Tag: Character Insight

Ave Maria

This is the song at James’ wedding, performed by Dave Rygalski, and sung by Ho Kyung.

Composed by Franz Schubert in 1825, it was originally part of his 1825 Op. 52 a setting of seven songs from Walter Scott’s 1810 popular narrative poem The Lady of the Lake, loosely translated into German, where it is known as “Ellens dritter Gesang” (Ellen’s Third Song, in English).

It is often performed and recorded by many singers under the title “Ave Maria” (the Latin name of the prayer Hail Mary, and also the opening words and refrain of Ellen’s song, a song which is itself a prayer to the Virgin Mary), in musically simplified arrangements and with various lyrics that commonly differ from the original context of the poem. It was arranged in three versions for piano by Franz Liszt.

One of Schubert’s most popular works, it has become a fixture at weddings. Although an overtly Catholic song, it is sometimes performed at Seventh Day Adventist weddings, although with a certain amount of disapproval from strict quarters. Apparently Mrs Kim is not as strict in her religion as you might think – perhaps she simply loves beautiful music.

I presume that the pastor performing the wedding service is “Reverend” Melmin (he would actually be a pastor), previously mentioned as helping Mrs Kim select a suitable college for Lane to attend.

Luke Asks Nicole on a Date

LUKE: No, no, no, uh, what I meant was – ah, what the hell? Would you like to have dinner with me sometime?
NICOLE: Yeah.

It’s pretty obvious that, besides being flattered by Nicole’s attention, Luke asks her on a date primarily because he knows Lorelai is dating Alex. Jess has already criticised Luke for waiting around for Lorelai like a faithful dog, and has nagged him to ask Nicole out. Finding out that Lorelai is out on a date with a coffee shop owner who’s outdoorsy and likes fishing (sounding suspiciously similar to Luke) is the final straw that pushes him towards Nicole.

In this scene we learn that a cup of coffee at Luke’s cost seventy-five cents. That sounds like a bargain for what every character seems to believe is the best coffee in the world.

Notice that in the background to this scene, someone walks behind Luke and Nicole wearing what appears to be a maroon and gold Gryffindor scarf from Harry Potter.

The Korean Bride

Throughout this scene, Rory and Lane do the hair up and make-up for cousin James’ bride from Korea – a woman who remains nameless, and is played by Jessica Shim in her first role. She would go on to a smattering of small TV roles.

The bride is unable to speak English, but Lane speaks Korean, and exchanges a few words with her, asking if she likes her hair (not really, is the answer), and getting her water when she asks for it. Neither Lane nor Rory make any attempt to include her in their conversation, give her any comfort, or even try to teach her just one or two words of English.

She has come from another country, doesn’t speak any English, and is marrying a stranger described as “quiet and skulky”, which sounds like code for lacking the social skills to attract a wife among his peers. Cousin James is played by stand-up comedian and actor E.K., and whatever James’ possible faults, he is at least attractive.

Lane and Rory discuss an unhappy marriage which began with a wedding at the Kim house, between Min Cha, and the “mean man” she married, Wan Nam. There were seven years of Min Cha being told she was stupid and ordered around like a slave before she snapped and attacked her husband. They now live separate lives in the same house, still married.

The chances of the Korean bride having a happy marriage and happy life in America seem quite slim, yet Rory and Lane express no pity over her situation (and not really any for Min Cha either). She is marrying into Lane’s family, yet receives little welcome or signs of kindness from anyone. Mrs Kim doesn’t even bother speaking Korean to her, or in front of her, while talking about her.

It’s rather chilling that Rory and Lane get to have a heartwarming bonding scene together all while virtually ignoring this young woman, doing her up like a doll, and treating her as if she barely exists. She is a prop in the scene, rather than another actor.

“It’s okay not to like Jess”

RORY: It’s okay not to like Jess.
LANE: I said I was happy for you.

