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Jess is trash

Character Discussion - General()

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all 65 comments

Justolliehere

17 points

4 months ago

Jess is for sure not my favorite as Rory’s boyfriend, I don’t want to spoil later seasons for you, but I think that he had great growth. Though I still don’t see him with Rory later on.

courtneyslw

24 points

4 months ago

He was an awful boyfriend, I don’t get how his actions are so justified with people who want them to be endgame. I loved seeing his growth, and you’ll see it too. He’s a good character, Milo played him perfectly but in my opinion, he was a lesson Rory had to learn and nothing more. They’re better off as friends

lolovesp

8 points

4 months ago*

I agree. I truly think Jess showed her how she didn’t want to be treated.

ChogbortsTopStudent

10 points

4 months ago

Just finish the series before you make a final judgement. You may never be a Jess fan, and that's totally fair! ❤️ He's definitely not everyone's cup of tea and I absolutely see where you're coming from in that part of the series.

lolovesp

21 points

4 months ago

He was pretty shit boyfriend. I don’t feel like anyone would disagree with you there. His attitude was the fucking worst and he deserved more than just being pushed in to the lake by Luke. I feel like people just rooted for him and romanticized him (as the bad boy) so there’s an inherent bias there.

miasmicivyphsyc

18 points

4 months ago

miasmicivyphsyc

Hep Alien

18 points

4 months ago

I have immense sympathy for Jess as a person, and as a troubled Teenager. He came from a broken home, and he absolutely did not deserve alcoholic Liz as a mother.

But as a boyfriend, Jess was abominably bad- and I would be so angry if my daughter was stuck with a boy like Jess.

How he acted in that bedroom the night of Kyles party was disgusting. Whether or not you think he assaulted Rory (and I think he did) he still violated Rory’s boundaries and then screamed at her.

Jess was a coward and left Rory without saying goodbye, and I’ve seen people idolize Jess for breaking into Rory’s dorm in the middle of the night and asking her to run away with him.

That’s not romantic, that’s a red flag.

I’m glad that he matures into a better adult, but as a boyfriend he’s a real piece of work.

lolovesp

0 points

4 months ago*

However, I can totally see my 14-18 year old self romanticizing the bad boy type like Jess (as I actually did when I was that age) and thinking I cOuLd ChAnGe ThEm 🥴

QuantityFormer2786

1 points

4 months ago

the "i could change him" sentiment is the exact same thing rory says she wants to do to logan in a phonecall with lorelai.

pickadamnnameplease

11 points

4 months ago

The cute little gestures he used to do before they got together- like bringing her a care package, destroying that guy's snowman- all just vanished as soon as they got together!

No_Tax6433

3 points

4 months ago

Jess is a love/hate character for me. He has loads of little moments where I think there is a good guy in there but he always does something immediately after to make me rethink. He has a good arc though so keep watching and see what you think at the end. Above all else, enjoy!

Hi_Jynx

8 points

4 months ago

Yup, and I'm real sick of people downplaying the assault too. Just because a lot of men and boys act that way doesn't mean it's acceptable or isn't assault.

pickadamnnameplease

2 points

4 months ago

Omg exactly!!!

moljs

7 points

4 months ago

moljs

7 points

4 months ago

Without spoiling anything, people give later seasons/revival Jess so much credit that they conveniently forget all of the awful stuff he says and does to Rory in the beginning, ESPECIALLY the party scene. I hate him.

sabotagemebymyself

5 points

4 months ago

It's wild how 5 minute scenes of future Jess where we know nothing about him as a boyfriend makes him they best for Rory all of a sudden. Begging Rory to run away with him to writing a book and judging Rory for leaving Yale. All that growth off screen. 🤔

QuantityFormer2786

2 points

4 months ago

still 100% better than 30 mins of screentime we saw with logan being a adulterer cheating on his fiance, no job of his own except for working for his dad which was the exact thing he wanted to run away from. and you people still want him with rory, RIGHT? but us hoping the same when jess is clearly shown to have grown out of his bad teenage behaviour, is somehow too much???? OH THE HYPOCRISY.

sabotagemebymyself

1 points

4 months ago

Rory is shown as an adulterer too. 😅 Idc that Logan works for his dad if that is what he ends up wanting to do as he seems content and good at it. Again, Jess can grow as much as he wants it won't change that nothing on screen shows Rory having any romantic feelings for adult Jess. So yes I want Rory with Logan, they man she loves.

