One is the Loneliest Number: Unpopular GG Opinions

[Guest]

16 hours ago, ghoulina said:

I didn't think Rory's reaction to the coupons, magazines, movie channels, etc was because she thought it was so bad that Lorelai was budgeting. I thought it was more about Lorelai hiding a potential problem from Rory. She was worried about the changes and why Lorelai hadn't said anything. I'm generally loathe to defend Rory, but that was the impression I got. 

I think Rory was concerned but she had acted appalled by coupon clipping in an earlier episode as well (Season 3 when Lorelai was talking about the $75,000 from Richard). 

[Katy M]

Not that this has anything to do with anything really, but I was just thinking.  I bet Emily would be horrified at coupon clipping, but Richard would think it would be good business sense.

[marineg]

The coupons and the magazines/movies channels were two different moments. Yes, she felt her mother was cutting back on some things when she was building the inn, by not going out so much, using less powerful light bulbs, not have some channels and magazines etc. The coupons were just a quick "joke".

Coupons were S04E07:
[Lorelai is sitting at the kitchen table clipping coupons. Rory walks out of her bedroom carrying a bag of laundry, and Lorelai hides the coupons.]
LORELAI: Morning.
RORY: Morning.
LORELAI: Hey, would you be horrified if I started clipping coupons again?
RORY: Yes.
LORELAI: Oh, well, then, I won't.
RORY: Wait, did you say again?
LORELAI: I meant ever.
RORY: When did you clip coupons before?
LORELAI: I didn't. I misspoke. Whoops.
RORY: Uh huh.
LORELAI: Hey, how is it that your dirty laundry has increased exponentially since you started Yale?
RORY: 'Cause I'm a dirty, filthy Yale girl now. [she grabs the page of coupons from the table]
LORELAI: I told you I'm not gonna clip them!
RORY: Then I don't see the problem.
LORELAI: Just for the Fig Newtons, please!

Movie channels and magazines were S04E12:
RORY: What happened to our movie channels?
LORELAI: What do you mean?
RORY: Well, I was flipping through cable and a bunch of our channels are gone.
LORELAI: Oh. Well, that's not right.
RORY: And you have bread.
LORELAI: [chuckles] There's a connection?
RORY: Are you skimping?
LORELAI: What?
RORY: Cutting back on things, cable, eating out, the bread, the cheese, the tomato
LORELAI: Okay, hey - if you're going to try me in a court of law, the bread, the tomato and I will need to hire a lawyer.
RORY: There's no takeout in the fridge, no takeout containers in the trash.
LORELAI: You're going through the trash?
RORY: And I'm not seeing the stacks of magazines lying around. We always subscribe to everything.
LORELAI: Yes, we do. I've read them all, they're in recycle bin - you can go check.
RORY: It even seems a little darker in here - like you're using a lower watt bulb, or something.
LORELAI: Oh my God, you're reading into everything.
RORY: You're not having money problems?
LORELAI: No. I mean, I'm not going to be on the Fortune 500 list anytime soon, but I'm fine.
RORY: With the Inn and everything?
LORELAI: Yes. We're getting a horse.
RORY: Cool. And food for the horse?
LORELAI: He'll be well fed.
RORY: Just as long as you're well fed too.
LORELAI: Yeah, I'll call the cable company in the morning. I think we should be getting those channels.
RORY: Well, you'd tell me, right?
LORELAI: Yes.
RORY: Well, goodnight.
LORELAI: Good night angel. [Rory rises and leaves. When she is out of sight, Lorelai clicks off the nearby table lamp.]

Edited July 14, 2018 by marineg

[Alice Mudgarden]

That coupon scene still annoys me just reading it haha

[peacheslatour]

On 7/13/2018 at 7:39 AM, deaja said:

Remember the job she had for a week at the bookstore where she spent more than she made? Ugh. I know Lorelai ended up paying for those, but come on. Libraries exist. Self control is a thing. Just because a book sounds interesting, you do not need to own it!

B ..but, she's just sooo smart. We need to see how smart she is or else we won't know how smart she is! Don't you get it? She's sooo smart!

[marineg]

Thing is, in the normal non-ASP world, that doesn't sound smart. In what kind of world would buying 30 brand new books when you can afford to wash your laundry be smart? It's not cute quirky Rory. When she went to the book fair with Dean and bought a lot of books that cost about a dollar each, that was cute and made her look smart. Not this.

And I love when Lorelai says she's gonna cover her book bill with Andrew just as Rory is about to leave for Yale. How did Rory plan on paying for those books when she had no money for her phone and laundry? Did Andrew let Rory leave the store with a couple dozens books after spending her week working for him not doing anything apart from noting all the books she could buy?

