One of Emily’s friends passes away and Richard can’t go to the funeral because he has a business meeting. Then Gran dies and Richard falls apart. He can’t stop crying and he feels horrible that they fought the last time they saw each other.

Gran made arrangements for her funeral, but it was twenty years ago and now Emily is going crazy trying to find retired officiants and stuff. She’s appalled that one of Gran’s wishes is to have half her ashes put in an urn for Richard’s mantle. Lorelai helps Emily go through documents, and she finds out Gran and her husband were second cousins. Emily finds a carbon copy of a letter Gran wrote to Richard begging him not to marry Emily and to go back to Pennilyn Lott. Emily’s had enough. She gives up and says she’s done arranging the woman’s funeral, so Lorelai and Rory step in and save the day.

Lorelai and Sookie go to see Emily the next day and find her sitting in the living room in her robe with a drink and a cigarette. Jason comes by to get some papers signed and Richard cries and hugs him, which totally freaks out Jason. When Lorelai and Rory go to meet the grandparents for the funeral, Richard doesn’t know he’s not wearing shoes and Emily is still in her robe. Lorelai remembers she forgot to give the funeral home guys underwear for Gran to wear, so she goes to buy some and kind of freaks out a little at the saleslady.

Rory uses the computer at the newspaper to do some research for Gran’s obituary. Doyle yells at her for using newspaper resources for personal stuff, but then he tries to bond with her when she says it’s for her grandmother’s obituary. Doyle’s own grandmother passed away recently and he tries to talk to Rory about it. She feels bad and comes clean, saying Gran was her great-grandmother and she didn’t know her well at all. Doyle tells her to continue her research because everyone should know their grandmother.

Richard and Emily both get themselves together for the funeral and wake. Richard’s cousin Marilyn, who looks exactly like Gran, is at the wake telling stories about Gran. Richard tells Emily that he thinks the mantle isn’t the right place for Gran’s ashes. He thinks it will be okay if all her remains are buried with her husband.

Also in this episode: Luke and Nicole scream at each other upstairs while everyone sits downstairs in the diner and listens. I think they’re finished.

Emily: Find a box, throw her in, we’re done.

Sookie, about Emily: I think she broke.

• Original Air Date: March 2, 2004

Categories: Season 4
Tags: Emily, Gran, Richard-Emily problems

Posted on March 22, 2010