Footnotes to the TV series
Here begins the running gag that Emily Gilmore cannot retain staff for any extended period of time. We learn that the elder Gilmores have been through at least five cooks in the past few months, that Richard cannot tell the difference between a male and female cook (getting Anton and Sophia muddled), and Emily doesn’t know their names, addressing Sarah as Mira even after being corrected.
RICHARD: Dinner was lovely, Emily.
EMILY: Mira does make a perfect cassoulet.
Cassoulet is a rich slow-cooked casserole originating from the Languedoc in the South of France made with white beans, duck or goose, pork sauages, and sometimes other meats such as pork or mutton. It is named after the cassole it is cooked in – a deep round cooking pot.
In America, cassoulet is often used to mean any hearty bean-based meat casserole. It is unclear which type the Gilmores are eating, but I’d like to think the cosmopolitan Richard and Emily would insist upon an authentic cassoulet on their table.
Rory jokingly suggests that Lorelai date Al from Al’s Pancake World instead of Luke. This local restaurateur is never seen in the show, although Lorelai and Rory often order food from him, even though it’s apparently not very good. As she talks about Lorelai marrying Al, we can see Luke in the background as a hint of Lorelai’s true romantic destiny, and the episode ends with a shot of Luke framed by the diner.
Lorelai asks Rory if she thinks Luke is cute, indicating him as a possible love interest. Rory puts a stop to this idea, as she fears that if Lorelai and Luke dated, then broke up, they would never be able to get food and coffee from him again. Without Rory’s blessing, any attraction Lorelai feels toward Luke has to be put on the back-burner. Future episodes prove Rory’s concerns to be not unfounded.
We learn in this episode that Stars Hollow has a population of 9 973. This is about three times larger than the town of Washington Depot that it is based on. The population size of Stars Hollow is around the same as Woodbury in Connecticut.
LORELAI: Do you want me to talk to anybody? A parent, a teacher, a big guy named Moose?
Marmaduke “Moose” Mason is a character in the Archie comics. Large, muscular, and athletic, the loyal Moose often protects his friends from bullies.
Rory suggests she could make Paris her friend by learning to French braid her hair. A French braid is a plait of hair which begins from the crown of the head, making a more elaborate braid with a sophisticated look.
The French themselves identify the braid as African in origin, as the style is earliest known in North Africa.
Lane says gloomily that her mother found a website which sells tofu in bulk and bought a bigger fridge. Tofu, or bean curd, is a food made from soy milk with the curds pressed into soft white blocks. It is often used in Asian dishes, and is a common vegetarian food (as Seventh Day Adventists, the Kims have a vegetarian diet).
Lorelai suggests that she take Rory and Lane into Hartford twice a week on the evenings she attends business class so that they can go shopping or study together. We never hear of this plan being put into action, and it doesn’t sound like something Mrs Kim would agree to.
Lorelai explains to Rory that Tristan (Chad Michael Murray) called her Mary because of the Virgin Mary, meaning that she looks like a good girl, a virgin. When Rory asks what he would have called her if she’d looked like a slut, Lorelai says jokingly that maybe he would have added a Magdalene to it.
In the New Testament, Mary Magdalene is one of the followers of Jesus Christ, said to have been witness to his crucifixion and resurrection. The Gospels tell us that before she became his follower, Mary Magdalene was healed by Jesus, who drove seven demons out of her. In medieval Christianity she was portrayed as a repentant prostitute, although this is not supported by the Bible.
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 