Season Two, Episode Two: “Hammers and Veils”

Season 2, episode 2: “Hammers and Veils”
Original air date: 9 October 2001
Directed by: Michael Katleman
Written by: Amy Sherman-Palladino

Summary: Rory becomes convinced she is “behind” on her Harvard application. Lorelai finally shares her engagement news with Emily and is hurt by Emily’s cold response.

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

All References in Chronological Order

00:25 – 📖 feature
Rory sits in the living room reading a book, but I can’t make it out. Perhaps someone watching a higher-definition version can identify it?

00:30 – ⭐ reference
LORELAI: And then there’s the full-on Diana.

Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Spencer, 1961-1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was born into nobility and became Princess in 1981 through her marriage to Charles III, Prince of Wales. The day of the wedding was a national holiday in the United Kingdom, and the televised ceremony was viewed by a worldwide audience of approximately 750 million people. Diana’s now-iconic bridal gown featured a 25-foot (7.6-meter) train and a 153-yard (140-meter) veil. Despite what was widely proclaimed a “fairy tale wedding,” the marriage was an unhappy one; the couple separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996.
In 1982, Diana made her first overseas tour to attend the funeral of Princess Grace of Monaco, who is mentioned later in this episode.

00:40 – 🗺️ reference
RORY: This Putin arms race thing is really getting crazy.

Vladimir Putin (born 1952) is a Russian politician who has held the office of prime minister or president (Russia’s second-highest and highest offices, respectively) since 1999, making him “the longest-serving Russian or Soviet leader since Joseph Stalin” (Wikipedia). He was president at the time this episode aired, having been inaugurated in 2000, the same year George W. Bush was elected president of the US. Relations between the two presidents were initially friendly, but later cooled over the Bush administration’s pursuit of a missile defense system and withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

02:40 – 🎥 reference
LOUISE: Ooh, spending the summer at Chilton. Happy happy, joy joy.

The Ren & Stimpy Show is a US animated comedy television series that aired on Nickelodeon from 1991 to 1995, with its final episode airing on MTV in 1996. “The series follows the misadventures of Ren Höek, an emotionally unstable and psychotic chihuahua dog; and Stimpy, a good-natured and dimwitted Max cat” (Wikipedia). In the 1992 episode, “Stimpy’s Invention,” Stimpy invents a “Happy Helmet” that compels Ren to be happy while wearing it. The two dance together to Stimpy’s favorite song, “Happy Happy, Joy Joy,” until an insane Ren finally smashes the helmet. The show was controversial for its strange and grotesque humor, but, among fans, “Happy Helmet” is considered one of its best episodes.

02:45 – 🎓 mention
MADELINE: If I don’t improve my French grades, I can kiss Vassar goodbye.

Vassar College “is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York” (Wikipedia). It was founded in 1861 as Vassar Female College (“Female” was dropped from the name after the first year), named for its founder, US-British merchant and brewer Matthew Vassar. It is the second-oldest degree-granting institution for women in the US, and became coeducational in 1969.
After Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, Vassar is the second-oldest member of the Seven Sisters, a group of historically female colleges in the Northeastern US created as a counterpart to the historically male Ivy League. Another former women’s college, Sarah Lawrence College, was mentioned in season one, episode eighteen.

02:55 – ⭐ reference
LOUISE: Princess Grace didn’t go to college.
PARIS: Thank you for the history lesson, A. J. Benza.

Grace Kelly (1929-1982) was a US actor known for her roles in High Noon (1952) and The Country Girl (1954), the latter of which earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress. She also starred in three films directed by Alfred Hitchcock – Dial M for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954), and To Catch a Thief (1955) – establishing her as a classic “Hitchcock blonde.” Kelly did not attend a traditional university, but did graduate from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York prior to achieving success in films. She retired from acting at age 26 in order to marry Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, making her the Princess consort of Monaco.
A. J. Benza (born Alfred Joseph Benza, 1962) is a US gossip columnist who previously wrote for Newsday and the New York Daily News. From 1998 to 2001, he hosted the E! Entertainment Television series Mysteries and Scandals, which covered “true crimes and scandals involving celebrities” (Wikipedia).

