Season 5, episode 12
Come Home
Mitchum Huntzberger drops by and gives Doyle an anxiety attack. Richard and Emily try to coordinate their schedules in such a way that they don't run into each other. Rory has three piles of notes (one is interviews, one research, the last statistics) to help Logan write his piece, admitting she is kind of a note freak. Lorelai decides she's into "kitch lit", the genre of literature that covers manuals for kitchen appliances. Cletus finds his way out of the stable and into Mrs. Berg's wading pool.Mrs. Kim invites Lane to Lunar New Year, which fell on February 9 that year. Lane demands that her band mates be invited as well. Kyon finds she likes Brian.
Sookie tells Jackson that she has to work overtime when all she does is eat Toblerone and watch Dark Shadows. Richard hits Emily's car with his car. Gil really gets into the whole Korean cultural experience. Mrs. Kim accuses Lane of grooving to the gayageum. Emily asks Richard to move back to the main house. They decide to spend their ruby anniversary renewing their vows. Emily makes use of the situation to set up Christopher and Lorelai once again.
Provides examples of:
- Bait-and-Switch: Emily says to Simon that she's waiting for a man "with an exotic accent and a red coat", then let's on that she means a valet.
- Berserk Button: A relative of Lane's enforces Mrs. Kim's rules by angrily shouting at Zach.
- Blatant Lies: Mrs. Kim claims not to have enough chairs to invite Lane's band. Lane calls her on it, pointing out that she sells chairs.
- Brick Joke: The sexual harassment seminar turns out to be about Michel's discomfort around people, and the meeting ends with Lorelai saying everyone should drop their pants for Michel.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Logan writes well when he writes at all, according to Doyle.
- Call-Back:
- Zach wants to use a photo where Brian looks bad and the rest of the band looks good, arguing the good of the many. Paris did the exact same thing with a class photo for the yearbook in season three, using one where Rory was sneezing but the rest of the senior class looked okay.
- Rory helping Logan do his journalism piece is reminiscent of when she tried to help Jess do his homework in season two.
- Captain Obvious: Kyon informs Lane that the ancestors do not appreciate being spat on.
- Circular Reasoning: Zach wonders why Lane isn't wearing her glasses since she can't see without them. Lane replies that she's wearing contacts. Zach then wonders why she would wear contacts. Lane says it's so she won't have to wear glasses.
- Comically Missing the Point:
- Kirk crashes a staff meeting to learn staff meeting rules, such as "outsiders may not crash staff meetings".
- Lorelai and Rory come to Friday night dinner and see the divorced grandparents through the window, seemingly in a heated argument. Then they kiss.Lorelai: Oh my god! My parents are having an affair!
- Handshake Refusal: Mrs. Kim refuses to shake hands with Gil.
- Hates Being Touched: Lorelai summarizes the sexual harassment seminar as "no one touch Michel".
- Green-Eyed Monster: Richard learns about Simon, an associate who briefly dated Emily while they were separated.
- Metaphorgotten: In inviting Lane to Lunar New Year's Dinner, Kyon says that not attending is spitting on the ancestors, and adds that ancestors don't like spit.
- Neologism: Lorelai's new favorite literary genre is kitch lit.
- Product Placement: Toblerone.
- Reverse Psychology: Mrs. Kim uses this to convince Lane to come to dinner. And bring her band.
- Running Gag: Kirk wants experience in the hotel business and hires himself in several positions at the Dragonfly.
- Shout-Out:
- Lorelai wants Luke to get a tv so she can watch Charlie Rose in bed, but Luke thinks he doesn't have Mel Brooks on enough and whenever he does you just dream about Nazis who look like Nathan Lane.
- Kyon returns Lane's Madonna t-shirt.
- Zach confirms that Hep Alien is not Maroon 5.
- Rory read about the My Lai massacre when she was twelve, polishing off Nancy Drew at some point too.
- Michel thinks someone is "stealing" their rooms (and toblerone). Lorelai suggests it's either a ghost or Patrick Swayze in search of his lost career.
- Rory tells Logan The Office (UK) is best on the fourth watch.
- Sookie watches Dark Shadows in an empty room at the inn.
- Celine is back and talking about her friendship with Clark Gable, calling Lorelai Natalie Wood, mocking Marlene Dietrich as a trans man…
- …And Marilyn Monroe, Arthur Miller, whose marriage failed because she wore the wrong hat to the wedding.
- Emily can't look like Mary Martin for her re-wedding.
- Luke mixes up Patrick Stewart with John Stewart.
- Chris and Gigi watch Teletubbies.
- Stop Being Stereotypical: Inverted. Zach wants Lane to start being steretypical again and wear glasses so she looks like the smart girl she is.
- Strange Minds Think Alike: Mrs. Kim and Lane's band. First she and Brian separately observe that Zach's E-string is a bit flat. Second she and Zach bond over thinking Lane should start wearing glasses again.
- Title Drop: Emily asks Richard to "come home".
- Too Much Information: Zach figures he could do without Gil's theory about slimy food just sliding through you.
