Recap / Gilmore Girls S 02 E 17

Season 2, episode 17

Dead Uncles and Vegetables

The inn is set to host a D.A.R. meeting. Emily gets involved with Sookie's wedding planning. Luke's unlikeable uncle died and is to be buried in Stars Hollow. The guy who wanted to be town troubador in season one sells homegrown vegetables from a cart and Taylor doesn't like it.

Jess somewhat reluctantly helps out at the diner while Luke plans the funeral. Lorelai happily covers for him, since it gives her a chance to use diner talk. Lorelai convinces the reenactors to show up at the funeral. Stars Hollow throws a wake in the diner.

Tropes:

• Bad People Abuse Animals: Downplayed. Kirk claims Luke's uncle Louie kicked his dog once, and that she was never the same after that.
• Blatant Lies: Kirk asks for seven packets of sugar and claims they're for his coffee, rather than home use. Lorelai calls him on it by putting all seven packets in his coffee, demanding he drink it. He grimaces at the taste but claims it's perfection.
• Call-Back: Lorelai mentions the time Luke built her a chuppah and the time he made Rory a coffee cake with balloons for her birthday as examples of how Luke is not mean and petty like Louie.
• Captain Obvious:
  • Luke asks if tetherball is the one where the ball is tethered to a pole with a rope. Subverted since it gives Lorelai the epiphany that that's why it's called "tetherball."
  • Rory feels like this when she suggests Jess just assume Jeannie will get Major Healey out of whatever scrape he's in. Jess sarcastically accuses her of spoiling the episode.
  • Lorelai thinks it's obvious that since someone would have to be high to order it, people would order foie gras with chicken and green shamrock frosting if they were high.
• Comically Missing the Point: Luke wonders why Stars Hollow would throw a wake for a guy they hated. Lorelai says it's probably for Luke. Luke mentions that he's not dead.
• Exact Words: Taylor tries to convince people to sympathize with his feelings about the "long-haired freak vegetable stand" by asking how they'd feel if said long-haired freak opened a dance school, a diner, or a book store. Miss Patty agrees that they would not feel good about that and adjourns the meeting.
• Funny Background Event: Rory dragging Jess back to the diner.
• Hash House Lingo: Lorelai thinks "diner talk" is so funny that when she steps in for Luke for a day, she recommends absurd combos to customers so she can shout the code words together.
• Like Father, Like Son: Luke and Louie were uncle and nephew, but the reenactors still agree that they are both defensive hotheads and "practically clones."
• Lonely Funeral: Nobody except Luke attends Luke's uncle's funeral. Lorelai goes with Luke despite not knowing the deceased to support Luke.
• No, You: When Luke refers to a diner customer as "the crank in the hat," the customer snaps, "Hey, I'm not a crank, you're a crank, crank."
• Pun:
  • When Lorelai and Rory walk into the town meeting.
    Taylor: You're late again, Lorelai.
    Lorelai: Yes, I hope I'm not pregnant.
  • Taylor says he banged the gavel and Lorelai turns it into this by commenting "dirty!"
• A Rare Sentence: Emily's "You say 'midgets' like it's so absurd."
  Lorelai: Do you even hear yourself, Mom?
• Redundant Department of Redundancy: Subverted with the cart kiosk cart/kiosk permit, but Lorelai and Rory mock it anyway.
• Rule of Three: Lorelai is beyond annoyed that Emily tastes the soups three times, but Sookie backs her that the rule of tasting is one is to acclimate, two is for foundation and three is to judge.
• Running Gag:
  • Lorelai's diner talk.
  • Rory demanding that Jess help Luke with the diner while Luke prepares his uncle's funeral and physically dragging him to the diner.
• Shout-Out:
  • The town troubandor is jamming "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham!.
  • Jess watches I Dream of Jeannie.
  • The veggie troubador thinks Taylor has a David and Lisa thing going.
  • Emily sets Sookie up with the people who planned Céline Dion's wedding and Steven Spielberg's daughter's Jack Russel's "bark" mitzvah.
  • Rory and Lorelai imitate A Ham in a Role.
    Rory: We certainly are amusing, Mac.
    Lorelai: Indubitably, Tosh.
  • Uncle Louie wants to be buried with his Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Willie Mays baseball cards.
• Strange Minds Think Alike: Lorelai asks if Emily's Romanov-themed wedding for her would be set before or after they were executed by firing squad. Luke walks in and Emily asks what he think of the Romanovs. He replies that they probably had it coming.
• Take That!: Luke drives to Hartford to cool his head, and discovered that it's a cesspool.
• Themed Wedding: Emily has to give up on Sookie's "crazy"-themed wedding, but still hopes to one day arrange a Romanov-themed wedding for Lorelai.
• Tranquil Fury: Rory does not take kindly to Jess not helping out while Luke arranges a funeral.
• Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: Jess insists that he'd never lift a finger to help Luke or anyone in town, so when Rory figures out that he actually got out of bed and unlocked a door so people could arrange a wake she teases him about being a true neighbor.

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