03:10 – 🎧 mention
RORY: You’re not talking to me.
MADELINE: I’m not?
LOUISE: Tristan?
PARIS: PJ Harvey?

PJ Harvey (born Polly Jean Harvey, 1969) is an English singer-songwriter who has been active in music since 1988. She was mentioned and featured in season one, episode twenty-one.

03:20 – 🏷️ mention
MADELINE: There’s a Rebuilding Together thing going on tomorrow. You know, they fix up homes for the needy?

“Rebuilding Together is a [US] non-profit organization with the goal of preserving affordable homeownership and revitalizing neighborhoods through free home repairs and modifications for neighbors in need” (Wikipedia). The organization also performs work in community spaces, such as community centers and playgrounds. It was founded in 1973 as “Christmas in April” and changed its name in 2000.

04:15 – 🎥 reference
PARIS: I’m sorry if you thought we had some kind of deep Thelma & Louise thing going here, but we didn’t.

Thelma & Louise (1991, dir. Ridley Scott) is a US crime drama film about two friends who flee the law after killing a man who attacks one of them outside a bar. The two characters remain loyal to each other through the film’s bittersweet conclusion, and their names have become synonymous with female friendship. The ending scene has been parodied numerous times in film and television, and the film was selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry in 2016.

04:35 – 📖 mention
HENRY: What classes are you taking?
RORY: Shakespeare, physics, obscure Russian poetry.

William Shakespeare (baptized 1564, died 1616) was an English poet and playwright “widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist” (Wikipedia). He was mentioned in season one, episodes two, four, and eleven, and references to his work appear repeatedly throughout the first season.
Though she has not been mentioned by name, one of the writers featured in Rory’s locker in season one, episode twenty-one, was the Russian poet Anna Akhamatova (born Anna Andreevna Gorenko, 1889-1966). Perhaps Rory has read Akhamatova’s work for her class.

05:00 – 🗺️ reference
HENRY: I hung up…twelve times, and then on the thirteenth time, she said she was going to have the FBI trace the call and have me thrown in prison.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the United States’ domestic security service and its principal federal law-enforcement agency. The FBI has been the subject of many controversies, including but not limited to surveillance of private citizens and covert operations on political groups. The agency is especially notorious for its activities under J. Edgar Hoover, who was referenced in season two, episode one. The agency, itself, was referenced previously in season one, episode three.

07:15 – 🏷️ mention
LORELAI: We can stay all night. Have a party. Do some Jell-O shots.

Jello is a brightly colored, translucent gelatin dessert that retains its shape after being fitted to a mold; other ingredients like fruit or marshmallows are sometimes suspended within the jello, and it can also be infused with alcohol, as in the case of jello shots. The word “jello” is the generic form of the brand name Jell-O, which is owned by US food company Kraft Heinz. The dessert was mentioned previously in season one, episodes eleven and fourteen.

08:15 – ⭐ mention
LORELAI: Hey, whatever happened to Xuxa?

Maria de Graça Xuxa Meneghel (born Maria de Graça Meneghel, 1963), known professionally as Xuxa, is a Brazilian television presenter, actor, singer, and businesswoman. She is famous in Latin and South America for her children’s entertainment empire, which includes ventures in film, television, and music. She is the highest-selling Brazilian female singer, with over 30 million records sold, and reached about 100 million viewers daily as a television presenter in the early 1990s. Lorelai and Rory may have watched her US children’s television series Xuxa, which aired in 1993.

10:35 – 🏷️ reference
LORELAI: I have hit a level of perfection that has rarely been seen outside the Victoria’s Secret catalog.

