Calling all Gilmore Girls fans: once you see this list, you can’t unsee it. But first, let’s be real. Gilmore Girls is one of the greatest shows to ever be put on television. Lorelai and Rory are the ultimate definition of mom and daughter goals. From their quick wit to their coffee obsession, you’re lying to yourself if you don’t wish you were a Gilmore, too. For seven seasons (and one Netflix revival season), the show followed the Gilmore girls and their lives in the scenic (and surprisingly exciting) small town of Stars Hollow.
But like most other TV shows, Gilmore Girls wasn’t exempt from a few crazy plot lines and questionable subplot twists. Sure, some of Rory’s boyfriends were too cringey to like (is anyone even Team Dean?) and there’s no logical explanation for how Lorelai and Rory ate so much junk food. But there are a few things that happened on Gilmore Girls that *literally* just made no sense no matter how you look at it. Keep reading to see what they are, but be warned: you can’t forget this list once you see it!
17. All of Kirk’s wacky jobs.
Oh, Kirk. He’s quirky, but he’s oh-so-lovable. He’s also a jack of all trades in Stars Hollow. Over the course of the entire series, Kirk held 62 jobs! That begs the question: how in the world did he have so many? Why did he need so many jobs? Was he getting fired? Who kept on hiring him? His jobs included assistant manager at Doose’s Market, mechanic, mailman, hockey announcer, firewood delivery man, ribbon collector, and realtor, just to name a few. While it’s unclear why Kirk had so many jobs (or how he was qualified for all of them), residents of Stars Hollow could always count on Kirk (no matter how goofy he may have seemed).
16. Lane’s dad never appeared on the original series, but she’s said he exists.
Ever notice that we never got to see Lane’s dad? Rory’s BFF always mentions her parents in the plural – she never just says “my mom” – but the man isn’t spotted at all and no one ever asks about him. You’d think he’d at least show up when Lane got married or gave birth, but he was always MIA. Curious fans finally got their answer in the revival series, though. During the “Spring” episode of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, Lane says to Rory, “Oh, look, my dad’s here!” and fans finally got a look at his face. But where was he for the first seven seasons??
15. Lane practically lived a double life.
Lane’s mom was like a hawk. Mrs. Kim ran a tight ship in her home (which doubled as an antique shop) and Lane could barely hang out with Rory for more than a few hours before Mrs. Kim got suspicious. How did she have no idea that Lane was basically living a double life? In front of Mrs. Kim, Lane was the quiet, studious daughter she expected her to be. But behind closed doors, Lane was an ambitious musician who loved playing her drums and dressing like a rock star. Given how strict Mrs. Kim was, it’s hard to believe that she didn’t have any clue that Lane was secretly perfecting her musical talents. Where was she getting the money for those band tees?
14. Lorelai needed money from her parents to send Rory to Chilton, but they were always eating out and going shopping.
The only reason Rory got to go to the elite Chilton School on season one was because Richard and Emily Gilmore paid for her hefty tuition. That is what sparked their deal for a weekly Friday night dinners, after all. But if Lorelai was so tight on money, how was she able to afford to constantly eat out and go shopping with Rory all the time? We rarely ever saw Lorelai cooking up dinner – instead, she opted for takeout or Luke’s diner food all the time. While their meals probably aren’t as expensive as your favorite Postmates order, we all know how expensive it can be to eat out all the time. If they chose to eat at home once in a while, Lorelai could probably afford to pay for Rory’s tuition herself.
13. Rory missed Lorelai’s graduation day to hang with Jess in New York.
The bond Lorelai and Rory share is like nothing else – so it almost seemed fake when Rory missed Lorelai’s graduation from the local community college. Rory was the one who even encouraged Lorelai to go to the graduation in the first place, telling her she’d regret it if she didn’t go. But to make matters worse, Rory missed the event because she snuck off to New York to spend the day with Jess and couldn’t get back in time. In typical Rory fashion, she was so determined to make things right that she grounded herself for six months, but the whole situation was just so out of character for Rory.
12. Lorelai thought it was a good idea to pursue a relationship with Rory’s teacher.
The Gilmore girls sometimes have questionable tastes in men, and Lorelai’s relationship with Rory’s teacher was no exception. Sure, Max Medina was a cute teacher and seemed like a great match for Lorelai. But WHY would Lorelai even consider dating her daughter’s teacher at all? She didn’t give the greatest impression at Chilton in the beginning – remember the cowboy boots and tie-dye shirt she wore on Rory’s first day because they were late? But she’s proven time and time again that she prioritizes Rory’s needs before her own, so pursuing that relationship with her daughter’s teacher seemed fairly unrealistic. The least she could have done was wait until Rory graduated – but let’s be real, we all knew who Lorelai was meant to be with from the beginning (and it wasn’t Max).
11. Rory became Valedictorian of her high school class.
There’s no denying Rory is a great student. She did get into Chilton, after all. But how did she snag the Valedictorian spot when Paris existed? If you looked up the definition of “overachiever” in the dictionary, Paris’s picture would probably be the sole description. She went above and beyond to prove to everyone that she was the smartest, most accomplished student at that school. So how did Rory take over and de-throne Paris as the smartest kid in the class? It’s still confusing, especially considering the fact that a few plotlines involved her struggling to adapt to her classes. Remember when she got that D?!
