In some ways — just about each means that counts, actually — Gilmore Girls is the tv equal of consolation meals. “Cozy” is the phrase that is usually used to explain it, and it isn’t onerous to see why, with its fall and winter aesthetic, quirky manufacturing design and tone, and endearing characters. The present stays a cultural touchstone, representing the very particular mindset that dominated the early 2000s.
Nonetheless, with the present being so tied to early noughties tradition, it ought to come as no shock that lots of its storylines have aged like milk beneath the solar. From outdated concepts relating to class and intercourse to outright questionable decisions made by characters, these are the Gilmore Ladies storylines which have aged the worst. They have been chosen primarily based on how eyebrow-raising they’re beneath a 2024 eye, though many have been so unhealthy that they attracted blowback on the time, too.
A dramedy centering across the relationship between a thirtysomething single mom and her teen daughter residing in Stars Hole, Connecticut.
- Launch Date
- October 5, 2000
- Seasons
- 7
10 Rory’s Love Life
She was by no means the perfect at selecting a companion.
Rory Gilmore’s (Alexis Bledel) love life was central to the present’s narrative. Followers preserve debating to this present day over who was Rory’s finest boyfriend, and whereas the consensus favors Jess, it is secure to say none of those guys are significantly nice as romantic companions. Certainly, rewatching the present as an grownup makes one notice how questionable Rory’s decisions are and the way her dangerous patterns proceed into maturity.
For instance, Rory’s dishonest methods start with Jess, proceed with Dean (Jared Padalecki), and carry into her thirties with Logan (Matt Czuchry). Rory can be fairly egocentric, and so are the romantic companions she chooses, leading to weird relationships the place there’s by no means actual belief, and the stability is all the time off. Rory additionally hurts her fair proportion of individuals in her pursuit of romance, from Lindsay (Arielle Kebbel) within the authentic collection to Paul (Jack Carpenter) in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.
9 All of the Informal Racism
“It is like one other Calcutta in right here.”
Rewatching Gilmore Ladies right now can get fairly uncomfortable due to all of the informal racism the characters spew, particularly Lorelai (Lauren Graham), Rory, Emily (Kelly Bishop), and Richard (Edward Herrmann). As a result of class is such a central matter within the present, many characters say outright offensive stuff about minorities and other people of coloration, from Emily’s informal microaggressions in opposition to her maids to Lorelai’s offensive one-liners.
What’s worse is the present truly desires the viewers to chortle at these insults; it sells discrimination as humor as a result of it is delivered in a unusual, fast-paced method by the solid. It’d’ve labored as soon as, within the early 2000s, when all these informal aggressions have been prevalent on tv. Nonetheless, right now’s mindset has made everybody extra conscious of how dangerous stereotypes will be, making all these strains really feel pointless at finest and insulting at worst.
8 All of the Informal Fatphobia
“Bye, jerk, die jerk!”
Just like the racism problem, Gilmore Ladies can be responsible of participating in fixed fatphobia in opposition to a number of characters. Maybe probably the most notorious case occurs in Season 4 when Rory writes a really mean-spirited and borderline unprofessional overview of a ballet recital, the place she immediately targets the ballerina’s physique and compares her to the dancing hippos from Fantasia.
The fats shaming continues all the way in which to the divisive Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, the place Lorelai and Rory are overtly impolite to obese folks, with the previous saying “stomach alert” at any time when an obese individual approaches them on the pool. The truth that this problematic narrative continued all the way in which to the revival, which got here out in 2016, speaks to a bigger problem within the Gilmore Ladies‘ writers’ room. Sadly, Lorelai and Rory’s cruelty to obese folks did not keep behind within the 2000s, the place it belongs.
7 The 2000s Thought of Variety
Stars Hole is vanilla in additional methods than one.
Like many different exhibits from the noughties, Gilmore Ladies had a variety problem. The solid was largely straight and white, with the one notable exceptions being Michel (Yanic Truesdale) and the Kim household. Aside from them, there was no coloration in Stars Hole. Worst of all, Rory’s classmates at Yale have been additionally noticeably hegemonic, which appears outright absurd.
In terms of LGBTQ+ representation, Gilmore Ladies additionally failed miserably. Some characters, like Michel and Taylor Doose (Michael Winters), are clearly queer-coded, however they each react with anger when the suggestion of being queer comes up, outright denying it. Certainly, it isn’t till the revival that the present overtly accepts Michel is homosexual; sadly, it retains treating Taylor as a strolling stereotype.
6 Logan and Rory’s Complete Relationship
A turning level in Rory’s life (for the worst).
It is time to admit it: Rory and Logan are terrible together. The pair meet throughout Rory’s second 12 months at Yale and start an on-and-off relationship full of drama, misunderstandings, and fixed emotional turmoil. The present ends on a considerably optimistic be aware, with Rory breaking apart with Logan after refusing his marriage proposal. Nonetheless, the revival takes them again to sq. one, with them participating in an affair whereas he’s engaged.
The extra one rewatches
Gilmore Ladies
, the extra one realizes Rory and Logan are the annoying couple you keep away from at events as a result of all they’re going to do is discuss themselves.
Gilmore Ladies tries to promote Rory and Logan as some type of endgame, however the reality is they create out the worst facets in one another. Logan and his actually terrible pals from the Life and Dying Brigade characterize the worst facets of absurd wealth, which Rory is very happy to bask in at any time when she’s with him. A 12 months within the Life ends with the notion that, regardless of nearly definitely being the daddy of her baby, Logan will not be a part of its life as a result of Rory has lastly outgrown her infatuation with him, and followers can solely hope that’ll certainly be the case. Certainly, the extra one rewatches Gilmore Ladies, the extra one realizes Rory and Logan are the annoying couple you keep away from at events as a result of all they’re going to do is discuss themselves.
