Freud

LORELAI: You’re going to quote Freud to me? ‘Cause I’ll push you in front of a moving car.

After Luke says it’s not surprising that Rory is attracted to a boy who reminds Lorelai of Rory’s dad Christopher, she believes he might be thinking of Freud.

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis. The Oedipus complex – named after the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles – was a theory he coined in 1910, to describe a child’s unconscious sexual desire for their opposite-sex parent. Some modern psychologists broadly agree with his theory, while others find no evidence it exists. Studies apparently suggest that we are more likely to seek partners with vague physical similarity to our parents.

Luke says that he just meant that Lorelai and Rory are quite alike in their tastes, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise they would be attracted to similar men.

The Crucible

LUKE: I’m not gonna say you look concerned.
LORELAI: I’m not gonna talk about how good you’d look dressed like one of the guys from The Crucible.

The Crucible is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a a dramatised version of the Salem witch trials which took place in Massachusetts in 1692-93, the play serving as an allegory of the McCarthy era, when the US government accused people of subversion or treason based on a suspicion of communist sympathies. It won the Tony Award for Best Play in 1953, and has gone on to become a classic of American drama.

The Crucible was adapted into a film in 1996, with Arthur Miller writing the screenplay. Lorelai could easily have seen the film when it came out, if she had never seen it on stage. The Puritan clothing worn by characters in The Crucible remind Lorelai of Thanksgiving Pilgrim costumes.

Lorelai Leigh

We learn in this episode that Rory’s full name is Lorelai Leigh Gilmore. This seems like an homage to the character Lorelei Lee (played by Marilyn Monroe), from the 1953 musical comedy film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, directed by Howard Hawks. It is based on the 1949 musical, which in turn was based on the best-selling 1925 novel of the same name by Anita Loos. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was the #9 movie of 1953, and both the film and Monroe’s performance were praised by critics.

In the film, Lorelei Lee loves wealthy men and the high life, and is also accused in court of theft. This may help prepare us for Rory’s own character arc.

Officer Krupke

LORELAI (to Luke): Look, Officer Krupke. She’s right at that table, right over there.

Officer Krupke is a character from West Side Story. Originally a 1957 Broadway musical, it was made into a 1961 film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. West Side Story was the #1 film of 1961 and won ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

In the story, Officer Krupke is a gruff policeman responsible for law and order on his beat. In the film, the role was played by William Bramley.

West Side Story is an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, revolving around rival New York gangs. This is perhaps the first tiny hint that star-crossed young lovers will feature heavily in Gilmore Girls.