Category: S1Ep7: Kiss and Tell

“Smell a rose”

MRS. KIM: Maybe you should be less busy. Then you can remember to pick up chairs.
LORELAI: Right. Absolutely. Smell a rose, got it.

Lorelai is referring to the cliched advice to “stop and smell the roses”, meaning to slow down and allow yourself to notice and enjoy the beauty of life.

The saying appears to come from golfer Walter Hagen’s 1956 book of golfing memoirs, The Walter Hagen Story. In it he advises his readers: “You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry, don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way. ”

It was further popularised by American singer-songwriter Mac Davis, in his 1974 pop song Stop and Smell the Roses, from his album of the same name. Davis got the idea for the song from the bandleader on The Tonight Show, whose doctor had said the phrase to him.

Note the implication from Lorelai that she is so busy she only has time to smell one rose.

Fridge

When Rory gets home after kissing Dean and talking to lane, she finds her mother in front of an apparently malfunctioning fridge, talking with a repairman. The fridge is open, and despite all that we hear about Lorelai and Rory’s unhealthy diet during the course of the show, the fridge was clearly full of food, including fresh vegetables (also quite a few things that don’t need to be in a fridge, such as unopened tins, bottles, and jars).

“Sing for your supper”

RORY: OK, the whole concept a free soda is that it’s free, you don’t have to work for it.
DEAN: Sorry you gotta sing for your supper.

To sing for your supper means to provide a service for someone in order to earn a favour from them. The saying is well known from the 18th century English nursery rhyme Little Tommy Tucker, although it was in use before that.

“My pod’s defective”

TAYLOR: You have lived in Stars Hollow for a long time, young man. It’s time you became one of us.
…
LUKE: Sorry, I guess my pod’s defective.

A reference to the 1956 sci-fi horror film Invasion of the Body Snatchers, directed by Don Siegel and based on the novel The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney. In the film, residents of a Californian town discover that they are being replaced with exact duplicates of themselves, grown from giant seed pods as part of an alien invasion. The duplicates are devoid of emotion and have no sense of individuality. Ignored by critics on its release, this 1950s political allegory is now considered a classic sci-fi film.

The fact that both Lorelai and Luke use 1950s sci-fi films as a reference in their conversation is a sign of their compatibility. We earlier saw Luke is concerned for the environment, and the environmental message of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, as the pod people are there to use up resources and destroy ecosystems, may have appealed to him.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a public holiday in the United States celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November – in 2000, Thanksgiving was on November 23. Originating as a harvest festival, it has been celebrated nationally since 1793, and was declared a federal holiday in 1863.

It is clear that the Autumn Festival celebrates the lead up to Thanksgiving. Interestingly, the word “Thanksgiving” is never mentioned in the episode, yet it is obvious that it is the theme of the festival from context. Notice how often the words “thank you” are used in this episode – Rory even thanks Dean for giving her a kiss!

Especially in the early part of the episode, many of the symbols of Thanksgiving are in evidence or discussed.

Autumn leaves: suitable decorations for the season of the year.

Pilgrims: Americans trace the First Thanksgiving to a 1621 celebration in Plymouth (now in Massachusetts). The Pilgrims, who were English Dissenters, were given help by the local Native American people in catching and growing food, and added to their stores when supplies were low. The Pilgrims invited the local people to their harvest supper, which lasted for days and was held somewhere between late September and early November.

Indians: Lorelai tells Rory to save her apologies for the Indians, referring to the devastating effects of European settlement on the Native American population and culture. Because of it, Native Americans of New England have held a National Day of Mourning as a protest on Thanksgiving since 1970.

Turkey: This poultry native to the Americas plays a central role in Thanksgiving dinner, usually served roasted and stuffed. It is said to be one of the foods served at the semi-legendary First Thanksgiving, making it a traditional choice (they also ate a ton of eel, cod, and venison, but nobody cares much about that).

