Gilmore Girls 7.21 "Unto the Breach" Recap

Episode Name: “Unto the Breach”
Episode Number: 7.21
Air Date: May 8, 2007

Lorelai and Sookie are walking down the street. Lorelai is stressed because she is waiting to hear if Logan has proposed to Rory. She’s rattling off all the things she needs to get for Rory’s graduation and party. Lorelai talks about how embarrassed she is about singing a song to Luke. Lorelai and Sookie go to Weston’s to pick up a cake for the Gilmore dinner for Rory. As they leave, Sookie rattles off a mnemonic of the things Lorelai needs to get.

Luke walks in to Liz’s shop and is impressed by the work TJ has done. He wants to get Rory a graduation gift and thinks earrings might be the right thing. Liz mentions Lorelai’s serenade to Luke and he downplays it. She asks what he has done about the serenade, and he says that there is nothing to respond to since she was drunk and sang a sappy song. That it was ‘no big deal’.

Liz tells him that “I Will Always Love You” is not just a sappy song, that the lines really meant something. Luke says that if Lorelai meant it, that if she loved him, she would tell him. Lorelai hasn’t been back to the diner yet. Luke picks out a pair of earrings for Rory and spots a lovely necklace; Liz encourages Luke to get it for Lorelai. That she made it with Lorelai in mind. Liz tells Luke that he does not have to pay for Rory’s earrings after everything TJ has put him through. He thinks twice about the necklace she suggested for Lorelai but, after choosing to take it, says he is picking it up as a backup for Rory. Liz is unconvinced.

Paris is negotiating the sale of her dining room table. She plays hardball and manages to sell it for more than what she paid for it! Doyle is spackling the holes in the wall. Paris says she should bring Advil for the trip to India. He tells her that they should have some fun on their backpacking adventure and rest while they are on vacation but Paris argues that, after getting into Harvard medical school, now is not the time for her to turn up the intensity. She plans to backpack with text books!

Paris promises that after she completes her four years of school, she will rest. They have a very loving kiss, and Rory walks in. She can’t believe that they are graduating tomorrow. Paris calls Rory sentimental, but Rory insists it’s just incredulous. Rory takes a picture of Paris and Doyle to commemorate their last day of college. She teases Paris by telling her that she is a natural at being annoyed on film.

Lorelai goes into the diner. Miss Patty and Babette look at her with significance, and tell her that Luke is upstairs and to go on up. Lorelai says she’s just there for coffee. She tells Miss Patty and Babette that she just got swept up in the moment and that her ’serenade’ was just karaoke and didn’t mean anything. During this speech, Luke comes in behind her. He smiles at the mention of the serenade, but then his face falls when Lorelai says it meant nothing.

Luke asks her what she wants, and of course Lorelai says coffee. Luke asks, or rather infers, that it is to-go. This gets an "um, ok" from Lorelai. She is a little flustered that Luke is being blunt and not really looking at her. To break the tension and get back their banter, Lorelai asks Luke if she should have a donut or a muffin and he tells her to have whatever she wants. Lorelai makes a joke of "a donut with a side of muffin" – still no response from Luke.

Miss Patty and Babette ask what time they should get to Yale, saying that they don’t want to miss Rory’s graduation. Lorelai is a little surprised that they – and apparently the whole town – have assumed they would go. Rory calls on Lorelai’s cell; Rory tells her that she ‘has news that she won’t believe.’ Lorelai is expecting to hear that Logan has proposed – she pauses to get her bearings – but it turns out that Rory is just talking about a speaker at the graduation ceremony.

Lorelai explains about the town wanting to go to the graduation ceremony. Rory says she cannot get more than four tickets. Rory asks abot Luke and Lorelai in a "so, how’s it going" kind of way. An inference that she saw what her mom was feeling and wanted to know more. Lorelai says that she was just in the diner trying to figure out how she feels and that Luke just ignored her. But that that’s ok, because she hadn’t made up her mind anyway. Rory says that she and Logan have ‘romantic plans’, but it turns out that they are just going to spackle the apartment. Cute banter about that – "Spackle you later"

The town hall meeting comes to order - Taylor is sitting in a wheelchair, a brace on his leg! He tells everyone he’s ok, and they all want to know what happened. First he tried to say he fell in the bath, but then it turns out he was using some sort of foot spa thing and fell over. The first order of business is about Kirk. Kirk says that he plans to be suspended over the town in an acrylic box, without food or water – like David Blaine, but with a smaller box. Everyone says that if Kirk wants to be in a box, they should just let him.

