Season One, Episode Five: “Cinnamon’s Wake”

Season 1, episode 5: “Cinnamon’s Wake”
Original air date: 2 November 2000
Directed by: Michael Katleman
Written by: Daniel Palladino

Summary: Max and Lorelai confront their mutual attraction despite her trepidation over dating a Chilton teacher. Meanwhile, Rory’s interest in Dean grows, even as she is overcome by nerves.

Note: My timestamps are based on the series DVDs, which include a “previously on Gilmore Girls” montage at the beginning of some episodes. Netflix timestamps may be a minute or so behind my own.

On this page: All References in Chronological Order | References Sorted by Category | Frequent References | Image Credits | Indigenous Land Acknowledgment

All References in Chronological Order

00:00 – 📖 reference
Episode title: “Cinnamon’s Wake”

• Finnegans Wake is the final work of Irish writer James Joyce. Written over a period of 17 years and published in 1939, “it is known for its experimental style and its reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the Western canon” (Wikipedia).

01:05 – 🗺️ mention + 🪶 reference
LORELAI: So, where did you say Dad was?
…
EMILY: Oh. Germany.
LORELAI: Germany. Is Dad’s firm insuring Nazis now?

• The Federal Republic of Germany “is a country in the western region of Central Europe. It is the second-most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. … [It] has the largest economy in Europe [and] the world’s third-largest economy by nominal GDP” (Wikipedia) after the US and China. Like China (mentioned in episode two), it makes sense as a business destination.
• The National Socialist German Workers’ Party was the fascist political party, active in Germany from 1920 to 1945, that created the ideology of Nazism. Under party leader Adolf Hitler, Nazi Germany instigated the Second World War and orchestrated the massacre of six million Jewish people, along with additional millions of Polish, Soviet, and Romani people, gay and disabled people, and political dissidents.
• In fact, Richard’s firm would not need to go to Germany to find Nazis, as there are several neo-Nazi groups active in the United States. Furthermore, whereas Germany criminalizes Holocaust denial and the display of Nazi symbols, these activities are protected under US law.

01:55 – 🗺️ mention + 🪶 mention + 🏷️ mention
EMILY: We went to her house in Groton to see the first moon landing. She had just gotten a new Philco.
LORELAI: I have no memory of this whatsoever.
EMILY: Rory, correct me if I’m wrong, but men have walked on the moon regardless of whether your mother remembers it or not.

• Groton is a town located on the Thames River in southeastern Connecticut.
• On 20 July 1969, US spaceflight Apollo 11 landed on the moon, making mission commander Neil Armstrong the first person to set foot on the lunar surface (on 21 July). The launch, landing, and safe return of the mission were much celebrated events; the launch was broadcast live in 33 countries and was seen by an estimated 25 million viewers in the US alone.
• Philco is a US electronics company known, historically, for its batteries, radios, and televisions. The company created several classic radio and television models, including the cathedral-style radios of the 1930s and the Predicta television sets of the 1950s. It was founded in 1892 as Helios Electronic Company before becoming the Philadelphia Storage Battery Company and eventually Philco.

03:40 – 🎧 feature
“Time Bomb” by Rancid plays on a stereo in Rory’s bedroom, where Lane is dancing to it.
04:25
LORELAI: Where does your mom think you are?
LANE: Oh, uh, on a park bench contemplating the reunification of the two Koreas.
LORELAI: Not here, skanking to Rancid?

• This song comes from the 1995 album …And Out Come the Wolves. US band Rancid is broadly considered punk rock, and sometimes ska punk more specifically.
• “Skanking is a form of dancing practiced in the ska, ska punk, hardcore punk, reggae, drum and bass and other music scenes” (Wikipedia). As demonstrated by Lane, “the legs do ‘the running man’, bending the knees and running in place to the beat. The arms are bent at the elbows, with hands balled into fists, and punch outward” (LiveAbout). The style originated in 1960s Jamaica.

04:00 – 🏷️ mention
RORY: They expect the things to be homemade.
LORELAI: I know.
RORY: By someone other than Dolly Madison.

• Dolly Madison is a US brand of prepackaged baked goods. It is named for Dolley Madison, wife of fourth US President James Madison, on the basis that its products are “fit for a socialite like Madison” (White House History) and “fine enough to serve at the White House” (Wikipedia). This may have contributed to a false association between the former first lady and sweets; though she was well known as a society hostess, there is nothing historically noteworthy about her selection of desserts.
• The brand is also associated with Charles Schulz’s Peanuts (mentioned in episode three) due to a long-standing marketing relationship. Dolly Madison sponsored certain Peanuts television specials, and Peanuts characters were featured in Dolly Madison advertisements and on their packaging throughout the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s.

