IAAI Town Meeting: Obsessed with Jess (Season 2, E5 “Nick & Nora/Sid & Nancy”)

I Am all in again.

Oh that's you.

I Am All in Town meeting with Suzanne French and Tara suit An iHeartRadio podcast. Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of I'm All in Town Meeting with myself, Tara and Suzanne.

Hello.

Hello, Today we are talking about season two, episode five, Nick and Nora, Sid and Nancy, which aired October thirtieth. Oh, Halloween episode two thousand and one. Kind of Halloween episode.

Not really could have been.

It could have been, but it is the episode. Actually there was a lot of fall leaves, so it gave the Halloween.

Yeah, and we saw a guy like decorating.

Yeah.

Yeah, but it is the first episode that we see Jess.

I love this episode. This is one of my favorite episodes in the entire series.

It's a It's a really good one.

And uh, in a little bit, we're going to bring on our producer Jackie, who uh this was her first time watching this, so I want her input. But to start, I just want to say, like this was five episodes in. I felt like this felt like more than five episodes in. Like I feel like we were deep into this season right now. Yeah, there was a lot of unpack right, Yeah, like the.

Whole Max engagement seems like a million episodes ago.

I guess, I guess, let's just start there. Even though we're jumping around, I feel like he was kind of childish in the way where he's like, oh, rory, as if like she doesn't go to the school, like like as if he wasn't.

Going to run into her.

Yeah, But then I also felt really bad at the end when she said I really wanted you to be my stepdad.

Yeah, it was a it was a cute, poignant moment. I thought it was interesting that they wrote, like we got basically Max's entire backstory in that episode, and I thought it was interesting that they didn't give that to us until after the engagement was called off. You know, like we learned more about Max as he's on his way out, which, yeah, interesting.

Did he have like a conflict like scheduling conflict, like.

Did he have another show?

Oh?

I don't know.

Because this made me realize that Chad Michael Murray's officially gone.

Right, No, he's not gone yet. No, No, no, we there, we still have all the confrontation with Dean and Tristan.

Oh my god, you're right there.

We still got a long way to go there.

I think I think I was just like, oh, new school year, Tristan's out. Yeah, which, by the way, kind of threw me off, because I would have liked, as it was my decision. I would have liked if like this was like episode one of the season.

Yeah, it did get a little confusing, and a couple episodes ago there was a kitchen scene where they talked about it about school starting, and I thought that was the first day of school, and then I realized when I watched this episode, I'm like, wait, no, they were just yeah, it must have been talking about it. This was the actual first day of school.

Like I kind of wouldn't mind if the season one finale was touring Harvard, do you know what I'm saying, Like it would have been like twenty six episodes, twenty five episodes for that season, right it was.

But yeah, yeah, it kind of throws us off because we started the season it was still summer, and so for the people like when it aired, it was the fall, but the story was taking place in the summer, and so then when it actually gets to the fall and school starting, yeah, we're already like part way through the season.

So yeah, but anyway, we can't really change with what happens twenty five years ago.

So there's that. No, I didn't see a clown pillow, did you?

I did not. I did not see a clown.

There was a lot of there was a lot of moving in the house, like camera angles, and I was really looking deep. But the one thing I noticed, it's the scene where Luke comes after pushing just into the into the lake and they're talking in the kitchen. They have a lot of yarn just sitting in the kitchen, Like there's a lot of yarn. You would think that they were sewing like twenty five scarves.

Oh, that's funny. I didn't even see that.

There's like a shelf with a basket of yarn, and then there's another row of yarn because.

We know we know Lorelei sews close or.

She knits well because we had the knit of thon.

Well, there's also a sewing machine on display in the same scene.

But I was like, why so much yarn?

Yeah, that's interesting. I didn't I didn't pick up. But now that I think about it, you're right, the.

Two of them usually have some like random hobbies. I feel like they weren't you know, yeah, have all right, Well Jackie our producer. I guess I'll bring Jackie in now. Hi guys, Hi, Okay, we're changing it up this town meeting because I feel like it's a very important episode.

Yes, Jackie.

As a first time viewer, what are your first thoughts of Jess.

