Amy-Sherman Palladino’s Gilmore Girls has been and always will be one of the coziest TV series to pass time. As we delve deeper into the conflicts and romantic struggles faced by Rory, the protagonist, we will discover some of the most interesting statements and behaviors upon society.

The story features Lorelai, a single mother striving to provide a good upbringing and education for her daughter, Rory, an academically accomplished young girl who attended a public school. However, they are not alone. Rory and her mother are a part of a larger family, the town of Stars Hollow.

Now I could do a play by play on the entire series, but honestly who has time for that? What you really need to know is why this is a good show to pass the time and not a show to idolize.

Rory Gilmore is funny and relatable, but not a girl’s girl at all. She is most definitely self centered and socially inept. This may stem from her being an only child and having the entire town focused on her throughout her adolescence. This creates a toxic relationship with herself and how she views the world. One example of this is Rory’s romantic choices: choosing people for what comes off as physical attraction. Rory chose to date Dean, Jess, and Logan very impulsively, and seemed to care more about how attractive they are rather than who they are as people. And as she goes on, she seems to be incapable of learning from her mistakes. For example, when Rory was dumped by Dean, Rory later goes obsessively trying to get his attention or sneaking to his house and climbing the porch because he won’t reply. Later on, Rory tells her mother about when she slept with Dean, who at this point was married. She believed what she did wasn’t wrong, and for a while could not accept her mistake. Even her mother goes ahead and tells Rory the truth of her actions.

What’s more is that Rory is very entitled and snobby about her education, career opportunities, and her upbringing. Rory actively behaves as if she is an example of a struggling student coming up from rock bottom, when in reality she has everything she needs. One huge example of this is her argument with former ex-boyfriend Logan, commenting on how he is a “trust fund baby,” and then gets the same argument back when Logan brings up how Rory literally has all the money and items she will ever need because of her grandparents.

Another example of this is how Rory acts at school. It is obvious Rory expects to be treated special because of her academic achievements at Chilton and Yale, and gets upset when the leniency she expected is not handed to her. She also is good at disregarding others feelings for her own success. This is shown in her relationship with Paris, when she dismisses Paris, who is also striving for success. She also lacks the ability to take accountability for her mistakes or issues. When she gets dismissed by the Yale Daily News, she reacts with frustration rather than finding out why.

Her friendships also reveal issues, often seeming to depend on Rory’s desire to appear good. Rory is very inconsistent with her loyalty, often letting it fluctuate based on her relationships and personal dramas. She is also not very supportive, often neglecting Lane Kim in times of need. For example when she ignores Lane when her mother is shipping her off back to Korea against her will. Lane needed support but Rory was too narcissistic to help her.

Overall, Rory has very inconsistent character development, but she is not the only one. Many of these issues could be rooted in her “best friend” of a mother. At Lorelai’s age, she should not be as dependent on Rory, or display such immaturity. This gleams through her relationship choices and the way she blurs the line between their mother-daughter relationship. One example of this is when Lorelai turns to Rory for relationship advice, and another being when she discusses her career at the Dragonfly with Rory as if to help her navigate this.

At the end of the day, both of these main characters greatly impact the lives of those around them with little regard to how this might be affecting their so-called “friends.” Watching this show requires a certain strength if you choose to watch intently; knowing how flawed these characters are and witnessing them make blatantly avoidable mistakes can be overwhelmingly irritating.