With the weather down to a brisk 95 F, Starbucks releasing its fall-flavored drinks and impending hurricane landfall, it’s officially the great season of Fall!
When I think about this lovely time of year, football, caramel apples, leaf piles and Uggs come to mind. On top of all those amazing things, a specific television show takes the cake – Gilmore Girls.
If you haven’t seen this iconic masterpiece, you’re missing out. But for those of you who have, you know about the hot debate it sparks.
Who was Rory Gilmore’s best boyfriend?
As Rory would do it, we’ll start chronologically with Dean Forester. Dean was the perfect first boyfriend for Rory, but that’s where the perfect ended. The two met during high school and they were each other’s first for everything. Rory was the stereotypical bookworm with clever humor, and Dean was the cute athlete with a secret. He was smart (gasp) and wanted someone to understand him.
This immediately sucked viewers into believing they were a great match. Later on in their relationship, the two were growing into their personalities, and they did not mesh. Dean was always proud of Rory, but never truly challenged her. He supported, but never genuinely. Rory was on a mission, she was going to be a professional journalist and had her whole life planned out. While she was planning for a dominating future, Dean was planning for a stay-at-home wife who would be content growing old in Stars Hollow.
The two quickly started butting heads and the relationship went downhill. The last straw for the couple was Dean having a few too many drinks and being late for a special day for Rory. Although this was a sad ending at the time, fans soon celebrated when a new prospect came into town, Jess Mariano.
Jess was the heartthrob, the bad boy that fans wanted for Rory. This relationship was a classic enemies-to-lovers situation. The two hated each other when Jess came to town, yet somehow couldn’t stay away. With Jess being a troubled teen and having a passion for reading, he was the perfect boy for Rory at the time. After they got over the enemy’s part, the two quickly started to jive. In the best way possible, they pushed each other. They never let the other settle, and somehow managed to perfectly annoy one another daily.
I was obsessed with these two until things took a turn for the worse. Towards the end of their relationship, Jess left town to go be with his father. This crushed Rory and honestly crushed me. Although Jess hurt her, he showed up again in later seasons attempting to rekindle what he and Rory had. We all remember the iconic line, “WhY dId YoU dRoP oUt Of YaLe?”
This showed that Jess still cared about Rory and that he wanted her to succeed. Although Rory still loved Jess, she was in a new relationship.
Logan Hunzberger – my personal favorite. Rory and Logan met at Yale while she was researching the secret club he was a part of. From the first time they met, there was a spark that fans couldn’t ignore. My favorite part about their relationship is that Logan is very practical with Rory. Towards the end of the show, Rory seemed to forget that she was a privileged girl and her life was very much influenced by the fact that her family was rich. Logan, also coming from a wealthy family, did not let Rory play the innocent card. When Rory acted up, Logan reminded her that she did have it easy and that she was acting childish. I loved him for that, he lifted her up but also did not let her pin herself as the victim.
It was clear that these two had a promising future together after years of love at Yale, that was until Rory threw it away. To this day, I am still upset over the proposal scene between the two. When Logan got down on one knee after Rory graduated from Yale, I was ecstatic. Rory on the other hand, said no. She claimed at the time that it was too soon and that she didn’t want what Logan wanted for her. I think this was one of her biggest downfalls because she was the only person who didn’t see Logan wanted the world for her.
Whether you have a favorite boyfriend for Rory or not, I think we can all agree she made some questionable choices when it came to her love life. At the end of it all, I still believe that Dean was a great first boyfriend, Jess was amazing but not the one, and Logan was the perfect match for her in the end.
