I have been rewatching Gilmore Girls with my husband (his first time), and as someone who loves to read and write, I love to take the time to analyze a work, whether that be the plot, themes, characters, etc. I do this with books and film, so for this last week of Gilmore Girls Themed posts, I thought it would be fun to rank some of the most notable Gilmore Girls characters from worst to best. Before sharing that, I want to say that we all have personal feelings about these characters, especially the ones we hold near to our hearts. So, even if I rank a character in a way you disagree, remember that this is my opinion.
Additionally, I have understanding and compassion for all of them I just may vehemently dislike some more than others. If you disagree with me, I would love a "no sparkly heart" (as they say on the Gilmore to Say podcast) and explain why you disagree. For example, I would love for someone to explain why they love Dean (who is hated by many Gilmore Girls lovers). Anyways I digress; here is my list of Gilmore Girls characters ranked from worst to best (this was a lot harder than I thought it would be).
(Disclaimer: This is FULL of spoilers, read at your own risk!)
18. Christopher
Christopher is immature, inconsistent, unreliable, and an absent father. Despite Christopher's few good qualities, like being willing to get married and working hard when Loralai got pregnant, understanding Loralai's humor, and his dedication (in some ways) to Loralai, I have a lot of problems with him. Christopher is a self-centered, self-interested, pushy man. First, we don't even meet Christopher until "That damn Donna Reed" in season one, episode 14, and the next episode, "Christopher Returns," focuses on him coming back. However, he still leaves because Loralai says no to a hasty proposal. One of my biggest problems with this is that I don’t believe he ever really comes back for Rory. This first time he comes back because he “has his life together” and wants to marry Loralai. Everything he does is for Loralai rather than his daughter. Even when Rory gets in her car accident, he is concerned for Rory, but in my opinion, he seems almost more concerned for Loralai.
Chris continues to come in and out throughout the seasons, leading Loralai on, getting engaged, cheating on his pregnant girlfriend (though he didn't know she was pregnant), leaving Loralai so he could be the father he never was to Rory. He is not reliable, as we see both Rory and Loralai hesitate to trust his word. Now here is where my anger towards this character really amplifies... When Loralai pleads with Luke to elope with her, and the infamous fight ensues, she walks away and goes to Christopher; of course, she has tremendous responsibility. However, Christopher saw how hurt and devastated she was, so even though she is coming to him saying she doesn't want to be alone, he should not have had sex with her. Holding her, comforting her, listening to her, or even giving her a place to sleep other than home are all much better options than taking advantage of the fact that she is emotionally vulnerable and running to him. Then afterwards he acts insensitively towards her in the way he talks about the situation.
Lastly, when Loralai and Christopher get married, it all happens through him being pushy with her. It is obvious that she is unsure and that she wants Rory to be there but he doesn’t listen and remains pushy. He pushes her until she gives in, and they get married. He doesn't listen to her; he only sees and hears what he wants. For example, what does Chris say when Loralai is communicating how Rory will be hurt that she got married without her? "She'll be fine." Then when she says she doesn't want Rory to feel like she's being pushed out (when they're preparing a room for Gigi in season 7 episode 19), what does he say? "She'll be fine." He is dismissive and incredibly selfish because he doesn't take the time to notice how others may feel. It also tells me that he clearly does not know his very well at all. But what can you expect from an absent father who is still saying stuff like “it was always supposed to be you and your mom” years later... I'm sure there are many things I missed, but that is why Christopher is the absolute worst character on Gilmore Girls.
17. Dean
I put Dean above Chris because both cheated, and while with Dean, it was worse in many ways; he never had a baby that he ultimately abandoned. That being said, I strongly dislike Dean. I can acknowledge that in the beginning, he did have good qualities and that Rory treated him with Jess was wrong, but he also had some very toxic traits that only worsened over time. Traits such as jealousy and possessiveness, lack of communication skills, insecurity and reactiveness, and immaturity. He had good qualities in the beginning, such as his romantic gestures, attentiveness to Rory, and care and understanding of her and her mom, but as time passed, he only seemed to get worse as a character, In short, justice for Lindsay.
16. Anna Nardini
I don’t like the character of Anna Nardini. I intensely dislike her for never telling Luke he has a kid because he had a right to know no matter how much she thought he didn't want to be a dad. The fact that she just didn't tell Luke 12-13 years is horrible. Then once she tried to keep April away from Luke, my dislike for her peaked.
I will not rank her daughter April because I think that's unfair. Even though she's annoying sometimes, and her appearance in the show is connected to Loralai and Luke breaking up, it was not her fault. Luke made his decisions, and Loralai made hers. Sure, her appearance stirred things up, but how it was handled was the issue.
