‘Gilmore Girls’: Do You Remember the Creepiest Character in the Shows Seven-Season Run?

Gilmore Girls was all about Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, but some would argue that the secondary characters helped make the show special. While most of the secondary characters were harmless and fun, like the residents of Stars Hollow, not every one of them was a hit. There is one character who appeared intermittently in the show during season 4 and season 5 whose persona certainly didn’t age well at all.  

Who was Glenn Babble?

Glenn Babble was introduced to Gilmore Girls fans in season 4 as one of Rory’s classmates at Yale. He also wrote for the paper, The Yale Daily News. Glenn was immediately characterized as angry, strange, and a bit of an outcast. Instead of coming across as goofy and hapless, like Rory’s friend Marty, Glenn’s character was incredibly dark instead.

He appeared in 12 episodes, beginning in season 4, and then quickly disappeared. His last appearance came in the season 5 episode, “Jews and Chinese Food.” While the writers never addressed his sudden departure, it seems entirely plausible that Glenn was booted from Yale for being a giant creep.

Glenn’s girlfriend may or may not have been underage

Glenn was depicted as a pretty weird guy through the entirety of Rory’s freshman year at Yale, but fans have taken issue with a seemingly benign scene at the end of season 4. As Rory was packing up to leave Yale for the summer, she ran into Glenn, who told her he was getting back together with his high school sweetheart. Unprompted, he showed Rory a picture of his love. When Rory commented on the age of the girl in the picture, Glenn got angry. 

Glenn insisted the picture he showed Rory was old and that his girlfriend could “drive and everything,” but he never mentioned exactly how old she was. Her ability to operate a vehicle doesn’t mean she was old enough to be in a relationship with a college student. Glenn mentioned his hometown girlfriend at the end of his freshman year at Yale. That means Glenn was 19 or 20 at the time. He never said what state he was from, but some states allow teens to start driving at 14. That means Glenn’s girlfriend could have been as much as six years younger than him.

Glenn was a peeping time who threatened mass violence on more than one occasion during his time in Gilmore Girls

Glenn’s potentially underage age girlfriend was, surprisingly, not the biggest issue with the character. During his time on the show, Glenn appeared to threaten mass violence at least once. He also outed himself as a stalker at least once. In one episode, Glenn muttered to himself that “everyone” was going to pay. Reddit users argue that his behavior would have been concerning if Gilmore Girls had been a darker show, but to be fair, it’s pretty concerning even considering the show’s light nature.

Glenn also stalked a fellow student. In another episode, he asked out one of his classmates, and when she tried to turn him down gently, he gave her a rundown of everything she typically did on a weekend evening. When she was visibly disturbed, he suggested that she should close her blinds if she didn’t want to be watched. Perhaps Amy Sherman-Palladino intended Glenn to be a quirky caricature. Now, 20 years after the series aired its pilot episode, the character doesn’t hit as quirky. He is perceived as creepy and a threat to the well being of others.