Before you begin, create a Gilmore Girl atmosphere. Order a large cheese pizza, buy sugary candy, start a movie, and pop some tater tots into the oven.
Every Saturday at 11 AM, my sister and I ran downstairs to the TV room and turned on the ABC Family channel. The voice of Carole King sings the iconic line: “Where you lead, I will follow anywhere that you tell me to. If you need, you need me to be with you, I will follow where you lead…”
I am the biggest Gilmore Girls fan. Every year, I start the first episode on September 1st and watch Rory graduate from Yale University by March 31st. The show has shaped me into the person I am today: Luke Danes and Dave Rygalski set my relationship expectations extremely high. As a daughter of two Indian immigrant parents, I see myself through Lane Kim’s character. My love for writing derived from watching reruns of Rory Gilmore becoming the next Christiane Amanpour. After watching the series several times (14 and counting), I have accumulated many thoughts and opinions about the show. Disclaimer: This article will contain many soiler alerts, so read at your own caution. Okay, let’s get into it!
Three words: Rory Gilmore sucks. Rory became an unbearable character once she put
on her Chilton uniform, in the second episode of the series. If you disagree with this statement, let’s take a look down memory lane.
- Rory woke up late for her first Chilton exam. As she hurriedly drove to school, her car was hit by a deer. She arrived late for the exam so Mr. Medina did not let her take it. He requested that they step outside to discuss the situation before disrupting any of the students. However, Rory decided to scream at the top of her lungs and disrupt all of the students and the testing environment. Although I understand that Chilton was a difficult adjustment for her–the students were not kind and the workload was intense, Rory’s reaction was disrespectful.
- Rory and Dean break up because she did not say “I love you” to him. As a person that struggles to talk about their feelings, I empathize with Rory to an extent. I understand if she did not want to talk about her emotions, but she painted Dean as bad. The entire town turned against him. For example, Luke threw him out of the diner and Lorelai yelled at him in Doose’s Market. They made the situation suck.
- During the breakup, Rory and Lorelai get into a fight in the middle of the street. Before leaving she tells Lorelai, “I’ll meet you at home.” That was not the case when Lorelai arrived home, expecting to see her daughter who was not there. Rory ran away to her grandparent’s house. She sucks for two reasons. First, she scared Lorelai half to death. Any mother would be scared if their child is not where they said they would be. Second, I understand that Rory needed to blow off steam; however, she knew what she was doing by going to the grandparent’s house. Lorelai and her parents do not have a stable relationship, and Rory running away only made the situation worse.
- Rory literally sucks when she cheated with Dean. Nothing made me more upset when she said, “He’s not a married guy. He’s Dean. My Dean.” Baby girl! He is married to another woman! He is no longer your Dean. Dean and Rory suck for this.
- Rory received negative criticism for the first time in her life and she stole a yacht. Come on, that’s pretty immature.
- Rory sucked when she moved into her grandparent’s pool house, joined the DAR, and stopped talking to Lorelai.
If I continue any further, I will get very upset. For my own sanity, I will be ending the discussion about why Rory Gilmore sucks.
Jess is hyped up. The fans love him because he is a “bad boy” and reads books. Let’s take a second to recognize why he is not a good boyfriend. He is disrespectful to Lorelai and cannot hold a conversation with anyone except for Rory. He acts like the entire world is against him. He is rude to Luke who is trying to support him and make him feel welcome. Instead of telling Rory that he was not graduating high school, he got on a bus to California without saying goodbye. He returned, told Rory he loved her and ran away. I strongly believe that, out of all the characters, he demonstrated the most character development. Trust me, I love Jess and would marry him any day. However, we must hold him accountable because he is overhyped.
Dave Rygalski is #1. Who cares about any other man on this show besides Dave Rygalski? He treated Lane Kim like the queen that she was. He read the entire bible for her. In one night. We all deserve a Dave Rygalski, so never settle for less.
Lane Kim deserved better. Another television person of color character who was done dirty. I cannot believe they made her date, marry, and have children with ZACK. Zack was only meant to be a bandmate, nothing more. She deserved better.
Hold Luke Dane accountable. Trust me, I love Luke Dane. He’s my type of man. However, he is not the perfect man. He did not tell Lorelai, his fiancé, that he had a daughter for four months. He lied to her and kept a secret from her for four months.
Max Medina is slept on. The alarm is ringing–wake up, it’s Max Medina. I want a man who can cook, buy me thousands of yellow roses, and read me old English literature. He was a good boyfriend to Lorelai and a father figure in Rory’s life. He really loved them and wanted to be a positive addition to their life. I hope he finds an amazing person who deserves his love and they can live happily ever after.
Rory Gilmore’s Boyfriends (best to worst)
- Logan Hutzenburger
- I love Logan, wow. His nickname for Rory, “Ace”, made my stomach flutter every time he said it. In the beginning, he was honest that he was not a relationship person, yet he worked hard to be a good boyfriend for her. To this day, I am baffled that Rory did not marry him. They could have been jumping off bridges, barbecuing at Martha’s Vineyard, and attending fancy dinners together for the rest of their lives.
- Jess
- This may seem hypocritical since I dedicated a section to why he is overhyped. Nevertheless, I think their love story was the definition of the right person, at the wrong time. Rory and Jess had amazing chemistry–they had similar interests and were excited to learn more about each other. Also, he reads (lol) and is way better than Dean.
- Tristan Dugray
- Although he was not Rory’s boyfriend, I have to mention him. Ever since he called her “Mary”, I think everyone wanted a Tristan and Rory love story. Who wouldn’t? It’s Chad Michael Murray.
- Dean
- Dean sucks. However, in unpopular opinion, season 1 Dean is top-tier. He was Rory’s escort at a cotillion, built her a car, and praised the ground she walked on.
Lorelai Gilmore’s Boyfriends (best to worst)
- Luke Dane
- He was head over heels for Lorelai, even when he was oblivious to his love for her. They are the end game. He treated Lorelai and Rory with so much love.
- Max Medina
- He is a very close second only because it would never have worked out between them. Lorelai did not love him. However, I do. So, come my way, Max Medina.
- Christopher Hayden
- Christopher is third on the list. Lorelai and Chris were only meant to be young loves. They will always love each other, but they changed too much to have the same connection they always hoped for. Also, he finally became the positive father figure that Rory yearned for.
- Jason Stiles (aka Digger)
- I could not stand this man. I have a burning distaste for this man. His vibes were always off, and his personality was lacking. Who trains their dog to go “little to the left?”
The Best Couple Award Goes To Sookie St. James and Jackson Belleville. They are the definition of a one-true-pair and #relationshipgoals. Their love story was unexpected, but wonderfully played out. I loved their awkwardness and giggles during the first few dates. They deserve the world, and I am glad they both are giving it to each other.
As you can see, I have many thoughts about this show. It is my favorite show and my comfort show. Although Rory sucks, I must thank Rory Gilmore for one thing:
Thank you for giving me one of the best childhood memories with my sister.
