Tag: Did You Notice?

Dave Kisses Lane

LANE: Really? After all this – the marathon hymns, the weak punch, the crabby Koreans, you still wanna go out on a date with me?

[Dave nods, then kisses her] DAVE: I’ve gotta go . . . but I’m gonna call you tomorrow.

Lane and Dave puts into place what I assume to be another step in their plan when Lane says she needs to run after Dave to return his Bible. Did Dave really bring a Bible with him, and purposefully leave it behind, or did Lane prepare and plant the Bible in advance?

Either way, one or the other had the genius idea of having Dave inscribe the Bible: This Bible belongs to God, but is being used by Dave Rygalski. Mrs Kim reads this, and it immediately convinces her that Dave is a solid young Christian man, and allows Lane to go after him.

This episode is the one where Dave and Lane kiss for the first time, and begin dating (Rory kissed and began dating both Dean and Jess around Thanksgiving, too, and it was when Lorelai went on her first date with Max – November, it’s dating month on Gilmore Girls!).

Lane is so excited by what happened that when she pages Rory to tell her all about it, she can only write bible kiss bible, which Rory says is a great band name.

Clemenceau

RICHARD: And this is our international contingent, Claude and Monique Clemenceau. They’re just in from France.

The Clemenceaus have been given the same surname as Georges Clemenceau (1841-1929), Prime Minister of France from 1906-1909, and again from 1917-1920, leading France through the end of World War I.

It is surely not a coincidence that Georges Clemenceau has a Connecticut connection. He fled France in 1865 due to involvement in radical politics during the regime of Napoleon III. He ended up teaching at a girl’s school in Stamford, Connecticut, where he fell in love with one of his students, Mary Plummer (1849-1922). They married in 1869 and moved to France a year later. They separated in 1876 and divorced in 1891, after which Clemenceau had Mary sent back to the US. From his time in the US, Clemenceau developed a strong faith in American democratic ideals.

Georges Clemenceau was a friend, biographer, and supporter of the famous French artist Claude Monet. Given Claude’s first name, this also does not seem like a coincidence. Notice that the name Monique sounds similar to Monet, as if both French guests have been named after the painter.

Claude is played by Michael des Barres, an English marquis, actor and rock singer. He played Murdoc in the original Macgyver and had a lead role in the show’s reboot, and replaced Robert Palmer in the band The Power Station, fronting the band at the 1985 Live Aid concert. He has had roles in numerous TV series and some films, including To Sir With Love, Pink Cadillac, and Mulholland Drive. A long-term campaigner against drug abuse, he is currently a radio host for Sirius XM.

Monique is played by Lydie Denier, a French-American model, singer, and actress. She has appeared in a few films and a number of TV programs, including General Hospital, Melrose Place, and Spin City.

Kim Relations at Thanksgiving

LORELAI: Young-Kwan, good to see you. Hee-Jin, hi. Oh, I love your hair. Su-Nam, hi. Hi. Ho-Kyung, Won-Kyu, great to see you, hi.

Young-Kwan – a male name meaning “brave and strong”. In A Year in the Life, one of Lane’s sons is named Kwan, so it is possibly a family name.

Hee-Jin – a female name meaning “precious pearl”.

Su-Nam – a male name which can be translated as “man of a long lifespan”. Lane said she had a cousin called “Nam”, I am not sure if this is the same person or not.

Ho-Kyung – a unisex (?) name which can be translated in several ways, including “bright and respectful”.

Won-Kyu – a unisex (?) name which can be translated as “first and standard”. I have only ever seen it the other way around, Kyu-Won, when it is usually male.

Notice how familiar Lorelai and Rory are with the Kim relatives, knowing their names, and comfortable enough to make polite small talk. They look genuinely happy to see Lorelai and Rory. Although we rarely see it, the Gilmore girls must often attend family gatherings at the Kim household.

The Kim family members are played by Peter Kim, Jennifer Bolton Lee, Janet Song, Kim Kim, Alexis Rhee, Greg Joung Paik, Jae Woo Lee, Sunny Bonner, John D. Kim, and April Moon. None were very experienced at this point, but Rhee and Song have gone on to have long careers, appearing in some well-known and popular productions.

Note: I know nothing about Korean names, so feel free to rip this apart!

Kirk Buys a Cat

LORELAI: Nothing. You buy a cat?

KIRK: Yup. I’m very excited.

