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Gilmore Girls Season 1, Episode 4, "The Deer Hunters": Pop Culture Rewatch
Episode 4 • 3rd October 2025 • Friday Night Readers: Pop Culture Rewatch of Gilmore Girls • Friday Night Readers
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Welcome to Gilmore Girls Season 1, Episode 4, "The Deer Hunters": Pop Culture Rewatch ! In this podcast episode, I share the books and pop culture referenced when Rory gets hit by a deer and misses her Shakespeare test.

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Books, Pop Culture, and Other Mentions:

Full Show Notes For Gilmore Girls Season 1, Episode 4, "The Deer Hunters": Pop Culture Rewatch

Time Stamps:

  • 00:39 What Happened in Stars Hollow
  • 08:50 The Gilmores' World of Books
  • 14:03 Oy With the Pop Culture Already
  • 18:52 Book Tease

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About Friday Night Readers: Pop Culture Rewatch of Gilmore Girls :

Friday Night Readers: Pop Culture Rewatch of Gilmore Girls is an unofficial pop culture rewatch of Gilmore Girls hosted by Friday Night Readers. We dive deep into each episode, featuring the Gilmores’ world of books, as well as their fast talk. Oy, with the pop culture already! Learn what the Gilmores are actually talking about, so you can read and live more like them as you rewatch. Life’s short; read fast!

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Transcripts

Speaker:

Welcome to Friday Night Readers,

an unofficial pop culture

2

:

rewatch of Gilmore Girls.

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:

We dive deep on each episode featuring

the Gilmore's world of books, as

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:

well as their fast talk or with the

pop culture already learn what the

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:

Gilmores are actually talking about so

you can read and live more like them.

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:

Life's short read and rewatch fast.

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:

Hi, Friday night readers.

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:

Today you are in for a treat because

we are talking about one of the most

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memorable episodes in the entire

Gilmore Girls Series, the Deer Hunters.

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Here's what happened in Stars Hollow in

that episode, season one, episode four.

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Let's get the bad news out of the way.

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This episode is the first not

to feature my personal favorite

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characters, Emily and Richard Gilmore.

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This is especially sad to me because

I recently decided to add a mini

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:

segment called Emily Savage Burns

to this podcast, so you'll have

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:

to tune in next time for that.

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:

Rory and Lorelai go school supply

shopping, and really is there anything

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:

better than new school supplies?

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They reek of possibilities.

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My personal favorite are notebooks,

gel pens, and of course new planners.

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New Planner Day is one of my favorite

days of the year, and for the coming

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year, I've already purchased Happy

Planners, Gilmore Girls themed one.

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I will link that in

the show notes for you.

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I also got the accessory pack and there

are some sticker packs and extra notebook

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packs and a little mini planner too.

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Rory heads to Chilton on the bus

with a massive amount of backpacks,

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which I think is something to which

all high school students relate.

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From gym day to afterschool activities.

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I hated schlepping around multiple bags.

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These days, my high school

doesn't even allow it.

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You need to go to your

locker between classes.

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Kids these days will never know what it

was like to walk up and down four flights

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of stairs with these massive weights.

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Mr.

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Medina hands back graded papers

and Rory's earnest smile quickly

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turns upside down when she learns.

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She got a D.

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A D!.

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I've never gotten one.

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Have you?

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I'm not going to lie.

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I'm pretty sure my goody two shoe

self would've reacted the same

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as Rory, probably even worse.

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And how do Rory crawl her way

back to the top of the class after

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this anyway, is this a plot hole?

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I kind of think it is.

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Next is the dreaded Shakespeare test.

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And if it wasn't scary to begin

with, our dear Rory is now

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shaking in her saddle shoes.

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Um, I mean, boots.

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Paris mocks her, and Tristin

continues his Mary bit.

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At the Independence Inn, Lorelei discovers

food critic Lucian Mill's glowing

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review of Suzuki's culinary creations.

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The catch his phrase, the

much lauded risotto was

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perfectly fine, perfectly fine.

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You say to Sookie, that is

basically as bad as worries.

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D.

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She spirals, and this begs the

question, was she overreacting?

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I asked my Instagram followers and

65% said this was a good review.

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Rory Studiously studies while

Lorelai attempts to distract her.

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Then Rory meets up with Lane at Kim's

Antiques and Lane shares that the new

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guy, AKA Dean, has been asking for her at

Stars Hollow High back at the inn, Lorelai

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and Jackson try to cheer Sookie up about

the critic's review of her magic risotto.

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Next at the parent teacher meeting, Mr.

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Medina informs the parents that

they will focus on Elizabethan

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authors for the upcoming ap.

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That's advanced placement exam.

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Now I've taken the AP English

exam and it's always at the end

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of the year, so you can prepare

all year long leading up to it.