Babette asks Lorelai in a whisper about the graduation again. Lorelai whispers back that she couldn’t get more tickets. The outrage gets loud enough to disturb the town meeting, and Taylor says it’s important enough to be on the agenda. So, he asks Lorelai to ‘defend herself’.

Lorelai tells the group that she cannot get more tickets for Rory’s graduation, but Taylor asks about all the adopted kids, and kids with divorced parents. Like, ‘why didn’t you try harder’. Lorelai tells everybody that they can come to the graduation party she’s throwing for Rory next week. Gypsy says it’s just not the same. Lorelai says she’ll even hand Rory her diploma again, then Taylor pipes in that they can have the school band play the graduation ceremony music. Lorelai looks concerned. The party is so big it’s now been moved to the town square! Babette reminds Lorelai to take lots of pictures, so that they can blow them up for the "reenactment" – Taylor even suggest taking notes!

The Gilmore graduation party Emily & Richard are throwing for Rory. The DAR ladies try to convince Rory to come back. She looks a little bored. Logan comes to rescue her. Her "knight in shining armor", as she states. Logan says he wants to tell Rory something urgent. He tells Rory that she looks beautiful, which gets a kiss.

Lorelai is watching Logan and Rory with a concerned look on her face. The women at the function tell Lorelai that she looks amazing for the mother of a college graduate. They want to know her skin-care ritual. lol.

Christopher calls her (yet another rescue), and she meets him outside in the courtyard. He tells her he ‘didn’t want to do this in front of everyone’. The whole meeting-after-the-breakup thing. After the "hi’s" and the "you look good’s", Christopher asks how Rory is. Lorelai says Rory is good. Excited. Lorelai says she’s excited too, but sad. Nostalgic. Terrified. Lorelai tells Chris that Logan asked permission to marry Rory.

Chris says ‘wow’ and mentions that Rory is so young. Chris asks Lorelai what she said. She told Logan that he could ask her. She asks Chris what he thinks.

"I’m just letting it sink in. You know, you hear about people asking the father… Not that you don’t deserve to be asked"

Well, that was a bit of a selfish response. I think Lorelai meant what did he think about Rory. Lorelai assures Chris they’ll figure out the whole divorced-parenting thing. They joke about being in synch by the time Rory is 60. Lorelai says they should go in to see Rory now. Chris gives Rory a kiss and Logan gives him a "good to see you too, sir".

The champagne glasses are being clanged. Richard and Emily thank the guests for coming to the party. Emily corrects him when he says "my granddaughter" instead of "our granddaughter" – gets some laughs. Richard goes on to say that when they sat down to write their toast, all his words sounded too insignificant to mark such an auspicious occasion.

"So, instead, maestro…"

The music starts. Emily says

"Please excuse us, we’re not singers"

Lorelai and Chris look embarassed already.

Richard: You’re the top. You have graduated.
Emily: You’re the top. Your grandparents are elated.
Richard: Newspaper Editor. Phi Beta Cappa, wow!
Emily: You’re a revelation. A huge sensation.
Richard: You should take a bow.
Emily: You are done. No more school for you.
Richard: There is nothing… now that you can’t do.
Emily: You make us proud. We’ll sing it loud.
Richard: It’s true!
Together: ‘Cause our Rory, you’re a Bulldog through and through!

Rory has tears in her eyes as she thanks them. Lorelai looks really proud and touched too. Rory says that none of this would be possible without their help. She says thank you profusely, and they all raise their glasses for Rory.

