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In ‘Let Me Hear Your Balalaikas Ringing Out‘, Rory gets a visit from Jess late one night after suffering through a night of a bored-with-life-so-I’ll-get-drunk Logan, which was not fun for her.
Jess wants to show something to her, so Rory ushers him quietly to her room in the mansion. She can’t stop babbling about how temporary everything is – her job, living with her grandparents – like finally she’s embarrassed about it because Jess is there. She seemed proud of these things before.
Jess, who seems more confident and self-assured than ever, has something to show Rory. It’s a book, The Subsect, which he wrote! Rory seems impressed with what Jess has done with his life, saying she “knew he had the brains to do something like this.” Jess had everyone telling him he was a failure, and still he succeeded. I wonder if Rory thinks about that.
Jess and Rory have plans to go out again, but Logan interrupts and takes command of Rory and of their night. Jess seems quite skeptical of Logan: of his money, his attitude, and his arrogance. I think he seems surprised that Rory is with “the blond dick at Yale,” and Rory agrees that Logan is in a “bad way”. But Jess isn’t buying her excuses. He sees it all as part of a pattern.
“I know you. I know you better than anyone! This isn’t you.”
He talks about Yale, her grandparents, dating Logan. All of the things that Rory used to make fun of people for doing, she’s now doing. Rory finally comes to the realization that she’s not doing anything, that she’s wasting her life. She still seems to believe that there are people stopping her from being what she wants, not fully taking control of her own destiny, but at least the realization is there. It’s what Lorelai tried to say, but what Rory wasn’t yet ready to hear from her.
What I want to know is, how deep is this realization? Is it just about Yale? Or is it about everything? All the stuff that feels ‘untrue’ to Rory – the expensive clothes, the A-list friends, dating the rich boy… did Rory lose her way entirely?
Another big question for me with this episode, though unrelated to this discussion, is whether or not Luke wants kids. Some episodes he seems to, and others he doesn’t. I’ve always wondered at that inconsistency.
Watch ‘Gilmore Girls’ ‘Let Me Hear Your Balalaikas Ringing Out’:
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506 days ago
Possibly my favorite episode of the season. I’ve always been a big Rory/Jess supporter, and this more responsible side of him is finally coming through. Jess represents Rory’s other life in Stars Hollow. He never really infiltrated the “rich part” of her life (sure he met her grandparents but she associates him with Stars Hollow). Jess is foreign to this part of her life which is why she feels so uncomfortable about it. He’s a reminder of how far she’s deviated from her former path and I loved how he didn’t let her shrug it off but confronted her about it. It was the catalyst that brought Rory back to her senses as the reminder of who she used to be.
As for Luke and his kid issue… I honestly can’t see it happening. I don’t think he really knows what he wants so he keeps going back and forth in his own mind. I could see him deciding he wants kids and then start freaking out about it and going on one of his tantrums the next day and taking it out on Lorelai. Kind of like the whole father’s boat debacle. He’d eventually calm down and accept it.
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505 days ago
Rory has been given everything and always succeded at everything but currently isnt achieving anything – possilby for the first time ever. Jess by contrast has never had anything, has failed at everything (school, relationships….) but has now succeded – this must be a wake up call for rory.
As much as I am not a big Jess fan in some ways he is very much like Lorelai – very grounded and not influenced by money like so many in Rory’s life.
Regarding luke and kids – my guess is that he wants them but is afraid of failing them. He has been there for Rory more than chris ever has. As soon as he found out about april he got involved with her and he has given Jess more chances that anyone else has. He always seems to worry that he is not doing the right thing by them all though – possibley related to his own childhood.
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505 days ago
I have to agree, this is my favorite episode of this season-mainly because of the Jess-Rory interplay. He definitely wakes her up out of her helpless, useless “big house” Hartford life. I think this is best seen in the fact that Rory cannot even spend the night in her grandparent’s house following the confrontation with Jess. Going back to that situation, I also really liked how Jess calls her out on her new life, but then knows when to back off and walk away. I think he might even see a glimmer of his old self in her now and so knows how far to push.
