Arc

Background

Lorelai Victoria Gilmore was married to Richard and Emily Gilmore on April 26, 1968. Lorelai was raised in Hartford, Connecticut by wealthy parents who are trying to bring her to a proper young lady of society. Man with wealth and good-breeding, and even arranged for her to be presented to society . However, Lorelai knew that she was not the life she wanted. As a teenager, Lorelai dated Christopher Hayden , the sound of Straub and Francine. She discovered she was pregnant at the age of 16, before finishing high school. Christopher Hayden, the baby’s father. Straub Hayden initially suggested Lorelai have an abortion, Lily and Christopher should marry instead. Christopher agreed, but Lorelai refused, convinced that marrying so young simply would not work out. When Lorelai realized she was in labor, she left a note for her parents and drove alone to the hospital. ^[1] After her daughter, Rory , was born on October 8, 1984, Lorelai briefly lived with her parents then ran away to Stars Hollow , a small town in rural Connecticut, to find her own life. The owner of the Independence Inn, Mia, took her in, gave her a job as a maid, and let her and Rory live in a renovated potted shed. The Sookie St. James ( Melissa McCarthy ), The Independence Inn , Who is executive chef at the Independence Inn. Lorelai has been working as an executive assistant, and has been working as an opener. For many years after running away from home, Lorelai had almost no contact with her parents, except for visits during major holidays.

Storylines

When the series begins, Rory gets accepted into Chilton Preparatory School, a private and expensive high school. In order to pay the expenses, Lorelai goes as a last choice to Emily and Richard who agree to loan the money. In exchange for paying for Rory’s tuition at Chilton, Emily and Richard instate mandatory “Friday night dinners” to which Lorelai reluctantly agreed, which allowed them to get to know their granddaughter. ^[2] Lorelai meets Rory’s teacher Max Medina ( Scott Cohen ) at Rory’s first parent-teacher meeting in Chilton. They both become interested in one another and soon start seeing each other. When Lorelai wants to split up, she kisses Max in Chilton, Which provokes a scandal in the school and puts an end to their relationship. While they are separate, Lorelai has one-night stand with Christopher ( David Sutcliffe ) after a heated argument with her parents. Christopher proposes to her, but she rejects him telling him he is not ready to take care of Rory and her. Lorelai later rekindles her relationship with Max and they become engaged. As their wedding is approaching, Lorelai has thoughts and calls Christopher during her bachelorette party. Suddenly, Lorelai decides to go on a road trip with Rory during which they will visit Harvard University and calls off the wedding. Christopher proposes to her, but she rejects him telling him he is not ready to take care of Rory and her. Lorelai later rekindles her relationship with Max and they become engaged. As their wedding is approaching, Lorelai has thoughts and calls Christopher during her bachelorette party. Suddenly, Lorelai decides to go on a road trip with Rory during which they will visit Harvard University and calls off the wedding. Christopher proposes to her, but she rejects him telling him he is not ready to take care of Rory and her. Lorelai later rekindles her relationship with Max and they become engaged. As their wedding is approaching, Lorelai has thoughts and calls Christopher during her bachelorette party. Suddenly, Lorelai decides to go on a road trip with Rory during which they will visit Harvard University and calls off the wedding.

