I actually find it interesting that Marty is actually the only guy friend she considers just a friend. Every other guy is either a jerk or boyfriend material or someone else's boyfriend material.
@@ennuiblue4295 though, Kirk is closer to Lorelais Age range, despite being a man child. Lorelai does have some platonic men in her life..not many, but some.
I think you're right. I can't recall any other guy that she is actually friends with. She is friendly with Lane's band and Lane's boyfriends and Logan's friends but they are one degree removed. Those are not actual friendships.
I think her disinterest in Marty is a symbol that Rory has fully left her mother’s world, where people have to work hard for their money and dreams, and entered her grandparents’ world, where your family and connections mean you don’t have to. Her choosing Logan over Marty is her literally and figuratively falling in love with the upper class
I've always thougt this too. I think Rory's younger self would be more interested/flattered by Marty's feelings. I think it also symbolizes her entitlement and flightiness in relationships. Rory was easily impressed when Dean sought after her because it was her first time having romantic interactions with a boy and being wanted in that way. Eventually she starts to take Dean for granted and feels above him as she becomes more and more apart of that world. She jumps to Jess then wants to jump back to Dean, then eventually pursues Logan. I think Rory always wants what she can't have in terms of romance, and as she grows up her entitlement shows in her interpersonal connections too. Like every guy isn't good enough for her.
I agree. They should've dedicated some time to fixing their friendship and having Rory be able to reconcile. Instead they just had Krysten Ritter break up with him due to Logan's revelation and... disappear entirely from the rest of the show. A very sudden and odd exit, tbh, I expected a reconciliation arc with Rory after that where they become friends again. It felt like it was dropped for other reasons.
I can defend Marty. They wrote Marty badly so that fans would hate him and like Logan. The same way they did with Dean when they wanted for Rory to break up with him and get with Tristian of Jess. Btw Paris has done way worse things to Rory than Dean or Marty but the writers continued to write her as sympathetic. The show did Dean and Marty dirty.
I totally agree. If we're being honest, the writers did a lot of the men on this show DIRTY. Some examples: 1. Dean - He went from fully dimensional and fairly smart until Jess swooped in. Then he became one dimensional, dumb and WAY too hung up on Rory. 2. Richard- Went from a solid husband to a liar who secretly meets up with his ex once a year. 3. Luke- Went from a loyal man constantly who confided in Lorelai and preached about honesty, to someone who hid his daughter from his fiance and firmly pushed her away. 4. Jackson- Went from being fairly open and honest and wound up lying about the vasectomy and impregnated his wife who was firm about not having more children. 5. Zack- Originally started off chill and a little naive, yet highly communicative, then misread a situation and beat up his best friends without taking any accountability and was just expected to be forgiven for everything.
Yes, I liked the drama between him and Rory after she got together with Logan, but it felt like it never paid off. They just wrote him out of the show entirely, brought him back suddenly as "boyfriend", then after his breakup... Rory just never sees him again? Makes absolutely no sense, I'm getting whiplash just thinking about it. It felt like they were setting something up to make them friends again or at least be on good terms, but then dropped it like a bowling ball.
@@rachelmartin5187 Oh my god, i really hated what they did with Dean as well. Really everything on that list. The only one i can kind of forgive is the Jackson stuff, as they had to deal with Melissa Mccarthy's real life pregnancy.
Rory was oblivious at first, but she would later purposefully ‘misread’ signs in order to avoid accountability when messing with his feelings. Marty is an awkward guy that had expectations (as most of do) but those didn’t coincide with Rory’s lifestyle or personality. I’ve notice I’ve been mentioning Rory a lot in a video analysis of Marty which makes me realize he has no true arc outside of his infatuation with Rory which is upsetting because he had the potential to become a very likable character, not to say he isn’t but a little more depth could go a long way.
Yes, you're absolutely right. Marty did not exist on the show outside of Rory. All of Marty's scenes are with Rory. We don't see what Marty does when he's not with Rory. I also think that he could have been an interesting character if they gave him just a little more depth.
Well, when it comes to "misreading" signs, she learned from the best aka: her mom. For 4 seasons, Lorelai constantly flirted with Luke and got jealous when she saw him talking to another girl, but when he finally asked her out, she played dumb, even though Sookie, Rory and even Emily told her how Luke felt.
True, that is a good comparison. I should have added that in. Luke didn't confess his feelings but also, Lorelai pretended that nothing was happening between them, even though she was told directly several times that Luke likes her.
@@rachelmartin5187 this isn’t a good comparison because both lor and Luke have feelings for one another. Everyone says Luke has feelings except for Luke himself which is the only person who matters. He never makes a move on top of being jealous of all of her boyfriends as well. The moment Luke makes a move lor was completely open to it and they start a relationship. Not comparable at all to Rory and Marty.
The most unrealistic part is anyone in college even caring that a student is in their pjs. I saw people go to class to give a presentation in worse conditions when I was in college
Rory is terrified of confrontation. Every time she confronts someone it's because her evasive maneuvers have stopped working. Marty is the same way, and I would go so far as to say he's her Max.
Is Rory really scared of confrontation? He confronts Taylor, Headmaster Charlston, Paris and Tristan on some occasions just to name a few - I think we can agree these people are hard to confront but she stands her ground with them
Marty is the epitome of what I call the “airy fairy girl” trope in fiction. He’s the unrequited one, the one that never got over Rory after she didn’t consider him an option. But still continues to bend over backwards to try and get the main characters’ attention. I believe I’ve mentioned this on another video of yours as well. I think the only love interest we see genuinely moving on and leaving their relationship with Rory behind is Dean (which I’m glad, he grew as a person). I wish the show was more realistic in the fact that not every guy is going to be a wreck after they liked you and you let them go. You might’ve let your soulmate go, and you won’t always end up with the person you loved the most. But more often than not we see this on the love interest’s side rather than Rory’s side.
Yes, it is sad that they don't let Rory's former love interests to just exist without having affections for Rory. It's like once you love Rory, you can't unlove her. If we don't consider the revival, then we don't see any of the men get over Rory.
I guess I’m just as naive as Marty because if a guy who went out of his way to plan a special night for me then put half his body on top of mine while we watched movies on the couch and then went out with a different girl who interrupted our evening, every one of my friends would he calling him a f^kboy.
Well, from Marty’s point of view, Rory is a girl that he was friends with but secretly in love with wanted to date and then he got blown off for the rich dude who was kind of a dick. Let’s all agree that from Marty’s perspective and even ours at that point in time Logan was a dick so then it’s been a few years and now she’s just suddenly popping back in his life just as he was getting a girlfriend and everything was good I don’t think in the moment he wanted to open the chapter back up and then, after he said it, it was kind of hard to unsay.
He wasn't blown off for Logan. She was just not interested in him. Even if Logan didn't exist, he would not be the choice. But yeah, the lie was probably spur of the moment, though that could have been corrected with a good talk ..
@@saraa.4295 Did you forget that she literally chase Marty down to come hang out with her and then when Logan showed up at the door and basically backed Marty into tagging along on a date.
@@tracim3080 that was a dick move. But still, the question was never: will Rory date Marty OR logan? it was: will she date Logan? Marty was never a romantic option for her.
@@saraa.4295I’m sorry but objectively if you’re seeking out someone like she was with Marty, comfortable and close enough to sit with them in your bed with your legs intertwined as they hold you, and purposely making a point to be around them- that’s in no way innocent friendship stuff. She liked having a back up because she hated being single. She just craved excitement more than a stable healthy relationship because… well look at her track record. You don’t act like that with a guy friend you don’t have a least some kind of romantic interest in. She used him as a surrogate bf until Logan came along and she liked his jerkiness just like she liked Jess’. Marty’s problem was being too nice tbh, it didn’t work for Dean in the end and she always had a weird intrigue/infatuation for rich aholes, which is why she didn’t just shut chad Michael Murray (idk his character name) down all the times he tried to mess with her relationship. She probably would’ve dated Marty if he had asked but the outcome would’ve been the same like it was in the show, she would’ve left him for someone more exciting either way.
@@laurenc4138 disagree.. This is exactly how you behave with a friend you feel completely at ease with, since you are not overthinking things. And if you want to keep someone as an open option you DON'T use every opportunity to emphasize that you are JUST friends. Rory didn't consider him romantic material and never even considered he might. She is terrible, but it still never was a race between those guys, just between common sense and the hots for Logan
To be fair to Marty, I think that he didn't expect such a high end place when they were invited for Chinese food. Since it's Logan's crew he probably should have expected it, but if someone invited me super casually like, hey lets get some Chinese, I wouldn't expect to spend more than $20. But i don't remember how much Logan talked about the place before they went that would have let them know it's a high end restaurant.
