7.22 Bon Voyage

TV.com Summary: Rory, in her pajamas, meets CNN journalist and her idol Christiane Amanpour. Although Lorelai and Rory have planned a crazy roller coaster tour for the summer, Rory must postpone their trip when she gets a surprise job offer to cover Barack Obama’s presidential campaign for an online magazine in Eldridge, Iowa. She must leave in three days for possibly two years, breaking the hearts of all the townspeople looking forward to her graduation re-enactment in a week. Luke enlists the help of everyone in Stars Hollow to throw Rory a surprise bon voyage party. Also, Lorelai is staying maniacally busy to keep from showing how saddened she is, but finally admits she is worried that if she stops to think about Rory leaving then she might fall apart. Also, Lane consoles Rory when she has a panic attack about leaving everyone and everything she loves behind. When Babette has a premonition (via her ankles) of a huge rainstorm, Luke stays up all night sewing a tent to keep Rory’s outdoor party covered from the downpour. His thoughtfulness brings an unexpected reaction from Lorelai, allowing the two to star a passionate kiss. Meanwhile, Emily is pleased when Lorelai decides to continue the Friday night dinners without Rory. Finally, on the morning that Rory leaves Stars Hollow to start her career, Luke opens the diner before dawn to share a special breakfast with the Gilmore girls. Writer: David S. Rosenthal / Director: Lee Shallat-Chemel

Elise’s Comment:

They managed to combine all the ingredients that make a Gilmore Girls episode great. The Stars Hollow vibe was more present than its ever been during the past four years. Everything was natural and honest. All we got were raw emotions and real people. I read that Lauren Graham asked Mr Rosenthal to rewrite part of the episode because it was too “light”. I wonder how much input she had on the final outcome.

Family relationships were at the core of the episode. I enjoyed greatly the scenes shared between Lorelai and Rory. I’m glad this relationship took centre stage, and was not overshadowed by Rory’s recent breakup with Logan or Lorelai’s feelings for Luke. We got to see our girls share some quality time together, just as they did in earlier seasons. Again this week, I can say that this episode could’ve been taken right out of season one. This is a compliment.

The ironing scene was about the saddest one. I cried quite a bit there, and couldn’t really stop afterwards. They were happy tears mostly, because things are ending well for our girls. But I also felt sad that this was the last time I would see them.

“It’s too soon.” – Lorelai

I love how Lorelai’s relationship with her parents has grown during the past seasons. A couple of episodes ago, Rory mentioned that she wanted the relationship between Lorelai and Emily to be stable before she left for a job (if that were to happen). I found it interesting to see Emily trying to find a way to force Lorelai to keep coming on Friday nights. I’m glad things worked out between them. While on the subject, I was very impressed to see Emily and Richard in Stars Hollow. It really moved me. Here are quotations that occurred during the last Friday night dinner:

Lorelai: Maybe we’ll stay later.
Emily: For after dinner drinks?
Lorelai: Maybe.
Emily: So I guess this is it? This is the last time we’ll see each other in who knows how long?

Richard also surprised me by opening up to Lorelai the way he did. You wouldn’t have heard him say things like that during the second season when Lorelai helped him start his new business.

“It takes a remarkable person to inspire all of this.” -Richard, to Lorelai, about Rory

Rory’s friendship with Lane was compared to sisterhood. How those two have evolved during the past seasons! I’m glad Lane is happy and that things finally worked out for her. She and Zach seem to be enjoying their married life. I’ll share these few quotations that moved me during this scene:

Rory: What if I’m a terrible reporter?
Lane: Then you’ll figure out how to get better.

Rory: What reporter freaks out about leaving their mom?
Lane: The lucky ones.

A great episode of Gilmore Girls is not complete without some help from Stars Hollow’s most eccentric characters. They gave personality to the show. It was only natural to include them in the finale. The fact that Luke was behind it all meant a lot to us viewers, because we knew he was doing a grand gesture for Lorelai. I’m glad we got to see a lot of the characters that we came to love over the years: Miss Patty, Babette, Maury, Kirk, Lulu, Gypsy, Taylor, Michel… I was surprised that we didn’t see Mrs Kim, however.

I like the fact that it rained. It made things seem authentic. You don’t always have nice weather when you want to have a gathering outside. I actually enjoy the way things aren’t perfect on this show. We saw it even more lately: Rory not getting into the fellowship at the NY Times, Rory not accepting Logan’s marriage proposal, April cancelling the boat trip.

A small, almost insignificant, scene I enjoyed was when Jackson and Zach came to meet Lorelai and Rory at the car with umbrellas. The tears started flowing once again. That gathering in the town square was amazing. It’s the stuff good episodes are made of. From Taylor’s uncomfortable speech, to Kirk’s sash, to Rory’s words dedicated to her mother, you don’t see this kind of television every day.

Christiane Amanpour is an important figure in Rory’s life. But only in earlier seasons that we really learn that Rory aspires to become like her. It was a great idea to bring her into the show for the last episode.

“I can’t meet Christiane Amanpour in my pajamas!” – Rory

Things with Lorelai and Luke ended well. I like how they didn’t rush anything so we could get a perfect ending. Things are left open for us. He made a grand gesture, she thanked him, they kissed, and she’s wearing the necklace. These things are very significant. During the last diner scene, Luke told her to “take all the time you need”. They were talking about food, but it went deeper than that. You know he’ll be there for her. He’ll wait for her to put order in her life.

And that final diner scene was a treat to watch. The Pilot opened with a diner scene, with Lorelai asking for coffee. The Pilot also ends with a diner scene, where, through a window, we see Lorelai and Rory sitting at a table talking. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the finale ended the same way. I would’ve liked it if they had played “Little Corner of the World”. They played Sam Phillips music though, which is even better.

The episode was mostly about new beginnings: Rory’s career, Lorelai and Luke’s relationship, Lane’s new life… It ends on a very hopeful note if you ask me. The characters are getting ready to start a new chapter in their lives, and so are we, without Gilmore Girls.

I’ll end with the most memorable quotation of the episode. It touches the very heart of the show: Lorelai and Rory’s relationship.

“Mom, you’ve given me everything I need.” – Rory

[Written by Elise in May 2007]