Christopher comes back to town for Rory’s debutante ball. During the evening, Lorelai and Christopher share a kiss as she founds him changed, but he tells her he is now in a serious relationship with a woman named Sherrie. Afterward, Lorelai and Sookie make plans about opening their Inn, but the building they want, Fran Weston’s Inn the Dragonfly, is not for sale. When Luke Danes ( Scott Patterson ) ‘s nephew Jess Mariano ( Milo Ventimiglia ) and Rory get into a car accident, Lorelai blames Jess which leads to a serious argument between Luke and Lorelai. They reconcile only months later. Christopher returns to Stars Hollow and after he tells Lorelai he has problems in his relationship with Sherrie, They spend the night together before Sookie’s wedding. They are both ready to commit, but when Christopher learns Sherrie is pregnant, he leaves Lorelai and returns to Sherrie. In the third season, Lorelai then meets Alex Lesman ( Billy Burke ) has a reading about inns and they begin dating. While she is on her way to the Friday night dinner, Lorelai comes across Max and they catch up. Chilton’s bicentennial and share a kiss. After several days, the two meet at Chilton’s parent committee evening and Max makes it clear he does not want them to reunite. On Lorelai’s birthday, Richard gives her payout from an investment, but she decides to repay her parents for the loan, which shocks Emily. Lorelai and Sookie to buy the Dragonfly. The Independence Inn closes and Lorelai plans to use the money for the Dragonfly to pay for Yale University’s fees. However, Rory asks her grandparents for their financial help, reinstating in the Friday night dinners. Lorelai and Sookie decide to buy the Dragonfly on Rory’s graduation day.

In the fourth season, Luke gets married to lawyer Nicole on a cruise but they soon divorce and Lorelai and Sookie begin the renovations of the inn. Richard forms a new partnership with His form his associate’s, Jason Stiles ( Chris Eigeman ) Who happens to be an old camp friend of Lorelai. After he has a disagreement with Emily about Richard’s new business launch party, Lorelai furious goes to talk to him and at the end of their discussion he invites her to dinner but she refuses. Later on, Jason succeeds into getting invited by Emily to a Friday night dinner and he and Lorelai get closer. She eventually accepts his invitation to dinner and start seeing each other without telling her parents. As she is running out of money to renovate the inn, Lorelai asks Luke ‘ S help who offers her a loan. Jason’s father Floyd announces he’s going to sue his son and Richard because they have taken his clients. Floyd also tells Lorelai’s parents about her relationship with her son, which shocks Emily. In the fallout of Floyd’s announcement, Richard decides to associate with Floyd Jeopardizing Jason’s career. Lorelai breaks up with him. Luke whose marriage to lawyer Nicole failed, finally realizes the woman he truly loves is Lorelai. She serves as a wedding and sees him under a new light. At the end of the evening he tells her they should spend more time together. Lorelai and Sookie open their inn and after a misunderstanding about Jason,

In the fifth season, Lorelai embarks on a relationship with Luke and after she discovers Rory has lost her virginity to married Dean, who was her first love and form boyfriend. Dean had married another girl, after breaking up with Rory. Rory and Lorelai’s mother-daughter relationship. Eventually Rory apologizes. Christopher panicking over Sherrie’s departure to Paris, leaving him alone with their baby, calls Lorelai for help. Rory later tells Christopher to leave her mother alone. Christopher to the inn with Rory and notices the tension between them. Luke also worries when he learns about the dinner. When Christopher’s father dies, Lorelai and Rory go to his house to support him. HOWEVER, Lorelai does not mention her visit to Luke. Emily tells Christopher that the relationship between Lorelai and Luke is getting serious and that he should do what he wants to end up with Lorelai. At Richard and Emily’s wedding renewal ceremony, Lorelai finally admits to Luke her visit to Christopher when she notices his presence. Christopher tells Luke that his relationship with Lorelai will not last because he is destined to be with Lorelai. This leads to Luke breaking up with Lorelai but they later reunite. Lorelai, however, remains furious at Emily for some time and eventually forgives her. Lorelai is worried about Rory’s relationship with Logan Huntzberger ( Matt Czuchry ) and his family’s influence on her. At the conclusion of the season, They steal a yacht and end up at the police station. Rory to make a year off from Yale which upsets Lorelai and when her parents, who initially agreed to help, change their mind and allow Rory to move in with them, prompt Lorelai to propose to Luke.

In the sixth season, Lorelai and Rory do not talk for months while Luke agrees to marry Lorelai and they renovate her house. When Luke reveals he can not trust Lorelai after she has received a message from Christopher, the two fight. Lorelai and Rory finally reconcile and she decides to return to Yale. Luke learns that he has a daughter but does not tell Lorelai. Lorelai later finds out about Luke’s daughter and they decide to postpone the wedding. When Christopher receives an inheritance, he begins to pay for Yale and the Friday night dinners are not so mandatory anymore. After posing an ultimatum to Luke which leads to their break-up, Lorelai finds comfort in Christopher and they start dating again.