15. Sherry Tinsdale
Sherry drives me up the wall. I couldn't stand her from the moment she came onto the show. I appreciate how dedicated she is in her career, but in the same boat, we see her controlling everything up to when Gigi is born, all for work's sake. Instead of being present in her birthing experience, she's trying to work, and even her friends said she “messed up” by going into labor. I understand this is supposed to be comedic, but looking at such a beautiful part of life as a nuisance and something to be controlled bothers me. We also see her selfishness shine through when she abandons Gigi and Chris. It's terrible when men do it, and it's terrible when women do it. Just don't abandon your children.
14. Rory Gilmore
Rory has a lot of great qualities, such as wit, brains, and love for others, but she has terrible attributes, such as feeble judgment, giving up too quickly, and questionable morals. It saddens me to put her here, but with her choices, especially in seasons 6-7 and then the Revival, I can't put her any higher. There weren't any consequences for her actions with Dean. She was able to go off to Europe and still date Dean even though they broke up his marriage. There wasn't much acknowledgment that what she did was wrong and the fact that she still dated him after he cheated on Lindsay was wrong on many levels.She also made other decisions in the last couple of seasons that frustrate me.
Finally, in the Revival she’s treating her boyfriend Paul horribly, doesn’t have much of a drive for anything, and is sleeping with an engaged man which is disappointing all around because she seems to just make the same mistakes over and over. I understand we all make mistakes, sometimes very horrible decisions, but it's important to own up to that and face the consequences of your actions. If anything, she acts like she is naïve and innocent; she doesn't own it, which frustrates me. So as much as I love and appreciate her good qualities, I must put her here.
13. Logan Huntzberger
I never really cared much for Logan. I think in terms of boyfriends, he was the best boyfriend to Rory. But there are a few reasons why I rank him low. His entitlement and arrogance get to me; I also don't like that he would leave many things up to Rory in terms of pursuing (but that's more of a personal preference). The bridesmaid incident, while not technically cheating, in my opinion, was dishonest and unloving. It was horrible to let Rory enter a room full of women he had slept with without warning her especially knowing how they are. I also think that his just assuming they broke up without a conversation is problematic. He is also reckless with his life and has trouble taking accountability. Finally, where we see him in the Revival almost feels like not much time has passed because he's still the same. Still resistant to change and irresponsible, he cheats on his fiancé with Rory instead of deciding either way.
12. Zack
My feelings say absolute bottom, but my logic says here, unfortunately. Either way, it's a no from me. I remember the first time I watched Gilmore Girls; I ignored him because he irritated me so much when he came on screen. He was always grumpy, and I don't mean in a Luke Danes sort of way where you still see the soft side of him, the likable side, the funny side. Oh no, Zach is a whiner, a complainer. And that is one thing I can't stand. From the beginning, he always had some sort of whiny negative thing to say. He acts like he lives off of one brain cell. He genuinely seems mindless. Not only that, but he is selfish; he looks out for his needs, what he thinks, etc. Though he provides some sort of comic relief he still frustrates me to no end. When things took a turn though, that is where my dislike for him grew. As the writers decided to put Zack with Lane, I only proceeded to dislike him more. He was a horrible boyfriend to Lane (especially compared to Dave), he caused their breakup in such a horrible way and still somehow managed to marry her? I simply do not understand.
11. Taylor Doose
A lot of people have strong feelings for Taylor, but I stand more in the middle. His overbearing and controlling nature prove challenging for the townspeople. But often times there is a lot of humor to it. He is ultimately a funny character, in my opinion, and I love the dynamic he brings to the show.
10. Paris Gellar
I love Paris. From worst to best, I'm looking at the decisions and them as a character. In terms of entertainment, Paris is undoubtedly the best. Now, in terms of niceness, she is not. But something I like about her is that she doesn't pretend to be any different. She doesn't play games or try to manipulate people. The one thing I can think of that made me dislike her for a time was when she cheated on Jamie. But other than that, such as her kicking Rory out of her apartment, it is all was part of who Paris is. Now that doesn't make it okay, but unlike other characters, she owns who she is, and, to me, that makes her a likable and a good character
9. Emily Gilmore
Emily is both a hated and beloved character by many. She does a lot of things that many deem unforgivable. Her negative qualities, such as her overbearing and controlling attitude, lack of empathy, and judgmental mindset towards almost everyone, make it hard to like her, much less love her. However, I also appreciate that Kelly Bishop's portrayal of Emily was very nuanced. The psychology behind Emily and seeing how she thinks is fascinating to me. I also love her wit, strength, independence as a woman, love for her family, and character growth. I would like to know more about her life as a girl so I could get to know more about this very complex character.
8. Richard Gilmore
Richard is also a nuanced character. I appreciate his intelligence, wit, humor, work ethic, and generosity, but I find his materialistic mindset, emotional distance, and misguided expectations frustrating. He also lacks empathy, which we see play out specifically when he ruins Jason’s career.