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Another slight plot hole.

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And yes, I did pass the exam.

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Lorelei wants to attend the exam

to see the excitement for herself.

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And this reminds me of a core memory

from the time I took the entrance

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exam into my own prep school

when my aunt brought me balloons.

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It's the little things right?

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Yet again, it should be noted that

Lorelei shows up late dressed only

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a few steps above her last Chilton

fashion disaster when she dressed

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like a cowgirl in season one.

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Episode two, the Lorelei's

first day of Chilton.

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This time she covers

her graphic, B 52 tee.

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With a buttoned up blazer

and grabs a coffee.

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Now as odd as it was at the time of the

show, I can't tell you how many times

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I've dressed business on top and casual

on the bottom since the zoom days began.

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Don't pretend you haven't done it too.

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Lorelai connects with Mr.

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Medina and learns that Rory got a D.

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She consoles a humiliated Rory,

but Paris continues to taunt her.

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Sookie continues to test risotto,

and by now my mouth is watering.

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This is one of two Gilmore

Foods I most want to try.

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It's described as magic.

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The other is in an episode shortly to

come and hint, it's served at Christmas.

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There's actually a blogger that

recreates Gilmore Girls Foods.

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Her name is Eating Gilmore, and

I found her iteration of the

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Magic Risotto recipe for you.

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I'm linking it in the show notes.

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You can also find it in the

official Gilmore Girls Cookbook.

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I'll also link that in

the show notes for you.

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Lorelei helps Rory study, and this

reminds me of all the countless nights.

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My own mother made the same

sacrifice for my education.

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My mom was really big on acronyms

and giving things weird names.

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Like in the Office, when Michael

remembers people by nicknames

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like Beardy and Pepperoni, Tony,

whatever works, our Gilmore.

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Girls sleep through their alarms,

and Rory absolutely crashes out

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as the kids these days would say.

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Now, this is more akin to the way

I would've reacted to getting a D.

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Lorelai gives Rory the keys to the

Jeep to rush to school, and this

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may be one of Lorelei's first most

questionable parenting moments just

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trying to help her daughter succeed,

or a lawsuit waiting to happen.

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You be the judge.

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I asked my Instagram followers and a

whopping 84% said she was just helping.

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Now Rory pulls up to the stop sign.

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Yes, the stop sign where one of the

most memorable show moments occurred.

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And take note because the stop sign

is facing the wrong way as she

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pulls up plot hole number three.

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So maybe this isn't

Rory's fault after all.

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Next, as you know, a deer

hits Rory, and we Gilmore.

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Girls fans will say it no other way.

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Here's the exchange as Rory talks

on the phone with Lane in her

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secret music closet, Rory, oh my

God, I just got hit by a deer lane.

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You hit a deer.

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Rory.

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No, I got hit by a deer lane.

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How do you get hit by a deer?

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Rory.

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I was at a stop sign and it hit me.

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In case you can't rewatch the full

episode with us, I've linked a YouTube

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video of this scene, so you can at

least watch that in the show notes.

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Now, I actually think Rory's phrasing

speaks to her knack for journalism.

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While, I was never a

traditional journalist.

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I learned very quickly in my early

lawyering days to state the facts as

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they are not, as we interpret them.

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Rory was stopped.

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The deer hit her.

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So take that.

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Mitchum Huntzberger, Rory

arrives to her test late and Mr.

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Medina won't let her take it.

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Q Rory's crash out number

two of the morning.

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He also questions.

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You hit a deer.

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Oh, Mr.

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Medina off to Headmaster

Charleston's office.

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She goes, Lorelai arrives and is

the first not to react with you.

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Hit a deer.

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She gets it.

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Lorelai then calls Headmaster

Charleston, your Honor, which I find

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amusing because as a prior lawyer,

I almost called his office chambers.

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It looks exactly like that.

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So should the test rule be broken for

Rory, I asked my Instagram followers and

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66% would let her take the test late.

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But I'm not so sure.

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I can personally see

both sides of this one.

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In a real world prep school though,

I think Lorelei and Rory would win.

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Okay.

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They would just wear the school down

and after all they're paying customers.

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Sookie finally discovers the

problem with the risotto.

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Wasn't the risotto but the wine.

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Note to self, don't ever pair

magic risotto with Riesling.

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She sneaks another plate and

a glass to the critic, and I'm

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utterly desperate to know her.

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Recommended wine pairing.

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I'm thinking Chardonnay,

because it's creamy and buttery

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like traditional risotto.

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And my research suggests the same.

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Lorelei and Rory head home and

look for the deer on the way.

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They chat about Rory's lifelong

dream of attending Harvard.

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And Lorelei offers her.

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I love you no matter what

form of motherly support.

