EMILY: You have any idea who Miles Hahn is? … He’s the president of the First National Bank. We’ve been doing business with him for years. He’s become a very dear friend of ours actually.
A name sometimes given to local banks in the US; there have been many of this name, most of which have closed down or been taken over by now. There are still examples in Florida, Utah, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania, but there’s never been one in Hartford.
It is unclear if Emily means that they use the First National Bank themselves, or if she means that Miles Hahn has been doing business with Richard through the insurance company he works for. I presume the first one.
MICHEL: Well, you’ve tried to convince them of your virtue, perhaps it’s time to offer them a lap dance … You know in Thailand, women do this trick with a Ping-Pong ball that is a big crowd pleaser.
Lap dance: An erotic dance performed at strip clubs where the dancer, who may be nude or topless, has body contact with a seated client, grinding in his lap. They have been around since the 1970s, and are legal in Connecticut – apparently Hartford is known in some circles for being extremely relaxed and tolerant in this regard.
Ping-pong show: Michel refers to a type of entertainment performed in some strip clubs, where women use their pelvic floor muscles to expel objects from their vagina. Although a variety of objects can be used, ping-pong balls are the iconic choice. They are common in Thailand, where they are performed for tourists. Human rights concerns have been raised with the practice, and it has been denounced as inherently misogynistic and racist.
LORELAI: Again, yes, just like the pink bunny with the drum. Uh, anyway, I was wondering if, um, you have had a chance to reconsider my loan? . . . Uh, no, I think it’s Energizer . . .
The Energizer Bunny is the marketing mascot of Energizer batteries. It’s a fluffy pink mechanical rabbit that beats a drum. It began as a parody of the Duracell Bunny (the mascot for Duracell batteries), which first appeared in commercials in 1973. The trademark had lapsed by 1988, so that Energizer were free to use a similar concept.
The Energizer Bunny is promoted as a toy which is able to last much longer than others, because he’s powered by Energizer batteries. In the same way, Mr Rygalski sees Lorelai as indefatigable in her attempts to get a loan. When she corrects him by saying it’s called the Energizer Bunny, Mr Rygalski, being older than Lorelai, was probably thinking of the earlier Duracell Bunny.
[Lorelai walks through the lobby talking on the phone] LORELAI: Hi Mr. Rygalski, it’s Lorelai Gilmore.
Amy Sherman-Palladino’s friend Helen Pai is married to a man named Dave Rygalski. Later on, Lane (based on Helen), has a boyfriend named Dave Rygalski. There may be a hint here that Mr Rygalski at the bank is Dave’s father.
RORY: You were saying that I’m stubborn just like my mother. DEAN: I was saying that in addition to all of the wonderful amazing qualities that the two of you share there is possibly, on occasion, a similar tendency to dig your heels in.
Rory isn’t that stubborn, being keen to please others as much as possible. If Lorelai and Rory were both equally stubborn, they would fight much more than they do. It’s worrying that Dean considers a meek girl like Rory to be “stubborn” – just how much of a doormat does he actually want?
RORY: Fine, but we have a real problem here. LORELAI: Oh, you think I don’t know that? You think I sit around all day swapping witticisms with Robert Benchley at The Algonquin? No! I am thinking and worrying and using the computer, and I hate using the computer!
Robert Benchley (1889-1945), a humorist best known as a newspaper columnist and film actor. He began writing for The Harvard Lampoon while at Harvard University, before writing for Vanity Fair, and most famously, The New Yorker, where his absurdist essays proved highly influential. He made several appearances in films, and his 1935 film How to Sleep, won an Academy Award in the Short Film category.
The Algonquin Hotel is a historic hotel in Manhattan, which first opened in 1902. It had a reputation for hosting a number of literary and theatrical celebrities, including The Algonquin Round Table (or as they called themselves, “the Vicious Circle”). This group of New York writers, critics, actors, and wits met for lunch each day at The Algonquin from 1919 to 1929, engaging in witticisms which were disseminated across the country through their newspaper columns.
Robert Benchley was one of its most prominent members, and Lorelai is probably referencing the writer and critic Dorothy Parker, previously discussed. Dorothy Parker was a close friend of Robert Benchley, and one of the founding members of The Algonquin Round Table.
[Picture shows a painting of Dorothy Parker at The Algonquin Round Table by Carl Purcell]
Against Lorelai’s wishes, Rory tells Emily that their house is infested with termites, and they have no way to pay for the necessary repairs. Emily immediately gets out her cheque book, only asking to know how much money is needed. Lorelai turns her offer down, and afterwards freezes Rory out, refusing to speak to her or even look at her – this is a foreshadowing of how other, more serious arguments between them will play out.
This again shows how dishonest Lorelai was with Rory when she said they were a “team” and a “democracy” – but with Lorelai able to play the “mom card” whenever she likes, and Rory forced to obey her. Their fight ends with Rory being sent to bed like a naughty child, even though they have Friday Night Dinner at 7 pm. Considering that Lorelai was in no mood to hang around after dinner, it can’t be more than about 9.30 pm.
LORELAI: Actually … I’m sick. EMILY: I knew it, what’s wrong? LORELAI: Consumption with a touch of the vapors. I’m going for a leeching tonight after coffee.
Consumption: a 19th century word for tuberculosis, an infectious disease mostly affecting the lungs. It was seen as a romantic disease affecting artists, poets and composers, whose creative talent would somehow be amplified. In real life, it was primarily a disease of the urban poor, due to their cramped conditions.
The vapours: an old word, dating to antiquity but still used in the 19th century, for a variety of medical issues which might include depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, fainting, or PMS. It was only ever used towards women, and ascribed to female hysteria.
Leeching: from ancient times, leeches were used medically, becoming especially popular in the medieval and early modern period to take blood from a patient, which was thought to balance the “humours” of the body. Although this went out of fashion, leeches began to be used in the 1970s, as it was realised the proteins in their saliva had numerous medical benefits, and they were classified as a medical device in the US in 2004.
EMILY: [sees Lorelai taking a pill] What are you taking? LORELAI: Roofies.
“Roofies” is slang for Rohypnol, a drug used to treat severe insomnia and assist with anaesthesia. It is widely known for its use as a date rape drug. It is an illegal drug in the US, banned from medical use and not allowed for import.
RORY: I think they would say yes. LORELAI: Of course they would say yes. And that yes would be followed by, ‘Okay, okay, enough already. My God, please stop. I’m a shell, I’ve got nothing left to give.’ RORY: That’s not true.
Rory is correct – this simply isn’t true. Richard and Emily have never hesitated to give money when it’s needed, and seem to go out of their way to never make Lorelai and Rory feel like a burden, or imply there isn’t enough money to go around. It would be more accurate to say they always want something in return for their support, but for some reason Lorelai doesn’t say this, even though it would make sense given how the episode plays out.
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 