7. Mrs. Kim
While Mrs. Kim's qualities can be overbearing harsh, and strict, she does have many good qualities. Her unwavering principles, her protective and caring nature, and her humor are all things that add depth to her character. She also displays a significant amount of character growth over time. The hardest thing for me is that Lane grows up knowing she has to hide who she is from her mom, and no child should have to do that.
6. Lane
Lane is overall a pretty good friend to Rory. She is driven, dedicated, loyal, and relatable. Some negative traits of hers are lack of communication and honesty, immaturity and impulsiveness, and lack of character development. I thought Lane would pursue a music career full-time, especially as she moved out of her mom's house. After Dave, too, I would have never dreamed she'd settle for someone like Zack. In the Revival, we see her dreams being put on the back burner, and I wonder how things might have gone had she just pursued music or even moved to California, where Dave was.
5. Luke Danes
I love Luke; he also just frustrates me at times as a character. His stubbornness and anger issues, as well as his communication issues and resistance to change, are some of his worst qualities of his. We see them sabotage things in his life, whether with the townies, or his various relationships, most notably his relationship with Lorelai. I also find his lack of intentionality frustrating. He took forever to pursue Loralai, and while I understand that he didn't quite know how to go about it, and it wasn't until he listened to that book that he did, it's still frustrating because that carried over into their relationship. He lets Loralai propose, plan the wedding all by herself, cancels everything by herself, beg him to elope with her, and ultimately end things. All of the relationship's responsibility should not have been on her, period. Putting aside the negative stuff, Luke is loyal, dedicated, kind, generous, reliable (for the most part), and he has significant character growth. However, unfortunately in the revival it seems as though time had stopped, and they were the same as when we last saw them at the end of season 7.
4. Lorelai Gilmore
Loralai Gilmore, the show's main character, is a complex character. I love her wit and humor, dedication to caring for Rory and giving her the best life possible. Her independence and resilience and growth as a character is inspiring. On the other hand, as I've been watching the show again, I find that her ways of handling things are pretty childish, especially regarding her parents. She also deals with self-centeredness, impulsiveness, poor communication, and avoidance. These bad qualities cause many issues that play out in various conflicts. I also had a hard time with her running to Christopher the minute Luke didn't want to elope. While I can empathize with her and how she must have been feeling throughout that whole thing, what she needed was to be with friends like Sookie or to just go and deal with the pain and learn to be okay with being in that without running to another man to fix it or numb it. It did a lot more harm than good, not only to her but to Luke and what their relationship could have been. Lastly, I also think that I understand some of how she parents Rory, I disagree with her, but I know why she does what she does; I just think it caused some issues.
3. Sookie and Jackson
These two are both on the same level as each other, though I do love Sookie more. I love them both as a couple and as characters. What puts them here however is the fact that they both do something terrible in my opinion. First, Sookie intentionally didn't tell Jackson that she didn't want any more kids until she was going to give birth and then told him he would get a vasectomy without discussing it with him. I don't care what anyone says, it should've been a conversation rather than her treating him like a child who just needs to listen to her.
On the flip side, Jackson lying about the fact that he didn't get a vasectomy instead of discussing it with her and talking it through and then getting her pregnant is also horrible! They didn't show respect for each other in this and it left a bad taste in my mouth. So, putting aside their comedic contribution to the show and their friendship with Loralai, which brings a great dynamic to the show, I did not like that specific thing between the two.
2. Jess Mariano
It might come as a surprise to some people that Jess is number two on my list. Quite honestly, if we never saw Jess again after "Those are string Pinocchio" (season 3, ep 22), he would be closer to the bottom of my list. His issues with respect, kindness, communication, and destructive behavior were very damaging. The way he inserted himself into Rory and Dean's relationship, intentionally messing with Dean and using Shane all to get Rory was horrible. And then, to make matters worse, he was a pretty lousy boyfriend to Rory. On the flip side, I love his intelligence, wit, charm, and work ethic. Ultimately, he has some of the best character growth out of everyone- writing a short novel, paying back Luke, making a life for himself, and changing how he views people make him one of the best characters in my opinion.
1. Dave Rygalski
Dave is number one on my list for a variety of reasons. Because I'm looking at all the characters, how they started, and where they ended up, it's easy for me to put Dave at the top because, in my opinion, he was perfect. We didn't see many of his faults, so who knows, he could've ended up horrible, but because he left early on in the show, all I know is the perfect Dave. He was supportive and caring. He made an effort to pursue Lane, read the entire Bible in one night, shared Lane's love and passion for music, and ultimately respected not only her but also her mother and people in general. So, in closing... it should’ve been Dave.
-
Questions
What do you think about my ranking?
What would you change?
What do you disagree with?
Be civil and leave a comment below. I'm interested to know!
Comentarios