And it was very spontaneous. I dont think he spent a lot thinking about it, he just wanted to be close to Rory and not having her being "alone" with Logan
also i lowkey feel like he probably didn’t get the most expensive things on the menu but rather opted for the cheapest things and they ended up splitting the bill evenly. Kinda like a scene in friends were half the group gets steaks and the other half gets sides because that all they can afford and then they wanted to split evenly.
I had a Marty my freshman year of college. I hate to admit that I was very much a Rory to him and I feel bad about it still over 10 years later. The guy and I started out as friends, but he started to show signs of liking me and I didn't discourage it. I also didn't encourage it of that makes sense. We would hang out a lot, even chilling in my dark dorm room sitting close together on a chair. Things got super awkward when he kissed me during a truth or dare game and I had to let him down. We still hung out though and I saw how much it hurt him, especially when I started showing interest in others and got a boyfriend. I seriously regret treating him the way I did. I wasn't outright mean or anything, but I shouldn't have led him on. I was excited to be in college and had never been desirable before (it was an ego boost being around guys that thought I was cute, I had a LOT of insecurities stemming from being mistreated by an abusive high school boyfriend) that I used this boy to fuel my ego. I cringe so hard during the Marty episodes not because of Marty, but because of how much Rory reminds me of my young self. Ladies, don't be a Rory. Respect the Martys.
We all make a lot of mistakes in those years. You're not alone in this and you see it. That's what I think really matters the most, the self-reflection and growth. The fact that you still feel bad 10 years later says a lot. It means that you've changed and you're not like Rory in the revival. 🙂 I think it's also great that shows can do this to us; provide us with parallels from our own life. Thank you for sharing! It's so much harder to talk about our bad decisions.
idk i mean, you're kinda right. it sucks leading someone on, letting them believe they have a chance with you - but its different when you simply feel safe with them in a platonic kind of way and things still get awkward. but its not your job to manage their emotions. when they don't tell you how they feel, like marty did first. its not rorys job to change her behaviour -until he said "hey i like you", that was just unfair. people are really nice until they realise they won't be your type. which makes them not so nice people as well, because being nice just to get things isnt right either. i thought marty was realistic, me and my friends had many guy friends like that, who wouldn't even speak with us after they left. thats childish.
As someone once said, though, girls aren’t like gum machines where you put in “nice coins” with the expectation that eventually sex will fall out. If he really liked you, I hope he enjoyed your company and friendship, and remembers it fondly, whether it ever went further or not.
I always felt a bit sorry for Marty even if later in a plot he became weird in S7. Marty is what Rory things of herself being. Somebody who without support is there, just because of his talent. Great vid!
Yeah, Marty is sympathetic in this aspect. I wish the show focused more on Marty's intelligence and background. He's also smart and kind of reserved like Rory. He was a good example of a person who got into an Ivy League school because he was intelligent and hardworking. Rather than making his subplot be about romance, it would have been great if it was about his financial struggle and how Rory doesn't have to deal with the same thing.
@@PensiveWhiskers I agree! Also I would've loved if Rory have a 'platonic soulmate' somebody who gets her completely and its not romantic. Then again, maybe that's Lorelai?
I guess that is Lorelai in a way; Lorelai and Rory understand each other on a deep level, but I guess it doesn't quite feel the same as a friendship since they have a mother/daughter relationship.
For me, there’s a difference between bad choices that are the character’s fault and bad choices that are the writers’ fault. Season 4&5 Marty makes bad decisions because they’re in character for him. I always interpreted him as a guy who made a friend, then developed feelings for that friend and didn’t know how to navigate it. When his feelings aren’t reciprocated, he bows out. He doesn’t stay friends with Rory, but I don’t fault him when she’s shown that his friendship isn’t a big priority to her. He’s a flawed character, true, pridefulness being a notable flaw, but not the evil incel fans make him out to be. Season 7 Marty makes bad decisions because the writers wanted drama. I have a hard time seeing him being THAT pissy years after the fact. He wasn’t in love with Rory. He had a crush on her. A better Marty Returns storyline would be one of the “uh oh, my new friend is dating my old friend who used to have a crush on me” variety of awkwardness.
Yes, precisely this. I also think that Season 4 and 5 Marty is a flawed but good character. He makes poor decisions, but they make sense and he's not a bad guy, just a young guy with a crush who makes mistakes. Season 7 Marty feels like a writers' flaw. I feel like some fans reach the incel conclusion on Season 7. If we didn't get Marty in Season 7 or got a different Marty, people I think would have had a different opinion of him.
I’ve always thought that Rory initially liked him, but like EVERY relationship she had she was waiting for her next romance novel to start, she’s great in the early stages of relationships but when things start to get the tiniest bit comfortable or routine, she cheats/breaks up with/ditches her current bf or fling. Logan offered more excitement and more of the lifestyle that she always secretly liked despite not growing up in it (the untouchable money life) I think initially Marty piqued her interest because of the way she met him, then they get comfortable with each other super quickly because they both just wanted to be friends, the ease of their relationship makes him like her but makes her not like him. So when Logan comes in like a tornado she jumped on the chance for excitement and despite knowing how Marty feels she continues to keep him around like a comfortable pair of sweatpants that are reliable and cozy, while Logan is like a party dress you don’t wear often but you have more fun with. Idk maybe that’s why he turns into a jerk, he fell for Rory (like everyone let’s be real) she kind of played this “we’re just friends” game with him despite clearly knowing how he feels, and when he gets sick of it he decides to cut her off… then takes the chance to admit he likes her despite having a girlfriend because initially he thinks she’s worth the risk. I don’t agree with his actions he def turns into an ahole but she’s not blameless. She has a history of doing to guys what Logan did to her. Yale Rory was kind of the worst. She goes from semi-understandable youthful indiscretions to being stuck in that “I’m the best everyone should worship me like the whole town did when I was young, because I’m always the best option despite the fact that the guys I like might be in relationships already” mentality that she carries into adulthood when she’s having an affair with Logan in the sequel.
Excellent points! I like what you said about Rory's actions going from youthful indiscretions to entitled decisions. We see that Rory makes mistakes in her high school years but most of us are more forgiving because she is young and still learning. I also really like your point about Rory seeking excitement in her relationships. You're absolutely right, I haven't really thought about it. She also did it with Dean when Jess came along. Your comment is actually giving me a video idea; there are tons of videos talking about which guy is right for Rory but no one talks about if Rory is right for the guys. Was she a good girlfriend to any of them? That would be a fun video: analyzing Rory's boyfriends in reverse and focusing primarily on her actions as the girlfriend rather than their actions as the boyfriends. Thanks!
@@PensiveWhiskers omg that would be such a great video topic! I love your thoughts on these characters, even when I look at some of the characters in a different way, I love hearing your thoughts and the dissection of them and seeing all the different points of view in the comments! It’s so fun to kind of relive watching this show for the first time through your channel :) I’d love to see that video about whether she was she right for the guys instead of the other way around, because with multiple men she kind of leaves them worse than she found them, and not in the typical heart broken way! Lol Dean basically gets a divorce for her then she leaves him again, Logan has constant issues with his family and friends, even Marty changes from a sweet goofy guy to kind of a jerk, and while that is on him and (he’s responsible for his behavior) I do think her “mixed signals” like the cuddling and chasing him and some of her other actions definitely contributed to him losing it a bit in the last season where we see him. I didn’t realized until I was older she basically cheated on or with almost all the guys we see on the show, and she keeps that up into her 30s in “year in the life”, so what used to be an innocent “the heart wants what it wants” relationship struggles of a young girl with her and the guys (like the love triangle with Dean/Jess or even chad Michael Murray’s character, can’t remember his name lol, but there are several times she lets him get away with wayyyy more than someone who loved their boyfriend would because, imo, she finds him more exciting than dean) but you can’t really say that once she leaves Chilton. To me it feels like despite being raised by a super hard working single mom, she’s the one that was kind of the most elitist in that family- only in certain ways- but i always thought she kind of secretly resented Lorelei for not allowing her to have that kind of lifestyle as a kid, since for Rory, it would’ve meant more connections and opportunities academically- and more experiences academically only wealthy people get to have growing up, so Rory kind of became exactly what Lorelai was trying to avoid being herself.
I feel Marty not telling his feelings right away isnt a bad thing. I was in a similar situation once. (I was Marty). I had a crush on a friend and was very sure her feelings werent the same. Sometimes you just have to safe the friendship i guess. I and Marty know that telling her would change things and sometimes you dont want that and just suck it up i guess...