In the final season of the original series, Lorelai and Christopher jet off to Paris, where they impulsively get married. When Lorelai returns home and informs Rory and the rest of Stars Hollow, including Luke that she and Christopher are married she gets mixed reactions. Rory is upset at first, but she wants to be her dad to be happy. Throughout the season, Christopher and Lorelai face some significant issues, the biggest one is when Lorelai needs to write a character reference for Luke so he can partial custody of his daughter, April. Christopher, Lorelai still loves Luke. Lorelai tries to deny it, but they are better off as friends. In the end, Lorelai reunites with Luke. Rory, her daughter’s goodbye party for the entire town. Lorelai realizes that Luke has been there for her from the beginning and loves her and her daughter. In one of the final scenes of the show, Lorelai and Luke share a passionate kiss.

In 2016 Netflix revival of the show, Lorelai is still with Luke. They are living together in her home, he still runs the diner and she still owns her, but they have not married. Throughout the four episodes, Lorelai goes through a lot, especially with her relationship with her mother. Loelai and Emily always had a strained relationship. In the revival, the two go to family therapy. Lorelai also goes on her own version of “Wild” where she tries to find herself. When she returns, she realizes her life with Luke in Stars Hollow and she’s happy. The show ends with Lorelai and Luke’s wedding in the center of Stars with her friends, Michel, Lane, Kirk and Rory (her daughter).

In the very last scene of the show, Lorelai is sitting with Rory and they’re reflecting on ‘it all’. Rory then turns to her mother and tells her she’s pregnant. The show ends never revealing who the father is.

Character development

Casting

Three other actresses, including Nina Garbiras , were initially considered to play Lorelai, but the network rejected them and instead mentioned the name of Lauren Graham . ^[4] Before landing the role of Lorelai in Gilmore Girls , Graham starred in many short-lived TV shows, guest appeared in a number of top 10 prime-time comedies and did commercial work. ^[5]

She got the role in Gilmore Girls because she had all the characteristics producer Amy Sherman-Palladino was looking for. “The fact that you’ve got a lot of fun, you know what you’re going to do, Sexy, but not scary sexy, you have got to be able to act, you have got to be sexy, but not scary sexy. It’s a lot that goes into this character, and it was really a tough find. And to find it and be able to feel like you broke somebody fresh, even though everybody in town knew Lauren, Going to get something great. ‘

Characterization

Virginia Heffernan of The New York Times described Lorelai and Rory as “unsentimental brainiacs” who, if they could see Gilmore Girls , would hate her sentimentality of the last and final season. Also, the character talks fast and uses words to keep her “loneliness at bay” which, while opinion, seems to be a relatively insightful view of her. Lorelai feels that to “swoon, even once,” would make her lose her verbal power and her “reason for being.” ^[7] On the characteristic of talking fast, Sherman-Palladino noted: “Just by listening to Lorelai’s vocal patterns, it says volumes about this woman: First of all, that she’s bright enough to put that many words together that quickly … And it says a lot about her emotionally, ^{That she has got a deflection shield that gets out of the way she gets through the world, which says survivor. ” [8]} She also said of the character:” Lorelai’s humor was her guard and her deflection and what kept her strong. It was her Wonder Woman cuffs. ” ^[9]

Margaret Lyons of Vulture.com wrote an analysis on Lorelai pointing out her flaws: “Both Gilmores have an exaggerated sense of their own wonderfulness, though I suppose, in their defense, those around them seem to play along. Downfall is her intense, self-absorbing overwhelming She is chronically rude to people in the service industry, and she is not a good friend to Sookie, even though she thinks she is kinda, Sookie’s ideas and problems. “Her self-absorption erodes any opportunity for self-awareness.” She likes to refer to her “emotional baggage,” but she assiduously avoids doing anything about it.Lorelai knows how to push Emily and Richard’s buttons, and she never hesitates to do so. ” ^[10]

