The main characters, ordered by bravery

Last October marked the 22nd anniversary Gilmore Girls‘ premiere episode, which prompted Melissa McCarthy to write about her fond memories of the series. Despite not airing for fifteen years, fandom has embraced the series despite the generally negative response to the series A year in life. The revival showed where the characters ended up nine years later, and sadly, few managed to hold on to their faith while most lost their courage.

On Gilmore GirlsTheir bravery rarely consisted of running into a fire or jumping off cliffs. Instead, bravery consisted of being strong enough to be yourself, regardless of those who disagreed. While some characters embraced this ideal with all they had, others lived their lives primarily for comfort, clinging to security rather than reaching for their dreams. After this line that Gilmore Girls Characters can be ranked based on their bravery in the face of an uncertain world.

10/10 Dean Förster

Dean was Rory’s first love but he had a bad habit of hitting himself when he was hurt. Rather than face his feelings head on, he instead fought back. When Rory didn’t immediately say she loved him too, Dean mocked her and ended their relationship. As Rory and Jess got closer, he started arguing.

On the rare occasions when Dean wasn’t fighting, he ran away. When his marriage to Lindsay fell apart, he cheated on her with Rory. Dean basically couldn’t handle complicated situations and painful emotions when it would be brave to sit down with the pain anyway.

9/10 Rory Gilmore

Although Rory had big ambitions for herself, she never really had to take any chances until she was an adult when she started to break down under the pressure. Because she was so sheltered in her youth, she rarely had to exercise bravery.

She is perhaps best described by her comment to Mitchum in Season 5: “I always did what was asked of me.” Rory was expected to live up to the expectations of those around her, and she has done so for most of her life has done. However, she rarely took any real risks and never seemed to find her own desires in life, leading to her running from her mother – to the safety of her grandparents.

8/10 Richard Gilmore

Richard is the epitome of adapting to society, and he’s never really broken away from that. While he clearly loved Lorelai and Rory, his actions almost always supported his position. And while he was taking care of Emily, he let his mother treat him like garbage.

His biggest risk was starting his own company, but even that was just the next expected step in his pre-planned journey. Because of his wealth and status, Richard never really needed to grow. He wasn’t necessarily a coward, but he never had to dare because his money lowered all stakes.

7/10 Logan Huntzberger

Logan seems like an extremely brave character given his antics with the Life and Death Brigade, but all of his schemes and pranks were just an outlet for how trapped he felt in the affluent society into which he was born. He could risk his health, but not his future.

The exception to this was his relationship with Rory, as Logan consistently chose his feelings for Rory over his family’s approval. Otherwise, however, he adjusted to the company of his family and friends. As expected, he walked into the shop and through A year in life, he was engaged to an heiress who approved of his family. Though he showed some character growth, his emotional bravery began and ended with Rory.

6/10 Sookie St James

It’s no secret that the gorgeous and quotable Sookie could be a nervous ball energy (and while she took some big risks in life, they always came with a breakdown). She was terrified of continuing her relationship with Jackson, terrified of opening the Dragonfly Inn, and terrified of becoming a mother.

Bravery, then, is not the absence of fear. It means seeing every possible bad ending and still doing the thing Sookie did. She wasn’t the bravest character on the show by a long shot, but she deserves credit for continuing to push ahead despite all of her fears and insecurities.

5/10 Emily Gilmore

While Emily Gilmore had the opportunity to take big risks in her life, most of them were empowered by her money and position, which gave her a lot of security. Because of this, she only had to be truly brave when faced with emotional turmoil that she couldn’t buy her way out of.

In general, Emily followed the above rules of society and followed her own desires. It took her decades to reconnect with Lorelai, and when her relationship with Richard broke down, so did she. However, fans saw her true potential for bravery in it A year in lifewhen she had to face her grief and build a new life without her husband.

4/10 Jess Mariano

When Jess first came to Star’s Hollow, he was a master of escapism. He stayed away from people who had the power to hurt him, and he poured his pain into the books he read and the things he wrote. He also tended to lash out at the people in his life he was closest to, trying to push them away before they could leave him.

Despite all this, he grew greatly after leaving town, leading to his becoming an advocate for courage in Rory’s life. As she hid from the world, he urged her to embrace her truth as he had. After leaving town, he had published his book and learned to appreciate those around him, returning to thank Luke for everything. All in all, Jess learned to be brave and honest about what he truly believed (leading to many iconic Gilmore Girls citations).

3/10 Luke Danes

Though Luke rarely made major life changes Gilmore Girls, it is more about the joy of life than the fear of taking risks. When it comes down to it – dating Lorelai, hugging his daughter, buying a house – he makes quick and decisive decisions.

There are two important exceptions to this trend, but his hesitation makes sense. When Lorelai pressured Luke to flee with her, he hesitated. That was no sign of cowardice, however. They weren’t ready, and both knew the dangers of getting married for the wrong reasons. His other hesitation came when Richard pressured him into starting a franchise, which he never wanted to do. Luke had the quiet courage to embrace change and reject it when it was a bad idea.

2/10 Lane Kim

Lane spent most of her life hiding who she was and was rebellious in her clothing and choice of music, but only in secret. Lane’s first relationship fell apart for precisely this reason, because she wasn’t brave enough to confront her mother or fight for what she wanted.

That all changed, however, when Lane snuck out of the house to play with her band. Her secrets were revealed, and instead of asking for forgiveness, Lane stepped forward. She went into business for herself, took a job and found an apartment while keeping her music as her top priority. For a character with so much to hide, it only took Lane one big moment to be brave enough to build the life she wanted.

1/10 Lorelai Gilmore

Lorelai is the bravest character in Gilmore Girls, who pushes to achieve her dreams no matter what obstacles she faces. She drove herself to the hospital when labor started and then ran away from home without a support system to escape the restrictions of her home life.

Even when Lorelai had a relatively stable life in Stars Hollow, she continued to take risks by reconnecting with her parents and opening her own inn. While she frequently ran away from relationships when they got too serious, she eventually grew out of them and became brave in both her love life and her social and professional lives.

MORE: The worst Gilmore Girls character changes, according to Reddit