Marty would have been the best guy for Rory. He perfectly straddles the two worlds she lives in. He is accepted in the Yale elder Gilmore life and he is a hard working regular guy that would not be out of place in Stars Hollow. She absolutely misled him by snuggling with him, etc. Girls that have hate for Marty have probably back-burnered guys like this themselves. Sorry, but if you have a guy who wants to cuddle with you, he wants more.
I do believe men and woman can be friends but if college life taught me something is that a "real" friendship or a friendship without no ulterior motives only can happen if (more than not) the guy doesn't have romantic or se×ual feelings for the woman, once the woman reject them they start ignoring her and losing interest (just like we watch here). Also, even if Rory didn't notice his feelings (which I don't believe) she did say that she only sees him as a friend, I wish he took the hint sooner instead of doing all that
I have a friend who was rejected by a girl and he was in love with her for like three more years, but now they're best friends. If they're really interested in the person apart from the romantic stuff, then one can just wait for the feelings to go away and have a friendship. But mixed gender friendships are very very common and normal in my bubble, so maybe this adds to that.
I've seen that happen as well; while in college, I know guys that had crushes on some of my friends and years later, everybody is in their own relationships and they still hang out as friends with their significant others. Some people are good at navigating this relationship dynamic, some aren't.
I completely sympathized with Marty. Have we not had crushes on ppl we were friends with or in a friend group with. If the relationship starts off as platonic and there's no flirting, it's very hard to confess your romantic feelings to your crush. Especially if they had a boyfriend durring the friendship. His behavior in season 7 is unexplainable. What were the intentions of the writers?
At this point, I'm thinking the writer's intentions were so that 20 years later, a random person on the internet will make a 20-minute video trying to figure out why the character acted this way. 😂
I totally sympathize with Marty. I've had many guy friends that I would have a crush on but didn't dare say anything. More times than not they would end up asking for advise on someone they like. Too often I am just looked at as someone to give advise. The latest was "oh, I have a girlfriend now who as a heart of gold" as I politely smile and say "congrats " and think to myself "I have a heart of hold too but I guess you are too blind to see it" 😔
It wasn’t the spicy, wasabi nuts that broke the ice. It was Paris coming in and yelling at Rory about her crazy Doyle whatever it was and then that made Marty start kinda laughing and remember all the fun he had with them.
Commenting before I've watched the video, but: Amy Sherman-Palladino left after S6. Who knows how much she told other people about future plans for Marty. For me, knowing that S7 Marty probably wasn't her idea makes his character shift more understandable.
This makes sense. His story feels like that’s not what his intention was. Same for Tristan. I KNOW there was so much more to his story but since Chad got a new job his story came to an abrupt end
Your early late teens and early 20s can be really formative years. I don't read too much into Marty's actions season 4 and 5. I think he genuinely liked Rory, wanted to be friends, had a bit of a crush that developed into deeper feelings and it got painful for him, especially i think feeling rejected based on his class position. Rejection sucks and that hurt is valid but it clearly developed into resentment to her and Logan both after their friendship ended and he underwent a transformation.
I feel like I never truly saw Doyle as Rory's friend. For me, I perceived him as Rory's editor and then, as Paris' boyfriend so his relationship with Rory always felt a little tangential to me. Although I think that the closeness of their friendship is certainly open to interpretation. I like Doyle.
14:16 I actually dont blame Marty at all for accepting the invite, he was probably also in the mindset of trying to repair his friendship with Rory and probably wanted to show her he cared and wanted to try to get along with her other friends by going along.
I’m afraid half the reason why we didn’t get more on Marty is because he’s not the center the show. At first we the audience only see Rory’s perspective, which gives us a limited view on characters like Marty. However later on we might draw our conclusions about things and people that the show doesn’t touch upon‼
You're absolutely right. We only see Marty with Rory and we end up drawing conclusions based on a very limited viewpoint. This is why I generally like to give the benefit of the doubt because we are missing a lot of information. I still draw conclusions but I know that they are speculative.
@@PensiveWhiskers I believe Marty approached Rory in the cafeteria because he felt mored confident. As for the reason he didn't say anything to Rory sooner about his feelings was because he wan't sure how things would play out between them. Maybe once he realized she would never like him the same way was what him change?!
The way Rory relies on Marty, how he's always there for her, I think he's written to be an echo of Dean. I think Rory was initially interested in Marty, which is why her eyes follow him and she almost made an attempt to talk to him that night of the dorm party before she was interrupted by the twins. The deterioration of their friendship coinciding with the introduction of Logan represents Rory's romantic interests evolving. The guy who most fit her old world, and her old desires, slides out of her view and she hardly notices, and she seems to restrain herself from admitting her feelings for Logan until Marty is out of the picture, removing any guilt she might feel for being attracted to the guy who makes Marty so uncomfortable. Without Marty at her side, Rory loses a bit of her class consciousness enough to admit her feelings and interest for Logan.
I always like Marty and I think the reason why is because that was the only character I identify with. During college I had 5 jobs and come from a very low class family. I’m also extremely weird and not keep my crushes because insecurities, specially economic. All my friends were middle class or high class I always feel not enough. Marty represent lots of us. So upset they make him an asshole:
FINALLY!!! A video about Marty! I’ve been wondering why no one mentions him when he was Rory’s best match. He was a Yale man, hard working, and made her feel at home in how they’d hang out for hours and watch movies together like she did with her mom. Rory fumbled Marty!
I've actually wondered a lot about why Marty went out to get Chinese with all of them. If he was super into her and picked up on something between her and Logan, was he trying to go out with Logan and all the friends as some sort of challenge? Or was it because he was trying to convince himself there was nothing between Logan and rory and he wanted to see it? I always thought, financial aspect aside, that it was an odd choice for the character to make
I’ve always thought he went because he knew she wanted to go, this was their like “reunion” and the options were either end the night, when they were just starting to get cuddly again, or endure an hour or two of being around people you don’t like to finish out the night with her. It was a combo of him not wanting to leave her because he wanted to be around her, and him not wanting Logan to come back to her place at night.
Although we don't get a clear answer on this, I think your explanation makes the most sense. You phrased it much better than I could have. I appreciate it! 😁
I think people are also forgetting that Logan was technically Marty’s employer like Marty made a lot of money off Logan‘s parties so it’s a little awkward for him to be standing there with a girl Logan‘s trying to get with and be like no I’m not gonna go out to the dinner he kind of had to wait that’s right because he didn’t wanna piss Logan off like Rory needed to be the one to turn that down because once she asked him about it and that puts all the pressure on him and then once he supposed to say, no, I don’t wanna go out that looks awkward as fuck like Rory needed to be the one to put her foot down as soon as Logan showed up she should just say no I’ve got plans tonight you go hang out with your friends. But Rory went and turned and put it on to Marty to turn down Logan invitation, which is a very awkward position to put him in
I always loved Marty, I definitely wanted him and Rory together. I like Logan, but… it’s Marty! I would also like to add, I don’t think he was friends with Rory in the hopes of getting with her. I think they were friends, he developed feelings, and he decided to stay friends instead of asking her out right away
As a Marty fan, do you feel that there was an assassination of his character in Season 7 or do you feel that his actions could be defended in that season?
@@PensiveWhiskers I definitely think there was a character assassination. There isn’t really any excuse for his behavior in season 7. But it also feels out of character. I don’t think season 4 and 5 Marty would do stuff like that, let alone all of it
loving these video essays! i need one of Paris - she was my favourite character in GG (other than Sookie ofc) but her dating storyline was weird af; like leaving her bf for a professor didn't make sense. And I think she ended up being more interesting than Rory, her sad home life, her lack of social life and trying to find worth in her education and so on. i never watched the last few seasons as I got annoyed with rory lol so don't actually know what happened to Paris, so a video essay would be most helpful haha!
Thank you! Paris is a fun character. She might be a little too big for me to dissect (I'm trying to focus on smaller characters for now, or smaller topics on characters). I was thinking of covering her in the context of her relationships with others. I don't know how far you've gotten in the series but I was going to cover her boyfriend after the professor (I really like the actor). I was also considering doing a mini video covering Paris' relationship with her nanny. Paris turns out well at the end, you would be happy.
@@PensiveWhiskers Thanks for the response and totally get that doing a Paris vid is daunting! And her relationship with her nanny was so sweet - completely forgot about that! Glad Paris's story arc ends up well - was rooting for her to have a happy ending! :)
I feel like if we’re gonna give Marty passes because he’s 19 then Rory must be given the same grace. You can say when he asked if she has a boyfriend that can be read as a sign he liked her, but seeing as he never acts on it it’s fair for her to assume he doesn’t like her.