04:25 – 🗺️ reference
LORELAI: Where does your mom think you are?
LANE: Oh, uh, on a park bench contemplating the reunification of the two Koreas.

• “Korean reunification is the aspired unification of North Korea and South Korea into a singular Korean sovereign state” (Wikipedia). Korea had existed as a single state for centuries prior to Japanese rule, which lasted from its annexation of Korea in 1910 until its defeat in World War II. The United Nations divided Korea into two military occupation zones in 1945, and two separate governments were ultimately established in 1948. The June 15th North-South Joint Declaration initiated a reunification process in 2000, but relations have deteriorated since.

05:55 – 📖 feature
Rory is reading Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own on the bus when she is interrupted by a surprise appearance from Dean.

• A Room of One’s Own is an extended essay by English writer Virginia Woolf. First published in 1929, it is based on two lectures Woolf gave in 1928 at Newnham College and Girton College, both women’s colleges at the University of Cambridge. “In her essay, Woolf uses metaphors to explore social injustices and comments on women’s lack of free expression” (Wikipedia).

07:20 – 🗺️ mention
MICHEL: Sir, I’m just a simple country boy from Texas. I do not understand this français business you are babbling about.

• Texas is a state in the South Central region of the United States. It is the second-largest US state after Alaska, and the second-most populous after California. “Before and after the Civil War, the cattle industry–which Texas came to dominate–was a major economic driver and created the traditional image of the Texas cowboy” (Wikipedia). There are many Texas accents, but a stereotypical one is obviously different from Michel’s French one.
• “Texas lies at the juncture of several major cultural areas of Pre-Columbian North America: the Southwestern, Southern Plains, Southeastern Woodlands, and Aridoamerica” (Wikipedia). The Ancestral Puebloan, Mississipian, Aridoamerican peoples all lived in this territory prior to colonization.

07:45 – 🗺️ mention + 🎥 reference
MICHEL: That is why I left France.
LORELAI: Huh. I thought it had something to do with the torches and the villagers.

• France (officially the French Republic) “is a country located primarily in Western Europe” (Wikipedia). Though Michel has mentioned his upbringing in France before, Yanic Truesdale, who plays Michel, was actually born in the Francophone city of Montréal, located in Québec, Canada. This would explain why Michel’s English is inflected with Canadian French rather than Metropolitan French.
• In James Whale’s 1931 horror film, Frankenstein, a mob of angry, torch-wielding villagers seeks retribution against Frankenstein’s monster for the death of a child. Groups of vigilantes armed with torches (and sometimes pitchforks) have become a cinematic trope. The film is based on Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus.

09:40 – 🪶 reference
MR. MEDINA: Very Henry VIII.
LORELAI: Well, we’re not into subtle.

• Tudor banquets were famously lavish affairs, and feasts held by King Henry VIII of England (1491-1547) were no exception. Tudor chronicler Edward Hall wrote of Henry’s 1509 coronation banquet, “How can I describe the abundance of fine and delicate fare prepared for this magnificent and lordly feast” (English History). Such grand meals at court were intended to showcase a monarch’s power and wealth.
• Henry VIII is known primarily for the fact that he married six times, in pursuit of political alliances and a healthy male heir. Two of these marriages ended in annulment, and two ended in the execution of his wives. His daughter, Elizabeth I (previously mentioned in episode four), ascended the throne in 1558 and reigned until her death in 1603.

12:10 – 🎓 mention
LORELAI: I’m gonna be in town tomorrow because I take a class at Hartford State.

• Lorelai may be referring to Hartford State Technical College, which merged with Greater Hartford Community College in 1992. The college changed its name to Capital Community College in 2000. If its course offerings were the same then as they are today, Lorelai would have enrolled at the School of Business and Hospitality.

12:55 – 🗺️ mention + 🎥 mention
RORY: Philadelphia? If you could live in any city in the world, you’d pick Philadelphia?
LANE: M. Night Shyamalan lives there.
RORY: Who?
LANE: The guy who directed The Sixth Sense?