[alonenotlonely]

Y'all are forgetting about how hard Rory hustled at that card swiping job in the cafeteria! She spent the whole time on the phone whining and complaining about having to work rather than actually working and apparently stuck with it for one (!) shift before opting never to return. If that's not a stellar, scrappy work ethic that we should all strive to emulate, I don't know what is.

If Rory was deliberately written to be spoiled, obnoxiously oblivious and entitled, then I'd find her behavior from season 4 onward a lot more palatable. I even had a grudging respect for the revival for showing how lost someone as coddled yet clueless as Rory might actually turn out ten years down the road. It seemed the closest the show had ever come to acknowledging the depth and extent of Rory's flaws. Generally, however, I don't think the writers see their characters like I do, and it leads to a disconnect whenever I rewatch GG

A few folks noted a while back that the writers would have been better off avoiding socioeconomic status and financial matters entirely rather than depicting them so inconsistently and inaccurately, and I'm in absolute agreement. There are few things more grating than listening to Lorelai and especially Rory suddenly whine about being "broke" when

a. they're NOT, not even close,

b. even if they ever were, they have a handful of wealthy people in their lives who are always eager to give them as much money as anyone could ever possibly need - and that's GIVE, not even loan. 

c. the writers themselves forget about the Gilmore girls' supposed money problems by the next episode, and for the overwhelming majority of every season, they live as if they are more financially comfortable than 98% of us ever will be.

The writers also sometimes forget what century we're in, like when they model Emily and Richard after  Gilligan's Island Thurston Howell and his wife or when they tried to float the idea that Logan is about to enter a loveless marriage in order to maintain the family's "dynasty" like they were cribbing from Downton Abbey. I wish the writers would stick to their strengths, like witty dialogue and...come to think of it, do they have a true and consistent strength other than witty dialogue? 

.

Edited July 14, 2018 by alonenotlonely

[Kohola3]

27 minutes ago, alonenotlonely said:

...come to think of it, do they have a true and consistent strength other than witty dialogue? 

No.  Their consistency is their inconsistency and lack of continuity.

[peacheslatour]

Quote

The writers also sometimes forget what century we're in, like when they model Emily and Richard after  Gilligan's Island Thurston Howell and his wife 

I see you've never met my parents. ;-)

[Kohola3]

7 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

I see you've never met my parents.

So did you end up like Ginger or Mary Ann?

[peacheslatour]

6 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

So did you end up like Ginger or Mary Ann?

Betty Rubble.

[Anela]

6 hours ago, marineg said:

Thing is, in the normal non-ASP world, that doesn't sound smart. In what kind of world would buying 30 brand new books when you can afford to wash your laundry be smart? It's not cute quirky Rory. When she went to the book fair with Dean and bought a lot of books that cost about a dollar each, that was cute and made her look smart. Not this.

And I love when Lorelai says she's gonna cover her book bill with Andrew just as Rory is about to leave for Yale. How did Rory plan on paying for those books when she had no money for her phone and laundry? Did Andrew let Rory leave the store with a couple dozens books after spending her week working for him not doing anything apart from noting all the books she could buy?

How much of a discount do you get when you work at a bookstore? Does anyone know? I used to think that working in a bookstore would be ideal, because I could look at the books when things were slow. 

You've reminded me of when our school used to hold "white elephant" sales. The assembly hall would have large tables set up there, and one year, I bought a bunch of books at the end of the day. I lugged a couple of bags home. The woman was so happy to meet a kid who loved books (and as I said, it was the end of the day), that she gave me more for free. :) 

Edited July 15, 2018 by Anela

[steff13]

On 7/14/2018 at 12:17 PM, Alice Mudgarden said:

That coupon scene still annoys me just reading it haha

It is annoying.  I make a good salary and I <3 coupons.  I am not ashamed to save $2 on laundry detergent.  

[steff13]

On 7/14/2018 at 4:05 PM, marineg said:

And I love when Lorelai says she's gonna cover her book bill with Andrew just as Rory is about to leave for Yale. How did Rory plan on paying for those books when she had no money for her phone and laundry? Did Andrew let Rory leave the store with a couple dozens books after spending her week working for him not doing anything apart from noting all the books she could buy?

Maybe he gave them to her on credit, or she had a tab or something?  I mean, it's a small town, everyone knows everyone, he probably thought there was no way he wouldn't get his money.  And I think stores in small towns  might still do that sort of thing, if they know people. 

What I've always wondered is who paid for the $100s worth of makeup that the girls at April's birthday party took?  Did Luke cover it?  Did Lorelai cover it?  Did they just give it to her because Lorelai is their queen?  