Since you guys told me, I knew it was coming and the bus was coming, and it was like the anticipation.

Well, he was also in the opening credits. Did you know, like I skip the credits. Oh no, if you watched, he was.

Actually they said Mile events Milia in the opening credits, which is a big deal because for a character's first appearance to just be put into the show open is it's pretty big.

Yeah. My first thought he walked off the bus and I said hello handsome. Oh yeah, I literally wrote hello handsome. And then I noticed that they just stood there like staring at each other, and they're the same person, like they had the same mannerisms.

They didn't talk much.

It's like, okay, they pretty much established this is like a no, no great communicator talking kind of guy like Luke is, but he's obviously way more angry.

But he is so cute and like I first watched.

Him, and this is us. I knew about Hero and that he dated Hayden Panetier or whatever. Yeah, but I'm like, oh my gosh, she's so cute. And then jumping ahead, I didn't know this was the toss in the Lake episode either.

Yeah, that's pretty iconic.

Yeah, you know.

The one thing about that, Sorry to just jump ahead, I didn't realize right by the high school goes straight to that like dirt road.

It doesn't. That was it. I was going to bring that up. So that was an editing trick. And if you watch closely, there's a van that passes in front of the camera and that's when the scene changes. So if you.

Watch, so it's supposed to be two scenes.

No, it's supposed to be one scene. But they're two different locations on the lot.

No. I know. I know it's two different locations because I've seen them both. But I'm saying, like they made it seem like this lake was behind the high school.

I see what you're saying.

Yeah, yeah, Like in my head, I was like, we've never seen this pathway leaving Stars Hollow High School.

Yeah, they had to get to the water quickly.

I think They're like, we're gonna throw a truck in there.

And when they were doing that little pathway, I was like, where's this going, where's this going?

Why? Why they in the woods?

Why?

Then oh, oh see the lake is it?

And then you see their little like bridge and I'm like, this is it? And then he does it and I was like, oh my god.

I like how there was no music, you know, like sometimes Golmer girls throws like music in. I like how it was just silence and then shove.

Yeah, I've seen that scene before, just like on Instagram and just like iconic moments. It's working on this pod. You you see, I just didn't know where it was. Yeah, it's happily surprised it was in this episode because I'm like, these are iconic Susane.

I don't remember because I wasn't on the podcast when when Scott talks about this, was it one take?

I believe it was.

Yeah.

Yeah, I mean I'm sure like they could have done it's another take, but you just have to like get him out and try him.

And yeah, it was taken a while. But I think what I recall him saying in the past is that the walk and talk leading up to it. They did like a gazillion takes of that, but the actual part on the bridge with the push, that was just one.

Yeah.

Yeah, it wouldn't be like it wouldn't be consecutive like they would need you. Wow. Yeah, I what a great way to like launch into Yeah.

And I will say so I watched this episode twice, and the first time I watched it, I just was trying to refresh my mind on the story. So I watched it at one and a half speed so it was faster and that push scene is hilarious.

Oh okay, So I had to finish this episode this morning. I had like a meeting that got canceled, so I was like, oh great, I have like extra time. But then I was like, it's taking all at long, So I want to watch it watching them walk in one point five speed on Netflix and then the shove it is the funniest thing. I watched it in that speed too. It's so funny. And then I went back and watched it a normal speed.

Yeah.

And then when he meets Rory, I mean, like I just I just like was the stereo at that too? I didn't know, do you think they just met on the show? They weren't dating by then, right.

Yeah, I don't think so, you know, they weren't dating it because.

When the way he looks at her when she says don't I look trustworthy? I was like, and the way he the look he gives her, I'm just like, Oh, he loves Alexus Wladel.

He's a great actor.

I know, but exactly so I liked that too. And she's just so casual whatever. It's like, oh yeah, my book. So I was waiting for that because I we see Jess, we get he it's all grumpy and then he's then I was waiting for the Rory meet up at the dinner and I was like, oh okay, because I didn't know how them too met. And I just loved the way he looked at her and it's like, don't I look trustworthy?

And he just except when he walked into the house, he just like walked in and started like going through the house and like grabbing the photos and I was.

Like, yeah, hold up, he's such a grump. Yeah yeah. They went and got a beer and.