Victoria’s Secret is a US lingerie and cosmetics retailer founded in 1977. By the early 1990s, the company’s “sensuous” catalogs, 24-hour phone ordering, and widespread mall presence had made it the largest lingerie retailer in the US. Beginning in 1995, “the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was a major part of the brand’s image, featuring an annual runway spectacle of models promoted by the company as fantasy angels” (Wikipedia). The brand’s name is a teasing reference to the sexual repression of the Victorian era, the “secret” being what is concealed beneath the clothes.

11:35 – 🎥 reference
LORELAI: By the time I could get my jaw off the ground, Speed Racer had taken my plate.

Speed Racer (Japanese: マッハGoGoGo(ゴーゴーゴー) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tatsuo Yoshida and originally published in 1966. The series follows the adventures of Gō Mifune, known in English as Speed Racer, an 18-year-old who loves auto racing and has strong bonds with his family. It was adapted into an anime series that aired originally in Japan, and in syndication in the US, from 1967 to 1968. I’m guessing Lorelai has seen the anime, which actually exceeded the manga in popularity.

11:50 – 🎥 reference
LORELAI: I’m a grown woman. I do not need my mother’s permission or blessing to be happy.
LUKE: Must have been a good Oprah today.

The Oprah Winfrey Show (1986-2011) is a US syndicated daytime talk show hosted by media mogul Oprah Winfrey. In addition to celebrities and public figures, the show’s guests included everyday people, some of whom had experienced serious traumas. The show’s heavier content was balanced by inspirational and self-help segments, including regular appearances by US psychologist Dr. Phil.
Winfrey and her show were also mentioned in season one, episodes one, two, and five.

12:35 – 🎧 reference + 🗺️ mention
LUKE: No matter what you do or how carefully you plan, halfway through one of those nauseating Bette Midler ballads, someone’s getting drunk, someone’s sleeping with someone else’s wife, and someone’s chicken Kyiv is landing on the wedding cake.

Bette Midler (born 1945) is a US singer and actor. Since launching her solo musical career in 1970, she has received four Gold, three Platinum, and three Multiplatinum certifications from the Recording Industry of America (RIAA). She is one award short of EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) status, having been nominated for but not yet won an Oscar. Luke is likely thinking of one of Midler’s hits, such as “The Rose” or “Wind Beneath My Wings,” which she recorded for her films The Rose (1979) and Beaches (1988), respectively.
Chicken Kyiv (also known as chicken Kiev) is a dish named for the capital and most populous city of Ukraine, located in Eastern Europe. “Oral tradition in Kyiv attributes the invention of the [dish] to the restaurant of the Continental hotel in Kyiv in the beginning of the 20th century” (Wikipedia). Another Ukrainian city, Chernobyl, was mentioned in season one, episode fifteen.

12:45 – 🪶 reference
LORELAI: You know, the Gettysburg Address was only one page long, and that was about a war.

The Gettysburg Address is a speech delivered by US President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, during the American Civil War. Lincoln gave the speech during the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery (now called Gettysburg National Cemetery) in Pennsylvania, where four and a half months earlier the war’s deadliest battle, the Battle of Gettysburg, had taken place. The address consists of just ten sentences and 271 words, beginning with the now-famous phrase, “Four score and seven years ago,” referring to the signing of the Declaration of Independence eighty-seven years prior. (A “score,” or twenty, times four equals eighty, plus seven equals eighty-seven.) In it, “Lincoln described the U.S. as a nation ‘conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal’ and represented the Civil War as a test that would determine whether such a nation could endure” (Wikipedia).

13:35 – 🎥 reference
LORELAI: I mean it, Timmy, no falling down the well.