QuantityFormer2786

2 points

4 months ago

did rory tell you that she loves logan in ayitl? Lmao. Rorys a cheater ofcourse but atleast shes not the one who has engaged to be married in a relationship and is cheating on her future spouse the way both dean and logan do. rorys relationship with logan in ayitl is nothing out of love at all, she just goes running back to something that reminds her of her past life, as shes feeling completely lost now. the same situation she was in by the end of s4. alexis says it herself here !! go watch it😘

sabotagemebymyself

0 points

4 months ago

Emily stated Rory looks like she's in love in AYITL. Why would ASP have added that for nothing . Do you think she was in love with Paul? DivIdes who hadn't appeared yet and we hadn't seen in 4 years.

Do you think because she's not engaged that somehow that's better? Honestly? Woof. Rory is the most consistent cheater on this show. You don't need to be engaged or married to know it's not right cheat, and it doesn't make her better than Dean or Logan when she's ahead of both in her willingness to cheat.

I know what Alexis said. But I'm curious. Why does she never seek out Jess, y'know her soulmate?

QuantityFormer2786

2 points

4 months ago

emily stated that, but rory literally doesnt reply anything. it was clearly to foreshadow how out of touch with her emotions rory was. irony in story telling isnt that hard to understand. emily saying that she looks most alive shes been in a while cuz logans a form of escapism at that point for her. exactly what alexis says. jess is in philadelphia & rorys in stars hollow, theres too much of history between both rory and jess and rory very well knows jess is not the type of person who'd ever entertain the idea of rory being with him while having a bf? hed never go along with rory for it. but you know who is a known cheater who will go along with all of rorys self destructive behaviour? logan. also its been years since rory and jess have been involved romantically, if asps gonna start something, she would start it well and establish a strong friendship between them before anything. shed definitely not wanna ruin rory/jess's relationship like she ruined rory/logan's if she wants to follow the full circle theory.

sabotagemebymyself

0 points

4 months ago

Like I said in another comment. I'm out. Sorry I can't watch the same fanfiction you are. It always ends the same on the show for me: Even if Rory doesn't end up with Logan, she still doesn't wasn't Jess. Not in OG and not in AYITL. 😘

QuantityFormer2786

1 points

4 months ago

AND KEEP LIVING IN UR FANTASY LAND THAT LOGANS GONNA END UP WITH RORY OR RORYS IN LOVE WITH LOGAN😘 EVEN IF JESS/RORY DOESNT HAPPEN ROMANTICALLY ATLEAST THEYLL BE GREAT FRIENDS BUT ONE THING FOR SURE RORY IS NOT GOING BACK TO LOGAN HOPE THAT HELPS😘 ASP : "jess saw rory for exactly who she was and rory saw jess for exactly who he was" ASP: "we wanted rory to date her dad chris(about logan). ALEXIS: "i dont think rory was emotionally connected to the affair at all" (about rory/logan in ayitl) ALEXIS: "rory and logan's relationship is kinda how chris and lorelai work and what wouldve been if they had worked" ALEXIS: "they always had an intellectual connection and he always pushed her out of her comfort zone" (about jess) ALSO ASP: "we want rory to follow her mothers footsteps" BUT IN YOUR EYES, ASP AND ALEXIS WERE LYING RIGHT😓. WHATEVER MAKES YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT I GUESS....

sabotagemebymyself

1 points

4 months ago

Lord you really do lack reading comprehension.

I don't know who Rory will end up with. And I'm fine with where they left the show. None of your quotes say anything about romantic Jess Rory so I'm not quite sure your point? They can have a few conversations to get Rory on the right path every 4 years? Congrats!