• Philadelphia is the most populous city in the US state of Pennsylvania. It “is known for its extensive contributions to United States history, especially the American Revolution, and served as the nation’s capital until 1800” (Wikipedia). Like Connecticut, it was one of the Thirteen British Colonies. Present-day Pennsylvania spans the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States.
• Manoj Nelliyattu “M. Night” Shyamalan was born in India in 1970 and raised in Penn Valley, Pennsylvania. His family resides at the Ravenwood estate near Philadelphia.
• The Sixth Sense (1999) is a psychological thriller about a child psychologist (Bruce Willis) whose patient (Haley Joel Osment) can speak to the dead (hence the famous line, “I see dead people”). “The film established Shyamalan as a predominant thriller screenwriter/director and introduced the cinema public to his traits, most notably his affinity for twist endings” (Wikipedia).

14:24 – 🏷️ feature
Dean is standing in front of a prominent Mr. Peanut promotion when he waves to Rory inside Doose’s Market.

• Mr. Peanut has been the mascot of US snack food brand Planters Nut & Chocolate Company since 1916. “He is depicted as an anthropomorphic peanut in its shell, wearing the formal clothing of an old-fashioned gentleman, with a top hat, monocle, white gloves, spats, and cane” (Wikipedia). Though the company is best known for its processed nuts, another product, a cheese-flavored snack called Planter’s Cheez Mania, is on display at 14:20.

16:30 – 🗺️ feature
A sign reading “No Fish Today” is visible in an establishing shot before Lorelai meets Max for coffee.

• No Fish Today was a seafood restaurant located at 80 Pratt Street in Hartford, Connecticut, but it has reportedly closed since this episode aired.

17:30 – 🎧 mention
LORELAI: Well, I want to be in the Bangles, but that doesn’t mean I quit my job and get a guitar and ruin my life to be a Bangle, does it?
MAX: The Bangles broke up.
LORELAI: Yeah. That’s not the point.
MAX: Well, it’s gotta be part of the point if there’s no band anymore.

• The Bangles are an all-female pop-rock band from Los Angeles, California. They released a number of hit singles in the 1980s, including “Manic Monday” (1986), “Walk Like an Egyptian” (1986), and “Eternal Flame” (1989). They broke up in 1989, but reformed in 1998.

18:20 – 🪶 reference
MAX: Do you have any hemlock back there? Arsenic, something quick.

• Hemlock (conium maculatum) is a highly poisonous plant native to Europe and North Africa. In ancient Greece, hemlock was used as a means of execution. Its most famous victim, the philosopher Socrates, was found guilty of impiety and corrupting the minds of Athenian youth, and was sentenced to death by hemlock in 399 BCE.

21:20 – ⭐ reference
LORELAI: Life’s a funny, funny thing, huh?
SOOKIE: I love that Jim Carrey.

• Jim Carrey (born James Carrey, 1962) is a US-Canadian actor and comedian. At the time this episode aired, he had appeared on US sketch comedy series In Living Color (1990-1994) and in comedy films like Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber (all released in 1994). He starred in a more dramatic role in The Truman Show (1998), but was still more closely associated with broad comedy at this time.

21:30 – ⭐ reference
LORELAI: I don’t mean funny-funny. I’m being philosophical.
SOOKIE: Oh. Very serious face. Jean-Paul Sartre.

• Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) was a French philosopher and writer. He was “a leading figure in 20th-century French philosophy and Marxism” (Wikipedia), and a prominent existentialist thinker. He was also the husband of French writer, philosopher, and feminist Simone de Beauvoir, whose landmark text The Second Sex (1949) was featured in the pilot.

23:25 – ⭐ reference
LUKE: The counter is a sacred space. My sacred space. You don’t do yoga on the Dalai Lama’s mat, and you don’t come behind my counter. Period!

• The Dalai Lama (Standard Tibetan: ཏཱ་ལའི་བླ་མ་, Tā la’i bla ma) is the title of the foremost spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was enthroned in 1940. Buddhist practice may involve physical, mental, and spiritual disciplines such as meditation and yoga.

24:10 – 🏷️ feature
As Lorelai and Rory go to comfort Morey and Babette, they pass the veterinarian’s Dodge van parked outside.

• “The Dodge Ram Van (also known as the Dodge B-series) is a range of full-size vans that were produced by Chrysler Corporation” (Wikipedia). Presumably, this vehicle belongs to the second or third generation of B-series vans, produced from 1979 to 1997 and 1998 to 2003, respectively.

26:10 – 🎥 reference
MICHEL: Yoo-hoo, Hee Haw man. Where is Lorelai Gilmore?

