‘Gilmore Girls’: Zack Was Exactly Like a Guy Lane Kim Rejected
Gilmore Girls fans were largely disappointed in Lane Kim’s final storyline. The rebellious teen married young, gave up her rockstar dreams, and had twins. Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life did very little to advance Lane’s storyline. Her husband, Zack Van Gerbig, took the brunt of the blame for Lane’s lackluster life. Many Gilmore Girls fans dislike Zack, and there is a reason for that. He was an awful lot like someone Lane rejected early on in the series.
Zack Van Gerbig is among the most disliked ‘Gilmore Girls’ love interests
Many Gilmore Girls fans have strong feelings about the love interests of their favorite ladies. Lorelai Gilmore and Rory Gilmore’s love lives are the most discussed, but Lane Kim’s relationships are a close third.
Lane ends up marrying Zack Van Gerbig, much to the dismay of many fans. Zack is almost universally disliked, just as Christopher Hayden is almost universally hated. There isn’t much to love about Zack, but why is he so despised?
Zack was just like Lane Kim’s season 1 love interest, Todd
All of the Zack hate seems to have little to do with Zack and more to do with what he represents. In short, Zack represents Lane settling for a lot less than Gilmore Girls fans think she deserves. Zack is like a guy that Lane rejected in season 1 of the series.
In the season 1 episode, “Double Date,” Lane tells Rory Gilmore that she has a crush on Dean Forrester’s friend, Todd. She asks Rory to set them up, and Rory dutifully does. After an outing to the movies, Lane realizes that Todd is dull and has no future aspirations. He calls her house repeatedly until Lane blows him off by pretending to be Mrs. Kim. Zack and Todd have the same vacant stare, the same lack of motivation, and the same seemingly dim personality. Lane Kim knew she deserved better as a teen, so why did she settle for Zack as a young adult? The question likely will never be answered.
Who did Lane Kim belong with?
Lane didn’t do a ton of dating during Gilmore Girls’ seven seasons. Still, she had a few boyfriends, and at least two were viable options. After Todd, Lane was interested in Henry Cho, Rory’s Chilton classmate. The pair liked each other but never got to date because Lane was too afraid to tell Mrs. Kim about him.
After Henry ended their phone-only romance, Lane fell for Dave Rygalski. Lane and Dave dated until he left Stars Hollow to go to college. Their breakup was never actually mentioned, but Lane ended up with Zack before long. They never spoke of Dave again, but Gilmore Girls fans largely agree that Dave was the right guy for Lane.