Lassie (1954-1973) is a US television series about the adventures of the Martin family and their pet Collie, Lassie. In the show’s fourth season, the Martins take in an orphan named Timmy, who becomes the dog’s closest companion. Timmy is popularly remembered falling down a well, prompting Lassie to summon an adult to come and rescue him. Though Timmy had many other falls over the course of the show – into “abandoned mine shafts, off cliffs, into rivers, lakes, and quicksand” (Wikipedia) – he never actually fell into a well. Jon Provost, who played Timmy, writes about the misconception in his autobiography Timmy’s in the Well: The Jon Provost Story.
Lassie did push a corrupt water company executive down a well in the 1955 episode, “The Well.”

13:50 – 🏷️ mention
LANE: Here’s my CDs, my zines, my posters, my books, three of your sweaters, and one Viva Glam lipstick.

Viva Glam is a line of lipsticks manufactured by Canadian cosmetics company MAC Cosmetics (stylized M·A·C). Proceeds from the sale of these lipsticks go toward the MAC AIDS Fund, a charity established in 1994 to support individuals affected by HIV/AIDS. The line’s first celebrity spokesperson was drag queen RuPaul Charles. Viva Glam was mentioned previously in season one, episode twelve.

14:50 – 📖 + 🗺️ reference
LANE: You’ll read about it in my novel, A Connecticut Yankee in Busan.

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (originally titled A Yankee in King Arthur’s Court) is an 1889 US novel by Mark Twain. The story’s protagonist, Hank Morgan, hails from Connecticut, the same state in which Gilmore Girls is set; being from the Northern United States, he is considered a “Yankee.” When Morgan sustains a head injury, he is transported across time and space to Early Medieval England, where he encounters the legendary King Arthur. Written in Twain’s distinctive satirical voice, the novel comments on feudalism and monarchy and is often cited as an early entry in the time travel genre.
Busan (Korean: 부산) is the second-most populous city in South Korea, after the capital city of Seoul. “It is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, with its port being South Korea’s busiest and the sixth-busiest in the world” (Wikipedia). The city’s name is pronounced and formerly romanized as “Pusan.”

15:15 – 🎥 reference
RORY: You and my mother can continue the “Rory’s building a house” routine, and when that gets boring, you can move on over to “Who’s on First?”

“Who’s on First?” is a comedy routine made famous by the US comedy duo Abbott and Costello (consisting of comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello) in the 1930s. The sketch centers on a baseball team whose members have names that are also common words, for instance, “Who.” When Abbott says that Who is on first base, Costello mistakes it for a question, leading to a series of misunderstandings and frustrations. Though Abbott and Costello originally performed the routine live, a recording can be seen here in the 1945 film The Naughty Nineties. In 1999, Time magazine named “Who’s on First?” the Best Comedy Sketch of the 20th century.

15:35 – 🏷️ reference
RORY: We can get a pizza and go on Amazon. You’ll be just as bored watching me order books, I promise.

Amazon.com, Inc., is a US multinational technology company founded in 1994 as an online marketplace for books. Since then, it has steadily diversified its offerings and acquired other companies, seemingly pursuing a presence in every industry. As of 2023, it is the world’s largest online retailer and marketplace, and the world’s second-largest company by revenue, after Walmart. “Amazon has been criticized on various grounds, including but not limited to customer data collection practices, a toxic work culture, censorship, tax avoidance, and anti-competitive practices” (Wikipedia).

18:00 – ⭐ reference
RORY: Funny, I never pictured you as a Bob Vila kind of girl.

Bob Vila (born Robert Vila, 1946) was the first host of US home-improvement television series This Old House, which debuted on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in 1979. In 1989, Vila was fired for appearing in commercials for Rickels Home Centers, a competitor of the show’s underwriter, The Home Depot. He hosted his own home-improvement show, Bob Vila’s Home Again, from 1990 to 2005.

18:10 – 🎓 reference
RORY: You just love the overalls?
PARIS: I don’t. Harvard does.
RORY: What does that mean?
PARIS: When you apply to an Ivy League school, you need more than good grades and test scores to get you in. Every person who applies to Harvard has a perfect GPA and great test scores. It’s the extras that put you over the top.