Rory has that awkward conversation with her best friend where she gently lets Lane know that she knows she doesn’t approve of Jess, and that’s okay. She doesn’t need to pretend. Lane immediately feels bad about not liking Jess, but says that she’s protective of Rory, and doesn’t want her to be hurt.

Rory asks her to give Jess a second chance (even though she just said it was okay for Lane not to like him), and Lane gamely says that maybe they can double date with she and Dave some time. Double dating seems to be the default position on Gilmore Girls!

We never see if the two couples ever did go out together, but I imagine Jess would have refused – even though he would have a lot in common with Lane and Dave. It seems like a missed opportunity.

Rooked

LUKE: Why didn’t you tell me?
LORELAI: I don’t know. I just felt stupid getting rooked into the thing in the first place, and then . . . plus, you don’t wanna hear about my personal life.

Rook, informal language meaning to cheat or swindle, especially in a game of cards. The word in this sense dates to the 16th century, and is assumed to be after the bird, a member of the crow family, regarded as very cunning.

I can’t see how Lorelai was actually tricked into going fishing – Alex asked if she liked fishing, and she said yes! Maybe she means she tricked herself. After all, she was the only one who was in any way deceptive.

“Think long and hard”

HEADMASTER: Ms. Gilmore, you will not be quitting the student council, is that clear? …The student body has elected you and therefore you will fulfill your commitment. And in the future, I would advise you to think long and hard about accepting any responsibility if you intend to run away from it at the first sign of conflict.

Rory doesn’t quite take this advice on board – she has some spectacular moments of running away from responsibility at the first hurdle in later seasons.

Nicole Leahy

NICOLE: Well, hello Luke Danes, I’m Nicole Leahy, I’m Taylor Doose’s attorney.

Nicole Leahy is portrayed by Tricia O’Kelley. She began her acting career in Chcago, starting out in television commercials, and running a service centre for actors. After moving to Los Angeles, she had minor roles in several TV shows, including Frasier, Suddenly Susan, The Young and the Restless, and Everybody Loves Raymond, before joining the cast of Gilmore Girls. She continues to find roles on TV.

Note that Nicole has the same surname as the writer of this episode, Janet Leahy, who was also a consulting producer on the show.

Frog Girl

Sookie tells Lorelai that she complimented Jackson on a frog tee-shirt he wore while they were dating, so he bought her a frog figurine to celebrate six months of going out. There was another one for Christmas, and he told his family to buy her frog figurines for every occasion. Now she has a frog collection.

She tells this depressing story as if it is a cute anecdote. Sookie was so smart about relationships when she was single, and usually gave Lorelai good advice. Then she became incapable of even telling her boyfriend, later husband, that she didn’t love frogs all that much. They are a symbol of her inability to communicate with Jackson.

Kim Family Weddings

The Kim family are planning a wedding for Lane’s cousin James, said to be “quiet and skulky”, so the family arranged a marriage for him with a girl from Korea who “doesn’t speak a word of English”.

This sounds absolutely awful for the young woman, coming to a country where she doesn’t speak or understand the language, to marry someone she’s never met. Amazingly, Rory and Lane express zero sympathy or concern for her, Rory even quipping that she hopes they make air holes in the box she’s shipped out in, as if she’s an animal.

Dave will be playing at the wedding, and during the conversation, it turns out that Rory has attended many weddings at the Kim household – so many that Lane says she is accepted as an honorary member of the family. We don’t see Rory and Lane together that much, so this is a nice way to tell us that in fact they are very close and have shared many important times that aren’t shown onscreen. It doesn’t really gel with the way Mrs Kim treats Rory in the show – certainly not like a family member (mind you, she’s not very warm to her actual family members).

Notice that the book Rory is carrying in this scene is Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette by Judith Thurman. Rory is shown reading this book all the way back in “Red Light on the Wedding Night”, so eighteen months later she is either still reading it, or is re-reading it. Although re-reading books is common, is re-reading biographies all that common, I wonder? I feel as if they are getting a bit lazy in finding new books for Rory to read (or be shown reading).