A Subtle Gilmore Girls Season 2 Moment Makes Lorelai’s Backstory So Much Sadder

While Gilmore Girls never hid the tragic elements of Lorelai’s backstory, one subtle season 2 moment highlighted how truly significant her sacrifices were. Gilmore Girls’ cast of characters were all engaging, but there is no doubt that Rory and Lorelai were the show’s heroines. Lorelai’s struggle to raise Rory without the support of her rich family took place off screen before the series began, but Gilmore Girls effectively captured her attempts to rebuild a relationship with her parents years later. Lorelai and Rory’s financial reliance on Emily and Richard often strained their already uneasy relationship, thus justifying Lorelei’s original decision.

Years before Gilmore Girls began, Lorelai opted out of the privileged lifestyle her parents planned for her by raising Rory as a single mother. She became a successful small business owner and, in the show’s 2016 revival Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, Lorelai is fairly wealthy in her own right. However, she wasn’t able to follow all of her dreams as she was busy raising Rory throughout her late teens and twenties. This reality is reflected in one sad scene from an early episode that implies Lorelai could have lived a very different existence.

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Gilmore Girls Season 2 Makes Lorelai’s Backstory Much Sadder With 1 Subtle Moment

Lorelai’s Reminiscing Takes A Tragic Turn In Gilmore Girls Season 2

In season 2, episode 4, “The Road Trip to Harvard,” there is a moment where Lorelai takes a longing look at a picture of the valedictorian of the class of 1990. The significance of her meditative glance might be lost on some viewers, but a quick bit of math confirms that this would have been Lorelai’s college graduation year if she had attended university after high school. This brief moment makes Lorelai’s backstory all the more tragic as it highlights that she could have been an entirely different person under different circumstances, and Lorelai might even have been her graduating class’s valedictorian.

Lorelai never explicitly regrets her decision to raise Rory, and their unconventional mother/daughter relationship is central to the show’s appeal. However, Gilmore Girls’ Lorelai/Rory relationship rarely left room for the show to explore the regrets of its heroine. Lorelai would not necessarily have needed to choose between raising Rory and attending university if her parents had been more supportive in her youth or if her relationship with Christopher had been healthier. Lorelai’s life was shaped by circumstances that turned out well but left her with a lot of unresolved “What if” scenarios.

Lorelai Could Have Been The Class Of 1990’s Valedictorian Under Different Circumstances

Lorelai’s Intelligence And Ambition Were Self-Evident

Lorelai is clearly extremely well-read and culturally well-rounded, judging by the countless works of literature, cinema, and music she references throughout Gilmore Girls. She also has a knack for problem-solving that allows her to run an inn, and she boasts superb interpersonal skills. Moreover, she is ferociously ambitious, as evidenced by her ability to maintain a flourishing career while simultaneously raising Rory alone. As such, it is not unreasonable to suggest that Lorelai could have been the class of 1990’s valedictorian if her life had panned out differently.

While some Gilmore Girls fan theories suggest that the show exaggerated her and her mother’s positive qualities, Lorelai’s appealing personality and academic prowess are foregrounded early in the series. Lorelai had a lot of untapped potential, although this leads to an existential question of what type of life is worth living. Lorelai certainly might have been happy as the class of 1990’s valedictorian, but there is no way of knowing if this achievement would have given her the same sense of purpose as running the inn. In the end, only Lorelai could decide what success meant to her.

Lorelai Eventually Gets Her Degree In Gilmore Girls (Just Not From Harvard)

Lorelai’s Dreams Changed A Lot Throughout The Show’s Story

This set up Lorelai’s eventual decision to pursue an associate’s degree in Business from a community college. Despite Gilmore Girls’ Sookie and Michel helping her out, Lorelai does most of the heavy lifting when it comes to running her own inn. As such, it makes sense that she eventually decided to study business formally. However, this degree also acts as a recognition of Lorelai’s academic potential. She might not take the path that her family expected, but Lorelai does eventually succeed on her own terms and gains the recognition she desires.

Lorelai’s time spent working on her associate’s degree allows her to do what she missed out on, albeit without specifically attending Harvard. Rory’s decision to attend an Ivy League school and pursue dreams that are nothing like her mother’s life choices also proves that Lorelai provided her daughter with a great start in life. By fulfilling her duty to her daughter and providing her with this invaluable support, Lorelai achieves a personal success that is as important as any valedictorian distinction. As such, Gilmore Girls’s heroine arguably doesn’t miss out on much after all.

Gilmore Girls

Cast

Lauren Graham , Scott Patterson , Sean Gunn , Keiko Agena , Matt Czuchry , Alexis Bledel , Yanic Truesdale , Kelly Bishop , Melissa McCarthy , Edward Herrmann , Liza Weil , Jared Padalecki , Milo Ventimiglia

Release Date

October 5, 2000

Seasons

7