“That’ll do, pig”

[Emily begins to slowly eat the rest of her meal]

LORELAI: That’ll do, pig. That’ll do. [takes a sip of wine]

A reference to the movie Babe, previously discussed.

In the film, a grateful misty-eyed Farmer Hoggett says this line to the pig Babe after he has, against all odds, won a sheepdog trial, despite not being a dog. One of the most understated last lines in film history, it’s a dignified, restrained way for Lorelai to say Emily is doing very well indeed.

Trix Announces She’s Moving Back to Hartford

RICHARD: So, Trix, let’s talk about the Hartford house. Do you have a new tenant lined up yet?

TRIX: Yes, I do … Me.

To Emily’s horror, Trix announces she is moving back home to Hartford. She’s getting older, London is too damp, and she has some vague health problems. The savvy viewer will detect here that the writers are planning to bump Trix off eventually, and making sure that they don’t have to send all the characters off to London for her funeral.

“Standing with an ax next to a cherry tree”

RORY: And you believe me?

JESS: Like you’re standing with an ax next to a cherry tree.

Jess refers to a popular legend about George Washington – that when he was six years old, he received a hatchet as a gift (mm, great present for a small kid!). He used it to chop down one of his father’s cherry trees, and when his father confronted him angrily, George said something to the effect of, “Father, I cannot tell a lie. I did it with my little hatchet”. Instead of being angry about it, his father warmly praised him for his honesty. He should have been happy the tot didn’t cut his own leg off or something.

The story was published in the 1806 fifth edition of The Life of George Washington by Mason Locke Weems, popularly known as Parson Weems. He claimed to have been told the story by an anonymous elderly woman who was a friend of the family, but there isn’t a shred of evidence that it’s true, and official sources all say it isn’t.

Another reference to presidential cherries in Gilmore Girls!!!!!

Jess Asks About Dean

Jess confronts Rory, and asks if she and Dean had agreed to meet up for the winter carnival behind his back. Rory truthfully says no, but admits that she and Dean did go out for coffee and talk, and decided they were going to be friends.

She points out that it’s a small town and they’re going to see each other around anyway, and Dean “never did anything bad to her”. There seems to be an immediate whitewashing Rory and Dean’s relationship after they break up, so that Dean becomes perfect in retrospect.

(Incidentally, I wonder how Rory would take it if Jess stayed friends with Shane, since Stars Hollow is a small town, and Shane never did anything bad to Jess? I have a feeling she would be furiously unreasonable about it).

Rory is worried that Jess will be angry with her (like “perfect” Dean would have been), but Jess says he isn’t. He does say that he would have liked to be told about it though, which Rory agrees to. This is the second time that Rory has seen Dean and kept it a secret from Jess.

She also doesn’t tell Jess that it was she who went to Dean first and asked to be friends. She says they talked “once”, which is pretty close to a lie – although Rory would say the first time they didn’t really talk, she spoke to Dean.

Unfortunately, Rory’s relationship with Jess begins with her keeping things from him and seeing her ex-boyfriend behind his back, so it’s not a very promising start.

“We are supposed to throw like this”

RORY: Just for the record, I’m a girl and we are supposed to throw like this. [throws the ball]

“You throw like a girl” is an insult given to someone, usually male, who throws a ball or object in a manner which is judged to be feeble or incompetent. “The girlie throw” is one which uses the space around the thrower in a restricted manner, with only the hand and forearm being utilised in the movement.

Rory is taking ownership of “throwing like a girl”, and not seeing it as a flaw that needs to be changed or fixed about herself. And in fact, she is successful at the bottle toss game, unlike Jess.

Stuart Little

CLARA: You missed every time.

JESS: I can’t concentrate with your annoying midget voice. It’s like having Stuart Little shoved in my ear.

Stuart Little, 1999 live action/computer animation family comedy film directed by Rob Minkoff in his directorial debut with screenplay by M. Night Shyamalan and Greg Brooker, loosely based on the 1945 children’s novel of the same name by E.B. White. The story is about a young anthropomorphic mouse named Stuart Little who is adopted by a couple in New York. The character of Stuart Little is voiced by Michael J. Fox. The film was commercially successful and received positive reviews.

Trix’s Dinner Requirements

TRIX: Now, please take this to your chef. These are the times I would like each course to appear at this table. [Emily rolls her eyes, Lorelai looks at her] I like a brisk pace, twelve minutes per course is best for my digestion. However, please tell your servers that they are not to clear until everyone has finished. Thank you.

Sookie has made twelve courses, so even at a “brisk pace” of twelve minutes per course, the dinner would last more than two hours. Emily makes it last even longer.

Pretzel

CLARA: I want a pretzel and a snowcone and a cheese stick. . .

Pretzel, a type of baked bread made from dough that is commonly shaped into aknot. The traditional pretzel shape is a distinctive symmetrical form, with the ends of a long strip of dough intertwined and then twisted back onto itself in a particular way (a pretzel loop or pretzel bow). They may be either soft or hard-baked.

They have been eaten since the Middle Ages, have been an emblem of baker’s guilds, and are a traditional food for Lent, since they are made with only flour and water. They are particularly associated with Germany and German culture, and immigrants introduced pretzels to the US in the 18th century. Pennsylvania is often considered the pretzel heartland of the US, and soft pretzels are the most common and popular.