Pumpkin: A food native to the Americas in season in autumn, and a symbol of the harvest. Pumpkin pie is a traditional dessert for Thanksgiving dinner (which sounds wrong as a sweet, but tastes really nice).

Squash: Like pumpkin, autumn squash are native to the Americas and ripe for the season, making them a natural choice for Thanksgiving dinner.

Horn of plenty: Also known as a cornucopia, this has been a symbol of prosperity and abundance from classic times, and has long been connected with the harvest season. In the US, this has made it a natural fit as a Thanksgiving symbol, and is often a decorative wicker basket filled with fruits and vegetables.

Canned goods drive: Donating canned goods to the less fortunate in a common charitable cause at Thanksgiving. In Stars Hollow, the collection point for the canned food drive is actually called the Horn of Plenty. Rory and Lane both volunteer to work at the Stars Hollow canned goods drive, for which they dress in Pilgrim costumes, with an Autumn Festival badge

The “Mayflower” and Plymouth Rock: Taylor and Dean attempt to make a display of canned soup look like either the Mayflower, or when that fails, Plymouth Rock. The Mayflower was the ship on which the Pilgrims arrived in the New World in November 1620, and Plymouth Rock in Plymouth Harbor was traditionally where they disembarked. Both are items of great veneration.

Taylor Doose (Michael Winters)

Although he was mentioned as far back as The Pilot, Taylor Doose makes his entrance in this episode. Taylor owns and manages Doose’s Market, the grocery store in Stars Hollow where Dean is employed as a bag boy. We discover immediately that he is the driving force behind the festivals and celebrations in town, organising them and drumming up support for them from the townspeople. This also sets up the dynamic between Taylor and Luke, where Taylor tries to encourage Luke to join in a particular town event, while Luke resists him.

Autumn Festival

Early in the episode it becomes apparent that the town of Stars Hollow is about to celebrate its annual Autumn Festival. This is the first major celebration we see in the town, and like the other town festivals, it demonstrates the change of seasons and the turn of the year, just as the Friday Night Dinners wrap up each week for the Gilmores.

The flow of time is one of the primary themes of Gilmore Girls – take notice of how often clocks, watches, calendars, running late, and being short of time are mentioned. Already Rory has had a late acceptance to Chilton, Lorelai has woken up late for Rory’s first day at school, Rory has missed an important test because she arrived too late, Lorelai has fumbled her first date with Max because of time management problems, and missed a relative’s funeral because of the day of the week, and Jackson has felt a shift in the spacetime continuum (suggesting that time in the show is cosmic in its scale).

It is not possible to tell from this episode when the Autumn Festival is held: just that it is in November before Thanksgiving. However in A Year in the Life, it is confirmed that the Autumn Festival is the first weekend in November. We can feel fairly confident that the main events of the episode occur around that time.

(The pumpkins used to decorate the set for the Autumn Festival scenes ended up rotting and emitting a putrid smell. After that, fake pumpkins were used for any autumnal celebrations in Gilmore Girls).

Allegro in F Major

This classical piece is playing at Miss Patty’s as Lorelai and Rory walk past, the accompanying music to her dance class, who are rehearsing for the Autumn Festival with a Thanksgiving-inspired dance. It is part of Concerto No. 3 in F Major, the “Autumn” section of The Four Seasons violin concerti by Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi. It was first published in 1725, with each concerto accompanied by a sonnet about the season. The “Autumn” one begins, Celebrate the peasant with songs and dances. The music is perfect for the Autumn Festival, and to accompany dancers in a small town.

Tourniquet

(After Rory confesses she did a load of laundry without asking Lorelai)
LORELAI: I’m crushed. I’m bleeding. Get me a tourniquet. Oh, no, they’re dirty ’cause Rory wouldn’t wash them with her stuff.

A tourniquet is a device used to control blood flow after an injury. Tourniquets have been especially used on battlefields.

Lorelai’s pretense at suffering deep emotional pain will soon be replaced by genuine emotional pain.