More Importantly, What Was the Weather Like During JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette’s Infamous Park Fight?
I’m having a lot of fun watching Love Story: JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette, but as someone who is not obsessed, fascinated by, or even particularly interested in the Kennedy family or John Jr. and Carolyn, I’m not watching with a keen eye for lore and doing the Leo-in-Once Upon a Time-point meme the way the rest of you are every time the show faithfully recreates a paparazzi photo or references something iconic. Of course I’ve seen the infamous photos of John and Carolyn barking on each other in the street, because I have a pulse and an Instagram account, but it wasn’t until I noted the title of this week’s episode, “Battery Park,” that I realized that this particular recorded argument was A Thing.
As dramatized by writer Kim Rosenstock and director Crystle Roberson Dorsey, it’s a great sequence in its own right, occasionally moving, even (the way Sarah Pidgeon casually says she doesn’t believe in marriage but is down to do it with John only to tearfully exclaim “Oh my God” as she realizes the gravity of what she’s just said in real-time). But since I’m not watching this the way comic book nerds eagerly watch MCU movies awaiting a homage to their favorite splash page, my mind starts to wander a little in these moments. And in this particular sequence I briefly stepped out of the scene and started paying more attention to the fits, which have been faithfully recreated from the sacred pap shots, and I couldn’t help but wonder: What the fuck was the temperature on this fateful day?
The actual series plays fast and loose with cues to the viewer how much time has passed between episodes, or in some cases, even between scenes. Without Google’s help, I would’ve had no clue that this fight took place in February—twenty minutes earlier we were just having grand summer hijinks at Ethel’s crib. But to make matters more confusing, John and Carolyn are just on completely opposite fit mindsets here. He’s in a super light sweater, tee and shorts. She looks like she’s about to go jogging, with sweats, a thermal turtleneck, cable knit sweater, and a light winter coat. John’s dressed the way people in LA do in the morning before the afternoon sun comes out; Carolyn’s dressed like Christopher Moltisanti on his way to a winter whacking. (At one point during the argument odyssey, Carolyn’s leaning against a building, smoking in that cool Sarah-as-Carolyn way, and the only thing keeping her from being a Central Cee moodboard fit is a skully.) His fit says 65 degrees, hers says 47. (And the jacket tied around the waist later says “Oh, shit, it’s actually more like 56.”) They’re on completely different wavelengths! It’s no wonder they argued.
Now that I know this is supposed to be in February, I’m even more confused. Was there an unseasonal heatwave that day, or is John Jr. just an asshole? Wearing shorts and a light hoodie or jacket is a time-honored move in NYC, especially on a crisp fall or early-spring day, but in February? Just weeks after a classic blizzard ‘90s babies still fondly reminisce on to this day? I was on Carolyn’s side here—this outfit was just one more example of how divorced from reality the Kennedy prince often was, especially in relation to his innately stylish, overly pragmatic girlfriend—until I actually looked up what the temperature was that day. Lo and behold: On February 25th, 1996, the day of the big fight, it was unprecedentedly warm in New York City, with a high of 61 degrees. Manchild-Junior, still riding high off of a successful magazine launch, actually checked the forecast and was going with the flow. Carolyn, anxious about the future of their relationship and pissed off at their present circumstances, was too distracted to adapt. They were in two different, opposing mindsets. Who says style doesn’t tell a story?
