Category: S1Ep18: The Third Lorelai

The Tower

LORELAI: Are you sure you can’t come? [to a family dinner with Trix]
RORY: Yeah, I’m sure. If I’m not prepared tomorrow, Paris is gonna have me sent to the Tower.

Rory means the Tower of London, more correctly Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London. It’s a historic castle on the River Thames in the City of London, and was built by William the Conqueror in 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England. Today it is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Lodnon.

Although the Tower of London’s original primary purpose was to be a palace and royal residence, it has been used as a prison from 1100 to 1952. Its peak period as a prison was the 16th and 17th centuries, when “being sent to the Tower” meant you were going to prison. Queen Elizabeth I spent time there before she was queen.

Pink Ladies makeover

LOUISE: Tristan usually likes his girls bad.
MADELINE: Looks like we’re going to have to do the Pink Ladies makeover on you [Paris].
LOUISE: We’ll turn you from a sweet Sandy to a slutty Sandy. Dancing at the school fair with high heels, black spandex, and permed hair.

Madeline and Louise are referring to the 1978 romantic comedy musical film Grease, directed by Randal Kleiser and based on the 1971 stage musical of the same name by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Set in the late 1950s, it is about the relationship between a “greaser” named Danny Zuko (John Travolta) and a “good girl” named Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton-John).

In the film, Danny and Sandy are genuinely in love, but their relationship keeps hitting problems because Sandy isn’t well accepted by Danny’s friends. The Pink Ladies are a group of popular girls at the local high school who give Sandy a “bad girl makeover” to turn her into a greaser’s dream date for Danny, just as Louise describes.

Grease was a massive box office success, and the #1 film of 1978; at the time it was the highest-grossing musical. It gained good reviews for being fun and imaginative, and is considered one of the best musicals of all time, as well as one of the best high school movies.

Nietzsche and Dawson

LOUISE: Those who simply wait for information to find them, spend a lot of time sitting by the phone. Those who go out and find it themselves, have something to say when it rings.
RORY: Nietzsche?
LOUISE: Dawson.

Rory is referring to Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), a German philosopher whose work has been profoundly influential on Western philosophy. Since the 1960s his work has been a major focus in existentialism, postmodernism, art, literature, psychology, politics, and popular culture.

Louise is referring to Dawson Leery (James Van Der Beek), the central character on the teen drama series Dawson’s Creek, which aired on television between 1998 and 2003. I cannot verify if Louise’s quote is genuinely from the show, but it sounds like the sort of thing Dawson might have said.

This is a rather unsubtle example of how much more intellectual Rory is compared to Louise.

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).