In the fifth season, Lorelai started a relationship with Luke Danes; Sherman-Palladino commented: “I thought we had enough time invested in the relationship that people would care. We had a good four years, and in those four years, we saw Luke go through relationships, and we saw Lorelai go through three relationships. I felt like it was time. ” ^[11]

Lorelai is witty and quirky. A coffee addict, she spends a lot of time in Luke’s diner and chatting with the locals of Stars Hollow. She makes many pop culture references, many from the 80s. Lorelai speaks very fast, especially when upset. A smart businesswoman, she forms strong relationships with her employees making her business run smoothly. Her best friend is Sookie St. James. Much to her parents horror, she is a Democrat . She drives a Jeep Wrangler . Her favorite band is The Bangles .

Reception

E! Online ‘s Lia Harberman Summarized Lorelai as “a woman we’re dying to call Mom. […] Finally, the actress gets a ultratalented opportunity to shine in a show that looks like it just might stick around.” ^[12] Willa Paskin of PopMatters wrote Lorelai is “perhaps the most fully developed female character on television.” ^[13] The New York Times TV columnist Virginia Heffernan said the character was “painful and surprising and exciting to watch – a high-wire marvelous act.” ^[7] According to Michael Ausiello , fans were reluctant to let Luke and Lorelai go. ^[14]

In 2005, in honor of Mother’s Day, Inside TV, a newly published weekly magazine for television fans, her picks for Top 10 All-Time Greatest TV Moms. Gilmore Girls Lorelai Gilmore Official 5th ahead of classic television mothers Marion Cunningham of Happy Days , Caroline Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie and Carol Brady . ^[15] of The Brady Bunch . On May 11, 2008, TiVo released the results of a survey conducted by eRewards Market Research on Television Top Moms. Lorelai ranked 14th, with 20 percent of respondents selecting among their top 20 TV moms. ^[16] In the 1000th issue of Entertainment Weekly , Lorelai Gilmore was selected as the Mom for the Perfect TV Family. ^[17] In 2009, She Was Voted the “Best Mom” in Zap2it ‘s first poll of the best TV characters in the 2000s. ^[18] She was listed in the Top 5 Modern TV Moms by Film.com . ^[19] In February 2012, Zap2it held a poll to determine TV’s Most Crushworthy. Lorelai was elected TV’s Most Crushworthy Mom over Gloria Delgado-Pritchett of Modern Family . ^[20] In May 2012, Lorelai Was one of the 13 moms Chosen by users of iVillage on Their list of “Mommy Dearest: The TV Moms You Love”. ^[21] Lauren Graham was chosen twice for her portrayal of Lorelai by the Teen Choice Awards , ^[22] winning “Choice TV Parental Unit” in 2005 and 2006. ^[23]

In June 2010, Lorelai was named one of the 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years along with her daughter Rory by Entertainment Weekly . ^[24] She was also listed in AfterEllen.com’s Top 50 Favorite Female TV Characters. ^[25] AOL TV ranked her the 57th Most Memorable Female TV Character. ^[26] Lorelai and Rory were listed in Paste ‘s 35 Greatest TV Duos of All Time. ^[27] Her relationship with Luke Was included in TV Guide‘ s list of the best TV couples of all time. ^[28] They Were aussi share of Entertainment Weekly ‘s “30 Best” Will They / Won ‘ T They? ‘ ^{TV Couples ” [29]} AOL TV placed their kisses among the” 10 Best Smooches in Television. ” ^[30] For her portrayal of Lorelai, Graham received a nomination for Best Actress in a Drama Series at the 2002 Golden Globe Awards , goal lost to Jennifer Garner from Alias . ^[31] [32] She was aussi Nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series in 2000 and in 2001. ^[33] [34] Several Critics felt Graham’s performance deserved an Emmy Awardnomination; ^{[35] [36] [37]} Megan Friedman of Time magazine to list her in her “Top 10 Emmy Snubs”. ^[38]

References