[Alice Mudgarden]

4 minutes ago, steff13 said:

It is annoying.  I make a good salary and I <3 coupons.  I am not ashamed to save $2 on laundry detergent.  

I get excited when I get a good coupon for something I like/use.

It doesn't take much to make me happy haha

[Crs97]

I finally had to give up on coupons because I never had them when I needed them, but I will fight you to the death to protect my Target cartwheel app.

[alonenotlonely]

If a billionaire "heir", my multimillionaire grandparents (though, unsurprisingly, the writers were inconsistent about how wealthy Emily and Richard supposedly are and where they rank in the show's imaginary New England/Downton Abbey societal hierarchy) and sometimes Christopher were all waiting around to throw unlimited money my way anytime I might decide I "need" or just want it, I might not be as diligent about my coupon clipping as I am. :) It still cracks me up that we were supposed to find Lorelai and Rory's financial issues relatable in some way. The writers of this show were so detached from reality! I'm guessing that during the one or two episodes a season where Rory suddenly whines about being "broke," we're not supposed to want to smack her? This despite the fact that she almost never has a job [even as an adult ten years out of college], whines and sulks through the few halfhearted attempts at work she ever seemed to make [again, even as a fully grown woman!], lives daily as if she hadn't a financial worry in the world, and has access to untold funds from people who adore and spoil her unconditionally. That's not even taking into account her trust fund and whatever she's now inherited from Richard, though I guess all those European excursions to have sex with an engaged man while cheating on her devoted boyfriend must add up. Poor Rory...we should start a GoFundMe page for her :)

Edited July 16, 2018 by alonenotlonely

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

Considering there’s a GoFundMe to help get Kylie Jenner to billionaire status, it’s totally within possibility that the besotted Rory worshippers of the GG universe would do something to that effect, so their princess can be kept in the lifestyle she wants. 

[stan4]

On 7/16/2018 at 11:56 AM, ZuluQueenOfDwarves said:

Considering there’s a GoFundMe to help get Kylie Jenner to billionaire status, it’s totally within possibility that the besotted Rory worshippers of the GG universe would do something to that effect, so their princess can be kept in the lifestyle she wants. 

So...you're not going to be contributing to KJ's fund?  ;)

 

My unpopular opinion today is that there is no way I'd want to live in a town like Stars Hollow.

I'm not a big city girl, but I do like more personal space and more amenities.  I like having good friends without an entire population being up my shizz and I despise gossip.

Edited July 18, 2018 by stan4

[Anela]

5 hours ago, stan4 said:

So...you're not going to be contributing to KJ's fund?  ;)

 

My unpopular opinion today is that there is no way I'd want to live in a town like Stars Hollow.

I'm not a big city girl, but I do like more personal space and more amenities.  I like having good friends without an entire population being up my shizz and I despise gossip.

I don't like gossip, but I'd love to have a "local" breakfast place, grocery store. I grew up close to London, in small towns that had their own stores, libraries, etc. I don't even have that where I live now (have lived for years) and it's too isolating. 

[Frelling Tralk]

On 14/07/2018 at 5:17 PM, Alice Mudgarden said:

That coupon scene still annoys me just reading it haha

Same lol, the second scene is Rory just worrying about her mother keeping her true financial circumstances from her and that’s fair enough, but the first scene from 407 really does come across like she sees coupon cutting as something that’s really cheapskate and embarrassing. Putting aside how ridiculous it is to try and shame her mother for trying to save money (yeah it was said jokingly, but it still comes across loud and clear that Rory looks down on the concept of saving money in that way), her attitude doesn’t even fit with how Rory supposedly grew up poor with her mother scrimping and saving for years before she owned her own house

[marineg]

13 hours ago, Frelling Tralk said:

Same lol, the second scene is Rory just worrying about her mother keeping her true financial circumstances from her and that’s fair enough, but the first scene from 407 really does come across like she sees coupon cutting as something that’s really cheapskate and embarrassing. Putting aside how ridiculous it is to try and shame her mother for trying to save money (yeah it was said jokingly, but it still comes across loud and clear that Rory looks down on the concept of saving money in that way), her attitude doesn’t even fit with how Rory supposedly grew up poor with her mother scrimping and saving for years before she owned her own house

Exactly. The whole makes them out to be those poor people without a penny in their name, but that is never showed on screen. They have all the opportunities and things they can want...

[Katy M]

16 minutes ago, marineg said:

Exactly. The whole makes them out to be those poor people without a penny in their name, but that is never showed on screen. They have all the opportunities and things they can want...

Yep.  They eat out or get take out every. single. meal.  Which is just not possible for supposedly struggling family.  Apparently they get all the movie channels.  I've never felt like I could afford to throw money away on any movie channels.  

