In ‘I’m a Kayak, Hear Me Roar,’ we see a big shift in Emily Gilmore. Richard isn’t the only one shaken up by his heart attack – it seems Emily has had to face some fears of her own. One of those appears to be her independence and how life would be if Richard were to die.

Emily, while on one hand babying Richard to make sure his diet and health will be perfect, on the other hand is struggling to keep up his finances. Richard is avoiding work, but his corporate taxes need to be done. In a panic, Emily calls Lorelai for help.

Lorelai drops the “Chris and I broke up” news to Emily, but Emily is gracious about it. She moves on. Very un-Emily. And later, a little tipsy, Emily talks about how life is a canoe and that, with Richard “dropping the paddle”, her canoe is spinning in circles. I think she’s saying she feels lost without Richard by her side. Meanwhile, Emily nearly praises Lorelai, calling her a “kayak” instead – because she can do ‘all this’ (life, business) on her own.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBiOjl6KM0E]

For perhaps the first time, Emily is looking at Lorelai and seeing her independence as an asset to her. She respects Lorelai more. Perhaps this is why Emily is not freaking out about the break-up with Christopher? Perhaps she’s realized that Lorelai doesn’t need to be married to do well with her life?

For me, Season 7 provided some amazing moments between Emily & Lorelai, and I was proud to see their relationship develop. What do you think?

Watch this episode of Gilmore Girls on TheWB.com here.