My first instinct upon seeing the title of this episode was to post Aerosmith’s “Back in the Saddle Again.” But it’s played out! It’s been done! It’s totes over! So I’ll link to the Aerosmith song that 12-year-old Jen would listen to on repeat for hours once the object of her affections (unrequited, of course) got a girlfriend:
I think most people my age had an Aerosmith phase. If you didn’t, that means you are better than me.
The Netflix screencap as this episode loads is of Luke and Lorelai at a funeral. I’ve been to two funerals in under a month, forgive me if that colors this review.
The cold open has Lorelai snarking at her mother’s numerous answering machine messages. Sometimes I thank the powers that be that television exists – how else would today’s kids know what a fucking answering machine is? Or flip phones? Or unironic 90s fashion?
It was a magical time.
We open this episode (with a filthy name, if you are so inclined – and I am) in Luke’s crumbling diner. His apartment renovation is causing plaster to fall on people as they try to cram as many pancakes as possible into their gaping maws. Add safety regulations to the list of things that don’t exist in this universe.
Actual gif of construction being (safely!) done on Luke’s apartment.
The hardest part of these reviews is figuring out how to start them. Do I talk about whatever is going on in the cold open, which is only relevant to the episode half of the time? Do I focus on the theme of the episode (which isn’t always evident in the cold open)? My life is so difficult.
The episode begins and already I’m disappointed – no weird town festival? An empty diner? Lane trapped by her mother and forced to eat Melba toast? Boo. The most interesting thing we get is a display of Luke’s hand-eye coordination when he catches the phone.
This is what would happen if I tried to catch the phone in this scene:
Another episode, another wacky town event that everyone in town is SO EXCITED to participate in. This time it’s a spring basket thingy celebration. Dating back to olden times (or, like, the last Republican convention) the women make a delicious lunch, put said lunch into a basket, and the men bid on it! But they don’t just get a lunch that some now starving woman cooked but didn’t eat – they are entitled to lunch with the woman.
We had the “Judgy WASP Mom experiences the small town!” episode, so I suppose it was inevitable that we now have the Spacey Grandpa in the small town episode. Will there be DRAMA and MISUNDERSTANDINGS and FATHER THINKS HE KNOWS BESTING?
Except there totally will.
Last Ditch Effort 
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