[Kohola3]

24 minutes ago, marineg said:

They have all the opportunities and things they can want...

Well, until they needed money (tuition for private school, tuition for college, termite control) at which time they cannot even get a loan.  

 

3 minutes ago, Katy M said:

They eat out or get take out every. single. meal.  Which is just not possible for supposedly struggling family.  Apparently they get all the movie channels.  

Which is apparently why there was no money for tuition for private school, tuition for college, or termite control. 

Or just a plot point for ASP to use at will with no thought to continuity.

[andromeda331]

20 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

Or just a plot point for ASP to use at will with no thought to continuity.

Bingo! We have a winner! Its the same with her going back and forth on how much money Richard and Emily have. She wanted that with Lorelai and Rory to. They have money at times. At times Lorelai's saving for an Inn and other times its never mentioned.  

[marineg]

3 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

Bingo! We have a winner! Its the same with her going back and forth on how much money Richard and Emily have. She wanted that with Lorelai and Rory to. They have money at times. At times Lorelai's saving for an Inn and other times its never mentioned.  

Yes and no. Absolutely agree, but at least Richard and Emily are rich people who at rich. How rich? Nobody knows. But they're rich. Lorelai and Rory are different. They are supposed be dirt poor without anything saved up. Yet they at rich. I'm more pissed at that than at E&R.

When you go out and pretend to create a show that pictures independent women who are supposed to be role models for young girls, you don't have them be wasteful, mocking of saving money, relying on others for everything etc.

[andromeda331]

5 hours ago, marineg said:

Yes and no. Absolutely agree, but at least Richard and Emily are rich people who at rich. How rich? Nobody knows. But they're rich. Lorelai and Rory are different. They are supposed be dirt poor without anything saved up. Yet they at rich. I'm more pissed at that than at E&R.

When you go out and pretend to create a show that pictures independent women who are supposed to be role models for young girls, you don't have them be wasteful, mocking of saving money, relying on others for everything etc.

No, they don't have to do that. Its really nice to see independent women who can be role models for young girls. It is really great that Lorelai worked her way up at the Independence Inn ending up running the place. It was really cool to see Lorelai went back to school to get a degree. A lot of adults do that (even though in real life she'd probably have to get the degree before getting some of those positions especially running the place). With a couple tweeks they could have made both work. Like with the termites. Lorelai could have groaned that would take most if not all of the inn/college fund. It would work with her getting the house when Rory was eleven. After five years of saving up for Chilton or maybe say she only had three years of savings that could make sense too houses come with a lot more expenses maybe it took a couple years for her to start saving because of that or house repair. Lorelai still could have ended up going to her parents but give a better reason then she didn't have the money. She was trying to send her daughter there. Then maybe switch the Chilton to saving up for Yale and an Inn. 

[peacheslatour]

Another thing. how the heck does Stars Hollow, small town USA, afford those lavish celebrations. The food, I guess is donated but the decorations and labor needed to put all of it up would cost a small fortune.

[marineg]

10 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

No, they don't have to do that. Its really nice to see independent women who can be role models for young girls. It is really great that Lorelai worked her way up at the Independence Inn ending up running the place. It was really cool to see Lorelai went back to school to get a degree. A lot of adults do that (even though in real life she'd probably have to get the degree before getting some of those positions especially running the place). With a couple tweeks they could have made both work. Like with the termites. Lorelai could have groaned that would take most if not all of the inn/college fund. It would work with her getting the house when Rory was eleven. After five years of saving up for Chilton or maybe say she only had three years of savings that could make sense too houses come with a lot more expenses maybe it took a couple years for her to start saving because of that or house repair. Lorelai still could have ended up going to her parents but give a better reason then she didn't have the money. She was trying to send her daughter there. Then maybe switch the Chilton to saving up for Yale and an Inn. 

So many little tweaks could have been made that wouldn't change the show but make it even better. But ASP was going more episode by episode story-wise than looking at the big picture.

[Anela]

10 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Another thing. how the heck does Stars Hollow, small town USA, afford those lavish celebrations. The food, I guess is donated but the decorations and labor needed to put all of it up would cost a small fortune.

Some of those events are to raise money - but Luke didn't donate coffee and service, he said he would charge. I wonder if Mrs Kim donated her sandwiches and service, I can't picture it. 

One thing with the "saving money" conversation, is that I don't remember Rory actually checking books out of a library. She bought a lot of books from a sale, but we only got to hear about her having a mini breakdown over not getting The Iliad (?) back in time for the next person. When I make lists at the bookstore (or taking pictures of piles of books now), it's to possibly buy later, or check them out from the library, if I'm unsure about them being worth the money - because we really are struggling financially. We eat out every so often, that started more after mum died, and we couldn't stand to be at home. They've mentioned that they live off the huge chinese food orders throughout the week, but then we see them at Luke's in the morning and at night, much of the time. And ordering pizza. 

