Lorelai calls Sookie from the road to tell her the wedding is off. She and Rory are driving aimlessly, much to Rory’s chagrin. In Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Lorelai says she knows a guy who runs a cool bed and breakfast, so she takes Rory there. Unfortunately, the place has been bought by some crazy woman who has turned it into The Cheshire Cat Inn. It’s horrible and gaudy and the Girls hate it. They start to leave to go grab some food, but the lobby is full of B&Bers. Lorelai doesn’t want to try to get past them, so she and Rory go back to their room. Rory tries to talk about Max, but Lorelai turns into a five-year-old, turning off the light and pretending she’s going to sleep. She and Rory yell at each other for a minute, but Lorelai calms down and says she doesn’t love Max but wishes she did.

The Girls are starving the next morning and they think they’ve found a window of time when the B&Bers are not going to be in the lobby. They’re wrong. They get shanghaied into having a dull conversation with a couple of folks, but Lorelai excuses herself. She calls Sookie, who is hanging out at Luke’s. Luke hasn’t heard the news yet. Lorelai tells Sookie to just tell him now, so she does. Luke, who was really crabby a minute ago, gives everyone free coffee.

When Lorelai and Rory escape the Cheshire Cat, Lorelai looks at a map and realizes they’re not far from Harvard. She takes Rory there to see it in person. Rory sticks her head into a lecture hall and actually participates in a class discussion. Lorelai is in the hallway looking at pictures of past valedictorians. She pauses at the picture from 1990, the year she would have graduated. She gets a little emo, especially when she sees how well Rory is able to fit in at Harvard.

When the Girls get home, everyone waves to them with sad looks on their faces. Kirk offers a hug. The chuppah is still in the yard and it makes Lorelai sad.

Lorelai shows Emily slides from the Harvard trip, giving Emily a headache because Lorelai’s pictures are crap. She starts to tell Emily the wedding’s off, but Emily freaks out and assumes she and Max eloped. Lorelai gets the real news out and is surprised when Emily doesn’t say anything mean.

Lorelai goes to Luke’s. He feels bad for leaving the chuppah in the yard, but Lorelai says she wants to keep it. Then she says she wants to finally start going forward with plans to open an inn with Sookie. Luke offers to help.

Emily, about Lorelai’s pictures: This one makes me feel just like I’m in your finger.

Other notes: Lane finally comes home from Korea.

• Original Air Date: October 23, 2001

Categories: Season 2
Tags: Lorelai acts like a brat, Max

Posted on December 31, 2009