4x21 Last Week Fights, This Week Tights

[8.2/10] Lots of good stuff in this one, so for a change, let’s go in order from things I liked to things I wasn’t wild about.

Oh man, the emotional moments with Luke here were great. Scott Patterson can do the rapid-fire dialogue with the best of them, and he can be the exaggerated grump when the show calls for it, but he can also be just outstanding at underplaying moments, and through that, making them all the more impactful.

The show trends toward bombast when he storms off in a huff after Lorelai unwittingly makes fun of self-help book, but then things go back to normal and then something...better than normal. The scene with Luke and Lorelai’s first dance is just outstanding, superlative, one of the best scenes in the show. For a series known for its razor sharp writing, it’s a scene without dialogue, one where Lorelai’s surprise at Luke wanting to dance, her delight at his talent at doing so, and the shared joy of this unexpected intimacy between the two of them is just perfect. Patterson and Graham sell the hell out of that moment, and how right and warm it feels, and the song selection and crane shot don’t hurt either.

Then there’s the fateful moment where Luke unassumingly asks Lorelai out. It’s very like Luke not to make a big speech, or confess his feelings, or have some big showy deal. He just asks (somewhat cryptically) if she’d like to “have fun” again and set a date. Lorelai’s confusion and then shock, and his understated smile and relief on the walk are, again, perfectly calibrated. These are moments that Gilmore Girls absolutely had to get right, since so much of the romantic heft it’s been building lead up to them, and this episode knocked them out of the park.

The same goes for the exchange between Luke and Jess. If you’ve been following these write-ups at all, you’ll know that Jess has never been my favorite character, but the guise in which I’ve appreciated him the most is as a flawed kid who realizes his flaws and means to do better, even when he doesn’t quite get there. Seeing the bit of growth from him here, thanking Luke for all he’s down and expressing his thanks and affection in a way that’s true to who Jess is turns into another really warm and right moment with Luke. And Luke’s response, that he already knew that but appreciates it, and that he’s always there for his nephew, is even better. It’s the right button to put on what unassumingly became a parent/child relationship as strong and complicated as the many others on the show.

Complicated parent-child relationships are apparently a forte for “Last Week Fights, This Week Tights”, since it’s only the seasons-in-the-making warm fuzzies from Lorelai/Luke and Jess/Luke that keep the story of Mrs. Kim visiting Lane’s apartment from being the absolute greatest thing in this episode. But make no mistake, it’s a tremendous bit of work and storytelling for all involved, and in almost any episode, it would be the highlight.

One of the things Gilmore Girls has proven itself very good at time and time again is stories of parents and children who don’t necessarily see eye-to-eye, but who try, and maybe grit their teeth a little, but ultimately find empathy for one another and, ultimately, common ground. We really only have three or four seasons with the Kim family, but each is perfect.

I love the way that Mrs. Kim rebuffs Lorelai’s suggestions that she visit Lane, and puts up a tough front, but then like Jess, takes the advice and makes overtures that are true to who she is. I love Mrs. Kim’s initial visit to the apartment, for how conspicuously and adorably well-behaved Lane’s bandmates, for how nice a face Lane puts on everything, and for the incredible expression of shock and dismay that Mrs. Kim gets as soon as she realizes her daughter is living with boys. (Seriously, Emily Kuroda doesn’t get enough credit for how hilarious she is on this show.)

And I love how Mrs. Kim confides in Lorelai, someone whose parenting style she disagrees with, but who’s really her only window and guide to this world. There’s a common bond of motherhood there, and the show never overdoes it, but it’s always a treat when the two of them are together and talking about these things. Last, but certainly not least, I love that Mrs. Kim decides to go back, and she is clearly uncomfortable, but she makes her best attempt to understand her daughter and accept her. It’s baby steps, but they’re meaningful baby steps, and that goes a long way.

Apart from that, the assorted wedding stuff is enjoyable. Liz continues to be a strong addition to the show’s recurring characters, and there’s a rapport between her and Lorelai that makes even cheesy teases like “you’ll make someone a great sister-in-law someday” work. T.J. constantly talking about his tights is amusing enough, and he and Liz’s vows do a nice job of priming the audience for greater romance to come and to plant the seeds in Luke and Lorelai’s minds that they want something like that some day. I could do without Liz’s amorous friends or Kirk going full cartoony, but otherwise, it’s good stuff.

And then, sigh, there’s Rory’s material here. For one thing, it’s odd that suddenly everyone, from Tana, to Paris, to (lightly) Lorelai, to Emily is suddenly concerned with Rory’s “dry spell” in her dating life. It comes out of nowhere and feels contrived to lead to the events at the end of the episode. It is entertaining to see the Yalie that Emily sets her up with (Duncan Kane from *Veronica Mars, except he has a personality here!) turn out to be a knob, but I don’t like where it goes.

We’re four seasons into the show now. Can we please stop turning over the Rory/Dean/Jess love triangle? It makes no sense that Dean would be the person Rory would call when she’s in this sort of jam, and it just adds fuel to the fire of this budding cheating storyline that I have no chill for. The fact that Rory is suddenly concerned with what’s going on with Dean and Lindsay veers into such Dawson’s Creek territory, and yeah, this is a fellow WB show, so I should expect a certain amount of teen melodrama, but feh.

Then there’s Jess, in the most overwrought scene yet. Part of that’s just on the actors. In truth, I like some of the idea here -- that Jess means well by Rory and means to make good, but he doesn’t really know what she wants or get what’s important to her. He has an ideal that he’s chasing and he doesn’t get how he’s hurt her or how she can’t just drop her life to be with him. But this is a pretty cheesy way to dramatize that idea, and while I appreciate Rory not dithering and just saying “no” even when Jess sets out what “no” means with his Rebel Without a Cause pout, it’s just too much.

Still, that doesn’t detract from a stellar episode that absolutely nails some huge moments, and hits plenty of the smaller ones too.