WhileGilmore Girlsseemingly dropped Jason out of nowhere in season 5, there was a justification for this sudden change.The cast ofGilmore Girlswere all compelling in their own right, but the love lives of the show’s heroines were particularly dramatic. Whether it wasGilmore Girls’ Loganin the show’s later seasons or Dean nearer the beginning, Rory’s various relationships were messy enough to still fuel fandom debates to this day. Meanwhile, from Max Medina to Luke Danes, Lorelai had plenty of potential suitors of her own.
One Gilmore Girls Episode Completely Changed My Mind About Jess After Years Of Hating Him
Although I couldn’t stand Jess for years, one underrated episode of Gilmore Girls made me realize I was wrong about Rory’s best boyfriend all along.
AlthoughJess leftGilmore Girlsbecause his actor was pursuing a spinoff series, not all the show’s love interests had such dignified exits. Billy Burke’s Alex seemingly disappeared without any explanation after a couple of cute dates, and viewers never discovered exactly why he and Lorelai didn’t work out.Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life’s Rory storylineended with her fiancée Paul unceremoniously dumping her, possibly because she repeatedly forgot she was engaged throughout the revival. However, neither of these was as disappointing as the fate of Chris Eigeman’s Jason “Digger” Stiles.
Jason Left Gilmore Girls So Lorelai Could End Up With Luke
Lorelai’s Last Serious Love Interest Before Luke Suffered An Off-screen Breakup
First seen in season 4, episode 3, “The Hobbit, the Sofa, and Digger Stiles,”Eigeman’s quirky character is effectively a male version of Lorelai and the polar opposite of the stoic, self-serious Luke. Lorelai begins dating Jason around the same time that Jason teams up with Richard to take down his father’s company, even though Jason has worked for his father for most of his life. Predictably, Jason has a chip on his shoulder about his inherited job and wealth, but he and Lorelai are otherwise well-matched.
Jason was written out of Gilmore Girls season 5 to set up Luke and Lorelai’s romance, but this was absurdly abrupt given how central he had been to season 4’s story.
Throughout their conversations, Jason is one of the few characters who can not only follow Lorelai’s endless cultural references but riff along with her. Jason’s zany personality makes him the quirkiest and most playful of Lorelei’s love interests, resulting in scenes where the typically goofy Lauren Graham ends up playing the straight man to a Manic Pixie Dream Businessman. This dynamic is unexpectedly fun, which is why Jason’s sudden, unexplained exit was so disappointing. Jason was written out ofGilmore Girlsseason 5 to set up Luke and Lorelai’s romance, but this was absurdly abrupt given how central he had been to season 4’s story.
Gilmore Girls Handled Jason’s Exit Oddly
A Year in the Life Included An Odd Comeback From Digger
Throughout season 4,Jason was a serious Lorelai love interest who seemed like a realistic alternative to Luke or Christopher. Like Luke, Jason got along well with Rory but, unlike the Stars Hollow diner owner, he was straightforward about his romantic interest in Lorelai. WhereLuke’s worstGilmore Girlsplotsprang from his inability to communicate, Jason was almost too good at talking. Like Christopher, Jason came from money and shared Lorelei’s privileged upbringing but, unlike Christopher, he didn’t have a complicated, messy history with her. This should theoretically have improved their chances.
However,Gilmore Girlsstill dropped Jason unceremoniously and ended his relationship with Lorelai off-screen when Jason objected to Richard going behind his back and making a deal with his father. Jason did speak to Lorelai at Richard’s funeral inA Year in the Life, but the awkward conversation went nowhere. Ultimately,Gilmore Girlswas so busy getting Luke and Lorelai together that the show’s creators seemingly didn’t prioritize a fitting end for Jason’s relationship with her. Theharsh reality ofGilmore Girls’ Lorelaiwas that she wasn’t always all that much more mature than Luke, so effectively ghosting Jason fit her character.
Why Jason’s Gilmore Girls Exit Was Unsatisfying
Gilmore Girls Made Lorelai and Jason A Great Couple
Even though viewers knew Lorelai would eventually end up with Luke,introducing a genuinely great Lorelaialternative love interest only to drop them was truly pointlessby the timeGilmore Girlsseason 5 rolled around. If Jason cropped up earlier in the series, like season 1’s Max, he might have seemed like part of Lorelai’s journey as a character. However, the fact that Lorelai never even broke up with Jason onscreen proved that he was an afterthought by the timeGilmore Girlsseason 5 began.
Lorelai just avoiding Jason and hoping he would get the message was atypically indirect for the feisty heroine.
Richard backstabbing Jason was believable given the cut-throat nature of their corporate work, but Lorelai simply ignoring him until he showed up at the Dragonfly looking for an explanation was out-of-character for her.The most unlovedGilmore Girlsplotstend to revolve around characters acting in ways that betray their usual selves, and Lorelai just avoiding Jason and hoping he would get the message was atypically indirect for the feisty heroine. As such, Jason finally finding out that he and Lorelai had broken up unbeknownst to him well intoGilmore Girlsseason 5 was a poor ending for a great character.
Gilmore GirlsandA Year in the Lifeare available to stream on Netflix.
