‘Gilmore Girls’: A Timeline of Rory Gilmore’s Fall from Grace
When Gilmore Girls premiered in 2000, most fans agreed that Rory Gilmore seemed pretty much perfect. After multiple rewatches, many fans argue that Rory is the opposite of perfect and, in many ways, is completely unlikeable as a character. It’s not that she wasn’t portrayed as infallible early on. Rather, her character development took her down a different path. So, when exactly did the pristine exterior begin to crumble?
Rory’s downfall started in season 2 of Gilmore Girls
While many fans think Rory started to show her true colors in later seasons of the show, if you look closely, clues that she was inherently selfish and immature began to show as early as season 2. The arrival of Jess Mariano in Stars Hollow seemed to be a bit of a catalyst. Before Jess arrived in town, Rory was happily involved with Dean Forrester, her high school boyfriend. Her interest in Jess threw that relationship into flux, though.
Her interest in Jess wasn’t what made her appear selfish. Things like that happen. The way she handled it, however, proved she was pretty awful. Instead of ending her relationship with Dean, she strung him along for months before he was finally forced to end things when it became too obvious that she was into Jess and everyone in town knew it.
By season 4 it was obvious that Rory was incredibly selfish and immature
Season 4 proved that Rory was not only selfish but emotionally immature, too. When Dean married Lindsay Lister, Rory was dismayed. Suddenly, she wanted her ex back, and eventually, she got him. The pair slept together, while Dean was still married, as season 4 was ending. Rory’s response to Lorelai when she called her on her bad behavior was the moment that most fans realized that Rory was completely out of touch with reality.
Lorelai, troubled by the turn of events, pointed out that Dean was married to someone else. Rory’s response – he was her boyfriend first – proved that she lived in a state of arrested development. Rory didn’t seem to learn much from the experience, either. She took off to Europe to avoid the problem and then dated Dean after his marriage imploded.
Season 7 proved she was indecisive and entitled
Throughout season 5 and season 6, Rory had moments when it was clear she couldn’t handle criticism of any kind. Still, season 7 hammered home the point that she was also entitled. Rory’s assumption that she was a shoo-in for a prestigious internship was certainly problematic, as was her assessment of Logan’s business partners and friends.
Her inability to decide if she wanted to take a job, her refusal of Logan Huntzberger’s proposal, and her treatment of her friends also proved troubling to many fans. While showrunner, Amy Sherman-Palladino, preferred to behave as if season 7 didn’t happen when she penned the revival, for fans, it’s hard to forget the show’s final 22 episodes.
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life made Rory utterly unlikeable
If fans weren’t a fan of Rory when Gilmore Girls ended, her characterization in the Netflix revival, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, didn’t redeem her any. When fans reconnected with Rory and Lorelai, nine years after the show’s finale, things weren’t good. Rory didn’t have a steady job, she was treating her boyfriend poorly, and was, once again, wrapped up in an affair with a married man.
Rory acted just as selfish, just as entitled, and just as indecisive as she had when she was only 22 years old. Fans had hoped to see Rory grow and blossom into an awesome adult. What they found was an even messier and scattered Rory. Time didn’t mature her. Instead, it managed to highlight the very worst qualities she possessed.
