This is one of my all-time least favorite episodes. Rory and Paris once again too-coincidentally run into Madelyn and Louise (OK, so the showrunners like the actresses -- come up with a better way to use them!), who prompt bizarre occurrences such as Paris kissing Rory on the mouth just to get attention in a bar, and who provide the convenient plot element of drunk-dialing Dean and provoking a crisis in his marriage. Luke conveniently (for the writers) discovers Nicole is having an affair, so once again the writers set up a relationship that is intended to keep a romance at bay, then manipulate the character this way and that to make us hate the interloper when they need us to, then like the interloper when it has to play that way (see Tristan, see Max, see Sherry, see Logan). It's my all-time big gripe about this show I loved so much: recurring characters' behavior being continually wrenched around from one episode to the next according to how the writers needed us to feel that week toward the person. To a lesser extent it operated even with characters such as Jess. Having Luke get violent over this was annoying, and it was even more annoying when it came up in the last season as part of the whole April-Anna mess.

Jason was another character the writers toyed with mercilessly. We were mostly led to like him, then when the writers were ready to dump him for Luke, he was led precipitously to the edge to do stupid things. In this episode, though, we're still supposed to mostly like him, so he gives Lorelai a key and it doesn't go well.

It's an annoying, badly written episode all around, and I avoid it as much as possible, watching only when I watch the whole season in order, and fast-forwarding even then.

This episode has a lot of elements that are dumb, but many later episodes reference its events, so everyone should see it once. Also, if you are a Dwayne-and-Whitley shipper (i.e., you love that relationship and its storylines), you DEFINITELY want this one ... preferably recorded so that you can skip the goofy parts.

The idea is cute enough, and makes more sense in the episode than in a summary: Walter reasons that since he would have proposed to Jaleesa eventually, why not propose now and take advantage of the free honeymoon? (It's not JUST to get the trip, the way summaries often make it sound.) He's up-front with Jaleesa about this, and although she is more hesitant than he - logical for a divorcée - she follows her impulse and says "yes."

Whitley agrees to do the speedy plans for a ceremony and drafts Dwayne to help her. This development gives them lots of time to flirt and for him to ask her about her ideal man, which initially sounds like Dwayne. However, as Jaleesa and Walter's plans fall apart, Whitley has second thoughts and decides not to start a relationship with Dwayne right now. I love the way both of them get to show a variety of natural emotions and explore their characters' relationship and feelings about the relationship. (And don't miss the KISS! :)

However, the whole wedding subplot is clumsily handled. Jaleesa begins having doubts immediately and confides them promptly to Walter, yet both sound shocked at the wedding that the other is calling it off. The ideas that come up in the storyline are worth introducing: that often people who are getting married don't realize that they have different assumptions about their roles, children, work, etc. But even though the rush treatment is the whole reason it comes up, it means the treatment is ... well, rushed. The ending of the wedding segment leaves me feeling very let down, not so much because they didn't get married as because the whole show just seems as if it could have used an extra 5-10 minutes to work properly. It would have been a perfect candidate for NBC's later "Super Sized Episode" gimmick!

When Debbie Allen took over the show in year two, she singled out this episode as a prime example of what was wrong with the first year of the show. She pointed out that first and foremost, it's a high-school plot in a college show; no college psych class would make this stupid assignment of egg-sitting. In fact, it's a plot that has already been used SEVERAL times in other sitcoms, always as an assignment for a younger student. Anne Beatts, who was the key person in the show's production the first year, previously created and wrote for "Square Pegs," a show set at the high-school level, and I've always felt that she was trying to continue what she didn't get to finish there.

Second, the episode prominently features Maggie, whose character was an additional issue for Allen. She noted that Maggie's unusual presence as a White student at a Historically Black College/University was never explained nor explored; it's not that such schools never draw White students, but there's usually a reason. (Contrast the case of Freddie's cousin Matthew, some seasons later, who was a student from nearby Avery taking classes at Hillman for enrichment and, one assumes, to understand his biracial cousin's heritage as well.)

It's just a bad plot and a bad episode, and their burning it off in the summer before Season Two is COMPLETELY understandable.

I will never understand why this episode aired after the real series finale, when few people were likely to watch it. It features much of what was best about the show ... fun, insight, character exploration, and a commitment to making connections with the Black American Experience (caps required). The tribute to Lena Horne is fabulous (especially the line about Ava Gardner), as is the interaction with Mr. Gaines. Kim's part in the story is especially good and in keeping with her character's personality in every way -- her scenes with Mr. Gaines, Ms. Horne, and Whitley are all "dead on."

As is sometimes typical of the show and particularly the last season, there are some bits that are "over the top." The Dean Davenport (Dr. "On My List") character makes another tiresome appearance, and much of the material for Whitley -- outside of the Mr. Gaines/Lena Horne interactions -- is tired, such as her interaction with her middle-school students. We also get hit over the head a bit with the demonstrations of Whitley's impatience with Mr. Gaines, though it is in character.