Month: March 2018

Sarah Lawrence

MADELINE: Hey Paris. Louise hates you.
PARIS: You’ll thank me when you get into Sarah Lawrence.
LOUISE: Wanna bet?

Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the city of Yonkers, New York. It was founded in 1926 as a women’s college, but became co-educational in 1968. Sarah Lawrence is known for its highly individualised course of study modelled on the Oxford/Cambridge system of one-on-one tutoring, and places a high value on independent study. It also has a history of political activism and volunteering, and is considered to be one of the most progressive colleges when it comes to social causes. It is also one of the most expensive colleges to attend.

It is not clear from Paris’ statement whether Louise is hoping to get into Sarah Lawrence, or whether it’s where Paris thinks she should apply, in the same way she told Rory she should go to Brandeis. Louise’s reply suggests it’s not her preferred option, but she may just be cranky about coming to school on a weekend.

Cambodia

EMILY: Won’t you have dessert?
TRIX: I once travelled to a small village in Cambodia. I did not eat dessert there either.

Cambodia is a country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It was under the control of France during the 19th century, and became independent in 1953. Cambodian desserts are actually quite famous, but perhaps the small village Trix went to was too poor to have any dessert, or not up to Trix’s standards – as a slam to Emily, most likely the second.

Trix doesn’t like travel, but somehow made it all the way to Cambodia. Possibly her dislike for travel only came on late in life.

Yale

TRIX: Richard, how can you allow this girl to go to Harvard?!
RICHARD: Now, Trix –
TRIX: You’re a Yale man, your father was a Yale man!

Yale University is a private co-educational Ivy League university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1701, making it the third-oldest university in the United States.

We learn here that attending Yale is something of a Gilmore family tradition, with both Richard and his father being Yale alumni. Later, Rory would follow in their footsteps and attend the same university.

(Incidentally, it seems even more implausible that ten generations of Paris’ family went to Harvard, while only two generations of Gilmores went to Yale).

Gilmore blood

Trix is pleased that both Lorelai and Rory are taller than average, and after quizzing them on their health, glad to hear they are strong and healthy. She tells them that they must have a majority of “Gilmore blood”, as Gilmores simply never get sick. This must be why Lorelai and Rory remain healthy in spite of their junk food-loving lifestyle – they truly hit the genetic jackpot.

At the time, it doesn’t make much sense that Trix should be so mad keen on “Gilmore blood”, as it was her husband who was a Gilmore. In a later season, we learn that Trix married a distant relative, and she was born a Gilmore as well.

Trix

We finally meet Richard’s mother Lorelai Gilmore (Marion Ross), who he calls Trix as her special pet name. It seems to be a Gilmore tradition to have a nickname that’s unrelated to your real name, as neither Rory nor Trix are actually short for Lorelai. Trix is a stereotypical scary old lady who frightens even Lorelai into good behaviour, and turns Emily to jelly.

It is notable that Trix and Richard are very close, just like Lorelai and Rory, while Trix despises Emily. Trix treats Emily the same way Emily treats Lorelai, which doesn’t quite make sense unless Emily’s mother died when she was fairly young, and Trix is her main “mother type” relationship.

If the family pattern continues through to the next generation, it suggests that Lorelai will dislike the man that Rory marries and constantly give him a hard time for not being good enough for her daughter. This doesn’t seem unlikely, as Lorelai was never a huge fan of any of Rory’s boyfriends.

Furthermore, it suggests that Rory will have a distant relationship with her child, as Richard does with Lorelai. Again, this isn’t implausible, as Rory has a colder personality than her mother, and doesn’t seem to really like children. If Rory’s husband is as hard on the child as Emily is on Lorelai, then we can expect another rebellious teenager to emerge – that only Lorelai can control.

“Diamond pendant”

RORY: Where is she [her great-grandmother] now?
EMILY: In the living room, scratching the diamond pendant I bought her against a mirror.

A common technique in the past to test if a diamond was real or fake was to rub it against glass – if it made a scratch or scrape mark on the glass leaving the jewel untouched, then the diamond was genuine.

Many modern artificial diamonds can actually pass this test, and if you’re unlucky, it is possible to damage a real diamond rubbing it against glass, so it isn’t really helpful. It is probably going to ruin Emily and Richard’s mirror, so it’s inherently selfish as well as rude.

“A little more on the left”

(They put the hat rack in Emily’s foyer)
EMILY: Watch it, watch your head. Get it over here. Okay yes, yeah, I think that was about – no I think it was maybe a little more on the left. Oh God, I should have put tape down.
LORELAI: Mom, you don’t think that the coat rack could’ve moved a quarter of an inch in five years?

Emily told Lorelai that the hat/coat rack from Richard’s mother had never been used or even taken out of the crate before she regifted it to her, but now it seems that the rack had been in Richard and Emily’s house previously.

For that matter, Richard’s mother hasn’t been to Hartford for over twenty years and has never seen the rack in their house, so why does it need to be placed in a very specific position that she will remember?