Gilmore Girls has a plethora of great characters on the show. From Emily’s condescending remarks to Kirk’s chaotic energy, each of them makes up Stars Hollow and all of its small-town quirks. There are some characters that have more of a defined but whimsical purpose than others, like the town troubadour that randomly appears to be playing the soundtrack to Rory’s thoughts, or the easygoing chef at the diner that balances out Luke’s gruff manner.
Then there are some that are one-dimensional in character and in contribution to the show. Here are five of the best and five of the worst side characters on Gilmore Girls.
BEST: Taylor Doose
Taylor Doose is a character made for people to enjoy not liking. It’s evident through the way he talks with the main characters, creating annoying but harmless tension wherever he can. Despite his sometimes frustrating nitpicking, Taylor brings about a lot of the shallow drama that’s necessary for a long-running show. Often times it’s nice to get a break from intense family dysfunction to instead hear about all of the small town policies and the importance of a sweets shop. Plus, his character added a lot of complexity through the setting, as he was always going on about the history of Stars Hollow and the rules, rules, rules.
WORST: Mrs. Kim
Lane’s mom, the overbearing but somewhat good-intentioned Mrs. Kim, brought with her a cloud of impending doom. At times her character was so absurd that it was funny, and other times it brought about a sense of worrying curiosity about parenting and how people go about raising their children. This often made her character unenjoyable to watch, especially when you realize how many things Lane did to keep her mother from flipping out and possibly sending her to live with their extended family in South Korea. Thankfully, her character wasn’t completely one-note, and as Lane got older, she tried to understand her on a very small scale, which, for Mrs. Kim, is a big development.
BEST: Liz Danes
Liz Danes appears on the scene in season four with a slightly disruptive entrance. She’s Luke’s younger sister and Jess’s mother with a troublesome past. Although Luke wasn’t especially happy to see her in Stars Hollow, she expanded Luke’s character in a way that explained a lot of his behavior and often grumbling attitude.
Along with her boyfriend T.J., Liz was a great window into exploring both Luke and her son Jess’s character. If she had no familial relationship to a main character on the show, her character wouldn’t have had as much impact.
WORST: Lindsay Lister
Lindsay Lister was the Rory Gilmore replacement for Dean, at least that’s how her character ends up being portrayed. On some level, she had to be aware that he didn’t really love her, or that he was still incredibly head over heels in love with someone else. The whole town knew that Dean was still in love with Rory. Her character was written so pitifully, and that’s why she’s one of the worst on the show. However, through Lindsay, Rory's character took on more complexity, presenting her as more than Star Hollow’s golden girl.
BEST: Miss Patty
Miss Patty provided a lot of humor, at times creepily risqué humor, but the hilarity was wrapped up in the mix. A lot of the ing characters brought varying levels of comedy to the show, but Miss Patty’s humor was a bit less sarcastic, and a bit more relatively daring. Her very obvious form of comic relief was necessary on the show, and she had great chemistry with other characters like Kirk and Taylor. Miss Patty’s love for gossip and theater allowed her to connect with many characters on the show, making her a unifying character on the show.
WORST: Christopher Hayden
Christopher Hayden’s adult character can be indelicately summed up by Rory when she said that every time he came around, something went wrong. It was evident that there wasn’t enough of anything between Lorelai and Christopher, especially not to warrant a marriage. His storyline dipped annoyingly close to Lorelai whenever she seemed to be making leaps ahead in her personal life, and while it would have been great to see his relationship with both Lorelai and Rory grow because of him being Rory’s father, it would have been more ideal for their relationship to blossom without the romantic link.
BEST: Babette Dell
At times, both Babette’s and Miss Patty’s characters seem too similar. However, Babette’s character was almost an alternate universe version of Miss Patty, like if Miss Patty stayed married one of those three times and then got a cat.
Perhaps it was their similarities that made them such good friends, and sisters in the gossip hood of Stars Hollow. Babette was the neighborly character missing in a show all about a small town, and despite her often outlandish comments, she was a vital reference character even when she was offscreen.
WORST: Jackson Belleville
Jackson’s whiny character was enough on its own. If he didn’t end up married to Sookie St. James, he could have just been the snappy guy who really cared about produce, or the Ross of the group. Combined with Sookie’s intense quirkiness, there wasn’t anywhere for his character to grow or a place for him to contribute something different to the show. Initially, his character appeared to be quick-witted and humorous, but as the show progressed, he became a lot dimmer. Perhaps his character development is suggesting something about the effects of marriage and having a kid.
BEST: Lorelai “Trix” Gilmore
Trix was Lorelai’s paternal grandmother and a necessary mirror for Emily Gilmore. Without Trix’s character, there would be no other apt regulation for Emily's character. She was not the most enjoyable character to watch most of the time, but those times when she stayed in Stars Hollow were a nice break in the slight monotony of Emily’s character. These are the times that Emily’s mask would crack and despite her lofty thoughts, she couldn’t do everything right. Trix gave Emily more character depth on the show even though she was often needlessly difficult.
WORST: Zack Van Gerbig
Zack’s character wasn’t varied enough to be a steady influence in Lane’s life. He managed to maintain a clueless facial expression for most of the show, even though he did undergo a few minor spurts in development. More than anything, his character was a reminder of how unfulfilled Lane’s character was by the end of the show. It seemed as if Lane never got the ending that she deserved even after she got married and had children. She always put everyone else before herself, and Zack was another name on that list.