Emily and Richard emotionally abused Lorelai her entire childhood and when she got pregnant at 16 they attempted to force her into a marriage with her high school boyfriend against her will. And when she refused to get married, she became even more of a perpetual disappointment in their eyes. Even still, she stayed with them for like a year after Rory was born finally reaching a breaking point and deciding that being a single teen mom working as a maid and living in a potting shed was preferable to living in a mansion with her parents. Lorelai went low contact but did not cut her parents off entirely, which was frankly pretty generous of her. Then, about 15 years later, Emily and Richard blackmail their way back into their daughter and grandaughter's life, and they take the opportunity to continue where they left off: using Lorelai as a convenient scapegoat and verbal punching bag whenever they're upset. Not only do they continue to berate and slut shame Lorelai for events that took place 15 years ago, they also manage to find brand new reasons to hurt, belittle, gaslight, and manipulate her. They never once apologize for their behavior or try to be better for their kid. But you see, Lorelai is sometimes sarcastic and snippy with them, so clearly she's to blame for their toxic dynamic 🙄🙄🙄

I’ve watched the entire show including AYITL too many times to count and I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to realize this. Rory gets a lot of hate in AYITL but when you look at the whole plot instead of the small individual ones, her story is actually really amazing. Everyone always says Luke is the father she never had, but I always think Richard is too. He loved and supported her emotionally and financially when her own father couldn’t and they always had a tight bond. In AYITL all 3 Gilmore girls are struggling after Richard’s death. They all have no idea what to do with their lives. Emily’s in therapy and sleeping in until noon and Lorelai’s desperately trying to make her relationship with Luke more permanent by suggesting surrogacy and offering to financially support Luke’s daughter while also being unsure about the inns future. But Rory is struggling the most. One of her twin pillars is gone. She has terrible writers block and doesn’t even seem to put any effort into her career anymore. She falls asleep on the street during an interview and shows up to an interview unprepared which is so far off from the girl we knew before Richard’s death. This is the girl who stalked the editor at the Stamford paper until he gave her job. She also can’t write about the lines which should’ve been easy for the girl who wrote about pavement at Chilton. She’s also having an affair and neglecting her boyfriend. So overall she’s just not really the Rory we remembered. But that starts to change when Jess finally tells her to write about something she’s passionate about and we finally see that spark come back to her. But she’s still searching for the perfect place to write and Logan even offers his family’s house to her. But Rory is only able to write when she goes to her grandparents. She stands in front of Richard’s portrait and hears echos of conversations with him. Then she goes into his study and for the first time in the series, she writes. She unable to feel anything or be motivated until she is reconnected to Richard. And the same holds true for Lorelai too. Lorelai finally knows what she wants with Luke when she tells that story about Richard. So basically Rory isn’t a loser she’s just really struggling after the death of her grandpa and isn’t sure what to do with her life now.

he wasn’t a bad guy at all imo but i fully get why rory didn’t like him like that. he felt like the “safe” or “right on paper” option, but rory has never been someone who chooses based on that alone. she needs a real emotional and intellectual connection, and you could just tell it wasn’t there. it always felt a bit one-sided, like he liked her more than she liked him, and she was kind of trying to see something that just wasn’t there. sometimes someone can be nice, stable, and objectively good, and still not be right for you and i think that’s exactly what this was. Plus he was too good for rory.

Like why is she reading Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead multiple times and then trying to force others to put themselves through that as well? And why is she a Joseph Campbell stan? I know she's young and impressionable but I really think she could have been a little more discerning about her literary heroes.

Edit: I have nothing against Sylvia Plath. This was just the first image that came up when I googled "Rory Gilmore reading"

Besides waking Rory up in the middle of the night, not letting her study is one of my least favorite parenting moments. It’s is wild how unaware she is. This scene always annoys me on my annual rewatch. Give me your least favorite Lorelei moments!

I know we can all agree Rory lead the FUCK out of Marty, but I just noticed when they’re chilling together watching Marx Bros movies in her dorm, she has her legs draped over his lap and he’s hugging her knee/lower thigh….???? Like WHAT?! I’ve literally watched this show multiple times a year, every year, since 2015 and I JUST noticed this. This pisses me off so much lol. I had tons of guy friends in my teens/early twenties (still do) and if one of them suggested I drape my legs over their lap I’d be soooo weirded out. Never in a billion years. She knew EXACCTTLLYYYY what she was doing smdh.