Harvard University is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a couple of hours’ drive northeast of the show’s location in Connecticut. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College, “it is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States” and one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. As an Ivy League school, admission to Harvard is highly competitive, with just 1,970 offers made to 54,008 undergraduate applicants (a rate of just 3.6%) for the 2024 academic year (Harvard College).

19:15 – 🎥 mention
DEAN: There’s a seven thirty showing of Barbarella.

Barbarella is a 1968 science fiction film directed by Roger Vadim and based on Jean-Claude Forest’s French erotic comic book series of the same name. Vadim’s then-wife Jane Fonda stars as Barbarella, “a space traveler and representative of the United Earth government sent to find scientist Durand Durand, who has created a weapon that could destroy humanity” (Wikipedia). The film received mixed critical reviews, but was a commercial success, becoming the second-highest-grossing film in the United Kingdom the year of its release.
British new-wave band, Duran Duran, took their name from Dr. Durand Durand in Barbarella.

19:40 – ⭐ reference
RORY: She has a list of good deeds that could bump Mother Teresa off the Harvard list.

Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, 1910-1997), better known as Mother Teresa, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic nun. In 1950, she established the Missionaries of Charity, a religious congregation that runs soup kitchens, orphanages, and schools, as well as homes for sufferers of HIV/AIDS, leprosy, and tuberculosis. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and was canonized by the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta in 2016. Though her name is often used as a synonym for “do-gooder,” she was not without controversy in her lifetime; she drew “criticism for her staunch opposition to abortion, divorce and contraception, as well as poor conditions and lack of medical care or pain relief in her houses for the dying” (Wikipedia).

20:30 – 📖 feature
Dean holds a rolled-up copy of an Eightball comic book during his fight with Rory.

Eightball is a US anthology comic book series written and illustrated by Daniel Clowes. During its 1989 to 2004 run, it ranked among the best-selling independent comic books. “An Eightball issue typically contained several short pieces and a chapter of a longer narrative that was later collected and published as a graphic novel” (Wikipedia). One of these graphic novels, Ghost World (1997), and another Eightball story, Art School Confidential, were made into films released in 2001 and 2006, respectively.

23:05 – 🏷️ mention
LORELAI: I mean, he just sits in his room eating Froot Loops out of the box.

Froot Loops is a brand of brightly colored, ring-shaped, sweetened breakfast cereal introduced in 1963. Like Corn Flakes, Froot Loops are produced by WK Kellogg Co, a spinoff of US convenience and snack food company Kellanova.

23:10 – 🎥 reference
LORELAI: (imitating Dean) I love you, Rory. Rory, I will not be ignored!

Fatal Attraction (1987, dir. Adrian Lyne) is a US psychological thriller written by James Dearden, who based it on his 1980 short film Diversion. Michael Douglas stars as Dan, a married man who has an affair with a mentally unstable woman, Alex (Glenn Close). When he tries to cease contact with her, she becomes upset and warns him, “I’m not going to be ignored, Dan,” in one of the film’s most famous lines. Becoming increasingly obsessive, she soon begins stalking Dan and his family.
Lyne also directed Flashdance (1983), referenced in season one, episode four, and 9½ Weeks (1986), referenced in season one, episode seven.

27:50 – 🗺️ reference
LORELAI: Five minutes working for Emily Gilmore, and people are begging for Castro.

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (1926-2016) was a Cuban revolutionary who served first as prime minister and then as president of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, making him the longest-serving non-royal leader of the 20th and 21st centuries. “Under his administration, Cuba became a one-party communist state; industry and business were nationalized, and socialist reforms were implemented throughout society” (Wikipedia). He was a polarizing figure throughout his tenure, and remains so even after his death, with supporters viewing him as a champion of the people, and critics viewing him as a dictator.

28:10 – 🏷️ mention
LORELAI: This is the biggest thing to happen to me possibly for the rest of my life, and you dismissed it like I said, “Hey, I’m thinking of getting a Honda.”

