Ranking
Rory Gilmore’s 11 Worst Moments on ‘Gilmore Girls’
Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel) is probably one of the most controversial characters to ever appear on TV. No, she didn’t kill anyone, nor did she commit a serious felony. She was just annoying at times. Never owning up to her privilege, Rory thought the world belonged to her.
One of the main figures on Gilmore Girls alongside mom, Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham), we saw the picturesque universe through the quirky, fast-talking ladies. Over the last two decades, people’s opinions of them have shifted — and not always in a good way.
I am the first to admit that Rory still has a soft spot in my heart. I mean, I wanted to become a journalist just to be like her, so I am not exactly the leader of her hate club. But even I need to reckon with some of her questionable actions.
Scroll down below and look back on some of her worst moments throughout the show’s seven seasons and the revival.
11. Rory misses Lorelai’s graduation.
Missing her own mother’s business school graduation might seem like a terrible offense — and yes, it is — but we, as a collective, need to cut Rory some slack.
She was just a kid in love, and it seemed like she truly did feel sorry. The plan-obsessed Rory threw everything overboard when she skipped school for the first time to visit Jess Mariano (Milo Ventimiglia) in New York. Hopping off the bus in the morning, she surprised him in Washington Square Park, ate a hot dog, and bought a present for her mom.
After saying goodbye to Jess, Rory assumed she would make it in time to see her mom get her diploma. That didn’t happen. Instead, she was stuck on the bus with some questionable characters, and when she finally got off, Rory forgot the vinyl she bought. She felt incredibly guilty, but it can’t erase the fact that she missed an important moment in her mother’s life. And let’s not forget: Lorelai was always there for Rory.
10. She strings Dean along when she's in love with Jess.
In the early seasons, Rory was a little selfish, but she wasn’t a complete lost cause yet. This was one of those instances. Not being able to come to terms with the fact that she was in love with Jess, Rory hurt first boyfriend Dean Forester (Jared Padalecki) in the process. She constantly reassured him that she was not into Jess, but it eventually became so apparent that even Dean couldn’t escape the truth anymore.
The start of this entire saga began at the Bracebridge dinner. After that, it never truly died down. She could’ve been more upfront with Dean. Toward the end of her flirtatious antics with Jess, she even kisses him, which makes this the start of Rory’s questionable morals when it comes to affairs and cheating.
9. She joins the DAR.
Completely lost in her life, Rory joined the DAR aka The Daughters of the American Revolution. As she worked alongside her grandmother, Emily Gilmore (Kelly Bishop), Rory strayed from all of her aspirations. She became the opposite of her mom, Lorelai. Rory wasn’t in a good place during this time, so we have to give Rory some grace. But what were you thinking, girl?!
8. She steals a yacht.
Mitchum Huntzberger (Gregg Henry) giving Rory his blunt feedback might have showcased a lack of empathy on his end, but it also displayed some character flaws on Rory’s end. Not being able to take the critique, Rory tried to sway Mitchum’s opinion. When that didn’t work, she spun out of control.
Sure, it sucks to hear that you’re not competent for your dream job, but spend the night crying about it and move on with your life. Why wouldn’t she just have tried to prove him wrong?
Instead, her next plan of attack was to go steal a yacht. Yes, Rory Gilmore stole a yacht. A really mature way of handling it, right? Not exactly. However, at this point, Rory finally started to realize the privilege that had been bestowed upon her by being born into the Gilmore family — and she decided to abuse it.
7. She screws over Paris.
Was Paris Geller (Liza Weil) perfect? Far from it. But she was a good friend to Rory. Okay, not when the younger Gilmore first arrived at Chilton, but Paris evolved.
Rory, on the other hand, became a worse friend. She was embarrassed being associated with Paris and tried everything in her power to make sure that everyone knew that she was not like her.
So, when everyone tried to oust her as editor-in-chief at the Yale Daily News, Rory didn’t try to stop them. Instead, she took the role that was given to Paris. This was just one of the ways Rory wasn’t as good a friend to Paris as Paris was to Rory.