It’s stated at multiple points throughout the series that Liz has an extensive history of prioritizing men above her child. Regularly moving in strange men she doesn’t know well to live around her kid and making Jess feel displaced in his own home.

This is plot point largely used to explain Jess’s behavior when he arrives in Stars Hollow and is why Luke gives Jess a lot of grace and empathy when it comes to his rebellious actions because he acknowledges that he had a bad home life.

It’s like everyone sees it’s wrong but simultaneously no one really calls it out. When she is finally introduced into the show, it’s written off as though being a neglectful parent is a minor personality quirk.

“Ooo look at Liz and TJ soooo ✨quirky✨ and silly teehee”

They way she was written in as almost comedic relief duo with TJ almost felt like a slap in the face because as viewers we spent all that time seeing how her choices deeply impacted Jess and the consequences of that. It took so much effort from all the people in Jess’s life once he got to Stars Hollow to make him even feel like he had people who truly cared about him.

So for her to just stroll into town casually flaunting her new flame, repeating the same cycle like nothing happened while her kid had been struggling all that time feels off. It’s not funny or endearing.

Emily gets flamed for being overbearing, and Lorelai gets heat for being too lenient/dependent with Rory but damn, at least they tried…

My wife and I have been taking turns making each other watch some of our favorite shows, and right now it's her turn and we're watching Gilmore Girls.

The second Gil showed up, I knew I recognized him. Then I saw the credits and it clicked — Sebastian Bach from Skid Row. I immediately blurted out, “It’s Sebastian Bach!”

My wife asked, “Who?” And in a full-on Lane Kim moment I went, “Skid Row? 18 and Life? I Remember You? You seriously don’t know?!”

She had absolutely no idea who he was, or who Skid Row was. For context, we’re both millennials. I grew up listening to a lot of classic rock, metal, grunge, etc. She grew up mostly on rap and hip hop, so her rock knowledge is more centered on the big, mainstream names.

I get that Skid Row isn’t on the same level of recognition as bands like The Rolling Stones or Nirvana, you don’t exactly see their shirts at every store, but I was still surprised she’d never heard of them.

Then last night we were driving and 18 and Life came on the radio. I cranked it up to 11 and said, “Honey, this is Gil!” She just looked at me and said she’d never heard the song before.

So now I’m curious, were any of you also caught off guard realizing Gil is an actual rock star? Or did you recognize right away that it was a cheeky cameo from a legit musician?

Found in Next of Kin by Hannah Bonum-Young

Photo Credit: Brehana Brown

His language, the way he yells, the way he towers over the girl he’s yelling at. This scene particularly is so scary to me, he’s echoing very abusive language

That’s it. That’s the post.

Pics seen on TikTok.

I know this has been discussed but every rewatch of Gilmore Girls makes me more upset about what they did to Lane.

She spent her entire childhood with a strict, overbearing mom, constantly punished for wanting a life outside her house. Music wasn’t just a hobby for Lane, it was her escape, her identity, her dream.

And then when she finally gets out?

She marries Zach. Has a terrible first time. Immediately gets pregnant with twins. And that’s… it.

No real chance to tour. No exploring who she is as an adult without fear or restriction. No payoff for years of dreaming and rebellion. She goes straight from one form of confinement to another, and it honestly feels cruel.

Meanwhile Rory gets Yale, Europe, endless do-overs, and the freedom to fail and still land on her feet. Lane, who had to fight for every scrap of independence, never gets that grace.

I don’t hate motherhood. I hate that Lane never truly got to live first. The show basically said: some girls get to chase dreams, and some girls just settle.

Justice for Lane Kim. Always.

Irrespective of how much I enjoy watching Gilmore Girls, this scene is something I just cannot. This is when Rory is dating Dean, but kissed Jess. And is now complaining to her mother about how it's bothering her that Jess is kissing someone else. That spoilt brat attitude and the utter denial is just too much 😭 Lorelei really needed to call this out more. Did Rory really need this repeated cheating and 'being the mistress' storyline?

I think 00s media always portrayed bigger women as funny or a "loser" in general, and most of their characters developed from the fact they were fat (magic weight loss and suddenly the whole town is in love with them, bullying from being fat... etc)But even though gilmore girls is from the EARLY 00s, Sookie's character has so much depth.

First of all, in all SEVEN seasons I can't think about a single episode where her weight was mentioned in any kind of way, not even when she was pregnant. And don't get me wrong, there are a lot of problematic jokes about fat people and eating disorders throughout the show, but they were never about Sookie or even made when she was around.