5 “I’ve bought the nice child.”
Do you, Lorelai? Do you actually?
Gilmore Ladies‘ remedy of intercourse and sexuality is odd. Due to Lorelai’s teenage being pregnant, the present all the time adopts a holier-than-though strategy to intercourse, which is especially prevalent within the early seasons when Rory remains to be in highschool.
Maybe probably the most notorious case occurs in Season 3 when Lorelai overhears a dialog the place the infallible Paris (Liza Weil) talks to Rory about her first sexual expertise together with her boyfriend. Lorelai judges Paris and claims Rory is “the nice child” as a result of she remains to be a virgin. By no means thoughts that the road ages terribly, contemplating Rory’s first sexual encounter is together with her married ex-boyfriend, but it surely’s additionally a really simplistic and borderline puritanical means of taking a look at intercourse, particularly as a result of Paris’ state of affairs is way from horrible.
4 Lane’s Complete Story Arc
Our woman deserved so significantly better.
It is a pretty well-known proven fact that Gilmore Ladies did Lane (Keiko Agena) soiled. The spunky character is Rory’s finest buddy and arguably a very powerful Stars Hole-centric character after Luke (Scott Patterson). Within the present’s early seasons, Lane has excessive hopes and goals for the long run, together with forming a band and discovering an thrilling, rock-and-roll-filled life away from her hyper-conservative mom.
Someplace down the road, Gilmore Girls seemingly lost interest in Lane’s story and sidelines her, lowering her storylines to her relationship together with her boyfriend Zach (Todd Lowe) and abandoning any particular person storyline for her away from him. In Season 6, Lane will get married, and by Season 7, she is pregnant with twins. The downfall of Lane’s character is unhappy, not simply because Agena is such a compelling performer, however as a result of Lane had such ambition within the early seasons. There’s nothing unsuitable with forming a household, however in Lane’s case, it all the time looks like she’s not settling down however quite settling.
3 Rory Is Particular
Okay, however, like, how?
Rory Gilmore is without doubt one of the most divisive characters in fashionable tv. To some, she’s a candy woman who everybody elevated to a normal she could not presumably meet; to others, she’s an entitled and egocentric woman who cannot deal with actual life. The reality most likely lies someplace within the center; certainly, Rory is a much more complicated and layered character than many give her credit score for.
Alas, it is plain that the present is incessant in promoting the concept that Rory is “particular.” She’s one-of-a-kind, a really singular and nearly generational-defining expertise meant to attain nice issues. In that means, Gilmore Ladies is definitely an eye-opening cautionary story of false expectations and the strain placed on some youngsters to be all the things they are often. If the present had adopted that path, then Rory’s character would’ve aged significantly better. Nonetheless, Rory remains one of the great millennial characters whose imperfections and aimlessness will ring true for thousands and thousands of followers struggling to seek out their paths.
2 Emily’s Remedy of Her Maids
“What number of maids has Emily been by way of, Richard?”
It isn’t an overstatement to say Emily Gilmore is one of the show’s best characters — the perfect, even. The haughty and overbearing matriarch of the Gilmore clan is a determine of contradictions, frustrations, and custom. Certainly, Gilmore Ladies is among the many first exhibits to discover the generational hole, with Emily representing the type of conservative and hyper-demanding mind-set that was in style within the late ’80s.
Emily remains to be a fantastic character, however her remedy of her many maids is a side that makes rewatching
Gilmore Ladies
very uncomfortable.
Sure, Emily is tremendous entertaining, however she’s additionally tremendous problematic, particularly in direction of her maids. It is a operating joke all through Gilmore Ladies how Emily cannot preserve a maid for longer than per week, and whereas she had authentic causes to fireside a couple of of them — we’re taking a look at you, Sarah — her causes for dismissing and mistreating the others vary from absurd to outright problematic. Emily can be very impolite to the ladies in her service, throwing out snide feedback and ironies; at factors, she overtly insults them. Emily remains to be a fantastic character, however her remedy of her many maids is a side that makes rewatching Gilmore Ladies very uncomfortable.
1 Jackson’s Vasectomy
Grounds for divorce, in the event you ask us.
Sookie St. James (Melissa McCarthy) is Lorelai’s hyperactive and cooky finest buddy and the chef on the Independence Inn and later the Dragonfly. In Season 1, she begins a romance together with her meals supply man, Jackson (Jackson Douglas), marries him in Season 2, and ultimately has two kids with him. Following the beginning of their second, Sookie arranges for Jackson to have a vasectomy, which he seemingly has — besides he does not. As a substitute, Jackson lies to Sookie and continues their intimate life as if nothing occurred, which ultimately ends in a 3rd undesirable being pregnant.
Jackson’s actions are insidious and arguably unforgivable. It was unhealthy sufficient that he usually pressured Sookie as regards to kids, which might even come throughout as coercion on his half. Nonetheless, actively mendacity to his companion and making her beginning a 3rd baby when she overtly expressed her reluctance is greater than creepy; it is outright Machiavellian. It is a disgrace as a result of Sookie and Jackson began as one of many present’s most healthful {couples}. It is a disgrace the present turned him into such a creep.