• Michel addresses a man wearing a thermal, a flannel shirt, and overalls as “Hee Haw man,” in reference to the US variety television show Hee Haw (1969-1971). The show presented country music and comedy sketches set within the fictional, rural Kornfield Kounty.

27:40 – 🏷️ feature
Dean walks into Babette and Morey’s house carrying cases of soda, including Pepsi.

• Pepsi is a cola-flavored soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. It was created in 1893 as “Brad’s Drink,” named for its inventor Caleb Bradham, but was renamed Pepsi-Cola in 1898; the name derives from its advertised use as a treatment for dyspepsia and from its cola flavor. Pepsi is the second-most valuable soft drink brand in the world after its chief rival Coca-Cola.

32:00 – 🎥 reference
LORELAI: Wow. It’s like a scene from the kitty version of The Valley of the Dolls.

• The Valley of the Dolls is a 1967 drama film directed by Mark Robson. The story follows three women (played by Barbara Perkins, Patty Duke, and Sharon Tate) as they pursue careers in show business and ultimately succumb to alcohol and barbiturate addiction. The film is based on Jacqueline Susann’s 1966 novel of the same name.

33:50 – 🎥 reference
BABETTE: I saw an Oprah a few weeks ago. She had on couples who lost a child.

• The Oprah Winfrey Show (1986-2011) is a US daytime talk show hosted by media mogul Oprah Winfrey. In addition to celebrities and public figures, the show’s guests included everyday people whom Winfrey interviewed about the issues affecting their lives. Winfrey and her show are also mentioned in the pilot and in episode two.

34:20 – 🏷️ mention
BABETTE: You’ll find him. It might even be that stud that drove out of here in a Mustang.

• Ford Mustang is a series of automobiles produced by the US Ford Motor Company. The Mustang is an example of a pony car, a US “car classification for affordable, compact, highly stylized coupés or convertibles with a ‘sporty’ or performance-oriented image” (Wikipedia).

34:40 – 🎧 feature
Morey performs “I Thought About You” by Jimmy van Heusen and Johnny Mercer on the piano, and Miss Patty accompanies on the bongos. The song plays as Lorelai searches the party for Rory and talks with Sookie, and it continues faintly as Rory and Dean talk outside.

• The song was composed in 1939 by Van Heusen and features lyrics by Mercer. It has been recorded by Billie Holiday (1954), Frank Sinatra (1956), and Miles Davis (1961).

36:10 – 🎧 feature
“Truly, Truly” by Grant Lee Buffalo plays as Dean begins to walk away from Rory. She jumps up to reassure him that, in spite of her awkward behavior, she is interested in him.

• This song comes from the 1998 album Jubilee by US rock band Grant Lee Buffalo. The band’s singer and guitarist, Grant-Lee Phillips, plays the town troubadour later in the series, making his first on-screen appearance in episode fourteen.

37:30 – 🗺️ reference
RORY: Information that I should have had!
LORELAI: Information that would have come out eventually, like the Iran-Contra scandal.
RORY: So you’re Oliver North.
LORELAI: No, I’m Fawn Hall.
RORY: Mom.
LORELAI: Well, she was much prettier.

• The Iran-Contra affair was “a political scandal in the United States that occurred [between 1985 and 1987] during the second term of the Reagan Administration. Between 1981 and 1986, senior administration officials [had] secretly facilitated the illegal sale of arms to Iran, which was subject to an arms embargo at the time. The administration hoped to use the proceeds of the arms sale to fund the Contras, an anti-Sandinista rebel group in Nicaragua” (Wikipedia), despite the fact that such funding had been prohibited by Congress.
• Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, a military aide to the National Security Council, was a participant in this plan. His secretary, Fawn Hall, was also implicated when she assisted him in transferring funds and destroying confidential documents.

38:15 – ⭐ reference
LORELAI: You can’t always control who you’re attracted to, you know? I think the whole Angelina Jolie-Billy Bob Thornton thing really proves that.

• Actors Angelina Jolie (born Angelina Jolie Voight, 1975) and Billy Bob Thornton (born 1955) had a highly publicized marriage from 2000 to 2003. “The marriage became known for the couple’s eccentric displays of affection, which reportedly included wearing vials of each other’s blood around their necks; Thornton later clarified that the ‘vials’ were actually two small lockets, each containing only a single drop of blood” (Wikipedia).
• About three years after this episode aired, Lauren Graham appeared opposite Thornton in the Christmas comedy film Bad Santa (dir. Terry Zwigoff, 2003).