[peacheslatour]

6 hours ago, Anela said:

Some of those events are to raise money - but Luke didn't donate coffee and service, he said he would charge. I wonder if Mrs Kim donated her sandwiches and service, I can't picture it. 

One thing with the "saving money" conversation, is that I don't remember Rory actually checking books out of a library. She bought a lot of books from a sale, but we only got to hear about her having a mini breakdown over not getting The Iliad (?) back in time for the next person. When I make lists at the bookstore (or taking pictures of piles of books now), it's to possibly buy later, or check them out from the library, if I'm unsure about them being worth the money - because we really are struggling financially. We eat out every so often, that started more after mum died, and we couldn't stand to be at home. They've mentioned that they live off the huge chinese food orders throughout the week, but then we see them at Luke's in the morning and at night, much of the time. And ordering pizza. 

With the mountains of junk food they eat, by rights they should each weigh at least 300 pounds.

[shron17]

And it's expensive to slowly rot your insides, isn't it?

My unpopular opinion is that I don't really care about the money inconsistencies, or the time warp, or all the things someone else would have done better.  I just enjoy the characters, the dialog and the show as a whole complete with all of its faults.

Edited July 24, 2018 by shron17

[junienmomo]

10 hours ago, Anela said:

Some of those events are to raise money - but Luke didn't donate coffee and service, he said he would charge. I wonder if Mrs Kim donated her sandwiches and service, I can't picture it. 

Oh, you paid with Mrs. Kim. She handed out religious flyers with the sandwiches. Remember that she’d just gotten a new printer?

Also, if the festivals didn’t raise much money/break even, then that was a good excuse to have another festival!

[Anela]

4 hours ago, shron17 said:

And it's expensive to slowly rot your insides, isn't it?

My unpopular opinion is that I don't really care about the money inconsistencies, or the time warp, or all the things someone else would have done better.  I just enjoy the characters, the dialog and the show as a whole complete with all of its faults.

I still enjoy it. I came back to this thread, after getting jumped on in a FB group by a moderator, because I thought they'd ruined one of the characters (Logan, in the revival, and Rory with the continued cheating - although the poster who mentioned people being obsessed with her past boyfriends, being the cause of her new forgettable boyfriend, was probably right about that). 

It still bugs me that Lorelai and Chris got married, and Chris is oblivious to the fact that his daughter wouldn't be happy - and that Rory punishes her mum, but not her dad. Lorelai was the one to mention Rory being there, when he first asked her. He's so selfish.

I'm watching that one right now. She's about to piss off Logan with her article.

[stan4]

On 7/23/2018 at 7:41 AM, Katy M said:

Yep.  They eat out or get take out every. single. meal.  Which is just not possible for supposedly struggling family.  Apparently they get all the movie channels.  I've never felt like I could afford to throw money away on any movie channels.  

Like this lady I met recently who says she's barely scraping by.

At my country club.

[BlancheDevoreaux]

On 7/16/2018 at 8:05 AM, steff13 said:

It is annoying.  I make a good salary and I <3 coupons.  I am not ashamed to save $2 on laundry detergent.  

That's because people who have money have that money because they are smart with money.

[Guest]

18 hours ago, junienmomo said:

Oh, you paid with Mrs. Kim. She handed out religious flyers with the sandwiches. Remember that she’d just gotten a new printer?

Also, if the festivals didn’t raise much money/break even, then that was a good excuse to have another festival!

In Knit People Knit, which admittedly I haven’t seen as much as the episodes not from Season 7, didn’t they imply that they don’t raise much money from the fundraisers? Like they had been doing fundraisers to repair the bridge for years and years?

[Katy M]

40 minutes ago, deaja said:

In Knit People Knit, which admittedly I haven’t seen as much as the episodes not from Season 7, didn’t they imply that they don’t raise much money from the fundraisers? Like they had been doing fundraisers to repair the bridge for years and years?

I think it probably depends on the fundraiser.  That stupid knit-a-thon is not going to make much, because they are only going to get pledges from the townspeople. Ditto with the basket lunch thing.  But, the inn seems to actually make money, which tells me that there's is some tourism.  So, things that will draw tourists like the hay maze and the living art display (assuming those were charity things, I don't really remember), could actually rake in some bucks.

[stan4]

2 hours ago, Katy M said:

I think it probably depends on the fundraiser.  That stupid knit-a-thon is not going to make much, because they are only going to get pledges from the townspeople. Ditto with the basket lunch thing.  But, the inn seems to actually make money, which tells me that there's is some tourism.  So, things that will draw tourists like the hay maze and the living art display (assuming those were charity things, I don't really remember), could actually rake in some bucks.

