Lorelei Gilmore Broke My Heart

I used to believe Lorelei Gilmore was one of the most amazing characters to ever grace the likes of the small screen. She was beautiful, hardworking, funny, and loved coffee. In fact, one of my first blog posts was about her. Seriously, I was obsessed.

Fast forward a few years, and I’m going through the series for the 3rd time, and I’m realizing all that glitters is not gold.

Maybe it’s because I’m 30, or maybe it’s because I’ve started living life in the real world, but whatever it is I’m not as in love as I once was.

I now see Lorelei in quite a different light, and to me she comes across as a bit toxic, ungrateful, childish, and someone who blames her parents for problems she created.

One of the most glaring issues is her inability to have a healthy, adult romantic relationship.

Seriously, this woman cannot have a functional relationship, and it’s made worse by the fact she’s can’t let Rory’s dad go. She constantly berates him as immature and unreliable, but sleeps with him any chance she gets, becomes jealous when he settles down, and uses him as someone to blame when she ends up ruining her relationship with Luke.

Luke.

Speaking of freaking Luke. She is awful to him. Lorelei has put poor Luke in the friend zone, and uses him for everything from a shoulder to cry on to an investor in her inn. She knows he cares for her, she cares for him, but selfishly she refuses to allow the two of them to be together. It drives me insane.

I could spend an hour going on about her relationship woes, but I’m required to get into her issues with her parents.

So, girl comes from money. Girl can’t stand being under the oppressive thumb of her parents. Girl gets pregnant. Girl leaves home with baby at 16. Girl lives life on her own terms.

Classic story.

My issue with this is how she continues to treat her parents. Yes, maybe they made mistakes when she was younger, but over many season we see them truly try to rectify their mistakes and be there for their daughter and granddaughter. Lorelei immediately jumps to the worst conclusions whenever something happens, and she’s normally extremely rude when at the heart of it, her parents love her and just want to help! It’s infuriating and heartbreaking. I mean, maybe once a season she does something redeeming, but in general she continues to act like a spoiled brat.

In my mind Lorelei is everything she hates Emily Gilmore for being.

I love Gilmore Girls, and I’ll continue to rewatch until I die, but damn if Lorelei doesn’t piss me off. Taking responsibility for one’s actions is a cornerstone of adulthood, and she just hasn’t gotten there yet. Maybe I’m jaded and the next time I rewatch I won’t feel this way, but seeing a character I loved and admired in a different light hurts a little.

Growing up kind of sucks, but so does Lorelei.

Love,

Lilly