The Gilmore Girls Fandom Owes Lorelai Gilmore A Huge Apology
She made her choices herself, but why did she feel like she needed to?
With the recent trend of the youngest generation of millennials and the older generation of zoomers discovering their signs of maturity, many joined in to recall their changed opinions on their favorite series, Gilmore Girls, the early 2000s staple turned out to be one of them.
Unexpectedly, the character who came under fire for this trend is none other than Lorelai Gilmore herself. The same Lorelai who clearly suffered from parental neglect, abuse, and manipulation not only during her teenage years but throughout her adulthood.
As it turns out, many viewers today believe that Lorelai is to blame for her relationship with Emily, not the other way around.
While everyone has the right to perceive a character as they see her, perpetuating such views can be harmful to those who saw Lorelai as a representation of their own struggles on television.
Although it could easily be mistaken for maternal care, we as viewers spent enough time to see how controlling and manipulative Emily's means of raising her daughter were. She had her future planned out years in advance, and when Lorelai ruined her picture-perfect plans, she turned to belittling and bullying.
Her insecurities about Rory's relationship with her grandparents are also completely understandable. While she knows that her daughter doesn't feel as much pressure from them and shares more views and values with them than Lorelai ever did herself, she also knows how painful the fallout can be, and she wants to protect her daughter from that disappointment.
Lorelai Gilmore is far from perfect. She's childish, she's insecure, and she has a hard time adjusting to adulthood and taking on more responsibility. However, her flaws are not only relatable to many viewers but also completely justified by the way she was treated before.
Gilmore Girls had many important messages, but the one that hit home for many people was that you don't have to forgive and forget your parents' mistakes, especially if they continue to haunt you into the future.
If maturing means realizing that Emily was right all along, then we don't want to mature either.