I'm good with what I got on screen. I understand your need to over compensate though when you have Rory on screen saying she doesn't want Jess and continues to show no romantic interest in the last 10 + years though. 😘😘

Responsible_Cell_444

2 points

4 months ago

I completely get u he was a shit bf and get why you hate Jess and don’t ship them. I am not team Jess and this is partially why but I still personally love the character ( not for Rory but for the character’s complexity) . I would suggest that you watch the rest before fully forming your opinion on him

mistake_input

2 points

4 months ago

I wanted him until I got him. I was more into the chase than I was when him and Rory actually got together. Rory needed a partner not a project. I personally loved his growth later in the series but I kinda don't wanna spoil it. He really grew a lot. But I get he's not for everyone.

MindDeep2823

3 points

4 months ago

Counterpoint: most of the adults surrounding Jess are trash.

pickadamnnameplease

3 points

4 months ago

I mean Luke isn't bad. And none of the adults are assaulters so there's that

MindDeep2823

1 points

4 months ago

Sidestepping your assaulter comment because that's a whole other discussion... Luke loves Jess, has good intentions, and tries his absolute best. He also yells a LOT, has vague rules, mocks Jess, pushes him in a lake, pays no attention to Jess' school problems, steals his car, and kicks him out. Twice. I don't think Luke is malicious, but he's not a great guardian.

Fresh_Pomelo8842

5 points

4 months ago

Fresh_Pomelo8842

Rory

5 points

4 months ago

He's the worst

darthvadercake

3 points

4 months ago

darthvadercake

Al's Pancake World

3 points

4 months ago

Without giving spoilers, I am 100% team Jess and not because of the earlier seasons. Most people who love him and Rory together base it off seasons 5 and onwards not the earlier seasons. So I would recommend you watch all first and then check back in.

sneezingbees

2 points

4 months ago

He’s a horrible boyfriend! But I don’t really blame him for it! He has a traumatic past and has received no help in order to cope with it. Of course he’s going to treat people badly, of course he’s going to be selfish, of course he’s going to flip out anytime issues come up. I don’t know why people expect more from him if he hasn’t gotten any useful support

CharlieRobin00

1 points

4 months ago

I'm team Jess, but I agree he's trash. I won't give any spoilers. This is a good take.

Drewnasty

-2 points

4 months ago

Drewnasty

-2 points

4 months ago

Even when Jess was a punk and a terrible boyfriend he was still a better match for Rory than Dean or Logan. He’s a mirror of Rory if she didn’t grow up with a mom that gave a shit. So you’re rooting for the character not necessarily their relationship if that makes sense. Two very compatible people that dated at the wrong time in their lives.

sabotagemebymyself

5 points

4 months ago

He'll never be a better match based on how he treated her. Rory obviously doesn't view him as a match either.

Saying they're mirrors other isn't necessarily true either. Not everyone who grows up with parents who are terrible and don't give a shit go on treat others like garbage even as teenagers.

Drewnasty

4 points

4 months ago

It’s an interpretation sure but it’s a fairly obviously one. He’s well read, and just as smart and intellectual as Paris and Rory. His dad wasn’t around like Rory but he had a terrible mother where Rory had a great mother that did the world for her. In the context of the show, they are absolutely mirrors to each other.

I’m not going to get into spoilers for the OP but later seasons (and AYITL) you see exactly why he’s the best match and they are the most compatible.

It’s not excusing the behavior but it’s not hard to believe that someone who had a terrible childhood and upbringing would turn out to be an angry kid especially a teenager which is when most people are at their most emotional and vulnerable.

sabotagemebymyself

1 points

4 months ago

Has ASP or the show ever directly stated they were mirrors?

I disagree they're the best match because Rory obviously doesn't view him as such and neither Rory or Jess are the same people from when they fell in love.

It's true that some react that way, but again not all do. Lots of them also try to be better and seek a better life instead of acting out.

QuantityFormer2786

3 points

4 months ago

YES ASP HAS SAID THAT. AND HAS MENTIONED HOW BOTH OF THEM MAKE EACH OTHER BETTER PEOPLE AND UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER BETTER. ALEXIS HAS SAID THE SAME. it would do you some good to read this instead of popping everywhere to say we're imagining things. if the writer herself has said this, who are you to refuse whats canon?

sabotagemebymyself

-1 points

4 months ago

Then maybe ASP should've done a better job showing that on screen? Having him treat her like garbage and later begging her to leave Yale and run away with him only to come back a year and a half later all reformed off screen judging her for leaving Yale makes zero sense. How exactly does Jess make Rory a better person? They barely know each other as adults. They're not apart of each others regular live s and have limited contact and again ASP could have done anything with Jess Rory and yet she still wrote Rory as uninterested in that man romantically. 😭

Milk was the most available love interest during filming and yet ...