I defense of Marty choosing to go to dinner: When you’re poor and want a social interaction at like a restaurant, sometimes you say yes and try to get the cheapest thing possible and then pay for your own. But it was awkward when it was unanimously decided that it’s gonna be a split bill. He could have gone up and paid on his own at the bar and left. But I know they needed the drama! 😂
Even though season 7 marty was next level cringe, i think the reason he stays in our memory is that it's relatable to a LOT of women. It's very common for men to act this way when they get rejected and he portrayed it very very well. So i guess the writing was not bad after all. Marty always had a habit of avoiding Rory when he felt rejected and he was always prideful. Then he got stuck in a situation where his girlfriend is best friends with the girl that rejected him. So he just kinda ghosted her to her face. It's messed up but it seems like his character. BTW i still 100% also blame rory and ALL women that lead men on. But overall this plot is good drama for the show
I don’t think she led him on. She made it clear that she saw him as a friend. I wish that they could have stayed just friends and there was no awkward romantic feelings
@@malloryweeks3306 If you have met a heterosexual male who is interested in sitting on a couch snuggling and cuddling without wanting more, one of you is in denial. And your Dad doesn't count.
@happytofu5 yeah it drives me crazy that anyone ever thinks it's fair to just split the bill evenly but I think there is a cultural thing I've seen where people assume everyone will order similar enough in price things and it's almost perceived as rude or idk overly concerned about your money to make sure you don't pay a few dollars more than is fair? I think it's definitely a rich people think to do and it also doesn't make any sense if anyone paying a tiny bit of attention knows one person only ordered a salad or something cheap and other people ordered 4 courses.
Ideally people would pay for what they order but a lot of restaurants refuse to do that, especially in the northeast us. I've definitely been stuck paying $60 when I just ate $20 worth of stuff
19:16 I totally agree that logan should not have spilled the beans. He told us that it wasn’t his place to help them keep a secret but it wasn’t his place to tell it either. He should have not contributed to the secret whatsoever. Now if Lucy said “SO LOGAN THINK THESE GUYS HAVE ACTUALLY KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR YEARS?” Sure, logan should say so but he is not hurting anyone by keeping this secret. However, Lucy and Marty were obviously not good together considering how Marty was rude and unfaithful to Lucy so it did do their relationship a favor.
I completely forgot this character existed, in the few GG reviews/retrospectives I don't believe anyone has mentioned him at all. I'm guessing he didn't come back for the sequel either. Thanks for awakening this memory.
Yeah, it's kind of been my new shtick; to talk about characters and relationships that rarely get discussed. I didn't set out to do that, but I have been enjoying it the most. I'm happy you enjoyed watching me go into gritty detail about a very small character!
i don't blame Marty for season 7 until he flirts with Rory at Lucy's party. up until that point it's understandable that he'd want to avoid Rory since he still pines for her.
Going out to dinner can be crazy expensive and Marty is placed in a no win situation. I think Logan covering him is a genuine recognition that Marty didn't choose the place to go and it's a problem for him that the bill comes out higher than a place he would choose because he's hanging out with rich kids. Logan doesn't come across as trying to get one up on him BUT I can understand why Marty would feel terrible accepting it.
13:45 maybe im out of touch, but usually with any people I go out with, we all pay for just our own portion, so i wouldn't have expected to split the check. If I were Marty I also would have expected $18 to be enough to pay for whatever I ordered. I've never been somewhere, especially in a college town, where food is that expensive. And since Marty isnt rich he may not have ever expected food to be that expensive
I have to respectfully disagree with your take. As a woman who’s been friends with a “Marty” not once but many times starting from HS into my early 30s, he’s what ppl like to refer as the “nice guy.” Meaning he initially comes off as Rory said sweet, nice etc and parental figures approve, but in time show their true colors. Some people like to claim that they’re interested in friendship when in fact they’re playing the waiting game/long game thinking one day this person, who has repeatedly not shown romantic interest in them, will suddenly see them as they want or feel they deserve to be seen. Eventually they realize this will never happen and that’s when the mask comes off. They were never interested in the person’s friendship, they had ulterior motives the entire time. This is extremely hurtful. It’s like saying someone has no value unless *insert what they truly want here* happens. Not every person that shows interest has a claim on the person they’re interested in. Things don’t work that way. This is a very dangerous way of thinking and it isn’t being a friend. It was unfortunate that the show was incapable of featuring a true male friend to Rory. They were all love interests. Logan’s friends, in my humble opinion, don’t count as they were more his friends than hers. How they got the Oz send off in the revival, I’ll never know but that’s a whole other can of worms.
What are your thoughts on how quickly a person should tell someone that they like them? I'm a proponent of giving a grace period but of course I understand that this is subjective.
I do think Nice Guys are real and I’ve known them myself, but I don’t think Marty was a Nice Guy. I think he maybe should have confessed his feelings sooner and that he made some mistakes but ultimately I think painting him as a Nice Guy is overly simplistic. (And I personally do not accept season 7 as canon)
@@PensiveWhiskers I’ve never clocked it personally. But I do feel that 1-2 years is wayyy too long. You know when you like someone and it’s not a passing ship - simple physical attraction. Based on the amount of time Marty and Rory spent together, this is something he should have known weeks into knowing her. Verbalizing it is tough for me to estimate because, to me, it all depends on what kind of relationship they have (closeness, communication etc) and there is only so much we see on the show. Without knowing that, I think a couple to a few months after getting to know Rory would have been a very generous timeframe for Marty to have spoken up. That timeframe came and went before the “do you have a boyfriend” conversation.
I do think some people play games like that but I don’t think that was Marty. It felt like they were friends at first, then he realized he had more romantic feelings for her, guessed that she wouldn’t feel the same (which I think has more to do with his awkwardness and self-esteem about being the ‘poor’ kid at the Ivy League school), and kept his crush to himself. It truly didn’t seem like he was plotting to me.
I actually got a little too mad when she practically begged him to come over for movie night and then just switches up for Logan, putting him in a predicament. To me, it may have thrown him off balance because she should have just said "I'm having movie night, another time maybe", but didn't. Seemed like a forced scenario for the plot to happen
I had several friends when I was younger that excitedly made plans with me then bailed at the last minute when a guy they were interested in showed up. Even if it sucked, it did seem like a realistic thing Rory might do.
@@TheOptimalLife it just seemed like it added insult to injury, why lure him back just to kick him again 🤔 she could at least pretend to care by sticking to the commitment that was her own idea lol
Marty is the insidious guy who always insists he’s such a nice guy but the second a girl turns him down he reveals himself to be as much of a jerk as most other guys. But on the flip side, Rory DID lead him on and send him mixed signals, I would argue that she was young and didn’t know better-she had literally never had a guy friend before and she didn’t know that it usually blows up in the woman’s face if the guy likes her no matter how well the woman handles it so…
I agree with everthing you say, the thing is, after binge watching all of the show you realize that a LOT of plot points made were based off misscommunication. So much of the conflict could've just been avoided by communicating honestly, and it's not only the teenagers.
I don't think that Marty was Rory's friend just to get in her pants. I think they were just friends first, but when their friendship got closer (hanging out nearly daily basis, late night cramming sessions, movie nights on the same sofa touching each other, etc), he developed feelings for her. He wanted to be more than just friends, but wouldn't want to risk their friendship and thus hesitated on asking her out on a date. I wouldn't blame Marty at all in seasons 4 and 5, it was pretty realistic depiction of how things might turn up sometimes. Season 7 Marty was just awful, but then again so was pretty much the whole season, so it checks out. There could have been more Marty in the show in season 6 and 7, where they could have developed their friendship more. It would have been interesting to see Rory being at Logans party with rich kids and Marty being a bartender there. They could have had interesting conversations between Marty and Rory about the different point of views of how elite lived their lives. But alas, it wasn't made that way.
I kind of wish Rory and Marty had a brief fling. I doubt he was ever going to be her longterm boyfriend but maybe they could have dated for a few episodes.
Marty showing up was a breath of fresh air for me. When I saw the direction the writers were going - focusing on Logan (who I had zero interest in) I stopped watching completely. So glad I did! Would have loved a spinoff based on Marty. Hate where the writers went with this show. Thanks for making this video - very thoughtful.