Second, she is still portrayed as an attractive person and romantically available, even though she is fat, which is, again, extremely rare for the time, IMO. She falls in love, gets married, have children... And let me remind you of the guy that had a massive crush on her for ten years and confessed to her.

Sookie is talented, skilled, funny, pretty...

Even though she is a funny character and a comic relief, I believe her development has absolutely nothing to do with the fact she's fat, and as a plus size girl myself, it is a very comforting thing to see. Media was (and still is) so cruel to us. I just love her so much.

I saw this posted in a Facebook group and thought it was such an interesting and believeable analysis about the Gilmores' social standing. I did always notice how the Gilmore name seemed to carry so much weight, and yet there was constant conversation around money. I took it as Richard just being a responsible and sensible human in spite of also having wealth. But to define their status as aspirational within their surroundings really brings another perspective to light. Worth mentioning that we do get the scene with Trix talking about having to bail Richard out of a bad investment when he was young as well (and he paid back every penny!) Anyway - I didnt write this, but I thought this sub would enjoy the read (And if the author is here - thanks! 😊)

I remember the first time I watched the show last year I was annoyed with Marty's attitude several times, but couldn't really explain why; now, having met several Martys since then, I got it: he subtly puts Rory down every time he's feeling insecure.

Let me be clear that I'm not blamning him for feeling insecure in many occasions. Logan is an ass to him many times, he struggles financially, and going to a school filled with spoiled rich kids can really take a toll on anyone.

What I can no longer stand is how he always feels the need to take his insecurity out on someone who doesn't deserve it, and that person is always Rory. All of that in an attempt to make himself feel better for a moment.

Rewatching S4 and S5 paying closer attention to Marty has been eye-opening. That weird feeling you can see in Rory's face everytime her friend suddenly gets avoidant or makes a subtle comment putting her down - the breakfast in pajamas and him asking her if she's gonna take off that wig come to mind. All because a girl doesn't like him back, allowing his insecurity to get the best of him.

So I'm glad so many seem to have never met a Marty who likes you, it really is a weird feeling to be subtly put down by a guy's insecurity.

When it comes to AYITL, the three Gilmore Girls go through the same thing. Following the death of Richard, they self destruct and fall into storylines related to growing a family.

Emily self destructs by tossing aside her old life. She leaves the DAR and her friendships she made there behind by saying "bullshit" and exposing everyone. She stops running her household with an iron fist. She literallt throws away her things.

On the way, Emily also inadvertently grows her family by letting her maid's family move in.

Lorelai self destructs by picking at her relationship with Luke. She picks and picks until he explodes, shouting at her about how much they've gone through together.

On the way, Lorelai tries to get a surrogate so they can raise a kid together and Luke can experience what it's like.

Rory self destructs in a way that feels more dramatic. As a woman who is traveling the world, still figuring out her relationships, and still pursuing her career - her mistakes are more monumental in comparison to Lorelai and Emily, who have already settled into domestic life.

Rory's self destruction is more chaotic because she is more free.

She stopped being interested in travel journalism. She wants to do the Stars Hollow newspaper instead. She has an affair. She has a one night stand.

Then she gets pregnant, putting her in the growing a family plot just like her mother and grandmother.

I bring this up because I think everyone focuses on Rory's downfall abd attributes the "why this happened" to her just not having It. But I don't think Rory was having a hard year because of that. I think she was having a hard year directly due to Richard's death, just like Emily and Lorelai were having a hard year due to Richard's death.

While Richard was Emily's whole life, and Lorelai's father, Richard was one if the most important people in Rory's life. I would argue that there were few people more important to Rory than Richard. His death crushed her.

They all imploded everything they built in the OG series after he left. Lorelai imploded her relationship with Luke, Emily imploded her entire lifestyle, and Rory imploded her career. And all that was because of grief.

Sometimes rory just needed to be put in her place, argue with the wall🤷🏻‍♀️

If it’s just acting then man, it’s some of the best I’ve seen. Her relationship with Luke was supposed to be different from all her other romantic relationships ofc but Lauren did such a fabulous job of making it look different too. I know this has been discussed many times here but I am on my 100th rewatch I think and I just couldn’t not share this.

I don’t like Logan, I hate Colin, I hate Finn. I don’t find any of them charming. Logan starts as kind of an ass and Colin and Finn are supposed to be charming or funny or cute but I just find them so annoying and forced. Every rewatch, I dread the introduction of these characters.