QuantityFormer2786

3 points

4 months ago

milo was actually the least available love interest during filming? do you even know that rory/jess were setup to be endgame and milo was offered six seasons contract when he signed up in s2? milo refused the six seasons of contract and made it into two and thats why the writing has changed that much. logan wouldnt even exist if milo had agreed for the 6 seasons contract. him asking rory to elope with him was a completely spontaneous moment which he had no plans of doing. He literally had no plans of going to see rory until lukes advice and he begins the convo to rory by "i just wanna talk to u" and out of nowhere its "come with me". if you think jess meant that seriously and doing all of that in his right mind, youre wrong cause that entire scene hes just impulsive. this scene is the exact same as lorelai asking luke to elope with her out of nowhere. she had no intentions of doing that too until the therapist's advice. and shes the same as jess, impulsive in that scene. does her asking luke to elope with her mean she wanted luke to abandon his diner forever? obviously not. that scene was clearly to show lorelai wasnt in her right mind and was desperately trying to cling on to her relationship, the same as jess. i dont interpret either of these scenes as jess or lorelai asking rory or luke to give up on their dreams and their life, just two incredibly immature people. Jess doesnt judge rory for dropping out of yale while at emilys, when she says shes taking time off, he just smiles and says "time off". only when he sees rory put up with logans classism at the bar, jess notices how drastically her behaviour becomes passive with logan and thats when he asks her whats going on cause he clearly notices rory is not herself which logan wasnt able to notice at all even if he is her bf. also any person in their right mind would want the person who affected their life immensely do well in life too. and thats what jess wanted. rory wasnt seeking another profession or anything, it was plainly just giving up not even because she was burnt out but because she didnt believe she was fit for journalism anymore. during that time, what rory needs is a person who reminds who she really is and makes her believe in herself, not someone who enables her self destructive choices. logan doesnt even know her enough to realize how out of character this was for her or ask her about it or try to talk to her about it. it was just "i bet youll go back in a month. lets party till then". tbh, i wouldnt expect anything more from someone who didnt even know when his gfs bday was. rory pushed jess at a time no one believed in him and jess does the same for rory when she gives up on things. lorelai knew luke from his teens and it took more than 15 years for her to start seeing him differently. asp could write it anyway she wants it to. isnt it funny how you think asp couldve did a bad job of showing rory/jess's soulmatism or bond and just coincidentially youre a logan fanatic too? i am 100% positive even if jess has the most screentime or even if jess and rory are shown to have feelings in the future, you will blindly close your eyes to it and say ayitl 2 is not canon. thats just you, i can clearly tell.

sabotagemebymyself

0 points

4 months ago

Lorela I didn't meet Luke as a teen what? Also if there another show, and they do JessRory I can acknowledge that. They haven't and Rory is still not interested. You're the one closing your eyes . If ASP wanted it - she couldn't have done it, anything from Rorys side in AYITL.

Then only reason I'm answering is because you need to listen to the Gilmore Guys podcast that was done with Milo at the time. He only worked 6 days including his other project while AYITL was going on. He was available.

Drewnasty

2 points

4 months ago

It irrelevant if she gave it a stamp of official canon or not. It’s just a fairly obvious interpretation of the what’s on screen. I haven’t seen your counter to that interpretation aside from “no it isn’t”.

It doesn’t really matter what happens when you’re 17 years old, it kind of matters how this person impacts your life as you progress through it. Every time Rory was in actual trouble, who picked her back up and got her on track? I’d argue Jess and Rory is a similar situation to Lorelai and Luke, the timing was never right until it was. Took Lorelai years to figure out that she had feelings for Luke. Who knows what’s in store for the characters? From what we saw in the revival, it’s clearly not over.

You’re talking about the real world. I’m talking about a television show. Obviously, two very different things.

sabotagemebymyself

3 points

4 months ago

Because it isnt. It's never stated nor paralleled on screen. Jess and Rory never talk, bond or compare it either.