Speaking of the living art thing (which is so cool), it irks me time and labor intensive it is given the low turnout. Plus it does not appear to run very long.

 

Maybe bc it is the same exact art year in and year out (minus the one yearly original).

 

As for Mrs Kim donating stuff, most folks I know who are super churchy are big on volunteering.

Edited July 25, 2018 by stan4

[Anela]

10 hours ago, stan4 said:

Like this lady I met recently who says she's barely scraping by.

At my country club.

And a member of my family who has a second home in a lovely hotspot in Europe. They have a secret beach, and go over there every summer, and for the winter holidays. They've also added onto their UK home, but they're apparently broke. 

I don't begrudge her, but she took my mother's dream - mum told her all about it, before we moved over here in 1990. Next thing you know, she's married, and spending time in the other country, making friends, getting jobs. I watched a movie with mum, ten years ago (can't believe it's been that long) set in that country, and she just started crying, so we had to turn it off. 

To make that GG-related: my mum was a lot like Lorelai. Single mother for about eleven years, before getting back together with my dad. Hard-working, extremely popular, very funny. popular with my friends, too, until she got angry about something, and put her foot down. She was the "cool mum" to a point, but strict in ways. and we definitely weren't rich, but she was the smart one in the family, attended grammar school, and wanted more for her life than she got. mum loved Emily.

Edited July 25, 2018 by Anela

[andromeda331]

I hate love triangles on TV the Jess/Rory/Dean triangle pretty much fits the reasons why I dislike it so much they are almost always the same and none of three end up looking really good. You can always tell who is going to end up together. The one who likes both guys or girls never really comes off as being torn or in love with both. And the two girls or two guys are fine to fight over someone. There's Jess happily trying to break up Rory and Dean so he can steal the girlfriend. Well, that's great who doesn't love someone who wants to steal someone else's girlfriend. Then there's Dean who's getting upset at being messed with while also clearly seeing signs that his girlfriend is into Jess. But he doesn't break up with her. He doesn't call her on it or even flat out ask her. He gets fed up at the end but I can't stop wondering why he didn't break up with her when he was fed up earlier. Then you have Rory who is dating Dean but clearly likes Jess and is into Jess but doesn't do anything about it. She also doesn't do or say anything about Jess actively trying break up her and her boyfriend. She's jealous of Shane but doesn't break up with Dean. She watches as these two boys have pissing matches over her and does nothing. It really doesn't make any of them look good. Jess comes off as an ass, Dean comes off jealous and rather stupid, and Rory? She honestly comes of worse then the two. Two boys are fighting over her, one is actively trying to break her and her boyfriend up and she's in love with that one but doesn't break up with the boyfriend she has. Nor seem to have a problem with someone trying to break her and her boyfriend up. Who doesn't say anything to that? Rory could have saved so much pain and problems if she had decided to break up with Dean when she realized she liked Jess. But no she strings it out. She also doesn't have a problem with two guys fighting over each other? She does nothing to defuse the situation or help it. The worse part is she never learns from it. She acts just as confused by Logan's antics and Marty, despite having basically just gone through it with Jess and Dean.  

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, andromeda331 said:

Well, that's great who doesn't love someone who wants to steal someone else's girlfriend.

I actually don't like Jess, but you can't steal someone else's girlfriend, because they're not a possession.  Jess actually didn't really do anything underhanded.  He didn't try to frame Dean as cheating on Rory.  He didn't get in fights with Dean and then tell Rory that Dean started them.  All he did was try to get  Rory to like him.  Honestly, I think the worst thing he did in the whole affair was start dating Shane with the sole purpose (as far as I can tell) to make Rory jealous.  That's actually pretty low, because shallow as she may or may not have been, Shane is a human and has feelings.

[shron17]

3 hours ago, Katy M said:

Honestly, I think the worst thing he did in the whole affair was start dating Shane with the sole purpose (as far as I can tell) to make Rory jealous.  That's actually pretty low, because shallow as she may or may not have been, Shane is a human and has feelings.

Except that if it's true that Shane was using him also, she may not have minded all that much.  Not of course that that makes it alright for anyone to use anyone else.  I tend to think more than trying to make Rory jealous Shane was Jess's way of taking himself out of the situation.  Rory kissed him but didn't contact him all summer.  As far as Jess knew Rory was intending to ignore the kiss and go on with Dean as though nothing happened.  It made sense for Jess to make himself inaccessible and give the appearance of having moved on, regardless of any feelings he still had.