10. Rory got into Yale *AND* Harvard but Paris didn’t.
We’ve already established how surprising it was that Rory was her class’s Valedictorian instead of Paris. But even more surprising? The fact that Rory got into Yale AND Harvard while Paris only got into Yale. This one just doesn’t make any sense. Given her extensive and impressive resume, it’s shocking that any school wouldn’t want Paris. Also, that D on Rory’s resume! We get that Paris wouldn’t nail the interview, but this is just too much. Luckily, things all worked out, but this one still keeps us up at night.
9. Michel was consistently unprofessional at work.
Let’s take a minute to reflect on that fact that Michel is the worst employee a boss could ever ask for, yet Lorelai and Sookie somehow bring him along with them NMW. He complains about doing his job, he’s rude to customers at the Dragonfly Inn (and the Independence Inn before that), and he’s never friendly toward his own boss. If he were to act like that in the real world, he’d be fired in an instant. Why did Lorelai and Sookie invite him to join them as a staff member at their own Inn they opened together after his history of unprofessionalism? He’s definitely not “Employee of the Month” material, and it’s crazy that he kept his job despite his open hatred for it.
8. Everyone hated Taylor, but he was always the Town Selectman.
If there’s one thing all Gilmore Girls fans can agree on, it’s that Taylor Doose was the worst. Like, does anyone even like Taylor, besides Kirk on rare occasions? Luke hates him, Lorelai and Rory always complain about him, and no one in Stars Hollow seems to take him or his ridiculous antics and crazy rules seriously. The political upset in season five, which showed Sookie’s husband Jackson ousting Taylor as the Town Selectman was a great turn of events. But Jackson expressed some distaste for the position, and Taylor was holding the position again by the time season six rolled around with no explanation as to how. Even Michel would be a better Town Selectman than Taylor.
7. Kirk first introduced himself as “Mick”
If you watch the second episode of season one, you’ll be interested to see that Kirk actually introduces himself as “Mick” to Lorelai while working as a DSL installer. In the next episode, he’s just known as “Swan Guy,” and it’s not until the fifth episode that he’s introduced as Kirk. There’s really no explanation why he was named Mick to begin with, or why he hadn’t met Lorelai until that moment despite living in Stars Hollow forever. Some superfans believe Kirk actually has a twin who also roams Stars Hollow, but, let’s be real, it was Miss Patty who first called him “Kirk the Jerk,” so it’s probably just a continuity error.
6. Richard and Emily implied that Grandma Gilmore was dead… but she wasn’t.
Color us confused. On the third episode of season one, both Richard and Emily Gilmore talk about Richard’s mom, Lorelai “Trix” Gilmore, like she’s dead. Like, they literally talked about “Lorelai the first” in the past tense to imply that she’d passed away. But later on during the same season, Grandma Gilmore shows up alive and perfectly healthy (and still bothering Emily to no end).
5. The Town Troubadour never seemed to make money.
What even is the point of the Stars Hollow Town Troubadour? Sure, he plays some great tunes on the streets for the town’s residents, but no one ever seems to throw him some money. He also never places a hat or a guitar case out to collect money. What gives? Is being the Town Troubadour his only job? If so, how does he sustain a living? We got to learn a little bit more about him in a subplot where he fought another troubadour to be the sole performer in Stars Hollow, but we’re dying for more information about this mysterious character.
4. Christopher and Lorelai got married but didn’t tell Rory.
This plot twist was just simply unbelievable. Early on the seventh season, Lorelai took a trip to Paris with Rory’s dad (her on-again-off-again boyfriend since high schol) Christopher. While there, they must have had one too many chocolate croissants because they made the ridiculous decision to get married in Paris *without Rory*. Not only was it crazy enough for Lorelai to actually commit to marrying Christopher, the fact that she made such a huge life decision without her daughter/BFF by her side is too absurd for most fans to believe. Even Lauren Grahamforgot that this ridiculous plot twist even happened. “It just seemed so out of character that I literally blocked it from my memory. That was my season 7 experience,” she said.
3. The photobooth image of Lorelai and “Christopher” definitely wasn’t Christopher.
Early on in the show, Rory looks at a photobooth image of her mom and dad – but the guy in the pictures clearly isn’t the Christopher we know. Is it an imposter? It’s hard to tell. While it may just be a simple casting oversight, it’s still unsettling. Gilmore Girls producers should have known that fans of the show would pick up on this immediately. We need answers as to who this fake Christopher is!
2. On the revival series, Rory’s a struggling writer but had money to blow.
In Netflix’s revival series, Rory makes it clear that she’s a struggling writer. So much, in fact, that she has to move home and take a job at the dying Stars Hollow Gazette. With only two employees, ancient computers, and no real management system, Rory needs to get to work to save the paper – but we never actually see her doing much of anything to save the paper. Meanwhile, she was previously renting an apartment in New York (which is known to be one of the most expensive places to live). Add that to her frequent trips to London to continue her affair with Logan, her stylish wardrobe and her insane budget for coffee, and you’ve got one confusing financial situation.
1. Paris went from a promising journalist to a doctor.
From the moment Paris appeared on screen, it was clear that she was going to be a successful journalist. Not only did she fiercely protect her role as the Chilton newspaper Editor-in-Chief, she continued her passionate career in journalism while at Yale. But in the Netflix revival, it was revealed that Paris had a change in heart and pursued a career as a doctor – specifically, a fertility specialist. While Paris is clearly doing a fantastic job at her career, we can’t help but wonder what happened to her journalism dreams and why she’d chosen fertility as her expertise.