From Soap Opera Weekly, February 17, 2004:
(Gil)more Love for the Girls

Although Lorelai has been dating Jason and Luke is working on his Britney-style marriage to Nicole, romance could be on the horizon for Gilmore Girls' star-crossed Luke and Lorelai.

"Oddly enough, now that he's married, he's moving very close to Lorelai," says creator/executive producer Amy Sherman-Palladino, who promises "lots of moments of closeness" for Luke and Lorelai, if not a full-blown relationship. "We're doing the dance this year. You've got to take them right up to the brink and then let something fall in between them. As far as them getting together this year, there might be some toying with the idea, but that's something we're probably going to save. I think it'll happen, but I'm not sure when."

Meanwhile, Rory may be too busy dealing with old boyfriends to find new love this spring. "Dean has an arc," offers Sherman-Palladino. "He's back for six episodes. Jess is back for three or four episodes, depending on if I can pull Milo [Ventimiglia, Jess] away from all the other things he's doing. That's making us pretty boy-heavy right now. I have been searching for that next guy, and just haven't found him yet. But I'm still looking."

Jess will be in another episode later in the season.

   4.14 - The Incredible Shrinking Lorelais (air date: February 17)

    DEAN COMFORTS RORY, LUKE COMFORTS LORELAI, RICHARD BLOWS UP AT HIS MOTHER –— Although she is completely exhausted by her heavy workload at Yale, Rory is still horrified when a professor suggests she drop a class, and she confesses her self-doubt to her former boyfriend Dean, who is working in the construction crew at the Dragonfly Inn. Meanwhile, frustrated because she can never get Rory on the phone and by the nonstop work involved in getting the Dragonfly ready to open, Lorelai first accuses Sookie of not pulling her weight, then turns to Luke for help and advice. Finally, Richard (Edward Herrmann) is infuriated when he and Lorelai both get a taste of the nastiness that Gran usually reserves for Emily.

   4.15 - Scene in a Mall (air date: February 24)

    Lane's aunt and fifteen-year-old cousin are at the Kim house. Aunt Jun and Mrs. Kim are going to stay in the kitchen while Christine helps Lane pack. She's officially moving out. Mrs. Kim tells her to write down how many boxes and how much tape she uses so she can take inventory. In the presence of Aunt Jun and Mrs. Kim, Christine is quiet. In Lane's room she won't shut up. "No female Kim has ever moved out without getting married," she says. She loves the floorboards and wonders if she could do the same thing at her house. Christine is described as "bubbly, energetic, and very into pop culture and music- like Lane, she must hide her personality from her strict Korean mother."

Aunt Jun is Mrs. Kim's sister. Lane moves in with Zach and Brian.

Emily, Lorelai, and Rory go to the mall where Emily buys a lot of things she doesn't need. She takes offense when Lorelai points out that it's crazy to spend so much money.

Dean's working construction and lets Rory use the hammer while Tom is outside. Lindsay and her mother Theresa come in with a picnic basket. It's early for lunch but Lindsay says that "Deany" gets up at 5. Dean tells Rory that Theresa is teaching Lindsay to cook. Lindsay says cooking is hard. Theresa says she should have started teaching Lindsay earlier and tells her not to make that mistake with her own children. Rory asks Dean if Lindsay is pregnant; she's not.

From Fraz: EMILY HAS A MALL MELTDOWN -- Rory runs into Dean for the second time at the Dragonfly Inn and gets a glimpse of his new life. Later, Lorelai and Rory decide to spend a day window-shopping together at the mall, but they run into Emily and are caught up in her wild shopping spree. When Lorelai questions her mother on her out-of-control spending, Emily breaks down and admits that she is getting back at Richard, who has been ignoring her to concentrate on his new business.

   4.16 - The Reigning Lorelai (air date: March 2)

    Lorelai I has died. Lorelai is at a monument shop talking to an employee about Trix's headstone. It needs to be fixed because Trix had it precarved. It says 1918-19 with the last two numbers left blank to be filled in later, however, a death date of 19__ won't work anymore. Lorelai is a little freaked because the headstone has her name on it. Monument Guy says it's a special marble from Italy. Recarving the date risks damaging it and would be expensive. He tells her they can lie and say Trix died in 1999. While Lorelai is at the monument store a minister calls her cell phone. Lorelai and Emily go through Trix's personal things and papers at her house. Trix never threw anything out.
Trix's niece Marilyn, members of the hospital board, and Jason all attended Trix's funeral. The minister is an elderly man who is easily confused. During the ceremony he forgot where he was for a minute.
At the Gilmores' after the funeral, Emily seems worried about Richard. Rory flirts with a cute boy.    4.17 - Girls in Bikinis, Boys Doin' the Twist (air date: April)