Gilmore Girls: The Main Characters, Ranked Worst To Best Character Arc

The characters on Gilmore Girls are half the reason why fans love the show. The other main reason, of course, is the cozy seasonal imagery the show offers for the fall and winter months. Fans love to see the seasons of the year and the seasons of life wrapped up in one satisfying bundle.

It’s no secret that many of the characters change throughout the seven seasons of the show. While some of the characters develop in positive ways, others lose sight of what’s really important in life. Which character had the best arc of the entire series?

10 Dean Forester

Dean’s character arc is interesting to trace since he was around for a significant portion of the series. He begins as a mysterious, brooding classmate of Rory’s, but they aren’t at the same school for long. Rory meets Dean right before she switches to Chilton, and the two continue to develop their romance after school and on weekends. Dean is mostly likable in the first season, but his animosity towards Jess is quite an issue.

Dean becomes much worse than the stereotypical jealous boyfriend, but he changes, even more, when he has to marry someone other than Rory. As fans know, Dean’s affair with Rory is not a good look for him, and he ultimately realizes that he doesn’t fit into Rory’s life. Throw in the continual fights with Luke, and Dean has the worst arc in the series.

9 Rory Gilmore

All in all, Rory Gilmore has one of the worst character arcs of all the main characters. She is such a good person in the early days of the show, and she’s optimistic for new opportunities in the best way possible. As she begins her time at Yale, Rory still maintains a healthy outlook on life and manages to care for those closest to her. Everything crumbles when she and Dean rekindle their romance while he is married to Lindsay.

That is only the beginning, though. Rory becomes unbearable throughout her relationship with Logan, and though she is easier to accept by the end of the show, all the baggage of the middle years really weighs her down, so the redemption isn’t that profound.

8 Logan Huntzberger

Oddly enough, Logan’s arc is slightly better than Rory’s. Because fans have just a few seasons to get to know Logan, he has to grow within a shorter time span. The Yalie boyfriend is wealthy, pretentious, and entitled. He shirks his responsibilities and hurts others to live the life that he wants.

Logan does make improvements towards becoming a genuinely good person. For example, he attempts to have an exclusive relationship with Rory, and he eventually proposes to her. However, Logan still struggles to understand what it means to be faithful to someone and never quite realizes that he can’t have everything he wants in life.

7 Sookie St. James

Sookie is Lorelai’s best friend throughout the series. She is a gifted gourmet chef, even though her kitchen safety standards are not commendable. Sookie is definitely a main character, but her characterization usually takes a backseat to that of Lorelai. It’s easy to feel fulfilled by Sookie’s developments in the first half of the show. She finds the love of her life, she becomes a mother, and she takes her career to a new level by partnering with Lorelai to open The Dragonfly Inn.

By the end of the show, Sookie’s unexpected pregnancy storyline leaves fans confused because it wasn’t really handled or concluded in a way that viewers could clearly understand.

6 Emily Gilmore

Emily Gilmore is a strange lady, but she does grow throughout her time on Gilmore Girls. The regal grandmother maintains a high standard of existence, and she doesn’t seek to understand people who live differently. Emily’s insults directed at Lorelai are so frustrating, and these persist throughout the series, but Lorelai knows how to dish it right back. In terms of personal growth, Emily makes small strides as the show goes on.

She attempts to learn more about Lorelai and Rory’s world in Stars Hollow. Even though Emily falls back into some of her less considerate ways, she does start to make more genuine efforts to be caring, in her own style.

5 Luke Danes

Luke doesn’t have a bad character arc by any means, but he certainly has a complicated one. Luke is not one to wear his feelings on his sleeve, so viewers have to work a little harder to ascertain how he is functioning emotionally. Much of Luke’s life is wrapped up in his relationship with Lorelai and his goal to help parent his nephew, Jess.

Luke is a kind person with many virtues at his core. Still, his spontaneous decision to marry and then divorce was so strange, and for all his trouble with emotions, Luke isn’t afraid to let his temper loose a few too many times. Considering all the highs and the lows, Luke’s journey back to Lorelai could have been better, but it could have been worse.

4 Lane Kim

Lane Kim is a fascinating character because she deals with the stress of trying to please a parent with incredibly strict moral and religious values. Lane spends many episodes hiding her rock albums and other secular materials from Mrs. Kim, and the fallout makes viewers feel so sympathetic for Lane.

Those years of the show are a big deal, and Lane generally handles her challenges well. As she moves on to further her career in music and start a family, Lane continues to grow, but like Sookie, she is sometimes overshadowed by the Gilmores.

3 Richard Gilmore

Richard Gilmore is usually less to blame than his wife, Emily, but the distinguished grandpa certainly has a few roadblocks in reconnecting with Lorelai and getting to know Rory. Fans might remember Richard sneakily setting up a meeting for Rory at Yale (when she specifically wanted to go to Harvard). They might also remember the way he and Emily both would make others feel inadequate at times.

Richard ultimately believes in Rory and wants the best for her, and he eventually starts to show that same respect for Lorelai. It is nice to see him put more confidence in his family members, and his support is meaningful to them.

2 Lorelai Gilmore

Lorelai has her quirks, but she’s a fan favorite for many longtime viewers. The mom has already accomplished a lot by the time audiences meet her in the first season. She continues to raise her daughter and work hard at The Independence Inn for the first part of the series. Because Lorelai and Rory are so close in age, Lorelai sometimes struggles with knowing how to discipline her daughter in a loving but effective way.

This improves over time, and Rory eventually must learn to make her own decisions as an adult. Lorelai’s romantic relationships are a tricky subject, and fans largely lament the fact that she marries Christopher, even if it’s only for a short time. The mom follows her heart and finds her way back to Luke, so her redemption feels rewarding.

1 Jess Mariano

Jess comes such a long way from his first appearance to his last on Gilmore Girls. Some fans love to hate him when he’s stealing Rory from Dean, but that situation brings out the worst in Dean, too. Jess has his questionable moments, but he truly cares about Rory, even when he has a funny way of showing it. In his rebellious high school years, Jess definitely gives Luke a hard time.

It’s so sweet to see him finally thank Luke for everything years later, though. Seeing Jess grow up and achieve his dreams is pretty amazing for fans, and although he makes some bad decisions, he has the strongest character development overall.

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