Other than her amazing coffee-drinking, snow-loving, Dragonfly Inn-running mother, there has been only one constant in Rory Gilmore’s life: Paris Geller. From Chilton to Yale, Paris has always been there. The best thing about her? She is relatable. Like that time she said, “so I ate a family size bag of salt and vinegar potato chips and went to bed at 7:30pm.” Or when she got to a party late because she “had to stop and eat first in case the food here sucked.”
Rory should have dated Paris instead of Dean, Jess, or Logan. With the exception of Lorelei, her relationship with Paris was the only one where Rory was motivated to better herself without having to give up bits and pieces of who she was. Being in a relationship where you are pushed to improve yourself is healthy. Being in one where you feel forced to change who you are is toxic.
When something changed in their relationship, rather than deal with it maturely, all of Rory’s beaus left her high and dry. Jess crashed a car, broke Rory’s arm, and then ran away. Dean broke up with Rory when she didn’t say “I love you” back to him, and Logan didn’t tell Rory about cheating on her at the wedding but still expected her to give up her entire career and marry him. But really, when has Paris ever abandoned Rory? Never, that’s when.
All of Rory’s boyfriends tried to force her to give up her hopes and dreams in order to be with them. Dean was possessive and jealous, threatened by Rory’s ambition and status. Rather than try to grow with her, he chose to be angry and resentful. Jess wanted Rory to drop everything and come to New York with him. Logan wanted her to reject her dream job and marry him. But Paris Geller? She understood the desire to follow your ambition, wherever it may take you. Paris was the only one who was nothing but supportive in regards to Rory’s career, even when she knew that it meant their lives were going to go in different directions.
Paris is real. There are no games in her relationship with Rory. Sure, her realness is aggressive sometimes, but she doesn’t sugarcoat things or treat Rory like a porcelain doll the way Dean, Jess and Logan do. At their graduation from Yale, Paris told Rory that they are now on their own, but Rory is still going to do such great things with her life. But Rory tells Paris that she hasn’t been able to shake her off for years, and no matter where they end up, they will still remain friends for a very long time. This is just another sign on how healthy their relationship with each other was: Rory was unable to maintain any sort of truly healthy relationship with any of her beaus after their lives diverged, but not so with Paris.
Paris is a forever friend. I only wished she could have been a forever girlfriend.
Also, let’s all just appreciate that episode where Paris planted one on Rory during spring break, can we please?
Photo and gifs via Gilmore Girls
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