Gilmore Girls: 10 Problems Fans Have With Lorelai, According To Reddit

At the heart of Gilmore Girls is a character who talks fast, drinks an intense amount of coffee, and prides herself on being funny and quirky. Lorelai Gilmore has a reputation for being a cool, fun mom to Rory and viewers respect her intelligence, hustle, and determination to do things her own way. While she had a bumpy road, after getting pregnant in high school, she managed to land on her feet.

But Lorelai can be confusing and while she’s a beloved character, there are some fans who find her behavior problematic, and they have been talking about it on Reddit.

10 She Isn’t Really As Broke As She Acts

A fan shared in a Reddit thread while Lorelai acts like a poor single mom, that isn’t the case. This is a good point, as Lorelai does come from a rich background and when she’s in a financial bind, her parents are more than happy to help out.

Lorelai does learn how to run a business and her Dragonfly Inn journey is very moving. But if she wanted her parents to loan her money to buy the inn, they would have said yes, so she’s not really in such a bad situation. It’s also true that when Lorelai needs to pay for Rory’s education, Emily and Richard have it covered.

9 She Doesn’t Approach Relationships In A Grown-Up Way

A fan pointed out that while they do like Lorelai, she is immature in her relationships. They mentioned how Lorelai bailed on her wedding to Max and ran away by going on a road trip with Rory and how she has trouble talking to Luke about important subjects.

This is a good point as Gilmore Girls have noticed that Lorelai does repeat the same patterns in her love life. While she loves Max, she knows it’s not right to marry him. But when she and Luke are close to getting married and his daughter April comes into his life, she gets caught up in the drama and tension. It would be nice to see Lorelai and Luke sit down and have a real, honest conversation about their problems.

8 She Shouldn’t Interfere With Rory, Emily, And Richard’s Bond

As soon as Rory gets the chance to know her grandfather, she and Richard become super close and the two characters share many sweet and heartwarming moments.

But Lorelai does get upset when Rory starts bonding with her grandparents, which is a problem that a fan has with her. They wrote on Reddit that Lorelai is “controlling” and that she interferes with Rory’s relationship with Emily and Richard. This starts happening in season 1, as Rory has to play golf for school credit, and Richard introduces her to his club. Lorelai gets upset about this instead of supporting Rory.

7 Why Doesn’t Lorelai Help Rory In The Revival?

It’s tough for Gilmore Girls fans to see Rory struggle in A Year In The Life, as her journalism career is falling apart at the seams, and she can’t seem to figure out how to get it back on track. She had a piece in The New Yorker, but can’t get more work, and when she tries to write a book with a celebrity, that doesn’t work, either.

A fan shared on Reddit that it seems strange that Lorelai wouldn’t give Rory advice in the revival. The fan wrote, “Lorelai seems to be left with joking about all aspects of Rory’s life and brushing all of the troubles off.”

6 Her Treatment Of Emily Is Too Harsh

The pilot episode of Gilmore Girls does a really good job setting up how much pain Lorelai carries with her from her childhood and teenage years. When she realizes that she has to ask her parents to pay for Chilton, she awkwardly goes to their house and it’s clear that these characters haven’t seen each other in a really long time.

Lorelai and Emily get along in some episodes but most of the time, they are sarcastic with each other and have trouble communicating. A fan posted on Reddit that it feels like Lorelai is meaner to Emily than she should be. The fan wondered why Lorelai keeps so many things from her mom, like not telling her about her engagement to Max.

5 Lorelai Is Cruel To Luke After Jess And Rory’s Car Accident

Jess and Rory have quite the romantic journey and their relationship involves a lot of tough moments, including the season 2 episode when they get into a car accident. Lorelai doesn’t forgive Jess for this and she screams at Luke.

A fan shared on Reddit that Lorelai is too mean to Luke after this event, and this is a good point, as it isn’t Luke’s fault, and Lorelai doesn’t even try to be understanding or compassionate.

4 Her Conversation With Dean On Movie Night Is Odd

Gilmore Girls fans love when Lorelai asks Dean to join movie night in season 1. It’s the official start of Rory and Dean’s relationship, it’s a way for Dean to show that he’s comfortable with Lorelai, and it helps ease Rory into spending time with him.

Fans have pointed out that there is one strange conversation in this episode. A fan wrote that when Rory goes to the bathroom, Lorelai has a chat with Dean, and it’s off-putting. She acts very protective of Rory and tells Dean, “How about I talk, you listen? Rory is a smart kid. She’s never been much for guys so the fact that she likes you means a lot. I don’t believe she’d waste her time with some loser.” Then she says, “Sweetheart, the whole town is watching you” and tells him that if he hurts her, he won’t be able to find a safe place anywhere.

3 She’s Too Close With Rory

While many fans enjoy the close relationship that the Gilmore girls have, since this is the point of the show, some fans aren’t so sure that it’s the best idea.

One fan shared on Reddit that Lorelai is too close with Rory and wrote that Lorelai “admits that she seldom put on her ‘Parent’ hat with Rory and instead was always best friends with Rory. That’s not usually a healthy Mother-Daughter relationship.” It’s definitely possible to love watching Rory and Lorelai support each other and have fun while admitting that they do need a bit more space from each other at times.

2 She Has Trouble Taking Things Seriously

One of Lorelai’s best personality traits is her sense of humor and ability to talk super fast.

But this is also a problem that some people have with her, as a fan wrote in a Reddit thread that Lorelai makes too many jokes when there is a serious conversation taking place. This is an interesting point, as it’s definitely true, and it seems hard for Lorelai to feel her emotions and have a tough discussion since she is so used to seeing the humor in everything and everyone around her.

1 Lorelai Wants To Be The Opposite Of Emily

A fan shared on Reddit that Lorelai wants to be “the anti-Emily”, which is a really fascinating point.

Lorelai does try hard to be nothing like her mom, as she moved away to a small town, made her own life and friends, and always acts like she doesn’t need any help. Sometimes it seems like she would benefit more from being nicer to Emily and Richard and letting them support her more.

About The Author

Aya Tsintziras
(1742 Articles Published)

Aya Tsintziras is a freelance writer who writes about pop culture and TV. She has a Political Science degree from the University of Toronto and a Masters of Journalism from Ryerson University. She loves coffee, reading, working out, and watching TV. She lives in Toronto with her husband.

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