Honda is a Japanese brand of automobiles and motorcycles. They are known for producing reliable, safe, and economical vehicles. Honda was referenced previously in season one, episode two.

31:05 – 🗺️ mention
LORELAI: So, your yen to hit the bingo parlor in Enfield was–
SOOKIE: A vicious, vicious lie.

Enfield is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut, in the ancestral territory of the Podunk people. Europeans inhabited the area beginning in 1679 and incorporated the town in 1683.

32:00 – 🎧 feature
“Spring Released” by Grant-Lee Phillips plays as the scene transitions from the kitchen at the Independence Inn to Lorelai and Max’s engagement party.

This song comes from the 2001 album Mobilize by US singer-songwriter Grant-Lee Phillips. Solo songs by Phillips and songs by his band, Grant Lee Buffalo, have been featured in season one, episodes five, fourteen (09:45 and 40:25), sixteen (05:05 and 37:45), eighteen, and twenty-one (12:50, 16:55, and 42:00).

32:20 – 🎧 reference
RORY: Hey, Mr. DJ, put a record on.

This is a verse from “Music,” a dance-pop song by US singer and songwriter Madonna. The song was released on Madonna’s 2000 album of the same name, though it was also leaked on sites like Napster prior to its official release. It topped the charts in twenty-five countries, including the US.
Madonna was mentioned previously in season one, episodes three and eighteen, and her 1984 song, “Like a Virgin,” was mentioned in episode six.

32:30 – 🎧 reference
RORY: Well, the Sinatra medley was great. I’d maybe skip playing anything else by the Damned.

Frank Sinatra (born Francis Sinatra, 1915-1998) was a US jazz, swing, and pop singer ranked among the best-selling music artists of all time. His catalog features many love songs and wedding favorites, including whole albums such as Songs for Young Lovers (1954) and Songs for Swingin’ Lovers (1956). Sinatra was mentioned previously in season one, episode fourteen, and in season two, episode one.
The Damned is an English rock band formed in 1976. “They were the first punk band from the United Kingdom to release a single, ‘New Rose’ (1976), release a studio album, Damned Damned Damned (1977), and tour the United States” (Wikipedia). They are also noted as an early gothic rock band with a marked influence on the genre.

32:45 – 🎧 reference
RORY: I’ll be tying yellow ribbons ’round the old oak trees.

“Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” is a 1973 single by US pop group Tony Orlando and Dawn. The lyrics are written from the perspective of a man who is being released from prison and is unsure whether his girlfriend still wants a relationship with him. He writes her a letter telling her to tie a yellow ribbon around an oak tree (visible from the bus he will be riding) if he is welcome to return; if he sees no ribbon, he will remain on the bus and accept the end of the relationship. On the day of his release, he is unable to bear the suspense and asks the bus driver to look for him. When the bus passes the tree, the passengers cheer at the sight of a hundred yellow ribbons.
The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and remained there for four weeks. Billboard named it the top song of 1973.

32:55 – 🎓 mention
RORY: Max is teaching a summer course at the University of Toronto.

The University of Toronto is a public research university in the Canadian capital city of Toronto. It was founded in 1827 as King’s College and was originally affiliated with the Church of England; it “assumed its present name in 1850 upon becoming a secular institution. … Academically, the University of Toronto is noted for influential movements and curricula in literary criticism and communication theory, known collectively as the Toronto School” (Wikipedia).

33:05 – 🏷️ feature
Max holds an item of Hello Kitty merchandise given to Lorelai and him (but really just to Lorelai) as an engagement gift.

Hello Kitty (Japanese: ハロー・キティ) is a fictional character created in 1974 by Japanese designer Yuko Shimizu and owned by Japanese entertainment company Sanrio. The image of Hello Kitty, an “anthropomorphized white cat with a red bow” (Wikipedia), exploded in popularity in the 1990s. By 2008, there were over 50,000 types of Hello Kitty branded merchandise, and by 2010, the character was valued at $5 billion per year.

