Category: S1Ep21: Love Daisies & Troubadours

Dean and Clara at the Town Meeting

Dean brings his little sister to the town meeting, even though he has never been to a meeting on his own, and town meetings don’t seem like something a little girl would enjoy as an outing (they probably aren’t suitable for little girls either, as Taylor tells us that the insults bandied around by disgruntled townsfolk can sometimes be pretty adult-oriented).

The only reason Dean has to attend the meeting is to see (stalk, spy on) Rory, and the only reason he has to bring Clara with him is so that she can confirm that the girl who came to door was definitely Rory – he already saw Rory running away, but only from the back. Clara already said she recognised Rory from photos Dean had in his room, so this is to make completely sure before he takes any action.

It all works out as Dean hoped: Rory is at the meeting with Lorelai and Max, and even stands up and makes a speech about how it’s hard to express your true feelings without looking like an idiot. The speech appears to be targeted specifically at him (it is), so that Dean knows that Rory did return his feelings, but was unable to tell him. To seal the deal, Clara identifies Rory as the girl who came to their house, so he knows that Rory has come looking for him, and she’s been stalking him too.

Kinko’s in Groton

TAYLOR: Oh, this is absolutely ridiculous. Do you subscribe to this troubadour mystique?
RIVAL TROUBADOUR: I run a Kinko’s in Groton.

Kinko’s was an earlier trademarked name for FedEx Office Print & Ship Services, a retail chain providing an outlet for FedEx Express and FedEx Ground Shipping, as well as printing, copying, and binding services. It is the main competitor to UPS Stores. Founded in 1970, the name was changed in 2004, although the older name is still advertised.

The town of Groton in Connecticut was discussed earlier, as the former home of Lorelai’s deceased relative, Claudia. It is about an hour’s drive from the area where Stars Hollow appears to be located. In real life, it doesn’t have a FedEx Office today, and may not have had a Kinko’s in 2001. Does this cast doubt on the rival troubadour’s story? Perhaps he has mystique too, but just has a different way of going about it.

The Troubadour at the Town Meeting

TROUBADOUR: I’ve been the town troubadour for six months now, and I think I’ve done a pretty good job and then, he shows up (points to other troubadour).
RIVAL TROUBADOUR: Hey.
TROUBADOUR: And there’s no room for a second troubadour in Stars Hollow.

Even though we’ve only seen the Town Troubadour since That Damn Donna Reed, which took place in February, he’s actually been in town since early November at least. We learn that the Troubadour is a real man of mystery, as we don’t know how he supports himself. He doesn’t play music in the streets for money, even refusing it when offered.

Nor do we know where he lives: he is never shown shopping or eating at the diner, and nobody seems to know anything about him, so he isn’t a regular part of the town. On the other hand, we never see him driving, cycling, catching a bus, or even walking home, so we don’t know where he goes when he finishes playing music in Stars Hollow. This is all part of the “mystique” that he believes troubadours are meant to have.

Is he even human? Is he an angel, or a spirit from the stars, sent to bring music to Stars Hollow? Is he from another dimension, or the real Grant Lee Phillips able to project himself somehow into the Gilmore Girls universe? These questions will never be answered.

His role seems to be to guide people’s lives through song, and to help them learn to express emotions – all part of Stars Hollow being a place where love can be nurtured and developed. Later in the scene, Rory stands up and says that the Troubadour is able to express how the townspeople feel through his songs, and to say what they are thinking. This certainly seems to be case in this episode.

(Interestingly, the Troubadour only seems to have come to Stars Hollow when Rory had begun dating Dean, and Lorelai had begun dating Max. Did their love affairs attract him to the town, as if they now needed his emotional guidance?)

Cucamonga

TAYLOR: Lorelai, I hope that’s not food in those bags. Food is not allowed at town meetings.
LORELAI: No, Taylor its not. Its, um, diapers for the little ones.
TAYLOR: What?
LORELAI: Dorsal fins and Cucamonga.
TAYLOR: What did she say?
LORELAI (whispers to Max): I confuse him till he loses his train of thought and then he moves on.

The Cucamonga Valley is a region of southern California located between Los Angeles and San Bernardino. It is a major wine-producing area, and one of its cities is Rancho Cucamonga. The name Cucamonga comes from a Native American word meaning “sandy place”.

(A dorsal fin is the fin on the back of fish, whales, dolphins, and porpoises.)

Ring Pops

MAX: Oh, oh, I forgot. (Max pulls two Ring Pops out of the bag) One for you, and one for you.
RORY: What are these?
MAX: Those are rings. And the diamond is actually candy, so you can eat it.

Ring Pops are fruit-flavoured lollipops sold as a large plastic wearable ring with a candy “gemstone” that can be sucked. Manufactured by Topps, they were invented by Frank Richards in 1979.

Max at the Town Meeting

LORELAI: Are you sure you wanna go to this thing?
MAX: You’ve been talking about these town meetings for months. I’ve got to see one for myself.

With Max attending a town meeting in Stars Hollow with Lorelai and Rory, you can see that he is trying to adapt to her world, and become a member of her family. We know this was his idea, because he says that he felt that he had to attend a meeting since Lorelai talked about them all the time. Lorelai appears rather reluctant, as if she is not sure about having Max become part of her everyday life so quickly.

Town meetings seem to be held on the second Thursday of the month, so this could be Thursday 10 May.

 

Chocolate covered espresso beans

(Lorelai, Rory, and Max are walking down the street. Lorelai and Max are carrying small grocery bags.)
MAX: Okay, we’ve got food, drink, reading material, chocolate covered espresso beans.

Chocolate-covered espresso beans are coffee beans covered in chocolate. They are candy made for the Gilmore girls, who love both sugar and caffeine. A serving of 40 g (about a handful) contains the same amount of caffeine as three cups of coffee.

In actuality, there are no such things as “espresso beans” – espresso is made from the same coffee plants as any other coffee.

Clara

RORY: What’s your name?
CLARA: Clara.

Clara (Scout Taylor-Compton) is Dean’s younger sister. Dean earlier alluded to having “sisters”, and Clara is one of them, although we never directly hear of any other. She seems to be around eight or nine years old, since she is still in the Brownies.

It is very strange that Rory has apparently never been to Dean’s house before, or met his family, even though they live in a small town and dated for several months. It’s even odder because Dean knows her mother very well, and visits her house often.

It makes her look like a detached and rather selfish girlfriend, that she expects Dean to always come to her, and to fit in with her life, rather than both of them making an effort. Or perhaps Dean has rather weirdly kept her away from his family, in which case she seems to have passively accepted it rather than argued against it.

Notice that the Forester’s front door has a friendly “Welcome” sign on the front door decorated with a red rose – a sure sign that Dean would welcome Rory’s visit, and her love, if only she knew.

Hare Krishnas

CLARA: Where’s your [Girl Scout] uniform?
RORY: Oh, we’re not doing uniforms anymore. You know, we’re trying to blend in, relate better to the average person. It was a very successful strategy for the Hare Krishnas, so …

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is a Hindu religious organisation, often called “Hare Krishnas”. It was founded in New York City in 1966 by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who is worshipped by his followers as a guru and spiritual master. They worship Krishna as the highest expression of godhead, and promote yoga and a vegetarian diet.

Members of the organisation traditionally dressed in saffron robes, so that they were sometimes called “Orange People”. These days, they have integrated into the community, and often dress in normal clothes, just as many of their beliefs have become mainstream.

Girl Scout uniforms have changed throughout the years, and Rory’s statement has almost come true, as these days Girl Scouts wear casual pants and polo shirts, with a waistcoat or over-shirt to display badges on.