Then he's like ready to just jump out the window and bail.

I would I would be lore like to and being like, you don't talk to me in that way in my house.

I was like, yes, girl, yes.

Yeah, yeah, seventeen year old taking beer out of my fridge.

No, that's not way, by the way, after being there for like thirty five seconds, I know, like take a little.

But it paints a picture, right, Like we see that he's a troublemaker. We've already we get a call from Taylor Docy already in this episode that you know he's taking money out of the donation cam.

Well that was after the dinner.

Oh oh yeah yeah yeah, I'm just saying, like the whole like his whole baby is painting the picture.

The gnome thing, too, is another iconic thing. I didn't know it was in this episode Ei there. I was like when they talk about gnomes before and I was like, what is this gnome talk?

Wait?

Is it? Is it a nome?

I didn't know that. That's like an actual, like big moment the time.

Yeah, I've heard it before, like or I like with the gnomes, and I was like, what is that?

And then it's in this episode. Oh, it's like literally a gnome bad bad, Yeah.

Literally you can hear them talking to you at night.

She was great just to just to take it back before.

Before Jess got there, and he's like, he bought a bunch of stuff for his apartment, like food and stuff.

I really want to know.

Why there were like six boxes of rice crispy trees.

And they were all open too.

Did you notice they were all they were all open? And I was like, who is eating this much?

I mean, I love rice krispy trees, don't get me wrong, but I'm like, what he could have gotten, like I don't know anything else?

Well, and the fact that he called out to just like I got what did you say, oh, frosted flakes? I got frosted flakes. Like it's clear he has no idea what a seventeen year old wants.

No, But I mean, you gotta give it to Luke. He was trying.

I mean, yeah, oh dub. I mean I liked. One of the things I like so much about this episode is that we got a lot of Luke's backstory and really see like how loyal or how important family loyalty is to him. Like he's he probably wouldn't have like voluntarily gone out and adopted a seventeen year old, but it's his family, and so he feels a responsibility towards his family to do what's right.

So Elsa just shows you that, like especially at the end when he comes to find the gnome and he's like, you know, you're gonna get off, you're gonna put the patch on, you're gonna stop smoking, you're gonna work, You're gonna do this. You can tell that Liz has never done that to Jess. Yes, yeah, you can tell that. Like this kid is seventeen years old and he, for his seventeen years on this earth has done whatever he wants.

So yeah, I was like, wow, what a great use of music because you're using his point of view, not like the la la lahs that we usually.

Yeah, that was the perfect song selection there.

Yeah.

Did you guys notice that when Jess was sitting there and he had his little like plate of cigarettes next to him, and then there was something else And I was like what is that? It was like mush or I don't know what what on a yellow plate.

Yeah, there was something on his left side. I couldn't tell what that was. Either it was a plate of something, but it was I don't know. I couldn't figure out what it was either, like was it food? I don't know.

Yeah, I didn't see that.

But the one thing that I paid attention to is when it's the first time where he's sitting on like his little cot whatever it is, right and he has a stack of cards. He's not shuff This has pissed me off so much. He's not shuffling the cards, but take the cards.

Did you see this?

Yeah?

He would take the cards and he.

Would like like pan them open. Yeah, and then just close it and then like pan them open and close it. And it was driving me and said, I'm like, oh, least sit and shuff full of cards, like put some.

Use into like this energy.

And then he did that little magic trick with Rory and I'm like, are you a magician?

But it was the same This is so specific.

It was the same hand motion, so I wonder if he was just like working on his magic.

Yeah, it was very odd.

I just I was so distracted by like the cards that scene that I had to rewatch the scene because I was like, what did Luke say? I guess let's jump to Paris real quick.

Yeah.

When Rory wrote that stellar article about the what was it the paper, I was like, you know what, that's the way to do it.

You just put your.

Head down and you do the job, and you do it well and pissed off Paris.

Mind you, Paris had this.

Maxim Medina thing in her back pocket, unfortunately, But I liked this bancer and it's like the banster that's going to continue for like the rest of the show.

