The Return of Jamie

While Paris is still at Chilton, she sees Jamie, the Princeton student she had a date with in Washington DC. Jamie had her phone number but never called, thinking he didn’t need the “distraction” of having a girlfriend. Unable to think of anything but Paris, he has still not phoned her, but turned up at Chilton to see her.

Characters love showing up impulsively as a romantic gesture on the show – as is the way, Jamie waits patiently until Paris comes outside, and she hasn’t been kept back by a teacher or school meeting, and nobody from the school tries to move him on or report him to the police for hanging around the school gates.

Although Paris is shocked and flustered that Jamie has appeared three months after their date in August (confirming that it is now November), she is quickly persuaded to listen to him, and they go to have coffee together.

Elizabeth Taylor, Debbie Reynolds, and Eddie Fisher

LORELAI: Apparently, Miss Patty showed his wife a picture of me, and she thinks I look like Elizabeth Taylor, which makes her Debbie Reynolds, and Stanley Eddie Fisher.

Actress Elizabeth Taylor, previously discussed and frequently mentioned. This is the second time Lorelai has been linked with Elizabeth Taylor (although, so has Miss Patty).

Singer and actor Edwin “Eddie” Fisher (1928-2010) was Elizabeth Taylor’s fourth husband. His first wife was actress and singer Debbie Reynolds (born Mary Reynolds, 1932-2016), a close friend of Elizabeth Taylor. Married in 1955, Fisher and Reynolds divorced in 1959 when it was revealed that he had been having an affair with Taylor. It caused a huge scandal at the time. Eddie Fisher and Elizabeth Taylor were divorced in 1964, and she and Debbie Reynolds reconciled and resumed their friendship some time in the late 1960s or early 1970s.

We learned earlier that Miss Patty carries a photo of Lorelai in her wallet in order to show it to men who might be interested in dating Lorelai. Now she’s apparently showing it to other women to make them jealous. What is it with this creepy obsession Miss Patty has with Lorelai?

McDonald’s Apple Pies and Ho-Hos

LORELAI: And out of nowhere, Kirk comes dancing by, waving a McDonald’s hot apple pie in the air and of course Ho-Ho lunges for the pie and drops my hand and that was it. Kirk wins, I’m out. I’m gonna get that Ho-Ho someday.

McDonald’s fast food restaurants, previously discussed. They have had hot apple pie on their dessert menu since 1968. Until 1992, the apple pies were deep fried, but are now baked.

Ho-Ho, previously discussed.

Lorelai’s story reveals that Kirk is not above fighting dirty in order to win the dance marathon. He had great foresight to bring a McDonald’s apple pie with him to the marathon, and kept it hot (?) by some arcane means.

Dance Marathon

In this episode, Stars Hollow is holding a dance marathon to raise money. Dance marathons began in the 1920s and were at their peak in the 1930s, with people vying to win the cash prize at the end, that could be for as much as a year’s salary. Today they are generally held as charity fundraisers, and only last for twelve to twenty-four hours, not the thousands of hours they went on for in times past, which sounds like absolute torture (and they were often rigged as well).

We learn that the dance marathon is an annual event, that Lorelai has been close to winning it for four years in a row, since 1998, and that the previous year she only lost at the eleventh hour. It’s possible the one in 2001 took place around the same time as Mia’s visit (she may have come back for it). The one in 2000 presumably took place after Lorelai’s date with Max.

According to the banner in the town square, this is the 50^th annual dance marathon in Stars Hollow, so the first one was held in 1952. In fact, this is around the time dance marathons began to decline in popularity. Could Stars Hollow have really been thirty years behind the trends?

The Town Loner

This episode introduces the character of the Town Loner, a mysterious and eccentric hermit who is thought to live “in the hills” around the town. This has a bit of a “cabin in the woods” vibe, and the show has something of a fascination with eccentric loners, who are depicted as both dangerous and wise.

The Town Loner comes out of isolation to stage a protest in the church tower, but the words that he yells are seemingly meaningless babble, and the banner that he unfurls is backwards, so the words cannot be read. Lorelai (brilliantly?) interprets this as a statement on man’s inability to communicate.

The Town Loner is played by Daniel Palladino, in an uncredited cameo.

Egging Jess’ Car

RORY: We egg Jess’ car. It’s perfect.

LORELAI: Are you serious?

Seeing how upset Lorelai is over Sherry’s pregnancy, Rory suggests that they egg Jess’ car in order to make themselves feel better. This suggests that although Rory acted as if she was okay with Jess, the person who totalled her car, getting a car, she is in fact quite resentful over it. Finding Shane’s bra in the vehicle was no doubt quite a twist of the knife.

This is a callback to the conversation Rory had with Christopher in “I Can’t Get Started” where she said, “We take disappointment extremely hard. I mean it. Property damage is often involved”.

Dirk Squarejaw

LUKE: Ah, you’re like the all-American boy.

JESS: Call me Dirk Squarejaw.

Dirk Squarejaw, a reference from the television show Mystery Science Theater 3000, previously discussed. It’s a name given by the show’s commentary to one of the characters in the 1950 sci-fi film, Rocketship X-M.

I’ve always thought Lorelai and Rory must have been fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000, as their own way of watching film and television mimics it. Now it seems as if Jess is a fan too. The parallels between he and Lorelai are getting positively spooky.

Walmart

JESS: Walmart.

LUKE: Excuse me?

JESS: I’ve been working there twelve hours a week for the past few months to get extra money for the car.

Walmart, previously discussed. There is a large Walmart Supercenter in Hartford, which might be where Jess has been working [pictured]. How he’s been getting there without a car for months is a mystery – if he was taking the bus back and forth, you’d think his path would have crossed with Rory’s at some point, or someone would have noticed him at the bus stop. Perhaps he’s been getting a lift with someone.

Luke really isn’t taking enough notice of Jess as a guardian. Jess has been working out of town for months, either getting lifts or catching the bus, and done a course in order to get certification to drive a forklift. Jess’ dedication and work ethic is commendable – Luke’s lack of interest in his life isn’t. What if Jess had been doing something dangerous or illegal all these months?

When Luke asks Jess what his Walmart discount is, he responds with 15%. In real life it is 10%.

It’s been shown several times over that Jess is Lorelai in teenage boy form, and here is another parallel between them – like Lorelai, Jess is beginning his working life while still in his teens, and isn’t afraid to work hard in a blue collar job to pay the bills, just as she did.

Totalitarian

JESS: My own good? Can we be a little more Totalitarian here?

Totalitarianism, a form of government that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state, and exercises an extremely high degree of control and regulation over public and private life. In totalitarian states, power is often held by dictators

Like Lorelai, Jess likes to criticise anyone who tries to cramp his style in over the top political terms. Lorelai calls them Nazis and Fascists, Jess calls them Totalitarian.

“I’m always on your side”

LORELAI: Thank you for finally being on my side for something.

RORY: Mom, I’m always on your side.

A really harsh comment from Lorelai, who is obviously at a very low point, emotionally. Rory has almost Stockholm Syndrome levels of support for her mother – Lorelai has done some really terrible things to Rory (like kissing her teacher at work in front of other students, or letting her freak out over the fact they had termites), and received nothing but kindness and forgiveness in return.