Gilmore Girls, the iconic fall-perfect TV show, just celebrated its 20th anniversary on October 5. Some of the cast members; Melissa McCarthy, Lauren Graham and Scott Patterson took to social media to share special moments from the show. With twenty years since its debut, there have been several memorable moments from the show to look back on, most notably the number of characters that appeared in the series. The show was so successful and loved that it got a revival on Netflix in 2016, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, providing four episodes. It gave fans a sense of closure, as viewers could catch up with beloved characters and see how they turned out several years later. Here’s a list of the best characters, ranked.
10/10 Dean Foster
Dean is Rory’s first boyfriend and turns out to be a good character throughout the series. He makes hasty decisions; he is often verbally aggressive towards Rory when they fight, likes to get into physical fights with anyone who looks at Rory the wrong way, and ends up cheating on his wife. He’s not a great friend to Rory when they’re together for the first two seasons, nor when they get back together. He was never fully in favor of Rory going to an Ivy League college, often revealing that he thinks “old-fashioned” (misogyny).
9/10 Logan Huntzberger
Logan may be one of the best friends Rory had in the entire series, but he also had his faults. In fact, ScreenRant states that he was one of the worst characters, especially with how he treated others, especially when it came to Rory. When Rory quit Yale, he wasn’t the one encouraging her to go back. In fact, he made her feel comfortable without a plan bobbing around. He cheated on Rory and even then he managed to fight his way through and get her forgiveness again. One of the best things he did on the show was put Rory in her place when she ranted about Logan being privileged while also being raised essentially the same way.
8/10 Emily Gilmore
Emily is the original Gilmore girl, Lorelai’s mother and Rory’s grandmother. She is extremely wealthy and makes sure everyone knows about it, shows off her wealth and is also influential within her community. However, she is so low on this list because of her internalized anti-feminism and constant attacks on Lorelai. It’s no secret that Emily was deeply embarrassed that her daughter became pregnant at such a young age, and carried that shame with her for years, even after Rory reached full adulthood. She redeems herself by being there for Rory, but also has some problematic issues.
7/10 Jess Mariano
Jess had a pretty rough start Gilmore Girls, who enters the town of Stars Hollow against his will and moves in with Luke. He was labeled the bad boy and quickly became the ultimate teenage heartthrob of the 2000s, showing that he could be gentle with Rory and no one else. Jess was the one who encouraged Rory to go back to Yale when Logan didn’t, forcing her to graduate and continue what she’d been talking about for years.
6/10 Paris Geller
From Rory’s first day in Chilton, she and Paris went head to head. They competed against each other in high school, then college when they both went to Yale. During their fights and ridiculous bickering, usually started by Paris, the two form a close friendship that follows them into adulthood in the show’s revival. MSN states that in a deleted scene recently released, Paris was the first member of team Jess. Paris is well-educated, quick-witted, brash and impudent.
5/10 Sookie St James
Melissa McCarthy was the best decision for character Sookie, Lorelei’s best friend and renowned chef. She is her own person, does not hide in the background as a side character and has many memorable moments. Sookie is a comedic relief, but also complex with a big heart, caring for Rory since she helped raise her and is always there for Lorelai. She proves in every episode that she is an amazing wife, girlfriend and mother.
4/10 Richard Gilmore
Richard Gilmore was a very wise and level-headed man who was at the forefront of the Gilmore family. He proved time and again that his favorite person was Rory, who bonded with her beyond literature and education. He convinces her to go to Yale instead of Harvard, survives a heart attack and proves to be a dutiful husband to Emily. He manages to mend his relationship with Lorelai before sadly dying on the show, as well as in real life.
3/10 Rory Gilmore
It might come as a surprise that Rory isn’t number one on this list, but she’s not the perfect lead character. She has flaws like everyone else on this list, she uses abusive comments to describe children she tutors, cheats on with Dean’s wife, and cheats on Logan with Jess. But in the end she turns out to be a good person and a wonderful daughter, not only for Lorelai, but also for Chris, as she never gave up on him. She was human and had her own problems, but she was also pure and the star child of the city.
2/10 Luke Danes
Luke is one of the best characters on this iconic show because of how real he kept it the whole time. In the earlier seasons, he was very aware of living in a crazy city, often reminding his neighbors that they lived on stolen land. He often took on Taylor, was always available when someone called him for help, and waited for Lorelai. He turned out to be the love of her life and wasn’t worried about how long it would take them to be together; his confidence was admirable. He was a great uncle to Jess and an even better father to April.
1/10 Lorelai Gilmore
Lorelai Gilmore is known for his quick talk, always having a random pop reference on hand and drinking copious amounts of coffee. Lorelai Gilmore is an iconic character. Like Rory, she had her boyfriends before finally settling in with Luke after years of yearning. She was a wonderful single mother and proved to her family that she did not need an abundance of wealth as well as a partner to raise Rory. She is a successful businesswoman and a good friend to everyone in Stars Hollow.