Tag: Relationship Insight

Karen

RORY: But how are you gonna make Young Chui dump you? Just be a really bad date?
LANE: Oh, no, we’ve already talked to him. He’s totally on board … See, he’s in love with this Japanese girl named Karen who his parents don’t approve of, so he and Karen see each other secretly while his parents keep setting him up with nice Korean girls. He’s the male me.

Conveniently, the Korean boy Lane has been set up with already has a Japanese girlfriend named Karen, kept secret from his parents because they don’t approve of him dating non-Korean girls. Karen is a Japanese girl’s name meaning “lotus flower”.

Comparing Dean and Jess

RORY: Sure, when Dean said he’d call, he always called, but where’s the fun in that?
LORELAI: Oh, honey, don’t do that.
RORY: Do what?
LORELAI: Compare Dean and Jess, that’s not fair. They’re different people.
RORY: Clearly. One calls when he says he will and one doesn’t.

Dean phoned Rory obsessively – five times a night was considered normal in the early days of their relationship, when Dean presumably felt secure and happy. As he became less secure, he phoned Rory to the point that she began getting impatient, and at the height of his paranoia, rang 14 times while Rory was working on a school project, which alarmed her a little bit.

However, Rory is now seeing Dean with rose-tinted glasses, and now all she can remember is that Dean was reliable at phoning when he said he would. Lorelai tells her it isn’t fair to judge Jess against Dean – but then says that’s because Dean is so obviously superior! It would have been more helpful if she reminded Rory of all the times Rory got fed up with Dean’s obsessive phone calls.

“He said he’d call me”

LORELAI: One question. During this time that you watched TV, did homework, proofread articles for The Franklin, organized my sock drawer, returned emails and gave a much needed cleaning to your computer, did it ever occur to you to call him?
RORY: No.
LORELAI: Why?
RORY: Because he said he’d call me.

Before Rory was going out with Jess, she used to hang out at the diner all the time just to see him. Now he’s her boyfriend, she won’t even pick up the phone to talk to him when she’s all alone. Why do characters all turn into idiots when they begin a relationship on this show?

Atlantic Ocean

EMILY: I never really truly appreciated the Atlantic Ocean before. Three thousand lovely miles of water.

The Atlantic Ocean, the second-largest of the world’s five oceans, with an area of about 106,460,000 square km (41,100,000 sq mi). It covers approximately 20% of Earth’s surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known for separating the “Old World” of Africa, Europe, and Asia from the “New World” of the Americas in the European perception of the World. The name Atlantic refers to the ocean being beyond the Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Africa, opposite the Atlas Mountains in Morocco.

There are 3360 miles between Hartford and London, or 2929 nautical miles – very close to Emily’s estimate of 3000.

Note that Emily thinking of the lovely miles of water that used to separate her and Trix is very similar to Lorelai once saying that the best thing about Stars Hollow is the “miles and miles and miles” it is from Hartford – underlining that Lorelai’s relationship with Emily is very much like Emily’s relationship with Trix.

Rory Talks to Lorelai

Earlier in the episode, Rory told her mother that despite all the hot and heavy make out sessions with her boyfriend, she is far too busy to be thinking about sex. It didn’t seem very believable at the time, and now she admits the truth – she is thinking about sex with Jess, or at least she is considering it as something that is likely to happen if they stay together. She promises to talk to Lorelai before anything happens.

Dr Phil

LUKE: Being jealous of Dean is pointless. You’re just gonna drive Rory away. You wanna have a relationship with someone, you’re gonna have to learn to open up your mouth and say something.
JESS: Give it a rest, Dr. Phil.

Dr Phil, previously discussed.

Having a girlfriend for a few weeks has certainly given Luke a lot of authority on relationship matters. This scene between Luke and Jess reads like Luke urgently giving Jess the sort of relationship advice he himself has badly needed during the show.

Petri Dish

LUKE: When you date a girl like Rory, you’re involved with her whole family. Just like that last girl you dated, you were involved with her whole Petri dish.

Petri dish, a shallow, transparent lidded dish that biologists use to grow cell cultures, such as bacteria, fungi, and moss. The container is named after its inventor, German bacteriologist Julius Petri.

Everyone is so horrible about Shane on this show. Even Luke, who (rightly) urged Jess to be nicer to Shane when they were going out, now he speaks of her family as nothing more than bacteria!

Swan Attack

JESS: I was attacked by a swan. Okay, you happy? A stupid swan.
LUKE: Now, how ’bout the real story?

Luke professes disbelief that Jess’ black eye came from a swan attack. Swans are notoriously aggressive during breeding season, and can do some damage when provoked – generally of the bruising variety, rather than breaking bones or anything. Breeding season is April to June, and this is February, but if you’re unlucky, swans can attack at any time.

I’m not sure why Luke doesn’t believe Jess at first, nor why Jess is too embarrassed to tell Rory the truth. For that matter, why is everyone so sure that Dean gave Jess the black eye? Had it happened before? Does Dean seem that dangerous? And if she believes Dean did hurt Jess, why is Rory angry at Jess, rather than Dean?

An interesting point to ponder: most swan-related injuries actually occur when the person is running away from the swan – falling over and cutting their knee, or getting a branch in their eye running through trees. (In one unfortunate case, drowning while trying to escape). Is it possible that this is really how Jess got a black eye, and is this why he is so embarrassed?

In a Young Man’s Mind

This is the song playing when Dave, Zach, and Brian run into Mrs Kim when their car is stuck at the red light.

“In a Young Man’s Mind” is a song by the garage rock band The Mooney Suzuki, from their 2002 album, Electric Sweat. The song was released as a single in 2003.

Part of the lyrics say:

A kid with a guitar
What does he wanna do?
We’ll be like Pete Townsend, Jimmy Page, and Hendrix too
We’re gonna learn how to play
And practice it everyday
But I was really feelin’
I might come a lady’s way

In a young man’s mind
It’s a simple world
There’s a little bit of music
And the rest is girls

Something of a comment on the guys in the band!

When Mrs Kim asks what Dave is doing with these alarming-looking boys, he pretends that he is also in a Christian band, and they are his bandmates. Mrs Kim warns him that Lane has a crush on him, and says she is interested in hiring them some time. Dave gets away with it for another day, although the squeaks are getting narrower.