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Gilmore Girls may have focused intently on Lorelai Gilmore and her daughter Rory Gilmore, but several secondary characters emerged as fan favorites. Sookie St. James, the quirky chef at the Independence Inn and, later, Lorelai’s business partner, was a favorite character for many. Her upbeat, peculiar nature endeared her to fans, but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t flawed. Some fans even think that Sookie might have been overrated. 

Sookie was flighty, clumsy, and needy 

Sookie had a big heart and seemed to enjoy being directly involved in Lorelai and Rory’s lives. She was deeply connected to both and was a lot like family when all was said and done. Sookie was probably a fantastic friend, but working with her in a professional capacity must have been an absolute nightmare.  

Melissa McCarthy in promotional material for the Groundlings
Melissa McCarthy | Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

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Reddit users point out that Sookie was incredibly flighty, ridiculously clumsy, and needy when it came to business. Most agree that it would drive them crazy. In fact, these flaws, along with her over-the-top naivety, is the prime reason she may have been a highly overrated character. 

Sookie was kind of rude and pushy 

Sookie may have been mostly jovial and good-natured, but there were several moments in the show’s seven-season run when she was pushy, rude, and demanding. Strangely enough, her harsh and intrusive side seemed to shine whenever she was around Luke Danes

Whether she was kicking him out of his diner to take over the kitchen, or judging his food when he filled in for her at the Dragonfly Inn, Sookie thought she was better than Luke. She also wasn’t afraid to tell him. Sookie was rude to Norman Mailer when he started dining at the Dragonfly Inn, and she was pushy and disrespectful to a food critic who didn’t rave her risotto. 

Sookie St. James didn’t pull her weight when opening the Dragonfly Inn 

Sookie was also pretty much useless when it came to opening the Dragonfly Inn. Not only did she leave Lorelai to handle the finances and make pretty much every decision, but she didn’t even show up the one time she was asked to make herself available. When Lorelai confronted her about it, she made it sound like she had no plans on helping get the business up and running. She just wanted to swoop in and deal with the food once Lorelai did everything else. It was unfair to put all that on Lorelai. ‘

Michel Gerard sitting in the dining room of The Dragonfly Inn
Michel Gerard in ‘Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life’ | Netflix
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We loved Sookie anyway, though. For all of her flaws, Sookie was still one of the best characters on the show. She helped balance out Michel Gerard’s cynicism and the manic energy of Lorelai in the perfect way. It’s safe to say, even though she didn’t exactly help get the business off the ground, the Dragonfly would have been an absolute failure without her. So, was Sookie overrated? Perhaps a little bit. Was her presence on the show necessary to make it successful? Absolutely.