‘Gilmore Girls’: Was Kirk Gleason Planted In Stars Hollow as a Spy?
Kirk Gleason began appearing in Gilmore Girls in the show’s very first season, but the actor who portrayed Kirk actually showed up in one of the show’s second episodes. Instead of Kirk, though, he appeared as a DSL installation technician named Mick. While Amy Sherman-Palladino has mentioned that the character of Kirk was explicitly crafted for Gunn, fans have a pretty wild theory about Kirk that would completely alter the show’s entire premise.
A Reddit user theorized that Kirk was hired by Richard and Emily to spy on Lorelai Gilmore
A Reddit user shared an intricate fan theory in which the entire town of Stars Hollow was hired by Richard and Emily Gilmore to keep tabs on Lorelai after she left home. While the notion that the Gilmores employed a whole city for more than 20 years seems a bit far fetched, the idea of the pair hiring one person to keep them abreast of the goings-on in Lorelai’s life doesn’t sound too outrageous. That one person would have been Kirk. The same Redditor shared the alternate, less shocking theory, as well.
If you think about it carefully, it doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility. Emily, who was desperate to find out more about her daughter’s life, had an endless supply of cash. Paying Kirk would likely seem like a small price to pay to have all of the information she could ever need about Lorelai and Rory.
The theory does clear up some inconsistencies about Kirk
Kirk’s origin story is a little complicated. First, it’s suggested that he met Miss Patty while working at Doose’s market. Later, it’s revealed that Kirk was one of Miss Patty’s star pupils when he was a kid. Sure, it’s probably just a plot hole, but isn’t it more fun to think that, perhaps, Kirk grew up in Stars Hollow, left the town, and then came back to keep an eye on Lorelai? Another Reddit user suggests that, perhaps, Kirk’s goofy antics were all part of a persona he created to go undetected by Lorelai and Rory.
Kirk’s access to cash could also hint at a relationship with the Gilmores. Kirk managed to save enough money to buy the Twickham house out from under Luke Danes. Kirk later explained that he saved all of the money he ever made from his jobs in town. While it’s true that Kirk had countless jobs during his time in Stars Hollow, none seemed to last particularly long. Even as an early adopter of a gig economy, Kirk would be hardpressed to collect nearly a quarter of a million dollars. Unless, of course, he had a steady paycheck coming in from an alternative source, like from the Gilmores.
The theory also explains how Emily had insight into Lorelai’s life
The theory doesn’t just neatly clear up some issues with Kirk. It also explains a couple of inconsistencies about Emily, too. Namely, the fact that she knew things about Lorelai that Lorelai herself wouldn’t have told her. For example, Emily found out that Lorelai was dating Luke because Kirk told her, although she claimed there was some sort of crossed phone wire situation.
Let’s be honest, Emily’s explanation for how she ended up speaking to Kirk seemed a little convoluted. First, she claims she had called the inn and talked to Michel, who was yelling at a veterinarian. Then, out of nowhere, Kirk somehow intercepted the line. It seems more likely that Kirk gave Emily the information as part of a deal, and she slipped up when speaking to Lorelai. There were other instances of it happening, too.
