Who’s Who At This Point
- Hank Moody = Nick Carraway
- Lew Ashby = Jay Gatsby
- Janie Jones = Daisy Buchanan
- Trixie = Jordan Baker
- Ron Jones = Tom Buchanan
Parallelisms & References
- Hank again states, “It’s Ashby’s world, we all just live in it.” – reiterating that Ashby, much like Gatsby, is engrossed in his own version of reality; both believing they have much control, yet the truth is that they have very little.
- Lew’s driver gives Karen an invitation to a “date” which takes place during the night – this is akin to Gatsby’s butler presenting Nick with an invitation to Gatsby’s party during the night that they first meet.
- Hank tells Janie that Lew, “…throws these huge parties and these people come and they drink his booze and they act like they’re his friends…guest of honor never shows.” – a perfect parallel and summary of The Great Gatsby; both Lew and Gatsby brandishing their wealth to garner the attention of Janie and Daisy, and despite both men not being alone, they are desperately lonely.
Cultural References
- The episode’s title is taken from the movie “La Ronde”, which depicts several lovers falling into a cycle of trysts; much like Hank to Janie, Lew to Karen, and Runkel to Daisy.
- Hank says to Marcy, “You’re going to be stronger in the places that are broken…” – a paraphrase from Ernest Hemingway’s novel A Farewell to Arms - the actual quote is: “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.”
- There is yet another Dirty Dancing reference with the inclusion of Runkle and Daisy watching the movie.
- Hank refers to Marcy as “Cokey Smurf”, an obvious reference to the Smurfs cartoon, due to her short stature and cocaine addiction.
- Lew mentions that, “…if I hit one ball way the fuck over into Houdini’s front yard…” – most likely referring to magician/illusionist David Copperfield
- Lew is dressed in a kilt and speaking with a Scottish accent as he and Hank golf – the Scottish invented golf
