I am a major “Gilmore Girls” fan. I’ve been watching the show since I was eight, and now as an adult, it’s one of my go-to comfort shows. As soon as I hear Sam Phillips sing “la, la, la” I’m in a zone you won’t be able to get me out of.
With that being said, I love GG for so many reasons. The banter, the coffee, the mother-daughter scenarios, but most importantly the men!
Come on, you can’t tell me you’re a GG fan without saying you love the men on the show. I could live without some (I’m looking at you, Jason, and Zach), but there are so many good men on the show that shape what I want love to look like.
I am Team Jess all the way.
There’s just something about him that has always made me gravitate toward his character. I don’t care what anyone says,because he’s not a bad boy. I think that he’s mysterious, and Rory truly complements him. Clearly in AYITL, we see how much of a turnaround he has, and the person he became.
I’m here to talk about a guy who isn’t on a team, and who wasn’t on the show for much time, but I think left an impact on the show.
That person is Tristan Dugray.
Tristan is the “bad boy” from Chilton who instantly takes a liking to Rory and the innocence that she displays. Like any idiot teenage boy, he demonstrates his affection toward Rory by being mean. He calls her Mary (in reference to virgin Mary), attempts to fight her boyfriend at the school dance, and just does typical asshole teenage boy things towards Rory throughout the first two seasons.
In season two, Tristan reveals that his dad is sending him to military school in North Carolina and leaves the show. (Chad Michael Murray was on his way to film “One Tree Hill,” another show I hold dear to my heart).
I’ve never really had an opinion on Tristan in the show. He was always an asshole in my eyes and never more than that.
However, my opinion changed once I saw a TikTok where someone said that Tristan was originally supposed to have the same role as Logan does in the series. Since then, my view of Tristan has changed drastically.
Logan Huntzberger is a charming, flirty, rich boy who Rory starts dating at Yale. They stay together for the majority of the last few seasons, and Logan even proposes to Rory at the end.
I’ve never really cared for Logan — it’s probably because I’m Team Jess. But in my eyes, he’s stuck-up, and I feel like he holds a bad influence over Rory (he’s the reason why she dropped out of Yale!). There’s just something about this guy that I’ve never liked.
However, I think if Logan’s character was originally supposed to be Tristan as an adult, I would have liked him more.
Just think about it— the two characters are so alike. Blonde hair, rich, issues with their family lives, attraction toward Rory — even giving her a nickname. They’re basically the same person in different fonts.
Imagine Rory and Tristan meet further down the line as adults, they get to know each other better, and bam! Fall in love and have a similar storyline as Rory and Logan.
I can totally see it.
Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t think anyone could get me not to be Team Jess. Tristan would probably have to do something incredible for me to change my mind. And I don’t know how realistic the relationship would be for the two of them, basing it off how Logan and Rory turned out. But it made me wonder how the series would have turned out if this was what Amy Sherman Palladino originally had in mind (especially with the infamous last four words!).
What do you think? Would Rory and Tristan make it if he came back in the series? Would there be much of a change? Let us know in the comments down below!
Featured image via Netflix
A version of Logan, maybe. Logan treated Rory with more respect, though. The show was leading Rory towards a certain type of guy from the start. Rich, privileged, charismatic. Rory/Jess fans may not want to admit it, but it’s the truth. Tristan kissed Rory while she was dating Dean. That was in season one. If Chad Michael Murray hadn’t left, Rory probably would have left Dean for Tristan eventually. The Logan/Rory love story was inevitable because of this. Logan had all the best traits of Dean, Tristan, and Jess. He was rich and privileged like Tristan; smart like Jess; and sweet like Dean. From the beginning, GG was leading Rory towards a match that fit into the world Lorelai tried to hard to keep her away from.
Also, Logan is NOT the reason Rory dropped out of Yale. It wasn’t his place to stop her or tell her what to do. He always respected her choices, which is why he didn’t treat her like a five year old and tell her not to drop out. Rory made her own choice to steal a yacht and drop out of Yale. And, Logan did NOT agree with it. He even told her that she’d be back in a month. Logan WANTED her in school. It’s kind of funny how people hate him for NOT treating her like a child, and letting her make her own decisions. Jess objectively treated Rory terribly.