The Ins and Outs of Inns

From Gilmore Girls Wiki

[edit] Plot

Since Richard is miserable at work, Emily decides to have an oil portrait of Rory painted for his study to cheer him up. Initially Emily wants Rory to be posed awkwardly and elaborately with a swan, but Lorelai convinces her that a portrait of Rory reading will be more natural.

Lorelai and Sookie start to go forward with their plan to open their own inn. They learn who owns the old Dragonfly Inn — Fran Westin, an elderly local who owns Westin Bakery. They meet her at the bakery, only to learn that she will never sell the property.

Taylor finds a chalk outline on the sidewalk outside his store surrounded by police tape. The police eventually determine that it is an elaborate prank, and blame falls on Jess. Luke defends Jess, and soon finds himself in conflict with the rest of the town. At the town meeting, Luke finds that the rest of the town started the meeting early so that they could deal with the "Jess situation." Luke angrily yells at the rest of the town, insisting that they should let him handle things himself. The next day, Rory confronts Jess, telling him that he should be more considerate of Luke. Jess takes her advice and helps Luke by fixing his toaster, although he denies doing it.

Mia, the owner of the Independence Inn, pays a surprise visit to Stars Hollow. She is very close to Lorelai and Rory because of all the help she gave them when they first moved to Stars Hollow. Lorelai is reluctant to tell Mia that she and Sookie want to start their own inn, but Mia is very supportive of their decision. However, she tells Lorelai that she is eager to sell the Independence Inn, which upsets Lorelai. She winds up taking her feelings out on Sookie, although they eventually patch things up.

Lorelai also lashes out at her mother at their weekly dinner. She apologizes and admits that she is upset to think about losing the Independence Inn, which has been like a home to her and Rory. Emily goes to the inn the next day to meet Mia. Their encounter is very uncomfortable, although at the end Mia promises to send Emily pictures of Lorelai and Rory.

[edit] Featured music

• "Spring Released" by Grant-Lee Phillips
• "Nothing is for Sure" by Grant-Lee Phillips