More Gilmore Girl Thoughts

Hello friends!

I just got back from taking my dog for a walk. I've had a snack, and now I'm ready to blog.

First, I can't believe I forgot the Lane twins storyline! I usually stop my rewatches before I hit the sixth season, so that's probably why. As far as the birth control, they did at least TRY to use condoms, though they should have realized that sand and saltwater could create microtears in the condom that would make them ineffective. But as an infertile, I roll my eyes SO HARD on the first-time-ever-having-sex-getting-pregnant-with-twins thing. Sometimes the writers of that show are just lazy, and this is one of those times. And I agree with Julia, Lane's character deserved so much better than that. I don't even have a problem with her settling down to raise kids eventually (I think she would have wanted this at some point in her life), but she deserved to tour and have a successful music career first. She fought so hard for that, and then it just fizzled out. She also deserved to actually enjoy sex, though I would argue that it's implied that she and Zack give it another try and end up enjoying it.

The other thing that I was going to discuss is Rory's character. Can a character progress backwards over the course of a television series? Should they in some cases? Did Rory? Obviously, yes, it's possible. Should they? Maybe sometimes, though there should be eventual growth, in my opinion. And did Rory? Well...I'm still not sure.

When we first meet Rory, she's quite sheltered (no media was banned, but she still wasn't dating and everyone viewed her as a perfect virginal angel). But she's also driven to succeed in school and eventually life. She's very close with her mother, obviously, though she also has a very close friendship with Lane. Other than that, we don't see her with any other meaningful relationships. The town adores her, of course, but the relationships there are pretty surface-level, in my opinion. And her relationship with her father is seemingly limited to somewhat infrequent phone calls.

As the first few seasons progress, Rory does gain an interest in boys. Her mother, who is supposedly so open about sex and dating, has some freak outs when Rory actually shows an interest in these things. One thing I don't like about Lorelai's relationship with Rory is how she treats her when she makes a decision she disagrees with. Rory is already an extreme people pleaser, especially when it comes to her mom, and Lorelai repeatedly gives Rory the silent treatment, eventually culminating in them not talking for months after Rory drops out of Yale. I don't agree that this should have been a no contact moment, nor do I think that it's okay for a mother to give her teenaged daughter the silent treatment because she misses curfew or tells her grandparents about a termite issue. I think Lorelai's attitude to Rory "messing up" really...messes Rory up. Lorelai, the Gilmores, and the town all expect Rory to be perfect. Christopher's parents and to some extent Christopher want nothing to do with her, regardless of how perfect she is. When she's not perfect, the consequences are sometimes way out of proportion. She's not allowed to really explore herself or her interests without worrying that someone in her life will punish her for it. I think this leads to things like her essentially cheating on Dean with Jess. She's so scared to just say what she wants because she's never really been allowed to do it. And then the dishonesty on her part sort of spirals from there, until she's sleeping with a married Dean and lying to herself that it's okay because he's "her Dean."

Is she entitled and spoiled? Yeah, sort of. Lorelai has catered to her her whole life, I think in an effort to make up for the lack of father and other family involvement. She wants to give her everything, in part I think to prove that she can but mainly because she truly does want the best for Rory. I think sometimes she's just not able to separate what's best for Rory from what SHE wants for Rory, as her mother. The Gilmores spoil her, too, but more materially. The main thing is, Rory is repeatedly told that she's special. Then when someone critiques her or doesn't love her instantly, it can be a problem. She didn't handle it well when Mitchum told her she didn't "have it" and she did occasionally expect to be handed things (the fellowship at the New York Times and jobs in the revival, for example).

The big thing is...does Rory's character show growth throughout the series? I think she does, just not always in the ways fans would like to see. She goes from being a people-pleasing high achiever to being a less high achieving adult. BUT she's an adult that knows when she's not happy and is willing to make changes to fix it, even if other people in her life aren't thrilled about it. For example, Lorelai didn't like Logan, but Rory continued her relationship with him because he was who SHE wanted to be with. And in the revival, she's willing to write the book, even though Lorelai is initially against it. To me, that's progress and growth. So good for Rory, even if I liked season one Rory better.

-Leah