Chris has a text message from the babysitter, asking if GiGi can watch an hour of television. Chris says "I don’t think she’s ready for the Pussycat Dolls" – good cultural reference, there. He goes to make a call. Logan interrupts with

"Actually, would you mind waiting. Trust me, you’ll want to stick around for this"

Lorelai looks concerned again. Logan goes to stand next to Rory at the front of the room. Chris whispers

"Is he gonna…?"

Lorelai responds "not here… not now?! "

Logan gets ready to make his speech.

"If I could, I’d also like to say a few words about my girlfriend of the past 3 years."

Lorelai braces herself against a very startled Chris. Logan faces Rory…

"You amaze me, Rory Gilmore. Every day. Everything that you do. Everything that you are. This past year I realized that I don’t know a lot more than I thought I knew. If that makes sense.

Sorry, I’m a little bit nervous! I didn’t think I would be.

What I’m trying to say is… that… I don’t know a lot. But I know that I love you. And I want to be with you. Forever. [Logan pulls out a ring box...]

Rory Gilmore, will you marry me?"

Rory looks petrified. She is startled, and flustered. She says ‘um’. Lorelai gives her a look of empathy. Emily looks ecstatic.

"Wow. Um, wow. I… wow."

Logan asks "Is there a ‘yes’ between those ‘wow’s’?"

"Um. I’m just, I’m so surprised. I just. Um. Um. [sigh]. Will you come talk to me outside?"

Logan is looking very concerned. They go outside. The crowd is murmuring. Emily & Richard look concerned now too. Emily tells the pianist to play something. She goes to look at Rory out the window. Lorelai looks devistated.

"Sorry, I just, I didn’t want to talk in front of everybody."

Outside, is a white carriage with two white horses. Logan says he understands. Rory asks "is that?", pointing at the carriage.

"For us, yeah. I’m sorry, I know you said you were over big gestures. But that’s what wedding proposals are. And tonight, with your parents here, and your grandparents, I just thought…"

Rory says:

"No, it’s not the size of the gesture. It’s the gesture itself."

Logan tells Rory he got the job out in Silicon Valley. Rory is immediately excited for him. Logan says he wanted to save the news until after he proposed.

"Wow, you’ve been thinking about this for a while."

She looks a little alarmed. Logan is all seriousness.

"Back when everything was up in the air, business wise, I realized that as long as I had you, I’d be ok."

Logan tells Rory she would love Palo Alto (it is quite nice, actually). He says they could hike on the weekends, go biking. Rory says California living sounds really athletic. Still got her sense of humor. Logan chimes up about coffee drinking on University Avenue, which Rory can imagine much easier.

Logan tells Rory that there’s a house that they could rent. With a nice back yard with an avocado tree. Rory says she does like guacamole. Logan tells her it’s not far from San Francisco, just up the highway. Rory is impressed with all his research. He tells her she could work at the Chronicle, or the San Francisco Bay Guardian.

Rory says it sounds amazing. Wonderful.

"I just, I don’t know. You’ve had time to think about this, and research newspapers and it’s so sweet, and… wonderful. I just. I’m hearing about it for the first time."

"So, you’re saying in the past 3 years, you’ve never thought about marrying me?", Logan asks

Rory replies "Oh, of course I have!"

"And…?"

"It’s always a really wonderful thought. But. It was always hypothetical. And…"

Logan says it was for him too, but then it hit him, and he asked himself, ‘Why wait?’ Logan asks:

"Remember when we were in the life and death brigade, and we stood on that tower, and held hands. We jumped. Let’s do that again, Rory. Let’s jump."

Rory looks pleased. On the verge of saying yes.

Inside, Emily and Lorelai are looking on. Emily says she doesn’t know what to do. But she’s referring to the timing of food. She is angry too. Asks why Rory didn’t just say yes! Lorelai says Rory is just not sure she wants to marry Logan. Emily says that’s ridiculous, he’s a Huntzberger. Lorelai says it’s a marriage proposal, not a sale on linens.

Richard pipes up that Rory was just caught off guard. That they all were. She probably just needs a moment to get her bearings. Lorelai gets a call. It’s Rory. She wants her mom. Lorelai asks Chris if he wants to come on the way out, but he declines.

