Season 7, episode 18
Hay Bale Maze
Sookie and Michel argue about baskets. Lorelai enters just as they get physical and tells Michel about the titular hay bale maze. Taylor apparently manipulated them with a story about his childhood dream and passing hay allergy off as emotion.
Paris is pissed that Logan used her milk. She insists that Doyle is lactose sensitive, even though Doyle insists he is lactose tolerant. Rory is nervous about a job interview and Paris advices her not to panic if she panics, because panicking is normal.
April is trying to be excited about the history of New Mexico.
Rory calls the inn and ends up talking to Michel. She tells him she's on a train, and he tells her he finds trains disgusting. When he gives the phone to Lorelai, Rory informs her enthusiastically that she really connected with the interviewer.
Rory and Logan visit Lorelai. Logan gives her pink flowers. They make plans to meet later, after establishing that Rory has lived in Stars Hollow before and knows where things are.
As the walk around the town Logan acts very impressed with everything in any way connected to the Rory Gilmore. They visit the diner where Zach fills in for Lane during her maternity leave. They tell him they have already seen Kwan and Steve. At the table Rory tells Logan that she doesn't want the job she has been offered as much as she wants the scholarship.
Sookie accuses Lorelai of not being completely accepting of Logan. Lorelai concedes that she isn't as happy about it as she could be, but doesn't feel as free to express her opinions to Rory as when she was dating Jess or Dean.
Taylor informs everyone that all the budget for various booths has be allocated to the hay bale maze. Rory isn't sure if she wants to be a big fish in a small pond or a regular-sized fish in a big pond. Logan gets dressed in the middle of the night to get water, in case he runs into Lorelai. He does. They talk.
Everyone is weirdly excited about the hay bale maze. Lorelai and Luke run into each other in the maze and talk. Lorelai admits that she was wrong to go on the rebound the moment they broke up and Luke admits that he was wrong to think he should fix everything with April before he could be in a relationship.
Tropes
- Ask a Stupid Question...: "Are you here?" Nope, just far away screaming loudly.
- Call-Back:
- Rory discussed the Oprah phenomenon in a job interview. At her college interview in season three she told the interviewer not to be fooled by the Oprah seal on the cover of a book she recommended.
- Rory calls Taylor Stars Hollow's Don Corleone, which Lorelai has called him before.
- Rory makes another pro/con list, this time comparing her job offer in Providence to the scholarship she has applied for in New York.
- Logan doesn't want Rory to factor him in, like Doyle didn't want Paris to factor him in.
- Continuity Nod:
- Rory writes a pro/con list, her standard mode of difficult decision making.
- Lorelai says she is glad Logan stopped gambling in Vegas and jumping off buildings.
- Festival Episode: The spring fling festival.
- Funny Background Event: Maze guard Kirk walks around on stilts in the background.
- Hypocrite: Unless you make your food with an antique printing press, don't criticize Michel for not printing his programs on one.
- Product Placement: Parodied by Logan and Rory talking up the hay bale maze.
- Shout-Out:
- According to Paris, Jake Gyllenhaal and Orlando Bloom are lactose sensitive.
- Rory's trench coat is too All the President's Men, but her blue coat is too His Girl Friday.
- She is unsure if a tan coat is too That Girl.
- April can't tell beforehand if she'll want to read Herman Melville or Jay McInerney.
- Or Louise Erdrich's Love Medicine.
- April rethought the red frames on her glasses after being called Sally Jessy Raphael.
- Taylor is Stars Hollow's Godfather.
- Logan mentions virtual realities like Second Life and World of Warcraft to Lorelai, and says he might make a living selling lightsabres.
- Logan gets dressed before going to Lorelai's kitchen at night, not wanting Lorelai to think he's David Hasselhoff if he runs into her.
- Title Drop: Any mention of the hay bale maze, and visually speaking, any shot of the hay bale maze.
- Verbal Tic: Lorelai develops one of saying everything twice for a bit around Logan.