39:20 – 🔬 mention
MOREY: Let’s stay outside a while, baby. Look for the Big Dipper?
BABETTE: Okay, I’d like that.

• The Big Dipper is a group of seven bright stars that, together, form a rectangular body with an extended handle. It is considered an asterism (a prominent group of stars, smaller than a constellation) and is part of the constellation Ursa Major. It is known as “the Big Dipper” in the US and Canada, and “the Plough” in the UK and Ireland.

References Sorted by Category

Jump to category: Academia | Brand Names | Famous Figures | Film, Television & Theater | Geography & Politics | History | Literature | Music | Science

🎓 Academia

• 12:10 – Hartford State Technical College (academic institution)

🏷️ Brand Names

• 01:55 – Philco (electronics)
• 04:00 – Dolly Madison (baked goods)
• 14:20, 14:25 – Planters (snack food)
• 24:10 – Dodge Ram Van (automobile series)
• 27:40 – Pepsi (soft drink)
• 34:20 – Ford Mustang (automobile series)

⭐ Famous Figures

• 21:20 – Jim Carrey (actor and comedian)
• 21:30 – Jean-Paul Sartre (philosopher)
• 23:25 – Dalai Lama (spiritual leader)
• 38:15 – Angelina Jolie (actor)
• 38:15 – Billy Bob Thornton (actor)

🎥 Film, Television & Theater

• 07:45 – Frankenstein (1931 film)
• 12:55 – The Sixth Sense (1999 film), M. Night Shyamalan (director)
• 26:10 – Hee Haw (television show)
• 32:00 – The Valley of the Dolls (1967 film)
• 33:50 – The Oprah Winfrey Show (television talk show)

🗺️ Geography & Politics

• 01:05 – Germany (European country)
• 01:55 – Groton, Connecticut (US town)
• 04:25 – Korean reunification (diplomatic objective)
• 07:20 – Texas (US state)
• 07:45 – France (European country)
• 12:55 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (US city)
• 16:30 – No Fish Today (restaurant)
• 37:30 – Iran-Contra affair (US political scandal), Oliver North (lieutenant colonel), Fawn Hall (civil servant)

🪶 History

• 01:05 – Nazism (fascist ideology)
• 01:55 – Apollo 11 (spaceflight mission)
• 09:40 – King Henry VIII (monarch)
• 18:20 – Socrates (philosopher), hemlock (means of execution)

📖 Literature

• 00:00 – Finnegans Wake by James Joyce (book)
• 05:55 – A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf (book)

🎧 Music

• 03:40, 04:25 – “Time Bomb” by Rancid (song)
• 17:30 – the Bangles (band)
• 34:40 – “I Thought About You” by Jimmy van Heusen and Johnny Mercer (song)
• 36:10 – “Truly, Truly” by Grant Lee Buffalo (song)

🔬 Science

• 39:20 – the Big Dipper (asterism)

Frequent References

A few things come up so routinely in the show, I am not going to include an entry for them every time they do. I wrote about the following people, places, and things when they first appeared or were mentioned.

• Hartford, Connecticut (US city)
• Harvard University (academic institution)
• Herman Beeftink (piano and string composer)
• Independence Inn (named for the American War of Independence)
• Jeep (automotive brand)
• Sam Phillips (series composer)
• “Travel to Historic Brazil” (poster in Rory’s bedroom)
• “Where You Lead” by Carole King and Louise Goffin (series theme)

Image Credits

Image [1]: This edition appears to be the one Rory is reading. Book citation: Woolf, Virginia. A Room of One’s Own. Harvest Books, Harcourt Brace & Company, 1989. Some sources show the year as 1981.

The image behind the book cover in image [1] is a still from the episode, as are images [2], [3], and [4]. Episode citation: “Cinnamon’s Wake.” Gilmore Girls, created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, cinematography by Teresa Medina, season 1, episode 5, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, Hofflund/Polone, Warner Bros. Television, 2000.

Indigenous Land Acknowledgment

In beginning my work on this guide, I’ve come to realize just how many references (however subtle) the show contains to the Revolutionary War and the colonial history of the United States. It is important and necessary to acknowledge the people whose lands were usurped when these events took place, though this is not a simple matter. Please visit my land acknowledgment page to view the results of my research.

Posted 26 January 2021 (updated 24 April 2024)