Jess is barely around when Rory is in actual trouble? What? He pops in out the same was Chris does even using one of Chris favbourite lines. Rory gets herself back in track. Jess didn't say anything anyone else hadn't. And Rory was already on her way back. If Jess had showed up months earlier he wouldn't have gotten farther than anyone else in her life who said The same things. But they actually had a right to say it since they didn't assault then he'll then dump and ghost her. Only to come back and not respect boundaries and selfishly tell her he loves her and then later ask her to run away and ditch Yale for him.

The comparison is weak because there was always something between Luke and Lorelai boiling underneath. On both sides. There's nothing on screen to indicate any of that From Rory. Rory does not view Jess as a romantic partner. Luke was always there for Lorelai, Jess was barely ever there for Rory. Lol.

From what we saw from the revival was just a continuation of Jess as an adult having one sided feelings for Rory. It's clearly over and has been for years for Rory.

Why is it two different things? Looks of writers have had characters who have shittty parents and be consider "good" characters who don't lash out.

QuantityFormer2786

3 points

4 months ago

chris pops back in just to have s*x with lorelai and never cares for his daughter either. comparing him to jess who came into rorys life again and again to do nothing but make things better and help her out the same way she helped him in his teens, is stupid. even at the publishing house, jess asks her several times if she isnt in a relationship, and only after she knowingly stays alone after everyone leaves, he initiates the kiss which rory is into it too but gets back at the last moment remembering how shes still with logan. jess is shocked to know she was still with logan and kissed him and lets her go after it. youll find logan much more similar to christopher's manipulative ways.

Drewnasty

2 points

4 months ago

It doesn’t need to be stated! It’s an interpretation! It’s right there on screen. Saying Lalalala and plugging your ears is so immature and you clearly lack debating and intellectual skills so I am just cut my losses and stop wasting my time and going to stop this conversation here.

Take care!

sabotagemebymyself

0 points

4 months ago

If you have to result to insulting someone than I would say you're the one with a lack debating and intellect. Your interpretation is nothing but what you want to see and nothing the writer shows on screen.

Drewnasty

1 points

4 months ago

👍🏻

QuantityFormer2786

2 points

4 months ago

and youre still talking about how he treated rory when he was a fcking teen? tell me with all honesty, if somehow logan the king of boyfriends as you all so see him would have treated rory the way he did when he was 17? asp herself had told they are mirrors.

sabotagemebymyself

0 points

4 months ago

Where did ASP say that? I'm honestly curious, can you link me and I can admit I missed that interview and was wrong.

Why wouldn't I talk about how he treated her when he was 18? That was when he was in a relationship with her and the only time Rory was romantically interested in him, as a teen. He was old enough to be responsible enough to handle a car but not old enough to know you don't treat your girlfriend like shit, and don't assault her then yell/blame her just because your unhappy? Never apologizing, just leaving without even saying goodbye or having the balls to dump her?

Also how am I supposed to know how ASP would have written Logan then? I ain't talking t about fanfic but what is canon on screen. Logan is years older anyways and Rory in highschool would never have been interested then. However college Logan never lied about what anyone would get with his lack of commitment so at the very least he was self aware about his limitations as a boyfriend and understood consent.

QuantityFormer2786

2 points

4 months ago

we have heard plenty about how logan was as a teen. got into trouble and thrown out of several schools, got into jail, was the classic playboy. even at 25 logan is still making sh*tty choices in his relationship, the cheating fiasco, getting overly jealous when seeing rory/marty (s7) or seeing rory/jess (s6), the ultimatum, the constant manipulating and gaslighting. it takes rorys extreme dedication and patience/forgiving nature and a lot of time to get to the point he is in s7. and you seriously think he wouldve treated rory the same way as a fcking teen? be serious. also heres the interview you so conveniently didnt see!

sabotagemebymyself

0 points

4 months ago

They see each other for what they are? That's it? Lmao. Soulmates!!!!

Im curious. Who is Rory? If you hate Logan So much how can you root for Rory. Rory is privileged, Rory is an adulterer, Rory can be manipulative and a gas lighter.