Yeah, it was nice to see the good guy when after Paris kind of screwed her by telling her the wrong time to show up, and so she made a total fool of herself because she came in forty five minutes late. And so I loved that the teacher was like, you know, she wrote a really good article, Give her something better next time. I love that vindication.

Yeah, yeah, I didn't, But I will say I didn't see anything else in this episode of like things I wanted to point out or was there anything you had?

The only thing that I was going to call out because I know that somebody will mention it in the comments if we don't, okay, is the comment when Laurel I asks Luke what happened to Jess's dad, and Luke says, the hot like the hot Dog King took off two

That she goes out, and then we go see the dad in California.

Right, and then well, Jimmy the dad comes to Stars Hollow and Luke confronts him in the hotel room and he says in that episode that Jimmy left to go get diapers and never came back. So once Liz is in the picture, then they make it sound like Jimmy left when Jess was just.

A bunch of inconsistency with the dad.

Right, because in this episode they were married for a long time, but then in later episodes they she was dating all these random randos and.

It went right over my head to be I like heard it, but like I didn't pay attention, Like I was like, uh whatever, Yeah.

I just see it come up a lot. And so there's always like a debate about I mean it's not really a debate because it's just an inconsistency, but about you know, Jess's dad, and so yeah, just one of those things that comes up.

But really this episode had like nothing else that was like I have to it was like a perfect episode.

It was really good. Yeah, and that editing trick with the van like that was so cool because if like if you if you don't know the physical layout, you don't realize that those two things aren't right next to each other.

In real life, it's like a fifteen minute walk from where the school is, like really like it's not close.

I mean it's not It's not right around the corner like that.

But that's what threw me off because I was like, when did it Stars Hall have this dirt road behind it? Like I knew it was because I've been on the lot, so I knew like geographically it wasn't correct, But like in the show, I'm like, do we ever see this again?

Because I know that, like Rory drives.

School in the jeep and she's like on her way, so it is like a backroad, but it's like I don't know.

Yeah, I'm trying to remember if.

We it's also right by where the shed, like yes, if we're thinking of like actual like literal location to the left of where that all happened, is the shed, Yes, that lourle I and Rory grew up in right or went to after she left the Gilmore's.

Which would put the Independence in like right next to Stars Hall of Lot. We know, doesn't make any sense movie magic.

You know that meme that's like I know what it's like, I know like this, this house or whatever. I'm like, I I know the map of stars Hollow more than I know like my own neighborhood. Like I'm that person who even though I'm driving like ten minutes away, I still could have been navigation, like I know where to go.

It's more of like a time thing, like right, how long?

It's like what if the road's blocked you have to go a different way?

Like well, yeah, and I know all the different ways, but I want my map to tell me.

It's not like the days of map quest. Oh yeah, to print.

It out and you had one out and then you're trying to read it while you're driving. I do not miss that.

Between that and then like texting and driving was like still allowed you like kind of wonder like how.

Did we we get around?

I know, how did we get anywhere? It's so we're so reliant on our devices.

Now, yep.

But other than that, I guess it was a fabulous episode. Welcome Milo, two Gilmore girls, You're here to stay for a tad bit. But yeah, it was funny because I watched the opening credits I'm like, damn, they threw them in this opening credit quick.

That's fretty yeah. I didn't even notice that. That's awesome, though, I like missed the plan for him to stay.

To be honest with you, what happened is I missed the frame, like the timeframe of when you can skip the music, like you know, when it like goes away after five seconds. Night. I was like, oh, I guess I'll just play it. And then I was like, Milo's in this, But now I'm wondering is he in all of season two's credits. I don't know, but I let this one roll so I notice this one.

Maybe because I know, like other people, like other regulars, they just they're just left in there even if they're not in that episode, like like Suki and Michelle and those people, even if they're not in the episode, they're still true. Yeah.

Well, next week we're gonna be watching Season two, episode six, presenting Lorile Gilmore.

That's another fun episode.

You're right, this one Tristan's in.

Yes, I jumped ahead of myself because I now I read this how and I was like, oh, it's all coming back to me. Yeah, all right, Well, we'll see you next week meeting adjourn. Hey everybody, and don't forget. Follow us on Instagram at I Am All In Podcast and email us at Gilmore at iHeartRadio dot com