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Upon arriving home, Lorelei hears a voice

message from Max Medina in which he offers

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Rory extra credit and compliments Lorelei.

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Once again, all is well that ends

well in the land of Stars Hollow,

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the Gilmore's world of books.

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Let's break down this episode's most

iconic literary references for those

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taking the Rory Gilmore Reading

Challenge with us on Friday night.

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readers.substack.com.

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Where we read from the list of

books mentioned on Gilmore Girls.

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This episode is all about William

Shakespeare or as Lorelai calls

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him the Bard with the beard.

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And I love this focus because Shakespeare

is likely all Rory can think about this

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episode that is, besides the dang deer,

since you're likely aware of who William

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Shakespeare, arguably the most iconic

and influential writer of all time is.

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Let's just talk about some fun facts.

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Number one, Shakespeare wrote

at least 38 plays, 154 sonnets

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and two long narrative poems.

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Two, his work spans tragedies,

comedies, and histories.

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And his play, Hamlet was influenced

by the death of his own son, Hamnet.

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You can read Maggie O'Farrell's

exceptional historical account

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of this in her book Hamnet.

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I totally think Rory would read this book

and very highly recommend it to readers

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like her as one of my all time favorite.

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It's so poetic and emotional, and

there's also a movie adaptation

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coming out in late 2025 3, he invented

or popularized over:

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words like bedazzled and swagger.

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I personally love the phrase there's

the Rub, which is the title of a

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later Gilmore Girls episode four.

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No one knows the exact cause of his death

and he left a famously odd will giving his

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wife Anne Hathaway, his second best bed.

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Okay, Shakespeare, rory Unpacks the

Oxford Complete works of William

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Shakespeare at Lanes, and I've had my

chance at scoring a book like this.

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I frequently attend library sales and

have seen old leather bound copies.

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They're usually somewhat pricey

though, and I question buying

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it as I just know, I'm not going

to sit down and read this way.

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I personally love the No Fear

editions of Shakespeare that

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explains the text page by page.

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It makes it so much easier to read,

understand, and love Shakespeare.

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Next Paris quotes Sonnet one 16 by

William Shakespeare in bullying.

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Rory, let me not to the marriage

of true minds admit impediments.

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Love is not love, which alters

when it alteration, finds, or

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bends with the remover to remove.

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Oh, no.

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It is an ever fixed mark that looks

on tempests and is never shaken.

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It is the star to every wandering

bark whose worths unknown,

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although his height be taken.

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But for the record, the sonnet

continues love's not times full.

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Though rosy lips and cheeks within

his bending sickles compass come

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love alters, not with his brief hours

and weeks, but bears it out even to

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the edge of doom if this be error

and upon me proved I never writ.

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Nor no man ever loved.

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And guess what?

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You just crossed a Shakespeare

sonnet off your list.

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Next, I'll let Rory and Lorelai do the

teaching based on their study session.

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The Comedy of Errors was written

in:

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The sonnets are 154 poems of 14 lines

except 1 26, which was 12 lines.

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They're written in iambic

Pentameter except 1 45, which

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is written in tetrameter.

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Now let's do a quick poetry lesson.

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iambic Pentameter consists of five iams.

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This means two syllable pairs that

emphasize the second syllable.

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tetrameter just means four

iambs instead of five.

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Rory can't remember the dates for

Richard iii, so I'll tell you myself.

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It was written between 1592 and

:

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suggested it was written in 1593

and it was first published in:

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You may have also noticed who's

who and what's what in Shakespeare

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by Evangeline m O'Connor on

the arm of the Gilmore's couch.

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This is a rare but real

book and guess what?

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A member of our book

club once sent me a copy.

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It's one of my most prized

possessions on my Rory bookshelf.

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Last but not least, Lorelei reads

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain.

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There's a lot to unpack here.

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First, this Rawly written memoir of

a food critic's life in New York.

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Contrast sharply with Rory's

studies of Shakespeare.

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I also love how it Parallels the

Food Critic plot in this episode.

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You should also know that it catapulted

Anthony Bourdain to fame, eventually

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earning him his TV shows, which

are known for his edgy commentary

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and captivating storytelling.

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I've read the book and watched most if not

all of his shows, and I'm here to tell you

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this is one book that works best on audio.

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He narrates it and nothing pairs

better with his words than his voice.

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He's so uniquely him that you just

can't consume this memoir any other way.

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Curious about every single book mentioned

in this Gilmore Girls episode, even the

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obscure references most people miss.

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Like the Elizabethan authors,

max Medina teaches the children's

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students and an essay he quotes.

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Head to this episode's page at

Friday night, readers.substack.com.

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When you upgrade to a paid membership,

you'll get printable episode guides

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for every Gilmore Girls episode.

