Spoiler Alert: Seasons 1-5 of Rory’s relationships in Gilmore Girls!
As we start to feel the effects of fall and the leaves begin to descend, it is so hard not to cozy up. Getting warm with a blanket and turning on a show, perhaps even with a mug of coffee. Maybe that cup of coffee is from Luke’s Cafe, located in Stars Hollow, the most fall-esque home of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore. The show Gilmore Girls has had an increase in viewers in the past few years thanks to its streaming availability on Netflix, especially as the seasons begin to change. From college life, mending relationships with parents, and starting a business, the Gilmore Girls have experienced quite a lot. Rory Gilmore, a Chilton High School, and Yale alumni, has had her fair share of other significant life experiences alongside her boyfriends.
With seven seasons and four main guys, Rory’s love life has caused quite the debate. The main question was, who was right for Rory? I did not want to base this all on my own opinions on Rory’s choice of men, so I decided to run a poll on my Instagram with the question, “Who was the best Gilmore Guy?” In this poll were Rory’s four knights in shining armor, Dean Forester, Tristan Dugray, Logan Huntzberger, and Jess Mariano.
In season one is Tristan Dugray at 9%. Tristan and Rory had more of a bad boy and good girl trope going on throughout their relationship. Tristan and Rory never officially dated, but they had their moments of flirtatious tension at school. Other than his good looks and unbeatable charm, was he worth liking? Rory never seemed to have the most connection to Tristan, no matter how hard he tried. Considering Rory was in a relationship at the time, I never got Tristan’s role in Gilmore Girls other than adding tension to Rory’s relationship. Despite Tristan’s role ending in season 2, some Gilmore Girls fans liked Tristan and believed his role to be there for good reason.
Dean Forester joined Tristan in season one. Dean was Rory’s first serious boyfriend and came in at a whopping 12%. I think the result speaks for itself. Dean was the first guy to pique Rory’s interest, but had his ups and downs throughout the seasons of Gilmore Girls. At one point in the show, Dean is engaged to a girl named Lindsey, but their relationship ends pretty quickly because of Dean’s lingering feelings for Rory. Dean ruining his serious relationship with Lindsey was a significant factor as to why people disliked him. There were also the obvious red flags that Dean had, such as an unhealthy response to Rory being committed to school at Chilton, and an overwhelming amount of jealousy. Dean Forester may as well have been the poster guy for a toxic relationship in Gilmore Girls.
Binge-watching all the way to season five, Logan Huntzberger comes into the scene as Rory begins her journey at Yale. Logan was rich, extremely privileged, and had the second-highest score at 22%. Logan never really called Rory by her actual name, instead calling her “Ace.” There were moments when Logan saw through his privilege, admittedly Rory had to help to bring him down to Earth, but he accomplished it nonetheless. I don’t love, nor hate, Logan, as he showed growth from his first appearance in season five where it was hard to see past his frat-boy type. Apart from his cons, Logan did bring Rory out of her shy self and respected her boundaries. Logan pushed Rory to discover who she was independent from her mom, Lorelai, and what her grandparents wanted for her.
Saving the best for last, the crowd favorite coming in at 56% is Jess Mariano. Jess’s first appearance is in season two, and was appealing from the start. The trope between Jess and Rory was a grumpy x sunshine type, which many viewers of Gilmore Girls loved. Personally, I felt as if Rory and Jess had the most chemistry throughout the show, especially because Jess seemed to understand Rory on a level that the other guys didn’t. An evident characteristic of Rory is that she is a bookworm, reading well-known novels throughout the show. It was an exciting Gilmore Girls scene when Rory discovered that Jess was quite the reader himself, revealing that he had read a book of his forty times. Jess had his side plot in the show, being Luke’s nephew, traveling to California, and eventually getting a successful job. Viewers get to see Jess’s growth as a person separate from Rory, and maybe that’s also a factor that plays into him being the best Gilmore Guy.
In the end, Rory makes her decision. This decision has divided the Gilmore Girls community as to whether she made the right choice or not. Some even side with the idea that Rory was the true heartbreaker. Maybe the idea behind the Gilmore Guys was for Rory to find who she is and choose herself, but that’s just a theory. As Rory’s grandma, Emily Gilmore, famously says, “he’s just a man.”