I never told my friend how I felt (they figured it out, and we talked about it years later) but I never had any intention of having that kind of relationship with them either. They didn't swing my way, and I valued the friendship with them very strongly. I was in love with them for seven years before I got with my now husband, and they are still my friend to this day.
I fell in love with a friend of mine and I never told this friend mostly because yeah they are aromantic and don't want a partner with anyone, plus they don't want to be a parent and i do. We were completely incompatible. I never will tell this person. The longing to be partners faded with time. We are still really good friends.
9:02 I think Rory has known this entire time that he has at least a little crush on her. She (like lots of women) was probably hoping it would go away without her ruining the friendship.
I want to add onto the end of your points about season 5: I'm also considering how Rory was raised and the "male & female roles/ dynamics" that were modeled for her. She was raised by a mom who had a close male friend who offered and gave a lot. From Rory's perspective, it's very normal to have a male friend a girl can rely on regularly for big things, to the point of even taking him for granted, and it was always confirmed to her and others that there was no romantic spark between Lorelei and Luke. There is also a not-subtle-at-all undertone of Lorelei being a "hot mom" and how as Rory matures, she is growing into a similar state of "pretty privilege" as her mom (pilot episode, for example). IMO, that plays a role in how Rory was socialized by her fairly open-hearted mother and small, safe town, to behave as she grows into a woman: essentially, to not really questioning the motivations of the "very helpful male friend." The dynamic between Lorelei and Luke, accepting outlandish levels of help, not questioning motives, etc. was all being modeled for Rory while she was growing up (especially in her High School years, as romantic and sexual attraction was something she was learning to understand). IMO, this was the primer for how Rory then treats Marty, and was a key reason she remained somewhat naive (or at least, consciously remained naive) about Marty's feelings for her.
I like what another commenter said -- that Rory pretends not to notice the obvious signs that Marty likes her as a way for her to avoid accountability. I'm still thinking Rory does this without realizing it.
That is a very interesting connection. It works well within the narrative and makes sense given the relationship between Lorelai and Luke! I could see how a girl would interpret male friendships in this way based on her mom. I definitely agree with you on the pretty privilege.
I feel like Rory just befriends Marty because she's a freshman at college and doesn't know anybody, then later she quite obviously uses Marty as a comforter. Once she's with Logan she basically ditches Marty and only goes after him because she wants him to keep wanting her, by then is pretty clear that he likes her.
marty was my favourite potential ship for rory. in the relatively few scenes we got they showed how naturally they hung out. prime example how she talks to him about christopher in 5x09. that sort of closeness and personal chat we did not see with any other guys. the sort of relationship a young college student like rory would not realise is better then the flashy money fuelled partying with logan stuff until later life. more of a luke than a christopher but in a rory way not a lorelai way. honestly i just ignore season 7 as i like your video title just see it as a character assassination the writers did on him.
Don't get me wrong, I love Gilmore Girls and have watched it more times than I can count now. That said, I typically stay away from this kind of content and fan theories because my biggest complaint about the show are plot holes and character discrepancies. I feel like even though the writing is great, it oftentimes was not well thought out so they go in really weird directions sometimes that make the characters seem completely different than who you thought they were, but in ways that don't make sense to me. One example I would use for this is the episode where Lorelai and Rory stay in that bed & breakfast on their road trip; they live in Stars Hollow with the craziest, weirdest bunch of townsfolk yet they were so incredibly rude to everyone at the B&B. It was so cringe and just seemed so unlike who they were. This is how I felt about Rory and Marty. I feel like it's not even this complex and just a writing issue. I think at a certain point they just didn't know what to do with Marty so they assassinated his character to deepen the storyline for Rory and Logan, and for Rory and Lucy just to add some drama. I do agree with your overall assessment of Marty though; just young and insecure for the most part. Good video!
I completely agree with you. Do you not like this content for this show or for any show? I think that for a show like Breaking Bad or The Good Place, character analysis videos would be more coherent. For me, the characters on Gilmore Girls are not as consistent as characters on other shows. I think the writing was driven more by the story than by the character consistencies. I do think that what I am doing is kind of a silly fun project since I am creating stories and theories for fictional characters that the writers didn't intend. I love my unhinged theory videos more because if I'm going to speculate, I might as well go all out and be ridiculous. I know some people are not fans of those though. So I guess in sum, you are not alone, I have been feeling the same way.
Marty’s character displayed Rory’s lack of moral center, which is the biggest difference from her mom. Lorelai has empathy and understands how others don’t have privilege. Also, Logan was awful to Marty. He humiliated him and openly treated him as less than. He bullied him in front of Rory, who is supposed to be his friend. But that didn’t deter Rory from dating Logan while it gave most of us the ick. Her lack of character starts showing from here. I was really disgusted by that. Rory was just a mannequin of a person-defined only be her lore and not who she really is.
why do people complain about characters being one-dimensional and then also complain about them developing in negative ways? they can't all have happy, inspiring character arcs.
I honestly don't think that Rory was at fault with the dinner situation when Logan invited her out. Rory specifically states that she would go only if Marty wanted to and that he clearly didn't, so they would not be going out with Logan. Marty is the one that tells her that they should go and even turns off the TV, clearly indicating that he is alright with going out with Logan and his crew. It was Marty's decision, the ball was in his court, and he bailed on himself by putting himself into this situation where he went out to dinner with a bunch of rich people and could not afford to cover his meal. What was Rory supposed to say to that? She would make him mad by insisting that they stay in her dorm and he would likely accuse her of thinking poorly of his financial status, thereby having them go anyway to prove a point. However, I do agree that Rory was far too comfortable with Marty and that level of familiarity while on they were sitting on the couch was a little much. I barely cuddle my partner that I am married to and have been with for 16 years like that in a common area, let alone my guy friends! For her own sake, I would have suggested putting some distance between them. Also, I despise how the writers in season 7 change Marty so drastically! He's just genuinely terrible.
I agree, there was a ton of potential there. I feel that the show ultimately leaned into the love-triangle plotline rather than the class divide plotline. If the show used Marty as a tool to explore class divisions, I think he would have been a more interesting character. I saw your other comment about making a video about Logan, Rory, and class divisions. That is an excellent idea. I must say that I do not feel qualified to discuss this subject. Admittedly, my videos are rather shallow since I am solely relying on my opinions. If I were to make a video on a topic such as wealth, I would want to do extensive research. This is not to say that I will never make this type of video. I wish to work my way up to making well-researched videos where I provide more than just my opinion. I hope this does not come off as me dismissing your idea, because I truly think that it is an excellent idea.
Honestly I can get the general dislike of Rory the last few years, but Marty? Yeah no, I think the author of the video cuts him a little too much slack in 5th season. By the tone of the episode where we find out that he likes Rory, it's clear why he lashed out on her and went home walking. He was jealous and acted like a doofus. Later I think Rory tried hard to talk to him not specifically because she started being interested only when Marty started avoiding her, but because the writers didn't wright enough scenes of them hanging out to establish that they are close, rather just implied it. I really think that's the reason.
Watching the breakfast scene after knowing his behavior in season 7 is so interesting bc the actors delivery lets you downplay what he’s saying - if he said it confidently we’d think he sucks. also, he eats breakfast with Glenn, another character they downplay but when you really look at his lines and behavior he’s not a great guy especially toward women.
the pj thing - he was likely trying to embarrass her, but playfully. it was a harmless prank. people weren't as uptight about things like that back then. we could, nine times out of ten, laugh off embarrassment and cared about intent over actions alone. there was genuinely less cases of anxiety disorders back then. I know 80% of people today have generalized anxiety, but back then, it wasn't like that. pranks like that were normal bonding experiences.
Marty is the classic struggling guy trying to make good by working his way through college. As a true friend Rory should have been sensitive to his up and down ability to finance things. Since she invited him to her dorm to watch movies she should have shout Marty as she wanted to go out with Logan and friends since it was on the same evening. Better still Logan should have also made it clear he was shouting them both as he was gate crashing their movie night. Marty should have turned down the dinner date offer but in essence he was in love with Rory and as we all know such feelings can led you astray in accepting offers just so you can be near the person you are in love with , plus Marty was in a slightly competitive struggle with Logan for Rory's heart so his ego again ruled the day and he said yes when his mind new better given Logan came from a wealthy background and in all likelihood the dinner would be at some expensive restaurant, way beyond Marty's finances. In essences Rory was not a great friend who just used Marty in so many ways and Marty let her because he had feelings for her.
