Flight Reflex

Lorelai Gilmore is a complex Gilmore character. She has brains, beauty and wit that will leave any person amazed, but what makes her so complex is her quirky ways and eccentric habits. She loves to tease, hates to lose and survives mostly on caffeine. She's free spirited and strappingly subborn. But what makes her so dense, so complicated is her self-hidden, but viewer-visible flight reflex. Our pal Sookie had the reflex nailed to the floor in the first season when she teased Lorelai about her getaway dance...her cha-cha-cha-ing.

Let's retrace Lorelai's flight reflex, shall we? It all began in the childhood years, when Emily Gilmore tried to mold the poor little Lor into a fancy young lady of high standards and great etiquette. It must have built from there because, as Lorelai grew up, her flight reflex grew to gigantic proportions. And though she didn't choose pregnancy as a planned escape from high class, Gilmore hell, Lorelai seized the opportunity to bolt. And the reflex to flee didn't end there. Lorelai has found herself in many circumstances that force her to run like the wind. The first that we, the viewers, really are able to see is Lorelai's Max getaway dance. And she doesn't just do it to him once, but twice. Max I getaway dance caused the burning Paris to leak the Max/Lor relationship all over Chilton, and Max II getaway dance ended in a roadtrip and Yale tour. As the Gilmore years and seasons progress, Lorelai continues to frolic in this habit. When Rory's boat incident changes the course of their relationship, Lorelai dives head first into rebuilding her house and proposing to Luke. Then when April appears, the reigning Lorelai dodges Luke's stance with April and eventually dodges Luke. But after a backseat thearpy session, Lorelai confronts Luke and their "issues" only to bolt when Luke's answers don't fit her wants.

What do you suppose keeps her from dealing with conflict? Could it be my "Emily and her rich people ways" theory? Do you know of any other flights that our gal has done? Do you like this character trait? Do you think it's way over played, that Lor should have evolved by now? And when I say "flight reflex," do you think of Felicity?