to consumers. The conversation moves to good restaurants in the area. Once again, Jason attempts to ingratiate himself to Emily by asking for some guidance in finding some good restaurants in the area. Although ostensibly Jason is questioning Emily about the restaurants and food she likes, he is covertly inquiring about Lorelai preferences in food and restaurants. Of course, Emily and Richard are oblivious to his intentions.
At the Yale newspaper office, Rory is pitching a new idea to Doyle. She wants to write a new review for the ballet. Doyle tells her she is a journalist and she can't be worried about hurting people's feelings. He tells her if she can't handle the pressure she should leave the paper. Of course, Rory doesn't want to leave. Doyle gives her another assignment.
At Kim's Antiques, Lane explains why she can't send the jug to Dave. Mrs. Kim is confused. It turns out that it isn't actually a marriage jug, Mrs. Kim just told Lane that story to stop her from crying.
Rory is on her cell, talking to her mother. She is going into a theater to review a musical performance. Lorelai is explaining that she can't go into Luke's because she was so shocked and awkward with Nicole. She continues by describing her argument with Luke…
Lorelai: No, and I was the very picture of awkwardness, and basically, I just fled. And when I saw Luke later, we got into a fight about it, and I told him his coffee pots were stupid.

Rory: So it was very sophisticated.

Lorelai: He is so guarded, so uncooperative.

Rory: You know, you should probably get over your problem with Luke being uncooperative.

Lorelai: Well, I don't want there to be weirdness between me and Nicole if she's back in our lives. I mean, Luke has gotta get it through his thick skull that whoever is in his life is in my life, too.
Rory suggest that this approach is a little "stalkery" but Lorelai defends her position by explaining that they live in a small community. Rory asks her if she is going to tell Luke about Jason. Rory tell Lorelai that there was a palpable vibe during dinner although Emily and Richard were oblivious to it. Lorelai wonders if it would be crazy to go out with someone from her parent's world. The show begins and Rory says good-bye to her mother.