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Perfect for tracking your own Rory

inspired reading journey oy with

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the pop culture already now, because

I want you to understand even more

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of the Gilmore Girls fast talk.

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Here's what some of this episode's best

pop culture references mean fashion.

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Did anyone else besides me notice

that Rory wears a Fair Isle sweater?

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That lane wears just a few episodes later.

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Fair isle Knit is one of my

personal favorites, and it's

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very New England as well.

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It's a traditional Scottish technique

that uses two colors per row to

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create intricate repeating patterns,

often with geometric shapes.

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and in the show notes, I've actually

made a collage for you of this and

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other fashion from this episode

so you can get a better visual

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idea of what it looks like next.

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Lorelei talks about a plaid

scrunchie motion at Chilton.

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Now I have, and always will be a

scrunchie girl and I will die on this.

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Hill I have worn a scrunchie on my

wrist or in my hair since middle school.

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That may or may not be the

most preppy thing about me.

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As you know, Lorelai wore a B52s graphic

T, and all I've gotta say about this

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is that band tees were really in at

the time, even when I look at them

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now, I see it as a style that copies

the early two thousands, which in turn

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borrowed from the styles of music and

music lovers from earlier decades.

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For example, I hear that Nirvana

gear is really in with today's teens.

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Lastly, Lorelai lament her gauchos

era, and this one really cracked me up

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because at the time of the show, my law

school friends and I also debated them.

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Gauchos, are wide-legged, cropped

women's pants that flare out from

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the waist and typically hit mid-calf.

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They're not super attractive,

but man, are they comfortable?

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There's the rub, as Shakespeare

would say, besides gauchos.

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Lorelei also mends her flash dance phase.

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This 1983 musical drama follows a

young woman working as a welder by

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day and an aspiring dancer by night,

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and I think Lorelei's, referring

to the lead's signature look,

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a sweatshirt with a large hole

cut for your neck lending to

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an off the shoulder style.

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I personally don't see anything wrong

his style, but it does scream:

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Movies and TVs in the show notes.

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I've also placed a collage of these

pop culture references for you so you

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can get a visual picture of them first.

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This episode's title refers to

the:

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It follows a group of Pennsylvania

steelworkers whose lives are

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forever changed by the Vietnam War.

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So there's no real connection

beyond the fact that this pop

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culture reference just works.

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Lorelai.

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also quips to her humiliated D student.

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Daughter.

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Oh honey, you once told me that

you love saved by the Bell.

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What could be more humiliating than that?

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And I, for one, think

Lorelai's got this all wrong.

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I can't even guesstimate

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the number of times I watched this

early nineties high school teen

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sitcom, it had it all from love

to friendship and lots of pranks.

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Anyone else?

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Remember when the gang

got locked in the mall?

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It even spawned spinoffs and movies.

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Nothing wrong with that.

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If you ask me famous people, Lorelai

remarks that the independence

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inn's coffee is quote, fresh in

my first lifetime as Joan of Arc.

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In other words, it's not very fresh.

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Joan of Arc is a 14 hundreds French

heroine and Saint who claiming

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divine guidance led French forces to

several victories during the hundreds

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years war before being captured and

executed by the English Lorelai.

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Also adds a dose of humor to

her conversation with Headmaster

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Charleston, calling him Il duce.

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Okay.

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She's referring to Benito Mussolini,

ascist dictator of Italy from:

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to 1943, who ruled with authoritarian

control and aligned Italy with

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Nazi Germany during World War ii.

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That's some pretty risky name

calling, don't you think?

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Music at the inn.

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Drella placed Ironman by Black Sabbath

on her heart to Lorelai's dismay.

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Why it's a heavy metal band led

by none other than Ozzy Osborne.

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Lorelai prefers the classical Mozart

for her guests and if you want to hear

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Iron Man, I placed a live video of them

performing it in:

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Then Drella calls herself

the Artie Shaw of Harpists.

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And I admittedly had no idea

what she's talking about.

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ChatGPT tells me that this means

she sees herself as a virtuoso and

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standup performer on the harp, like

Artie Shaw was with the clarinet.

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Next, as you know, max asks

Lorelei if she likes the B52s.

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She's wearing their shirt.

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After all.

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The B52s are an American new wave band

known for their quirky style upbeat party

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anthems and signature vocal harmony.

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The Campy 1989 music video for Love Shack

remained popular through the nineties,

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and the song remains a celebratory

classic as well as a great karaoke song.

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I can't tell you how many

times I sang this for karaoke

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during the nineties book tease.

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Lastly, the time has come for me to

be what just called Rory a book tease.

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Tune in next week when

we dive into episode 1.5,

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cinnamon's Wake and books like the

titles reference, Finnegan's Wake,

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and a book I discuss here, Hamlet.

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We're really starting to get deep

into the Max Medina episodes.

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See you next time.

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