In the horse-drawn carriage – Rory and Lorelai.

"I just couldn’t answer him. I just kept saying ‘I don’t know, I’ll have to think about it’. And it was awful."

Rory says Logan was obviously upset. That he had made all these plans, even down to the house and avocado tree – Lorelai says she does like guacamole. Rory chimes up that she had to insist that it was all out of the blue. The deepest, darkest, naviest blue. Rory asks why Lorelai is so calm. Lorelai says that Logan asked her permission a couple of days ago. Rory is annoyed she knew. Lorelai says she was dying to tell her.

Rory asks Lorelai what she should do. Lorelai says it’s her decision. Maybe she should just take a few days, let the shock wear off. Rory wants her real opinion, but Lorelai won’t give it. Rory says she really loves Logan. That things have been amazing lately. But that they are so young. Does age matter when you’re in love? But also, what is the rush? Sounds like a pro/con list coming up. Rory keeps insisting Lorelai tell her what to do.

Lorelai tries to cheer Rory up. Asks if she wants to take the carriage through town and do the Queen wave. Of course she does ;)

Late that night, Lorelai is out walking in Stars Hollow. lala music is on. Kirk is suspended in his clear box above the street. People stop to stare. Lorelai waves.

Luke comes out of the diner, and Lorelai is right there. He asks her how she’s doing and why she’s out so late. Lorelai says she needed to clear her head. And wanted to see if Kirk was still in the box. Luke is trying to ignore it – gawking only encourages his asinine behavior.

Luke asks what exactly Lorelai had to clear her head about. Lorelai tells Luke that Logan proposed to Rory. Luke is incredulous. Lorelai and Luke are both proud she’s taking time to think it over. Luke asks if Lorelai is leaning towards "no", but Lorelai says she is not; she’s "upright". Luke says he could understand if she were leaning away from yes. That Rory is very young and the decision is the most important in her life. Lorelai says they love each other. That some are lucky to get it young. The conversation alludes to their relationship, about "others needing time" or are "never ready". Luke says it’s probably not never, just being careful. To make sure it’s right. Lorelai says you can’t always be 100% sure. That it’s a leap of faith. After all that time, how could you not know? Luke asks, who? Lorelai says Rory, and that gets a "right… Rory" from Luke.

Lorelai says she’s going to go home now, but Luke says to hold on. Luke goes in to get the gift for Rory… in the same drawer is the necklace for Lorelai. He pauses, seems disappointed. He sighs and closes the drawer. He brings out his gift for Rory and asks that Lorelai give it to her on the day of her actual graduation. They say goodnight.

Rory is in the apartment packing and spackling. She pours herself a bowl of cereal (unpacking a bowl and spoon), but can’t use the milk in the fridge since it belongs to Paris. It has a note on it that it’s for Paris only, on graduation morning. Dry cereal it is. She sits alone on a box. The engagement ring box is sitting near her. She stares at it. She decides to open the box. Rory puts the engagement ring on her finger and stares at it contemplatively. She smiles.

Emily, Richard and Lorelai are walking to the graduation ceremony. They are all complaining about how boring the speaker was for the morning portion. Emily asks if Logan will be joining them. Lorelai tells them that Logan won’t be sitting with them. He’ll be with his friends; plus, it could be awkward. Emily is displeased and says that she wants to know what Rory’s decision is. She wants to know exactly what Rory is thinking about.

Lorelai pouts because she forgot to get more programs for the reenactment. Richard assures her that he can get some for her.

Rory and Paris drink champagne with Lucy and Olivia. Lucy and Olivia are raving about a party they went to the night before to celebrate graduation. They ask why Rory didn’t come after her grandparent’s party. Paris said at least she had an excuse – she went with Doyle to a restaurant to prepare for India. Rory said she would have gone if she didn’t have to spackle. No mention of the proposal? She says that the party was fine, her grandparents sang her a song… They go to join the line-up for the graduation procession and make a cheer to their futures.

