[8.5/10] A guilty confession on my part: there’s times when I like Richard and Emily more than I like Lorelai and Rory. They’re foils, if not quite antagonist, which means the show let’s them be a little more flawed, a little more fallible, than it does the two main characters, and that gives them more places to go. Giving them an episode like this one, where they’re driving the story, or at least more subject than object in it, is a treat.
It all spins out from Gran dying, and I love the effect it has on the two of them. Edward Hermann, who’s beginning to feel underused on the show, gives a dynamite performance as a distraught Richard. His mumbling, emboldened, saddened, and above all unmoored reaction to the death of his mother is remarkable, affecting work. The way he reflects on Gran’s life, on her accomplishments, on what she meant to him, in front of Lorelai evinces the softer, more human side of this normally proud, dignified man. Seeing how this event gets to someone normally so unflappable gives it power, even if we, like Rory, were just getting to know Lorelai Sr.
It’s also a great outing for the consistently outstanding Kelly Bishop as Emily. I love the turn for her here, where initially she is a bastion of support and logistical wizardry as usual, making every arrangement and neglecting no detail to take care of the funeral. It’s Emily in her element, planning a social event (albeit a less festive one than normal) and settling her mother-in-law’s estate.
But then she finds the letter that Gran wrote to Richard on the eve of his wedding, pleading with him to call things off, and Emily throws her hands in the air. All this work, all this struggle, all the years of trying to please someone who never thought you should have been in the family in the first place. The woman we see afterward -- wearing a housecoat, smoking and drinking in the middle of the day -- is one who has spent decades trying to live up to the Gilmore name and Gran’s vision of what a proper Gilmore wife should be, only to learn that in her mother-in-law’s eyes, she didn’t measure up. There’s thirty (forty?) years of blowing off steam happening in the span of a few days, and it is both delightful and sad to see Emily roaming the house, reading for her book club, and wondering aloud how Richard’s ex would have handled things.
And it’s just as interesting seeing the effect that Gran’s death has on Lorelai and Rory, less because of how they’re personally affected by her passing, and more because of how they try to support Richard and Emily. It’s endearing to see Lorelai jump into the fray when her mother abdicates responsibility, and try to make all the necessary arrangements. It’s interesting to see her have her own mini-freakout reaction to all of this in the lingerie store.
It’s even better to see Rory try to comfort Richard. The grandfather and granddaughter have always had a certain bond, and seeing that shorthand and support show up right when Richard needs it is heartening as all hell. And it’s just as heartening to see Rory and Lorelai talk about the “reigning Lorelai” and process these events in their own way.
Plus, the comedy in the episode is superb as well. The klepto, tall-tale telling cousin is a hoot. The whole town listening with rapt attention to Luke and Nicole’s fight is amusing,. And the reverend declaring “didn’t I just bury you” after being introduced to “Lorelai Gilmore” has me guffahing.
But the peak of the episode is Richard and Emily both getting a little closure in a fashion that suits them. It comes from Richard declaring that Gran’s ashes don’t need to be on the mantle, that she can, instead, be wholly buried with her husband. It’s a small thing, but it goes against Gran’s carefully worded wishes, and it’s a sign both that as much as Richard loved his mother, he is not a slave to her wants or instructions, and that there’s consideration from him as to what Emily would want, and what having the specter of his mother looming over them from their mantle would do to her. It’s a small gesture, but one that speaks volumes about who Richard and Emily are as a couple, completely independently of anything Gran had to say about it, and it’s a hell of a way to close out an episode.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2017-11-10T21:18:21Z
[8.5/10] A guilty confession on my part: there’s times when I like Richard and Emily more than I like Lorelai and Rory. They’re foils, if not quite antagonist, which means the show let’s them be a little more flawed, a little more fallible, than it does the two main characters, and that gives them more places to go. Giving them an episode like this one, where they’re driving the story, or at least more subject than object in it, is a treat.
It all spins out from Gran dying, and I love the effect it has on the two of them. Edward Hermann, who’s beginning to feel underused on the show, gives a dynamite performance as a distraught Richard. His mumbling, emboldened, saddened, and above all unmoored reaction to the death of his mother is remarkable, affecting work. The way he reflects on Gran’s life, on her accomplishments, on what she meant to him, in front of Lorelai evinces the softer, more human side of this normally proud, dignified man. Seeing how this event gets to someone normally so unflappable gives it power, even if we, like Rory, were just getting to know Lorelai Sr.
It’s also a great outing for the consistently outstanding Kelly Bishop as Emily. I love the turn for her here, where initially she is a bastion of support and logistical wizardry as usual, making every arrangement and neglecting no detail to take care of the funeral. It’s Emily in her element, planning a social event (albeit a less festive one than normal) and settling her mother-in-law’s estate.
But then she finds the letter that Gran wrote to Richard on the eve of his wedding, pleading with him to call things off, and Emily throws her hands in the air. All this work, all this struggle, all the years of trying to please someone who never thought you should have been in the family in the first place. The woman we see afterward -- wearing a housecoat, smoking and drinking in the middle of the day -- is one who has spent decades trying to live up to the Gilmore name and Gran’s vision of what a proper Gilmore wife should be, only to learn that in her mother-in-law’s eyes, she didn’t measure up. There’s thirty (forty?) years of blowing off steam happening in the span of a few days, and it is both delightful and sad to see Emily roaming the house, reading for her book club, and wondering aloud how Richard’s ex would have handled things.
And it’s just as interesting seeing the effect that Gran’s death has on Lorelai and Rory, less because of how they’re personally affected by her passing, and more because of how they try to support Richard and Emily. It’s endearing to see Lorelai jump into the fray when her mother abdicates responsibility, and try to make all the necessary arrangements. It’s interesting to see her have her own mini-freakout reaction to all of this in the lingerie store.
It’s even better to see Rory try to comfort Richard. The grandfather and granddaughter have always had a certain bond, and seeing that shorthand and support show up right when Richard needs it is heartening as all hell. And it’s just as heartening to see Rory and Lorelai talk about the “reigning Lorelai” and process these events in their own way.
Plus, the comedy in the episode is superb as well. The klepto, tall-tale telling cousin is a hoot. The whole town listening with rapt attention to Luke and Nicole’s fight is amusing,. And the reverend declaring “didn’t I just bury you” after being introduced to “Lorelai Gilmore” has me guffahing.
But the peak of the episode is Richard and Emily both getting a little closure in a fashion that suits them. It comes from Richard declaring that Gran’s ashes don’t need to be on the mantle, that she can, instead, be wholly buried with her husband. It’s a small thing, but it goes against Gran’s carefully worded wishes, and it’s a sign both that as much as Richard loved his mother, he is not a slave to her wants or instructions, and that there’s consideration from him as to what Emily would want, and what having the specter of his mother looming over them from their mantle would do to her. It’s a small gesture, but one that speaks volumes about who Richard and Emily are as a couple, completely independently of anything Gran had to say about it, and it’s a hell of a way to close out an episode.