Gilmore Girls is filled with iconic characters and Rory Gilmore is one of them, but there are some sides to her character that can't be overlooked.
Alexis Bledel as Rory at different points of Gilmore Girls
SUMMARY
- Rory Gilmore is a beloved character, but she has flaws that haven't aged well, including a lack of healthy boundaries with her mother, Lorelai.
- Rory's love triangles and inability to commit in relationships make her a flawed character and contribute to the demise of her romantic partnerships.
- Rory's entitlement, poor decision-making, and selfishness contrast with her kind nature and affect her relationships with friends and family.
Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel) from Gilmore Girls is an iconic and beloved character, but some of her actions, jokes, and behaviors are problematic and haven't aged well. Gilmore Girls is a comfort show for many, which ran for seven seasons between 2000 and 2007 before receiving a revival in 2016 on Netflix.
The series follows the life of a mother and daughter and the hardships they encounter in their everyday life and their relationships. However, the feel-good show premiered over two decades ago in 2000, and some of its characters, including Rory, don't live up to modern standards.
Gilmore Girls is still a popular show that audiences rewatch often, and that is because of its relatable stories, likable characters, and amazing chemistry between the actors. Gilmore Girls' cast was made up of likable, talented actors, and Alexis Bledel doesn't disappoint in her role as Rory Gilmore.
Rory is one of the most famous and iconic characters on television, known for her love for books, sweetness, and determination. However, despite starting as a sweet, kind character, throughout the seasons, and after a second or a third watch, Rory Gilmore proves to be a very flawed character, which is essential for her character development on the show.
Rory Didn't Know How To Set Healthy Boundaries With Lorelai
Rory and Lorelai's relationship from Gilmore Girls is one of the most remarkable and beloved mother-daughter relationships on TV. However, that doesn't mean it doesn't have its issues. Although their relationship was ideal in many moments, Rory and Lorelai had trouble setting boundaries.
Rory often overshared a lot of personal things, but also hid many important things from Lorelai. She often forgot Lorelai was the one taking care of her, but also relied on her too much. When she starts Chilton and Yale, Rory insists her mom come inside with her, instead of handling things on her own.
Rory Played A Toxic Role In Her Love Triangles Throughout Gilmore Girls
Throughout the seven seasons of Gilmore Girls, as well as the revival miniseries, Rory's boyfriends were highly debated and ranked, three of whom had a big impact throughout the series.
Although Rory began the show with naïveté in her romances, her behavior in relationships turned out to be toxic. She was often involved in love triangles because of her inability to commit, and hurt all her boyfriends throughout the seasons because of her selfishness.
She was always getting involved with either Dean, Jess, or Logan while being in a relationship with one of them. Rory used them or took advantage of them, and got angry when they got upset. While each of the boyfriends also mistreated her in various ways, Rory wasn't blameless in the relationships' demises.
Rory Used Silent Treatment As A Punishment
Rory is a very hard-working character; she loves literature and is well-read, but, similar to her mother Lorelai, she has poor communication skills. Despite having an environment in which she could thrive, Rory used silent treatment as a punishment.
She often ignored Logan after they fought instead of trying to talk about it. That was most obvious in her fight with Logan about Jess, where none of them acknowledged the issue, or when Logan slept with the bridesmaid, and she ran off to Stars Hollow and ignored his calls. Similarly, after Rory messed up by dropping out of Yale, she ignored Lorelai and moved in with her grandparents instead.
Rory Made Numerous Extremely Poor Decisions
Rory Gilmore had many good traits, especially since she was smart and dedicated. Ever since the beginning of the show, she has been portrayed as ambitious with iron-clad standards, but Rory ultimately made some unforgivable decisions.
One of them was sleeping with ex-boyfriend Dean, who was married at that time. Her second most out-of-character decision was dropping out of Yale on a whim, which angered even her mother, Lorelai.
Rory Had A Sense Of Entitlement During Gilmore Girls
Rory might have been ambitious, but she had also been sheltered her whole life. Although she got to live a better life than Lorelai with many opportunities, it also led to her taking a lot of things for granted.
She acted like she worked hard for what she had, which was partly true, but ignored the big help she got from her mother and grandparents. She took them for granted, especially with her grandparents, Lorelai, Dean, Logan, and even life in general.