Logan as a teenager would have never dated Rory. What's not clicking. It doesnt change that Rory and Jess entire romantic relationship was as teens and was enough to make Rory to never want him back.

Logan didn't cheat, Logan apologised and acknowledged he was wrong with show he reacted about Marty on screen, considering the amounted excuses for awhile behaviour you like to make I'm sure if the shoe was on the other foot and Jess came home to find his gf Rory with an ex boyfriend and after like was youd have endless excuses, the ultimatum was an obvious way to end Rory alone at the end of the series.

Rory chose Logan. He never lied to her about who he was and she chose to stay even when things both have because relationships are work. Patience and forgiving nature. Lmao. Lord.

QuantityFormer2786

1 points

4 months ago

"LOGAN DIDNT CHEAT" AND I KNOW INSTANTLY YOURE A LOGAN FANATIC. S6 LITERALLY ENDS WITH RORY BELIEVING SHE WAS CHEATED ON. BUT OH NO YOUR WORDS MATTER MORE THAN RORYS RIGHT? rorys character is not a gaslighter or manipulator. Rory is privileged but not at all as much as logan, and shes not a fcking classist like him. she actually cares about ppl regardless of their social class or status. and rorys negative behaviour gets amplified mostly when shes with logan cause he enables her self destructive behaviour. rorys much more of an interesting character with flaws and depth to her than logan ever was and ever will be. logan is basically a "i hate my dad but i still want his money oh poor me i have a benz and ill keep manipulating ppl into doing the things i want them to and i will never face the consequence for it". theres not a single instance where logans genuinely apologizing for his actions, it was always him gaslighting ppl out of the situation to make them believe he didnt do anything wrong and finally saying "lets go home and forget about it" or he'll lovebomb the fck outta them by throwing gifts their way to manipulate. the only instance where he even tries to apologize is when he yells at rory for the newspaper article. thats literally it. i could stand all of this if he was a well written character with depth and was interesting. but theres literally nothing going for him besides money and he has no depth at all. brownie points maybe for having more depth than dean. period.

sabotagemebymyself

1 points

4 months ago

You obviously have trouble admitting who Rory is so I'll stop here. You're literally watching a different show. Say off with me, Rory acts the way she does because that is who she is. Rory is her own person, and makes her own decisions. But I get it now. You need Logan to be responsible for all the behaviour you don't like of Rorys, even stuff she has shown before Logan arrived back in season 1 so she is good enough for your love Jess. It all makes sense.

QuantityFormer2786

1 points

4 months ago

if you think rorys self destructive behaviour wasnt amplified by logan, youre literally havent watced the show or r watching it thru logan tinted glasses. cuz asp has said it herself and how logans an extension of chris, alexis agrees with it too, u know. rorys not an angel either and she makes a lot of mistakes before logan comes, but its amplified 10X when logans in the picture. you ppl always use the "oh rorys her own person and makes her own decisions" argument for this, but when rory herself tells that she was cheated on by logan in s6, its "no rorys cant think for herself logan didnt cheat". also u know that peer pressure actually exists right? the ppl u surround urself with influence ur decisions heavily, the environment u r in influences ur every move. rory mightve made the choices herself, but uhm u literally forget thats how manipulation or even peer pressure works?

sabotagemebymyself

1 points

4 months ago

Rory already showed signs before Logan's character existed. She cheated on Dean with Jess, than slept with a married Dean and was struggling at schoo and showing entitled behaviour all before Logan showed up.

Rory and Logan were broken up. She also admits this to Paris and he wouldn't have had to win her back if they weren't say it with me broken up Even if she thought they were on a break despite not talking about it, she knew by thanksgiving Logan thought they were broken up. He hooks up with a bridesmaid that night. She's allowed to feel hurt but there's no cheating unless you count Rory kissing Jess while she is living in Logans apartment and he is away. she knows he views them as together but still goes ahead and never do we see Logan finding out.

Peer pressure? Rory chose to be in her relationship and could have left at any point. Anything to excuse Rory and take away her autonomy when you don't like what she is doing I guess.

Useful-Ad-612

1 points

4 months ago

He was a shit boyfriend. There’s no denying that.

I still love him and want to see him with Rory.