33:55 – 🎧 feature
Miss Patty’s dance students gather on the gazebo and perform to “Love Will Keep Us Together” by Captain & Tennille.

This song was written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, and was first recorded by Sedaka in 1973. Husband-and-wife musical duo Captain & Tennille covered the song in 1975, releasing it as the lead single from their debut album of the same name. Their version became the best-selling single of 1975; the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and won the 1975 Grammy Award for Record of the Year.

35:35 – 🏷️ mention
RORY: The only way you could be more important to me is if you had a Kit Kat bar growing out of your head.

Kit Kat (stylized: KitKat) “is a chocolate-covered wafer bar confection created by Rowntree’s of York, England. It is produced globally by Nestlé (which acquired Rowntree’s in 1988), except in the United States,” (Wikipedia) where production is licensed to The Hershey Company.
Other Nestlé candies, Rolo and Fun Dip, were featured in season one. Rolos, Hershey’s Kisses, Caramello bars, and Milk Duds are all produced by The Hershey Company in the US.

36:05 – 🎧 feature
“One Fine Day” by the Chiffons plays as Rory and Dean kiss. The camera pans up to show Miss Patty’s dance class performing to the song on the gazebo. It continues as Kirk yells at partygoers and Lorelai confiscates his megaphone.

This song was written by Carole King (who wrote the Gilmore Girls theme song) and her then-husband Gerry Goffin (father of Louise Goffin, who recorded the Gilmore Girls theme with her mother). “It first became a popular hit in the summer of 1963 for [US] girl group the Chiffons, who reached the top five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart” (Wikipedia).

37:15 – 🏷️ mention
LORELAI: Boy, they keep making that ketchup slower and slower, huh?
LUKE: It’s the Heinz family’s little joke.

Heinz Tomato Ketchup is a brand of ketchup (a sweet and sour tomato-based condiment also known as “catsup”) formerly produced by the H. J. Heinz Company. The company was founded in 1869 by Henry J. Heinz and merged with Kraft Foods Group, forming The Kraft Heinz Company, in 2015.

37:40 – 🗺️ mention
LORELAI: Finish the ketchup tonight, but maybe leave the Worcestershire sauce for tomorrow.

Worcestershire sauce is a fermented liquid condiment originating in the county of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands region of England. It was invented by two chemists, John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins in the first half of the 19th century. Despite the appearance of four syllables, the name is pronounced WUUST-er-sher.

38:10 – 🎧 feature
“(It Will Have to Do) Until the Real Thing Comes Along” by Dean Martin plays as Jackson confronts Sookie about their relationship and suggests moving in together.

The original version of this song, published in 1931, features music by Alberta Nichols and lyrics by Mann Holinder. “In 1936, the song was substantially rewritten by composer Saul Chaplin, lyricist Sammy Cahn, and saxophonist L.E. Freeman” (Wikipedia). It has been recorded by numerous artists, including US singer Dean Martin, who released his version on the 1960 album This Time I’m Swingin’!
Another song with lyrics by Cahn, “Teach Me Tonight” (1953), was featured in episode three.

39:10 – 🎧 feature
The party guests dance to “Love Is Everywhere I Go” by Sam Phillips. The song continues as Rory and Dean sit together on a bench, and Rory waves goodbye to Lane. Luke greets Lorelai from afar as she slow dances with Max.

This song comes from the 2001 album Fan Dance. Phillips composed the Gilmore Girls score, and her own music has been featured in season one, episodes one, three, twelve, and seventeen.

41:20 – ⭐ mention
LORELAI: I was in the neighborhood ’cause there’s that wedding dress place on Willow. Elizabeth Taylor bought one of her dresses there.

Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011) was a US-British actor who rose to prominence as a child actor in the 1940s and went on to become the highest-paid star of the 1960s. She was married eight times, to seven different men, between 1950 and 1996 – twice to Welsh actor Richard Burton, with whom she starred in eleven films, including Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966). Each marriage ended in divorce, except for her 1957 marriage to US film and theater producer Mike Todd, who died in a plane crash in 1958.

References Sorted by Category

🎓 Academia

02:45 – Vassar College (academic institution)
18:10 – Harvard University (academic institution)
18:10 – Ivy League (athletic conference)
32:55 – University of Toronto (academic institution)

🏷️ Brand Names

03:20 – Rebuilding Together (non-profit organization)
07:15 – Jell-O (gelatin dessert)
10:35 – Victoria’s Secret (lingerie)
13:50 – MAC Cosmetics (cosmetics), Viva Glam (lipstick)
15:35 – Amazon (online marketplace)
23:05 – Froot Loops (cereal)
28:10 – Honda (automobile)
33:05 – Hello Kitty (character)
35:35 – Kit Kat (candy)
37:15 – Heinz (ketchup)

⭐ Famous Figures

00:30 – Diana, Princess of Wales (member of British royal family)
02:55 – Grace of Monaco (actor and princess of Monaco)
02:55 – A. J. Benza (gossip columnist and television host)
08:15 – Xuxa (actor, singer, and television host)
18:00 – Bob Vila (television host)
19:40 – Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (Catholic nun), Mother Teresa (also known as)
41:20 – Elizabeth Taylor (actor)

🎥 Film, Television & Theater

02:40 – The Ren & Stimpy Show (television show), “Happy Happy, Joy Joy,” (song)
04:15 – Thelma & Louise (1991 film)
11:35 – Speed Racer (television show)
11:50 – The Oprah Winfrey Show (television talk show)
13:35 – Lassie (television show), Timmy Martin (character)
15:15 – Abbott and Costello (comedy duo), “Who’s on First?” (comedy routine)
19:15 – Barbarella (1968 film)
23:10 – Fatal Attraction (1987 film), “I’m not going to be ignored, Dan.” (quotation)

🗺️ Geography & Politics

00:40 – Vladimir Putin (politician)
05:00 – Federal Bureau of Investigation (law enforcement agency), FBI (abbreviation)
12:35 – Kyiv, Ukraine (European city), Kiev (also known as)
14:50 – Busan, South Korea (Asian city)
27:50 – Fidel Castro (revolutionary and politician)
31:05 – Enfield, Connecticut (US town)
37:40 – Worcestershire, England (European county)

🪶 History

12:45 – Gettysburg Address (political speech)

📖 Literature

04:35 – William Shakespeare (playwright and poet)
14:50 – A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain (book)
20:30 – Eightball by Daniel Clowes (comic)

🎧 Music

03:10 – PJ Harvey (artist)
12:35 – Bette Midler (artist)
32:00 – “Spring Released” by Grant-Lee Phillips (song)
32:20 – “Music” by Madonna (song)
32:30 – Frank Sinatra (artist)
32:30 – the Damned (band)
32:45 – “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” by Tony Orlando and Dawn (song)
33:55 – “Love Will Keep Us Together” by Captain & Tennille (song)
36:05 – “One Fine Day” by the Chiffons (song)
38:10 – “(It Will Have to Do) Until the Real Thing Comes Along” by Dean Martin (song)
39:10 – “Love Is Everywhere I Go” by Sam Phillips (song)

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.

Christmas, Easter, Halloween (holidays)
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)
New York, New York (US city)
Sam Phillips (series composer)
“Travel to Historic Brazil” (poster in Rory’s bedroom)
“Where You Lead” by Carole King and Louise Goffin (series theme)

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.

Episode citation: “Hammers and Veils.” Gilmore Girls, created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, season 2, episode 2, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, Hofflund/Polone, Warner Bros. Television, 2001.

Posted 4 November 2024

All References in Chronological Order

References Sorted by Category

Frequent References

Indigenous Land Acknowledgment

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