Ballrooms and Biscotti
written by Amy Sherman-Palladino, 2003
And so begins Gilmore Girls' greatest season. "Ballrooms and Biscotti" does not come close to the power of the later episodes, but it does anticipate the amount of careful crafting that went into every single episode of the show prior to season six. As the episode opens, Rory and Lorelai are making their way back home from Europe. They spend the next day planning how to get ready for the Yale orientation, which turns out to be a few days earlier than they originally thought. Rushing to buy everything they need, Lorelai skips Friday night dinner and ends up having to come pick Rory up after Emily forces her to watch ballroom dancing competitions--now the title makes sense. A ha. Other than that, this episode is very light on story, with the possible exception being Luke's mysterious cruise trip. We find out that he proposed, married, and divorced Nicole, though the real implications of this only surface later in the season. The best part of the episode, by far, is the last scene. It's a brilliantly understated moment between Lorelai and Rory--who are now both watching the ballroom dancing tapes as Emily sleeps. In a very soft voice, both comment on the biscotti, just as they realize how little time they have to spend together.