Throughout seasons 5 and 6, Rory becomes more entitled and more disrespectful. She expected to get away with no repercussions after stealing a yacht, she wanted to control Dean's life after their breakup, and also disrespected her grandmother, Emily, just because Lorelai was upset with her after Richard and Emily's vow renewal.
Despite her grandparents helping her attend Chilton and supporting her, her passive aggressiveness towards them proved her immaturity and that she felt entitled to their support.
While Gilmore Girls fans can relate to Rory during many storylines, there are some parts of this character that haven't aged well.
Rory Wasn't Honest With Herself
Rory Gilmore is a flawed character, but this is key to her development. Although perfection was often expected of her, Rory committed many mistakes, and most of them were because she was put on a pedestal her entire life. She was the embodiment of a stereotypical "good girl," so doing anything to endanger that would've turned her into a villain.
That's why Rory had trouble being honest with herself most of the time, especially at the beginning of the show. Although she was dating Dean, Rory liked Jess, and she had trouble admitting it. However, most of that came from Lorelai, who also struggled with being honest with herself.
Rory Was Secretly One Of Gilmore Girls' More Selfish Characters
Rory was portrayed as kind, and, although she was young and growing, she made many selfish mistakes. Despite Dean being married, she still thought of him as "her" Dean, and didn't think of his wife when starting their affair, who forbade him from seeing her.
She was not malicious by any means, but she was a bit self-centered. She also didn't say anything about Lorelai's relationship with her teacher Max, although she figured their relationship would impact her grades. Rory also missed Lorelai's graduation just to go see Jess in New York, despite knowing how hard her mom had worked to graduate.
Rory Really Wasn't A Good Friend
Throughout the seven seasons of Gilmore Girls, Rory had two defining best friends: Lane and Paris. However, many instances proved that Rory wasn't a good friend.
She was indifferent to Lane on many occasions, ignoring her when Lane was trying to confide in her, and only talking about her own problems. There were many times she was there for Lane to make up for the bad times, but she often used Lane whenever it was comfortable for her.
Rory and Paris' friendship helped both of them, despite their rocky start. They pushed each other to be better, and challenged each other, but Rory had many moments that showed her relationship with Paris largely self-serving. She failed to call her a friend in "S’Wonderful, S’Marvelous" when Lucy and Olivia mentioned Paris, and also caved to Francie's bullying to manipulate Paris in the earlier seasons.
Rory Expecting Lorelai To Support Her Poor Decisions Made No Sense
Lorelai and Rory had an incredibly close relationship, and they often acted like friends more than mother and daughter. Because of this, Rory expected Lorelai to support her in every decision, even the poor ones.
One of the biggest fights she had with Lorelai was when Rory decided to drop out of Yale, but she couldn't understand that this decision betrayed her mom's sacrifices and dreams for her. Other moments when Rory expected Lorelai's absolute support were when she slept with the married Dean and had an affair with Logan, which made no sense.
Rory Was Judgmental And Mean-Spirited
Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel) on pool loungers in Gilmore Girls a Year in the Life episode 3, summer
Rory was a nice, respectful person, but she could also be extremely mean and judgmental. She judged Paris harshly for cheating on Jamie with Asher, although she had done the same thing to Dean.
Rory body-shamed a ballerina for not being skinny enough in her cruel review, and even used a slur when lamenting that she needed to volunteer to look good for colleges.
Unfortunately, Rory and Lorelai proved they didn't have major character growth in the revival, as they cruelly body-shamed random people at a swimming pool.
The Gilmore Girls Revival Proved Rory Didn't Have What It Took To Become A Journalist
Rory Gilmore was initially portrayed as a child prodigy who could do no wrong, and her hard work and determination suggested she had an amazing career ahead of her.
Rory was an aspiring journalist, but Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life proved she didn't have what it takes, which meant Mitchum Huntzberger had been right about her lacking the skills and initiative to be an investigative journalist.
In the revival, Rory still didn't have a career, and rejected two jobs that could've been good for her.
However, everything seemed to show that Rory's career choice did not serve her. Although she spent the entire series wanting to become a journalist, Rory had other skills that she could've used. Given her strengths and weaknesses, Rory would've made an amazing writer or could've gotten a PhD in Political Science, History, or Literature, and started teaching.
At the end of theGilmore Girlsrevival, Rory was free to take over The Stars Hollow Gazette, but that didn't align with all the potential Rory had proven in Gilmore Girls' inspiring finale.
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