In the recent episode “They Shoot Gilmores, Don’t They?”, Rory tried to persuade her mother to let Kirk win the dance marathon because he had so little in his life … not even a pet. Two episodes later, he buys a cat. Did Kirk overhear what Rory said, or was it relayed to him? We shall never know, but now he has a cat, with predictably unfortunate results.

Kirk has bought an enormous carry case for the cat, more suitable for a large dog! I’m not sure if that’s trying to tell us the size of the cat (did he accidentally buy a panther?) or Kirk’s incompetence buying cat equipment.

Rory Takes Off Her Bracelet

[Lorelai finds the bracelet that Dean made for Rory on the dresser]

LORELAI: Oh wow. I guess this means there really isn’t a Dean any more, huh?

RORY: Yeah, that and it broke in the shower this morning. Though I probably would’ve taken it off anyway.

When Lorelai finds Rory’s bracelet made for her by Dean on the dresser, she realises that Rory and Dean really have broken up and aren’t getting back together this time. Even though Rory says that it broke in the shower that morning, she says that she probably would have removed it herself anyway. In fact, she wasn’t wearing it at Friday night dinner the previous week, so it seems as if she had actually stopped wearing it almost immediately after breaking up with Dean.

This leads to a discussion between them about Jess, with Lorelai snarking about him, and Rory asking if Jess is always going to be demonised by Lorelai. Lorelai does not pretend to be thrilled about Jess, and admits she felt Rory was safer with Dean (I don’t think Rory always felt perfectly safe, but Lorelai never seems to think about that). However, she is willing to endure Jess for Rory’s sake, and says Rory and Jess won’t be forever, anyway.

“You don’t wanna be with me, Rory”

DEAN: You don’t wanna be with me, Rory … You’ve been into him since he got to town, and I have spent weeks – months, actually – trying to convince myself that it wasn’t true, that everything was fine between us. But now I know that I was an idiot. You’re into him and he’s into you, and Shane, who by the way, should be listening to this ’cause it’s so damn obvious … Everyone can see, Rory! Everyone. And I’m tired, but I’m over it, so go ahead, go. Be together. There’s nothing standing in your way now, ’cause I’m out.

[Dean grabs his jacket from the bleachers and leaves]

Dean finally gets to say everything that’s been on his mind since at least February, so a whole nine months coming. Even fans who don’t care for Dean can at least feel glad that he is allowed to speak his mind, because Rory really has treated him pretty badly.

Note that Dean ignores his own advice not to get into anything with a Gilmore girl late at night, because they get cranky when they’re tired. And boy was he right about that!

Rottweiler

TAYLOR: Have you ever levitated a rottweiler? … Not easy. But in a cape with a wand and a shiny black top hat . . .

Rottweiler, a large powerful breed of dog which is one of the oldest surviving dog breeds in the world, going back to ancient Roman times. The name comes from the German city of Rottweil, where the original breed interbred with native dogs to produce the modern breed we know today.

Rottweilers are highly territorial and protective, meaning that they can sometimes be aggressive towards strangers if they are not properly trained and socialised.

As Rory predicted, Taylor begins talking about his dream of becoming a stage magician in the final hour of the marathon.

The Rules

Taylor explains all the rules of the dance marathon just before it starts – important information for the episode ahead.

The marathon starts at 6 am on Saturday, and finishes 24 hours later at 6 am on Sunday.

Any couple without a number will be disqualified.

All couples must be touching at all times.

All couples must remain moving at all times.

The only time couples may stop touching or moving is when Taylor blows an air horn, which allows for a ten-minute rest, snack, drink, bathroom break etc period.

In case of emergency, a contestant may use their yellow card to leave the floor for ten minutes. Their partner must remain on the floor and keep moving throughout this emergency break.

First aid is available at Miss Patty’s.

If you feel unwell or dizzy etc, move to the side so that your medical episode does not impede other dancers.

You can see on the scoreboard behind Taylor that 156 couples signed up for the marathon. That sounds pretty successful!

World Wildlife Fund

In the opening scene, Lorelai’s mug has the World Wildlife Fund logo on it, while at the same time, Rory tells Lorelai all the catalogues she has accumulated are equal to starting a forest fire. Lorelai’s sudden desire to cut down on all the catalogues may be due to environmental concerns sparked by buying the mug. As she is also making her own seashell-shaped candles in this episode, she may be going through a mildly hippie phase.

The World Wildlife Fund is the North American name for the World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF). It’s an international organisation founded in 1961 that works for wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It is the world’s largest conservation organisation, with over five million supporters worldwide, working in more than 100 countries and supporting around 3,000 conservation and environmental projects.