Great video with very interesting points! I do want to point out the cab scene real quick. While I agree that Marty being broke was a valid reason for why he didn't ride in the cab, I believe it was more of him being upset bc Rory does say the cab ride was her treat which took him off the hook for paying. Just wanted to put in my two sense 😊 I also hated what they did to Marty in season 7 🤦♀️🤦♀️
I also think the primary reason Marty didn't get into the cab was because he was upset. The money thing was very much a secondary consideration. I just threw that in there as an added reason for why he didn't go, but I would agree that him being upset was the driving force for that decision.
Would you be able to add Subtitles, please? I'm Hard of Hearing. I picture him playing some get to know you strip version of Truth or Dare and he was so drunk he just fell asleep on the ground. Possible he wasn't sober enough to find his dorm. I don't think he meant to embarrass her at that breakfast. He didn't ever seem that type. Her having her legs over him and his hand on her legs did look more comfy than just casual friends. I was surprised he didn't have a credit card, do people really just walk around with $75 and more on them? And yeah, he should have figured there would be money spending, and that everyone would pay for themselves. Rory may not have realized he liked her, because this is Rory. People always treating her like a queen so it may have been hard for her to distinguish between "He likes me" and "He wants me". I don't know why they ruined Marty. It's like they don't know how to write characters who can just be friends with the opposite sex.
Hello! The video has a "closed captioning" option (the CC button on the bottom right). Sadly, the closed captions are not perfect. Let me know if the button is not showing up for you. The CC are automatic subtitles from UA-cam so it mishears words sometimes. For example, it can never understand when I'm saying "Yale." I haven't quite yet figured out an efficient way to add my own subtitles but I am working on it. I would prefer to have my own subtitles over UA-cam's. I also want to improve my audio quality in the future so that more people can hear me more clearly. I have a very cheap microphone right now. I like your idea of him playing a strip version of Truth or Dare. 😆On your point about the credit card; what's more surprising is that none of them have a credit card! Everybody starts pulling out cash and Rory gives Marty cash outside the restaurant. It's like they are all walking around with $100 in their wallet. Why would Rory have $75 on hand?
Not that I am defending Marty or anything but I swear Rory gets worse as she gets older. She also has a tendency to use men whether she does it knowingly or not.
I like how a lot of the time you say Marty it actually sounds more like Morty and I’m like yeah come to think of it Marty is exactly the kind of guy I would expect Morty Smith to become
Hahahaha, I could see it! 😂 I would like to think that Morty would grow up to become more secure without his grandfather's influence but realistically, he would probably turn out like Marty. New head canon; Marty grew up like Morty Smith so he has a wrapped sense of reality.
Am i the only one who even in real life would have never fallen for marty? He was too insecure regardless if he had to work for a living or not. At least Dean had some game in him when he tried to get Rory. To me the martys of the world are better off as friends, besides we cant even say that he wasn’t boyfriend material because he had a girlfriend. Sometimes you dont click with someone and it shows it has nothing to do with upper middle lower class.
Marty’s lack of trust fund meant he never had a chance. In the choose your own adventure of the show, Amy S-P always chooses money and status for her leads. Maybe if it turned out Marty’s new dad had bought Apple stock in the 1980s, Marty would have been a romantic option for a Gilmore Girl. To see young Edward Hermann in college, check out a great movie about the ivy league, university and life generally called The Paper Chase (1973). It’s beautifully filmed on location and he’s very good in it as a law school student. At Harvard!
I'm no prude, but honestly, having your legs over a guy like that and him holding onto them is not something you do with a guy who is your friend. It made me feel like Rory had him on some sort of leash to keep him or something, even if nothing came of it. I'm a girl and I don't mind doing that with my friends who are girls, but not with a guy I'm not dating.
7:20 I think it's totally fine for Marty to be hesitant to show his interest in Rory, and idk I think it's normal to really enjoy somebody's company and want to be near them in whatever way is possible. He wants more but also enjoys being a genuine friend to her. He's keeping a small bit of hope in the background and I don't think that's malicious. He's not only being friends with her to become her boyfriend, he's trying to navigate "what if I screw up our friendship?" and losing her entierly. And 16:00 I think there's sometimes a bit of ignoring the facts in male/female friendships. Rory gets so comfortable having a nice, dependable male friend and she likes cozying up with him and hanging out, but she knows she's not interested romantically. But it's nice to get some of the parts of a relationship with a friend, and by ignoring his potential feelings she can keep the benefits of cuddling and reliability without having to make a choice. She's using him in this sense, but since he hasn't made anything clear it becomes a subconcious "ok" to do so. He enjoys this too, while he also wants more of it. Such a good video, I love hearing your perspective, you lay it out so clearly and fairly. I personally never liked Marty bc it felt like his view of women was that because he was nice to her, Rory owed him something? And once he gets a girlfriend his ego gets all weird. He keeps making bad calls (like pretending to not know Rory, just like he agreed to the dinner he couldn't afford earlier) and to me it shows lack of self control and self awareness. He's not very considerate, very selfish and impulsive. He's only nice to people for what they can give him in return. Great video! This was fun to think about!
I thought Marty was a misse opportunity for the writers.He is like a better,older version of Dean and Rory had a chance to be adored by someone who was "real" like Luke.
16:19- The way the show presented Rory, we were supposed to accept when she treated people poorly (which she did often). She was normally a good girl, but we, the less good audience, were supposed to relate to her in those moments because we’d feel the same way. The writers thought we’d also hate Jess’s girlfriend or Lindsey or whoever she was being crappy to that episode. And if she was being nasty to someone like Lane, we were supposed to forgive her once she came around and learned her lesson in friendship or whatever. She was supposedly never in the wrong, even when she was. And like we were supposed to side with Rory in those moments, we were also supposed to be incensed when anyone was rude to her. She friend-zoned Marty haaaard. While a more mature man would have accepted that it was either platonic friendship or walk away because he didn’t want that, Marty was an insecure college guy who wanted to fit in, who wanted someone to love him, who wanted someone to be in love with. That’s why he hung around Rory- if she and Logan broke up, he’d be her shoulder to cry on and earn her love that way. But that isn’t how relationships work, which a 20 year old inexperienced guy wouldn’t know. When he finally got a girlfriend, he was worried he’d lose her and be alone again, and that was too much to bear. I chalk it up to immaturity.
I like to think that Marty wasn't only friends with Rory because he wanted a relationship but I came to the conclusion that his desire for a romantic relationship with Rory was stronger than his desire for a friendship with her. I'm basing that on Marty's decision to avoid Rory after he realizes that she only sees him as a friend (in the episode where they look for Anna). At that point, Rory didn't do anything bad to Marty but he made the decision to distance himself from her because he realized that she only saw him as a friend.
I recently watched the show again and I have to say it completely changed my opinion of Rory.. I really ended up disliking her to the point where I will probably never watch the show again. The story that every boy she comes into contact with falls in love with her, and stays in love with her for years after even with no contact (Marty, Jess) irks me to no end because she really isn’t very nice to anyone. She shit talks Paris, she isn’t there for Lane, she hates her grandparents after they give her a place to stay and indulge her own desire to not go back to Yale… like… why do people even like her?
I actually find it interesting that Marty is actually the only guy friend she considers just a friend. Every other guy is either a jerk or boyfriend material or someone else's boyfriend material.
You are so right 🤔
@@angelaholmes8888 actually there is another guy..the nerd from chilton (brad i think) ..
It's hard not to read some superficial worldview into it...
@@saraa.4295 Kirk too, think they just shoehorned Lulu in there so it wouldn't seem so depressing
@@ennuiblue4295 though, Kirk is closer to Lorelais Age range, despite being a man child.
Lorelai does have some platonic men in her life..not many, but some.
I think you're right. I can't recall any other guy that she is actually friends with. She is friendly with Lane's band and Lane's boyfriends and Logan's friends but they are one degree removed. Those are not actual friendships.
I think her disinterest in Marty is a symbol that Rory has fully left her mother’s world, where people have to work hard for their money and dreams, and entered her grandparents’ world, where your family and connections mean you don’t have to. Her choosing Logan over Marty is her literally and figuratively falling in love with the upper class
That is a really interesting interpretation of his character, I like it. 🙂
That's really interesting 😮😮😮
Yesss. And a lot of people pinpoint Rory’s quick decline to when she left Chilton but it was definitely the moment she told Marty she likes Logan.
I've always thougt this too. I think Rory's younger self would be more interested/flattered by Marty's feelings. I think it also symbolizes her entitlement and flightiness in relationships. Rory was easily impressed when Dean sought after her because it was her first time having romantic interactions with a boy and being wanted in that way. Eventually she starts to take Dean for granted and feels above him as she becomes more and more apart of that world. She jumps to Jess then wants to jump back to Dean, then eventually pursues Logan. I think Rory always wants what she can't have in terms of romance, and as she grows up her entitlement shows in her interpersonal connections too. Like every guy isn't good enough for her.