[readster]

3 hours ago, Katy M said:

I actually don't like Jess, but you can't steal someone else's girlfriend, because they're not a possession.  Jess actually didn't really do anything underhanded.  He didn't try to frame Dean as cheating on Rory.  He didn't get in fights with Dean and then tell Rory that Dean started them.  All he did was try to get  Rory to like him.  Honestly, I think the worst thing he did in the whole affair was start dating Shane with the sole purpose (as far as I can tell) to make Rory jealous.  That's actually pretty low, because shallow as she may or may not have been, Shane is a human and has feelings.

That's exactly it and it made things worst, because Rory didn't show anything but jealousy with Shane. I mean, she just got upset, but does she tell Dean it's her and not him? Does she go to Jess and just tell him to stop, it's not working or is working? No. Does she even show enjoyment that she has too guys fighting for her like some girls do like? No, she just goes there and even goes as far as egging Jess's car with her mother. That doesn't show: "I want you instead." That shows more of: "Asshole! Take this!" The Love Triangle was just bad, if not down right horrible. AS-P wanted to try and do a cliche with a twist, but she had the three of them and even Shane just doing... nothing! They just kept doing these horrible things that would have lead Dean breaking up earlier. Rory wanting nothing to do with Jess after the way he acted. Shane realizing she was just used and dumping Jess's ass. 

  Honestly if that would have happened along with Jess facing repeating of his senior year from being another idiot, then the motivation for him running off to Venice, California with Jimmy would have made sense. I hated the "non-spin off" episode where Jess tells Jimmy that he has nothing just like Jimmy. I wanted to go: "Your father has a house, a girlfriend, a potential step mother, a successful business and apparently realizes he has been an asshole." Jess had: "Luke, school officials while oblivious to things, were willing to help him. Liz apparently at this time was getting her shit together. He didn't say anything to Rory about his problems, which she told him on his silent phone call, would have helped him. His final push to leave was because he got into a fight with Dean and trying to have sex with Rory without saying anything." So when they both said they had nothing it comes off as: "WTF are you both talking about?" 

[Anela]

Right, and Rory was awful to Shane, as well. Shane, or Shay? I can't remember. 

[andromeda331]

14 hours ago, readster said:

That's exactly it and it made things worst, because Rory didn't show anything but jealousy with Shane. I mean, she just got upset, but does she tell Dean it's her and not him? Does she go to Jess and just tell him to stop, it's not working or is working? No. Does she even show enjoyment that she has too guys fighting for her like some girls do like? No, she just goes there and even goes as far as egging Jess's car with her mother. That doesn't show: "I want you instead." That shows more of: "Asshole! Take this!" The Love Triangle was just bad, if not down right horrible. AS-P wanted to try and do a cliche with a twist, but she had the three of them and even Shane just doing... nothing! They just kept doing these horrible things that would have lead Dean breaking up earlier. Rory wanting nothing to do with Jess after the way he acted. Shane realizing she was just used and dumping Jess's ass. 

Maybe that's more correct they just kept dragging it out but for no real reason. Horrible things happening but they did nothing. Why didn't Dean break up with Rory after the end of that one episode where he sadly says Rory likes Jess. Yes, she does. He knew it then. It would make sense for him to break up with her. He tried Lorelai's advice by not calling her and waiting for her to call him. She didn't and he's forced to realize his girlfriend likes someone else. Jess admits to Rory that he bid on her basket to tick off Dean but also to get to her alone. Anyone else would be upset about that. Rory should have called him on it and when she didn't she should have realized she liked Jess and ending things with Dean. Dean was right she didn't have to have lunch with Jess if she didn't want too. But she did. Because she liked Jess. That's why she tried to get her mom to like Jess and tried to get Jess to get along with her mom. We saw scene after scene, episode after episode that Rory is into Jess but did nothing about it. And there really wasn't any reason for it. There was nothing keeping Rory or Dean from breaking up.  It could have been more interesting if she was shown to be torn in her feelings, was confused over her attraction to Jess even though there really wasn't anything wrong in relationship with Dean or show her in love with both, or maybe no longer in love with Dean but doesn't understand why.  