Luke and kids? I think he’d eventually want them, but then I think he might just get walked all over by them the same way he lets Lorelai walk all over him now. Sorry-I am a big Luke-Lorelai fan, but sometimes get bugged by how self centered she can be, even within the relationship.
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505 days ago
The role-reversal dialogue between Rory and Jess is the best written piece to date in Season 6 [Thanks guys, that only took almost 1/3 of the season] and leaves us only T-1 episodes from the “girls” reconciliation, the promise of which is almost immediately diluted by the introduction of April to completely muck up the works….again.
At least we get to ignore that for a while and have some fun with the mid-season 5 cycle currently running on ABCF
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504 days ago
Being a Jess & Rory fan I’m also a big fan of this episode. Jess was definetily Rory’s wake up call. He was the one person who was able to finally get Rory to realize what she was doing with her life and showed her how far she had really strayed from it all. Unlike before when Rory was always the stable one it’s Jess this time , Rory helped Jess to become the person he is, and now it was his turn to get her to be the person she really was. I think Rory’s realization was about everything and was now determined to fix it.
And As for Luke and kids, he seems interested in the idea I think but honestly doesn’t know what to expect from it. But since he has April I really don’t seem him going past that.
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503 days ago
Im With Danielle on the luke-lorelai self centred thing.
She is normally so giving – does stuff to help her parents even though their relationship is strained, gets rory into chilton even though it means having her parents back in her life, is prepared to give up the dragonfly dream for yale…. yet some how when it comes to luke she is a monster at times.
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497 days ago
When I first started to watch GG I didn’t really like Jess but now after watching over and over the show I really think he was the best boyfriend she ever had.
They had a physical and intellectual chemistry and where completely on the same wave lenght. Sure he was kind of a bad boy first but he gradually calmed down and always cared a lot for Rory.
He hasn’t seen her in years and yet he immediately understood that running DAR meetings and dropping out of Yale was completely out of character for her. Logan never tried to counteract her. Sure he gave her a month but then he never did anything to convince her that she did something wrong with her life.
I’m not totally objective since I really don’t like Logan. They don’t come from the same world while Jess is a townie all the way – even though he never completely blended in…
Regarding Luke, I think we have to make a difference between his ‘hostile’ feelings towards kids in general and his desire to have his own kids with Lorelai.
It’s not so surprising. Some people are not all child-liking but cherish their own offsprings. I know I’m one of them.
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497 days ago
Im with you Mac on the luke kids thing. He claims to hate them but stepped up to the plate when jess needed him (more than once), has been there for Rory more than Chris has and he didnt once try and get out of being in Aprils life. I think part of it is just the way luke likes to portray himself, he often grumps at people for things and then helps them any way.
Regarding Jess – Never really liked him (apart from looks wise lol) but agree he was best suited to Rory – Dean was a good guy but didnt challenge her – Logan was well better not say on this site really. I think the proble is that She didnt want to admit Jess was her equal. I agree with you she was not in logans world but she wanted to be. Quite funny really, she splits with dean as she sees him as not being in the same league as her but she isnt really in Logans.
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492 days ago
I’m a bit late chiming in but I just watched this episode again and then re-read this post. This is the one episode where Jess and Rory’s role reversal plays favorably for Jess. I really like him in this episode. I think Rory had been noticing a lot of things prior to Jess’ arrival and then needed that extra push.
However, I was a bit taken back when he said he knows her better than anybody. Really? Not Lane or Lorelai or even Dean or Luke?
Finally, about Luke wanting kids-I recall a cute scene between Luke and Lorelai in Season 3 at the dance marathon. They both admitted they would want kids *if* it was with the right person. Luke may seem to go back and forth because he is slightly unsure about what Lorelai wants.
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