4x11 In the Clamor and the Clangor

[7.7/10] The B-stories here are both pretty meh. Rory thinking that the guy who rejected her in the laundry room is spreading rumors and talking trash about her is a trifle and not a particularly entertaining one. I’m all for stories where Rory gets a bit self-righteous and then learns a bit of humility (and seriously, does she ever leave Stars Hollow?) but this felt like a throw-in.

I was even less enamored with the Luke/Lorelai story. Again, you can coast a lot when those two are paired up because of how excellent a dynamic they have on screen, but man, the whole deal with Luke not telling Lorelai he moved in with Nicole is such generic will-they-won’t-they B.S. Pull the trigger or don’t, Gilmore Girls, but don’t give us this nonsense. Or at least give us an obstacle to their getting together better than some rarely seen girlfriend/wife who’s more of a device than a character. Yeah, them sneaking in to break the bells is cute enough (and the minister giving them the okay is delightful) but it’s preceded by overdramatic YELLING ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT WE’RE FRIENDS and other cheesy loud material.

But my god, the Lane story is so great. For one thing, it just works as a story about Lane really wanting something -- in this case the chance to play at CBGBs -- and moving heaven and earth to make it happen. The way she holds her band together, encourages Gil, and pushes the booker are all well done. You can tell how big a deal this is for her, that she’s willing to go to such lengths, and Keiko Agena plays it perfectly.

But then the rubber hits the road. She can’t go home to face her mother; Mrs. Kim goes through her room; and the house of cards she’s constructed since she was six comes tumbling down. It’s a little thing, but I really like how Lorelai gets the call from Rory and Lane and immediately calls Mrs. Kim to tell her where her daughter is. It’s a welcome bit of maturity for Lorelai, and a nice sign that as cool as she is, she knows what it feels like to not know where your daughter is and wouldn’t put another mother through it, even if it’s for a good cause.

To the same end, I love how Gilmore Girls never makes Mrs. Kim a villain. She's an obstacle at times, and certainly unyielding, but also very human. She's principled, but she clearly feels things and wants the best for her daughter, even if she expresses that in a way we might find unreasonable. The show never loses empathy for her even when it shows her being harsh.

That empathy comes comically with the firemen and prayer-leaders assembled in the Kim home when Lane is missing, but more sincerely when Mrs. Kim runs into Luke. Luke, of course, talks about how responsible Lane is for telling him ahead of time that she won’t be able to make it to work the next day. And Mrs. Kim has this startling moment where she realizes that Lane told Lorleai where she was going to be (or so she thinks); she told Luke, but she never told her mom. It’s a scales-falling moment that shatters the trust between the two women.

And there’s such impact from the show upending the status quo with the Kims it’s put in place for 3 1/2 years. We’ve been building to a reckoning (albeit gradually) between Lane and her mom for a long time. Lane being frank with Mrs. Kim, telling her exactly what she wants, not wanting to have to lie or keep things from her, is a big deal. And so is Mrs. Kim feeling bad but standing by her beliefs, that “kids don’t make the rules” and kicking her daughter out.

It’s a testament to Gilmore Girls that you understand both characters here. My sympathies naturally lie with Lane, since I’m big on self-determination and not so big on being forced to go to religious schools, but you also get where Mrs. Kim is coming from even if you (or, more accurately, I) don’t agree with it. For one thing, Mrs. Kim feels betrayed, and for another, she likely feels like she’s failed to have raised a daughter who would do such things. I hope the show explores it further.

And then, of course, there’s Lane, who is finally honest with her mom, finally frank with her about what she feels and what she wants, and all she gets in return is the boot. It’s quietly heartbreaking, and her showing up at Rory’s dorm is, again, a big deal.

A lot of the stuff in this episode doesn’t work, whether it’s the generic Rory story or more romcom crud with Luke and Lorelai. But the Kim family issues are so well-done, and so long in the making, that the episode soars regardless. It’s a hell of a thing to deliver at the halfway mark of the series.