Here's a question about Rory and Jess. Did she ignore all of his other personality? Did she think she was the only one who understood him? Or their love of books? Jess treats everyone like crap. He blows off school, gets into fights and steals what does Rory think about this? I think the stealing was just the second season baseballs and gnomes. Does she think its funny? Just a prank? Dean tells Lorelai that Jess is bad news in the basket episode bringing up that he's always getting into fights when he bothers to show up. I assume Rory doesn't believe any of that stuff? Does she just assume Dean is making it up? I know she gets mad at Dean and Lorelai talking but she also doesn't seem to take any of it to heart. But does she ever ask Lane about Jess missing school or getting into fights? Did Lane ever tell her about fights Jess got into? That he's skipping classes or she hadn't seen him in school in awhile? Even before Rory and Jess started dating? I can't imagine Lane wouldn't mention it or she wouldn't know if Jess was in another fight at school. If he's getting into fights at school when he does show up what does the school do? Why haven't the suspended him yet? When Rory runs into Lindsay and Dean at the keg party Lindsay remarks that Jess used to go to their school. Did she ever think about that? Wonder what Lindsay was talking about? That comes after Lorelai asks Rory if Jess is going to school in the Poe episode. Jess manages to skip school for so much of season three and work at Walmart, but Rory doesn't notice? Does she ever ask about his classes? Homework? Ask if he has any teachers she used to have? She's so interested in school and classes its weird that she wouldn't ask about it and often.   

[Crs97]

They did make her consistent on the issue of stealing, as she wasn’t bothered by Logan’s theft either.

[readster]

Quote

But does she ever ask Lane about Jess missing school or getting into fights? Did Lane ever tell her about fights Jess got into? That he's skipping classes or she hadn't seen him in school in awhile? Even before Rory and Jess started dating? I can't imagine Lane wouldn't mention it or she wouldn't know if Jess was in another fight at school. If he's getting into fights at school when he does show up what does the school do? Why haven't the suspended him yet? When Rory runs into Lindsay and Dean at the keg party Lindsay remarks that Jess used to go to their school. Did she ever think about that? Wonder what Lindsay was talking about? That comes after Lorelai asks Rory if Jess is going to school in the Poe episode. Jess manages to skip school for so much of season three and work at Walmart, but Rory doesn't notice? Does she ever ask about his classes? Homework? Ask if he has any teachers she used to have? She's so interested in school and classes its weird that she wouldn't ask about it and often.  

Same could be said for Dean, when Luke found out that Jess was skipping school and had for months, you are really expecting us to believe that Dean didn't say to Rory along the lines of: "Jess, hasn't been in school." I also liked when the principal was telling Jess they knew he was skipping school and that they tried to contact him. I wanted to go: "What about Luke." He was hugely in the dark. Plus, I'm sure by that point word that Jess was at Walmart would have come up and someone could have gone to Walmart and seen that Jess was there at school. They acted like Jess's skipping wasn't important until it needed to be talked about. Even the Walmart manager told Luke: "Oh, he figured out someway to do the hours." Which makes me think, when Jess left Stars Hollow to be with Jimmy. I'm betting they just went: "Well, that kid was a bit of an ass. Great worker, but an ass. Oh well, ok Roll Back in Automotive!" I also think it was stupid of AS-P trying to get the spin off when they had filmed the episode and had 4 scripts and the studio said: "Can't do it, too expensive." AS-P wanted to keep pushing for months and when one of the studio execs threw a script in the trash, she finally got the picture. 

[Kohola3]

15 minutes ago, readster said:

They acted like Jess's skipping wasn't important until it needed to be talked about.

Welcome to the cchool of Script Writing on the Fly, Free of Continuity.

[MatildaMoody]

I honestly don't know if this is considered an unpopular opinion or not, but I HATED the entire Digger and Lorelai storyline. Everything about Jason creeped me out. At first I thought it was just that he was smarmy, but watching those episodes now, I just find him inherently creepy. Not creepy as in scary, but creepy as in a weird creep. I mean I will give him points for being more mature than Lorelai in that he didn't see the point in all the subterfuge when it came to telling her parents. But, that is the only pass he gets from me. 

Things about Jason that made him creepy (To me):

• Lorelai comes into his office to give him a piece of her mind about Emily's cancelled party and he spends the entire time hitting on her rather than listening to what she has to say.
• Calling her umlauts during said conversation (I know she called him Digger, but that was a childhood nickname that came from his family. Umlauts was a gross nickname the boys at camp called her behind her back because Digger flipped the boat and her nipples were obvious afterwards.
• Asking her out while she is talking about how hurt her mother was and how she lost her job because of his cancelling the party. I get that the Gilmores didn't tell him about the party, but the fact that he now knew about it and Lorelai was telling him how hurt Emily was and how it affected her, should have gotten more than an invitation to dinner. And yes, I hate that Lorelai even considered going out with him simply because it would piss off her parents (that's a Lorelai behavior that needs its own rant).
• The fact that he has a super sweet guest room so the women who decide to have sex with him don't actually sleep with him. 
• The creepiest thing though was after she broke up with him, he refused to accept that they were broken up. 

I get that ASP probably thought these were quirky things that would make him a good match for Lorelai, but I saw absolutely no chemistry between the two fo them and all of his "quirks" just made him way too creepy IMO.