(However, we must mention that Paris wasn’t the easiest to be around, and she was a terrible editor-in-chief.)
6. She's unnecessarily mean.
Rory was trying to find her footing as a budding journalist during her early Yale days, and she sadly made some mishaps. Trust me, I know that finding your footing as a writer can be hard. But why did she feel the need to tear someone else down?
There were so many ways to critique a piece of art without using body-shaming tactics. Sure, not liking someone’s work will always feel like a personal attack, yet Rory actually allowed an inexcusable comment to appear in the school’s newspaper. Can you imagine the humiliation the girl she targeted must have felt? Shame on you, Rory.
4. She thinks everyone should do what she wants.
You might ask why this tiny instance ranked so high on this list… but it makes sense, I promise. Rory demanding to be able to study at a tree on the Yale property just because it was too hard for her to study at her dorm or at home was just ludicrous.
Her fellow student, who was reading a magazine there also agreed and didn’t give up his spot. To Rory’s defense, she did just walk away but not before a diatribe about why she desperately needed that tree.
This scene illuminated Rory’s blatant entitlement issues. Growing up being praised by not only her mom and her grandparents but also the entire town of Stars Hollow, Rory had the most only child energy.
The tree incident showed that Rory never heard the word “no,” and this episode allowed the viewer to unearth a core Rory truth: She was a brat.
3. She's a bad friend to Lane.
This episode didn’t include the worst offense Rory pulled toward her best friend, but it was the first one that was shown in the series.
Lane Kim (Keiko Agena) was always there to help Rory out, but Rory didn’t always reciprocate. When the aspiring journalist was in the midst of her first love, she completely forgot about Lane.
Lane, in turn, had to go to Lorelai to help her out with her boy problems. This dynamic persisted over many seasons with Rory only becoming a worse friend the more time went by.
3. Rory turns down Logan's proposal only to have an affair with him.
Unfortunately, Logan (Matt Czuchry) and Rory’s affair in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life wasn’t Rory’s first rodeo with such a tryst. But let’s back things up. Remember when Logan proposed to Rory, and she turned him down at the end of Gilmore Girls? Same.
When Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life picked up, Rory was having an affair(!) with Logan, who was engaged to a French heiress. Rory also had a boyfriend! Poor Paul!
Rory’s actions in the revival proved she ultimately just wants what she can’t have. First, it was Jess, then Dean, then Logan. No one can ever say Rory is a girl’s girl.
2. She drops out of Yale.
The battle of the Lorelais began right after Rory made a drastic decision. After hearing that she didn’t have what it took to become a successful journalist from Logan’s dad, Rory spiraled and decided to drop out of Yale.
This was very much to Lorelai’s dismay, who argued with her daughter about such a drastic decision that could change her whole life. Rory was unable to face her mother’s disappointment and ran straight to her grandparents. This causeed a massive rift between the once tight mother-daughter duo.
Not only did this completely go against everything early Rory stood for, it also disrupted her endearing relationship with her mom. Lorelai worked so hard to give Rory everything she needed, and Rory failed her because she couldn’t take criticism. Team Lorelai.
1. She has an affair with Dean.
Okay, you saw this one coming, didn’t you? Having an affair with a married man is about as bad as it gets. Sure, Dean was at fault as well, but this is a list of Rory’s worst moments.
After feeling lost and lonely at Yale, Dean was Rory’s comfort person, and she refused to think about his wife Lindsay’s feelings. Rory knew she still had Dean wrapped around her finger, so she slept with him and broke up his marriage.
Rory refused to even take accountability for her actions after Lorelai discovered what her daughter had done. “He’s not a married guy. He’s Dean. My Dean,” Rory said, which made the jaws of every fan drop. Rory went off about Lindsay (Arielle Kebbel), and Lorelai quickly brought her back down to reality, “You can’t be one of those girls who blames the wife for cheating.” Rory was mostly harmless and just annoying up to this point, but this move brought out her blatant narcissism.
