The stove at the Dragonfly catches fire, and the wall behind it takes some damage. Lorelai has to call Richard because he set up the insurance policy, and then Richard has to come to the inn. Lorelai starts interrogating him, asking if Rory is back at Yale and if the Huntzbergers have humiliated her any more. Richard gets mad and leaves.

Luke and Lorelai have dinner at Jackson and Sookie’s house, and Lorelai notices Luke sitting calmly and patiently eating his dinner while everyone else yells and runs around and stuff. She feels bad and thinks they always do things she wants to do. When he says he wants to go to Miss Patty’s dance recital with her, Lorelai insists he go camping that night instead. Luke goes, but he’s totally bored because he really didn’t feel like camping.

The DAR ladies have failed to sell all the tables at some charity event, so they think they’ll become laughingstocks.  They talk about cancelling, but Rory jumps in and saves the day. She has a lot of suggestions, so the ladies ask her to take over the planning. They set her up with everything she needs, including an assistant named Lacey. Emily starts getting freaked out when Rory starts changing things, but realizes when Rory says they’re sold out. Paris comes over freaking out because her parents have been evading taxes or something and now she’s broke until her trust fund kicks in when she’s twenty-five. Rory tells her she’s going to have to get a job. Paris panics because she’s never had to work, so Rory says she can be a server at the DAR thing.

The event is a hit, but then Mrs. Huntzberger comes in. She didn’t RSVP, but she insists on getting a table. Rory seats her at the crappy table set aside for non-RSVPers but Emily tells her Shira can’t sit there because it’s an insult. Rory thinks it’s just Shira there, but then she sees Mitchum and goes to the kitchen and has a panic attack. Richard and Mitchum run into each other in the restroom, and Richard asks him what happened with Rory at the paper. Mitchum says he feels bad about firing Rory, but she just didn’t have what it takes. He says he also feels bad about the way Rory was treated at dinner at his house. Richard goes out and finds Emily and says everything Lorelai told them about the Huntzbergers was true. Richard wants to punch Mitchum, but Emily sends him outside. Then she goes and sits down next to Shira. She sweetly moves Shira to her new table, and says she heard what happened at the dinner. Shira starts talking about the Huntzbergers’ image, but Emily says she knows Shira was a “two-bit gold-digger fresh off the bus from Hicksville” when Mitchum found her. When Rory gets up and starts thanking people and accepting applause, Richard realizes she’s really not where she should be.

At the dance recital, Kirk puts on a super creepy performance, during which Lorelai notices Luke coming back from his camping trip. She goes to the diner to ask him what’s going on, and he says he was bored. He tells her he doesn’t understand why she was trying to get rid of him. She apologizes and he tells her he enjoys spending time with her no matter what they’re doing. Luke feels better about things and decides to go back to the woods.

Sookie: What is pubic speaking?

Lorelai: I’m hoping it’s a misprint.

Paris: I hate the rich. A hard rain is gonna fall, know what I’m saying?

Sookie, about the kids dancing in the audience: This is so stressful.

• Original Air Date: October 11, 2005

Categories: Season 6
Tags: DAR, Dragonfly, Paris

Posted on May 7, 2010