"Her choice of Logan over Marty signifies her literal and figurative love for the upper class."
I fixed it for you.
Marty felt like the most realistic man in the show to me honestly. I have had so many men act exactly like this
Yes! And when you ask if they have a crush on you, then noooo its all just joooking lol. 🙄
They ruined this relationship. Rory needed a good, platonic friendship.
Right why does it always have to be romantic. I really like Marty.
True story, a totally missed opportunity.
Here, here!
I agree. They should've dedicated some time to fixing their friendship and having Rory be able to reconcile. Instead they just had Krysten Ritter break up with him due to Logan's revelation and... disappear entirely from the rest of the show. A very sudden and odd exit, tbh, I expected a reconciliation arc with Rory after that where they become friends again. It felt like it was dropped for other reasons.
I can defend Marty. They wrote Marty badly so that fans would hate him and like Logan. The same way they did with Dean when they wanted for Rory to break up with him and get with Tristian of Jess. Btw Paris has done way worse things to Rory than Dean or Marty but the writers continued to write her as sympathetic. The show did Dean and Marty dirty.
i think we can all agree no one did Marty dirtier than the writers.
I totally agree. If we're being honest, the writers did a lot of the men on this show DIRTY. Some examples:
1. Dean - He went from fully dimensional and fairly smart until Jess swooped in. Then he became one dimensional, dumb and WAY too hung up on Rory.
2. Richard- Went from a solid husband to a liar who secretly meets up with his ex once a year.
3. Luke- Went from a loyal man constantly who confided in Lorelai and preached about honesty, to someone who hid his daughter from his fiance and firmly pushed her away.
4. Jackson- Went from being fairly open and honest and wound up lying about the vasectomy and impregnated his wife who was firm about not having more children.
5. Zack- Originally started off chill and a little naive, yet highly communicative, then misread a situation and beat up his best friends without taking any accountability and was just expected to be forgiven for everything.
Yes, I liked the drama between him and Rory after she got together with Logan, but it felt like it never paid off. They just wrote him out of the show entirely, brought him back suddenly as "boyfriend", then after his breakup... Rory just never sees him again? Makes absolutely no sense, I'm getting whiplash just thinking about it. It felt like they were setting something up to make them friends again or at least be on good terms, but then dropped it like a bowling ball.
@@Swampy24945Agreed. That sucks because Marty deserved better.
@@rachelmartin5187 Oh my god, i really hated what they did with Dean as well. Really everything on that list. The only one i can kind of forgive is the Jackson stuff, as they had to deal with Melissa Mccarthy's real life pregnancy.
@@moonlight4665 vasectomy fail … they could wrote that
My one takeaway from this whole show is that Rory gives terrible hugs
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Thank you for the laugh. 🤣
Always noticed that as well 😅
I know some people who also give terrible hugs. xD I love hugs, so it always feels so uncomfortable when someone hugs awkwardly.
She doesn’t really hug she just mostly puts her forearms over their shoulders and like limply jumps up and down and shakes
Rory was oblivious at first, but she would later purposefully ‘misread’ signs in order to avoid accountability when messing with his feelings. Marty is an awkward guy that had expectations (as most of do) but those didn’t coincide with Rory’s lifestyle or personality. I’ve notice I’ve been mentioning Rory a lot in a video analysis of Marty which makes me realize he has no true arc outside of his infatuation with Rory which is upsetting because he had the potential to become a very likable character, not to say he isn’t but a little more depth could go a long way.
Yes, you're absolutely right. Marty did not exist on the show outside of Rory. All of Marty's scenes are with Rory. We don't see what Marty does when he's not with Rory. I also think that he could have been an interesting character if they gave him just a little more depth.
Well, when it comes to "misreading" signs, she learned from the best aka: her mom. For 4 seasons, Lorelai constantly flirted with Luke and got jealous when she saw him talking to another girl, but when he finally asked her out, she played dumb, even though Sookie, Rory and even Emily told her how Luke felt.
True, that is a good comparison. I should have added that in. Luke didn't confess his feelings but also, Lorelai pretended that nothing was happening between them, even though she was told directly several times that Luke likes her.
@@PensiveWhiskers Right. She even tells Rory: "I think I'm dating Luke."
@@rachelmartin5187 this isn’t a good comparison because both lor and Luke have feelings for one another. Everyone says Luke has feelings except for Luke himself which is the only person who matters. He never makes a move on top of being jealous of all of her boyfriends as well. The moment Luke makes a move lor was completely open to it and they start a relationship. Not comparable at all to Rory and Marty.
I loved that Marty was one of the few people who told Rory off. I was fully in my “I despise Rory” phase at that point .
Facts! He and Logan didn't worship the ground she walked on like most characters.
The most unrealistic part is anyone in college even caring that a student is in their pjs. I saw people go to class to give a presentation in worse conditions when I was in college
Rory is terrified of confrontation. Every time she confronts someone it's because her evasive maneuvers have stopped working. Marty is the same way, and I would go so far as to say he's her Max.
Interesting take! I haven't seen Marty being analogized to Max before. I also think that Rory and Marty are nonconfrontational.
I love this take. It makes total sense, and this is now canon in my book.
Is Rory really scared of confrontation? He confronts Taylor, Headmaster Charlston, Paris and Tristan on some occasions just to name a few - I think we can agree these people are hard to confront but she stands her ground with them
Marty is the epitome of what I call the “airy fairy girl” trope in fiction. He’s the unrequited one, the one that never got over Rory after she didn’t consider him an option. But still continues to bend over backwards to try and get the main characters’ attention. I believe I’ve mentioned this on another video of yours as well. I think the only love interest we see genuinely moving on and leaving their relationship with Rory behind is Dean (which I’m glad, he grew as a person). I wish the show was more realistic in the fact that not every guy is going to be a wreck after they liked you and you let them go. You might’ve let your soulmate go, and you won’t always end up with the person you loved the most. But more often than not we see this on the love interest’s side rather than Rory’s side.
Yes, it is sad that they don't let Rory's former love interests to just exist without having affections for Rory. It's like once you love Rory, you can't unlove her. If we don't consider the revival, then we don't see any of the men get over Rory.
I guess I’m just as naive as Marty because if a guy who went out of his way to plan a special night for me then put half his body on top of mine while we watched movies on the couch and then went out with a different girl who interrupted our evening, every one of my friends would he calling him a f^kboy.
It really does send mixed signals.
Well, from Marty’s point of view, Rory is a girl that he was friends with but secretly in love with wanted to date and then he got blown off for the rich dude who was kind of a dick. Let’s all agree that from Marty’s perspective and even ours at that point in time Logan was a dick so then it’s been a few years and now she’s just suddenly popping back in his life just as he was getting a girlfriend and everything was good I don’t think in the moment he wanted to open the chapter back up and then, after he said it, it was kind of hard to unsay.
He wasn't blown off for Logan.
She was just not interested in him.
Even if Logan didn't exist, he would not be the choice.
But yeah, the lie was probably spur of the moment, though that could have been corrected with a good talk ..
@@saraa.4295 Did you forget that she literally chase Marty down to come hang out with her and then when Logan showed up at the door and basically backed Marty into tagging along on a date.
@@tracim3080 that was a dick move.
But still, the question was never: will Rory date Marty OR logan? it was: will she date Logan?
Marty was never a romantic option for her.
@@saraa.4295I’m sorry but objectively if you’re seeking out someone like she was with Marty, comfortable and close enough to sit with them in your bed with your legs intertwined as they hold you, and purposely making a point to be around them- that’s in no way innocent friendship stuff. She liked having a back up because she hated being single. She just craved excitement more than a stable healthy relationship because… well look at her track record.
You don’t act like that with a guy friend you don’t have a least some kind of romantic interest in. She used him as a surrogate bf until Logan came along and she liked his jerkiness just like she liked Jess’. Marty’s problem was being too nice tbh, it didn’t work for Dean in the end and she always had a weird intrigue/infatuation for rich aholes, which is why she didn’t just shut chad Michael Murray (idk his character name) down all the times he tried to mess with her relationship.
She probably would’ve dated Marty if he had asked but the outcome would’ve been the same like it was in the show, she would’ve left him for someone more exciting either way.
@@laurenc4138 disagree..
This is exactly how you behave with a friend you feel completely at ease with, since you are not overthinking things.