Waiting for the procession to begin, Emily expresses shock over the fact that Lorelai does not know if Rory will accept Logan’s proposal – aren’t they bosom buddies after all? Lorelai insists Rory needs to make her own decision. Emily complains about the seats being too far away. Chris arrives and apologizes for being late and asks if there has been any news about Rory’s decision. Richard says that he thinks Bill Clinton would have been a more interesting speaker for the graduation. Does a good job trying to ease tension.

Rory and Paris talk backstage. Paris is stressing about whether she should say "thank you" or "thank you so much". It’s coming up to the moment. They’ve been together since high school, and now each are going their separate ways. Rory insists they’ll be friends a long time. Paris says Rory will do great things. Paris grabs her for a hug. Logan waves from where he’s standing. The procession is starting. "Unto the breach" says Paris, as they begin walking.

Lorelai asks Chris if he’s ready to be the parent of a Yale graduate. Emily then mentions how she read in the New York Times that people are getting married younger and younger these days. Lorelai then says she’s sure that Rory has read it. Emily proceeds to complain about her chair. Paris’ name is called. Lorelai claps and takes a picture. Emily continues to say Lorelai must tell Rory what to do. Richard tells her to shush.

Lorelai stresses about getting the details right for the reenactment. Richard says he’ll note the time and take the photos. He tells her just to enjoy her daughter’s graduation from Yale. That it’s her moment as much as Rory’s.

Rory’s name is called: "Lorelai Lee Gilmore"

Rory accepts her diploma. Her family is in glee. Lorelai stands up and yells "Yay Rory!" She looks so proud! Chris joins her to clap for Rory. Rory smiles. Lorelai almost cries.

Pictures of the happy family. Chris takes it. Then it’s Rory, Lorelai and Chris. Cute. Rory notices Logan and goes to speak with him. Logan congratulates her. He goes on a bit of a rant about his own tipsy graduation experience. Rory interrupts him. She looks concerned.

"I’m sorry. I can’t. I love you. You know how much I love you. I love the idea of being married to you. But there are a lot of things in my life right now that are undecided. And that used to scare me, but I kind of like the idea that it’s just all kind of wide open. And if I married you, it just wouldn’t be."

Logan looks impassive. Maybe a little angry.

"So, what? I go to San Francisco and you stay in the East? We see each other occasionally?"

Rory says they can try long distance. That they’ve done it before. Logan asks if that’s really going to work. Rory says it would be hard.

"I don’t want to do that Rory. I don’t want to go backwards. If we can’t take the next step… [shrug]"

Rory now looks concerned. She asks if it has to be all or nothing? Logan says it does. Rory says they could at least try.

Side note: isn’t he being a little selfish? When he had to go away, she was patient… but when she wants to make her own decisions, he insists to keep her for himself?

Logan shakes his head and asks

"What’s the point?"

Rory looks like she will cry. They both say "so" questioningly. It’s up to Rory now. All or nothing. She pauses, then reaches in to grab the ring box. Logan shakes his head. He’s disappointed in her. She holds it out to him. He doesn’t take it right away. Even hesitates. But then grabs it, says "Goodbye Rory" and walks away. Rory sighs and goes back to her family.

Back at her apartment, Rory and Lorelai finish packing up her stuff into the car. Lorelai says she’s exhausted. Lorelai asks if Rory is ok. She says she feels awful. Sick. And she misses him already. Rory is also frustrated that her graduation day – a happy day – was tainted.

Lorelai tells her that she thinks she made the right choice and that when she meets the right person, she will just know it’s right. She won’t want to hesitate. She’ll just know. Rory says she hopes so. Rory says, "I guess, no avocado trees". Aw. Then she perks up and says "I think I’ll get my own avocado tree". Kind of like saying ‘I will decide my future’. Lorelai continues the light banter. Tells Rory she can have anything she wants.

"Oh yes, wiiide open" – Rory

Rory takes the last box out of the apartment. She returns and turns off the light. Like closing a chapter in a book…

Tags: gilmore girls, gilmore girls season 7, gilmore girls recap, gg, unto the breach, tv show, penultimate