(Rachel takes over today with one of the more different posts you will see on the blog…)
I was wracking my brain this week trying to think of a topic for a guest blog post. I considered running, Disney, heck, even my job (a stimulating post for another day, I’m sure), but came up empty.
Then, while sitting on the couch watching Gilmore Girls re-runs for the eleventy thousandth time, I thought, what better topic than the never-ending discussion of the guys of Gilmore Girls?
It’s a topic every woman (and a decent chunk of men) has had over the years. In the race for Rory Gilmore’s heart, are you Team Dean, Team Jess, or Team Logan? I thought I’d entertain Allen’s readers with a semi-objective take on which guy is best suited for our beloved Gilmore girl.
(Herein lies the obligatory spoiler alert, although the first season aired almost SEVENTEEN years ago, so I think the statue of limitations has passed. I’m only going to address the first seven seasons, not the new Netflix season, so you’re safe, Mom!)
First, chronologically at least, there’s Dean. Midwestern, reliable, unencumbered, sweet Dean. But is he, really? Yes, he’s ultimately the jilted one (twice), but let’s be honest – is he really as nice as he appears? Remember, in season one, when he broke up with Rory because she didn’t return his “I love you”? Throughout the entire series, he was crazy jealous, and a little vindictive. And he had a temper. AND he cheated on his wife – with Rory. Not cool, Dean.
Over the first few seasons, I thought of Rory and myself as kindred spirits, what with the bookishness and general reservedness…right up to the point she lost her V card to Dean (again…while he was married. And yes, she was not blameless. But still). But in the end, Dean was too small town for Rory, and she tossed him aside to experience a more exciting life with Logan.
Then there was Jess. Rory stood by and let her relationship with Dean collapse after Jess came to town. They had crazy chemistry and a lot in common. (Fun fact: the actors dated in real life.) However, the timing was always off with these two. Jess was a colossal jerk in high school, acted rashly in college (remember when he went to Yale and asked her to run away with him? I hadn’t on my last re-watching), and finally got it together a couple of years later – while Rory was firmly in the Logan zone.
Lastly, Logan. A cad the likes of which Rory had never before encountered, and Lorelai explicitly hated. I always felt like Rory was way out of her league with this one. Never before had she been subject to someone not completely falling all over themselves to date her. She had to try a little. And it was refreshing! As Allen has always said, Logan challenged her in a way the other dudes had not. He was high class, and, accordingly, high stakes.
Logan proposed at her graduation from Yale at the end of the series, and Rory said no – presumably because, as with Dean, she didn’t want to pigeonhole herself in one place, with one person (even if that place was London, with Logan). Although Rory never struck me as a particularly free spirit, I admired her desire to pave her own way, on her own (much like her mother did once upon a time). (Insert comment about her behavior in the new season here.)
However, let’s be real. Jess is the best! I truly believe, all things being equal, that they would have the most compatibility in the present day. However, from a more realistic perspective, at this point Rory probably would’ve found someone completely different and more suitable for her (the new season notwithstanding).
As much as I hate to admit it, Rory was totally defined by her beaus in the first seven seasons of the show (and much of the new season – sorry, I know I said I wasn’t going to talk about it!). I wish she would’ve had some more independent moments in the series – but then again, isn’t it fun to have something to talk about?
Whittaker's Wondrous World 