And if you want to keep someone as an open option you DON'T use every opportunity to emphasize that you are JUST friends.
Rory didn't consider him romantic material and never even considered he might.
She is terrible, but it still never was a race between those guys, just between common sense and the hots for Logan
To be fair to Marty, I think that he didn't expect such a high end place when they were invited for Chinese food. Since it's Logan's crew he probably should have expected it, but if someone invited me super casually like, hey lets get some Chinese, I wouldn't expect to spend more than $20. But i don't remember how much Logan talked about the place before they went that would have let them know it's a high end restaurant.
And it was very spontaneous. I dont think he spent a lot thinking about it, he just wanted to be close to Rory and not having her being "alone" with Logan
also i lowkey feel like he probably didn’t get the most expensive things on the menu but rather opted for the cheapest things and they ended up splitting the bill evenly. Kinda like a scene in friends were half the group gets steaks and the other half gets sides because that all they can afford and then they wanted to split evenly.
I had a Marty my freshman year of college. I hate to admit that I was very much a Rory to him and I feel bad about it still over 10 years later. The guy and I started out as friends, but he started to show signs of liking me and I didn't discourage it. I also didn't encourage it of that makes sense. We would hang out a lot, even chilling in my dark dorm room sitting close together on a chair. Things got super awkward when he kissed me during a truth or dare game and I had to let him down. We still hung out though and I saw how much it hurt him, especially when I started showing interest in others and got a boyfriend. I seriously regret treating him the way I did. I wasn't outright mean or anything, but I shouldn't have led him on. I was excited to be in college and had never been desirable before (it was an ego boost being around guys that thought I was cute, I had a LOT of insecurities stemming from being mistreated by an abusive high school boyfriend) that I used this boy to fuel my ego. I cringe so hard during the Marty episodes not because of Marty, but because of how much Rory reminds me of my young self. Ladies, don't be a Rory. Respect the Martys.
We all make a lot of mistakes in those years. You're not alone in this and you see it. That's what I think really matters the most, the self-reflection and growth. The fact that you still feel bad 10 years later says a lot. It means that you've changed and you're not like Rory in the revival. 🙂 I think it's also great that shows can do this to us; provide us with parallels from our own life. Thank you for sharing! It's so much harder to talk about our bad decisions.
idk i mean, you're kinda right. it sucks leading someone on, letting them believe they have a chance with you - but its different when you simply feel safe with them in a platonic kind of way and things still get awkward. but its not your job to manage their emotions. when they don't tell you how they feel, like marty did first.
its not rorys job to change her behaviour -until he said "hey i like you", that was just unfair. people are really nice until they realise they won't be your type. which makes them not so nice people as well, because being nice just to get things isnt right either. i thought marty was realistic, me and my friends had many guy friends like that, who wouldn't even speak with us after they left. thats childish.
As someone once said, though, girls aren’t like gum machines where you put in “nice coins” with the expectation that eventually sex will fall out.
If he really liked you, I hope he enjoyed your company and friendship, and remembers it fondly, whether it ever went further or not.
I always felt a bit sorry for Marty even if later in a plot he became weird in S7. Marty is what Rory things of herself being. Somebody who without support is there, just because of his talent. Great vid!
Yeah, Marty is sympathetic in this aspect. I wish the show focused more on Marty's intelligence and background. He's also smart and kind of reserved like Rory. He was a good example of a person who got into an Ivy League school because he was intelligent and hardworking. Rather than making his subplot be about romance, it would have been great if it was about his financial struggle and how Rory doesn't have to deal with the same thing.
@@PensiveWhiskers I agree! Also I would've loved if Rory have a 'platonic soulmate' somebody who gets her completely and its not romantic. Then again, maybe that's Lorelai?
I guess that is Lorelai in a way; Lorelai and Rory understand each other on a deep level, but I guess it doesn't quite feel the same as a friendship since they have a mother/daughter relationship.
Totally agree she should not have agreed to the Logan crashing the night.
For me, there’s a difference between bad choices that are the character’s fault and bad choices that are the writers’ fault. Season 4&5 Marty makes bad decisions because they’re in character for him. I always interpreted him as a guy who made a friend, then developed feelings for that friend and didn’t know how to navigate it. When his feelings aren’t reciprocated, he bows out. He doesn’t stay friends with Rory, but I don’t fault him when she’s shown that his friendship isn’t a big priority to her. He’s a flawed character, true, pridefulness being a notable flaw, but not the evil incel fans make him out to be.
Season 7 Marty makes bad decisions because the writers wanted drama. I have a hard time seeing him being THAT pissy years after the fact. He wasn’t in love with Rory. He had a crush on her. A better Marty Returns storyline would be one of the “uh oh, my new friend is dating my old friend who used to have a crush on me” variety of awkwardness.
Yes, precisely this. I also think that Season 4 and 5 Marty is a flawed but good character. He makes poor decisions, but they make sense and he's not a bad guy, just a young guy with a crush who makes mistakes. Season 7 Marty feels like a writers' flaw. I feel like some fans reach the incel conclusion on Season 7. If we didn't get Marty in Season 7 or got a different Marty, people I think would have had a different opinion of him.
I like how Marty brings the fact that there's actually a gap below the Gilmore Girls, and this isnt explored at all throughout the story.
Marty’s character is “he dug himself into a hole and then just kept digging for some reason” lol
Hahahahahaha, that is the best character summary. My video should have been 30 seconds long to be honest. 😂
I’ve always thought that Rory initially liked him, but like EVERY relationship she had she was waiting for her next romance novel to start, she’s great in the early stages of relationships but when things start to get the tiniest bit comfortable or routine, she cheats/breaks up with/ditches her current bf or fling. Logan offered more excitement and more of the lifestyle that she always secretly liked despite not growing up in it (the untouchable money life)
I think initially Marty piqued her interest because of the way she met him, then they get comfortable with each other super quickly because they both just wanted to be friends, the ease of their relationship makes him like her but makes her not like him. So when Logan comes in like a tornado she jumped on the chance for excitement and despite knowing how Marty feels she continues to keep him around like a comfortable pair of sweatpants that are reliable and cozy, while Logan is like a party dress you don’t wear often but you have more fun with.
Idk maybe that’s why he turns into a jerk, he fell for Rory (like everyone let’s be real) she kind of played this “we’re just friends” game with him despite clearly knowing how he feels, and when he gets sick of it he decides to cut her off… then takes the chance to admit he likes her despite having a girlfriend because initially he thinks she’s worth the risk.
I don’t agree with his actions he def turns into an ahole but she’s not blameless. She has a history of doing to guys what Logan did to her. Yale Rory was kind of the worst. She goes from semi-understandable youthful indiscretions to being stuck in that “I’m the best everyone should worship me like the whole town did when I was young, because I’m always the best option despite the fact that the guys I like might be in relationships already” mentality that she carries into adulthood when she’s having an affair with Logan in the sequel.
Excellent points! I like what you said about Rory's actions going from youthful indiscretions to entitled decisions. We see that Rory makes mistakes in her high school years but most of us are more forgiving because she is young and still learning. I also really like your point about Rory seeking excitement in her relationships. You're absolutely right, I haven't really thought about it. She also did it with Dean when Jess came along.
Your comment is actually giving me a video idea; there are tons of videos talking about which guy is right for Rory but no one talks about if Rory is right for the guys. Was she a good girlfriend to any of them? That would be a fun video: analyzing Rory's boyfriends in reverse and focusing primarily on her actions as the girlfriend rather than their actions as the boyfriends. Thanks!
@@PensiveWhiskers rory is a sociopath
I take it you're not a fan of Rory. 😆
@@PensiveWhiskers omg that would be such a great video topic! I love your thoughts on these characters, even when I look at some of the characters in a different way, I love hearing your thoughts and the dissection of them and seeing all the different points of view in the comments! It’s so fun to kind of relive watching this show for the first time through your channel :)
I’d love to see that video about whether she was she right for the guys instead of the other way around, because with multiple men she kind of leaves them worse than she found them, and not in the typical heart broken way! Lol
Dean basically gets a divorce for her then she leaves him again, Logan has constant issues with his family and friends, even Marty changes from a sweet goofy guy to kind of a jerk, and while that is on him and (he’s responsible for his behavior) I do think her “mixed signals” like the cuddling and chasing him and some of her other actions definitely contributed to him losing it a bit in the last season where we see him.
I didn’t realized until I was older she basically cheated on or with almost all the guys we see on the show, and she keeps that up into her 30s in “year in the life”, so what used to be an innocent “the heart wants what it wants” relationship struggles of a young girl with her and the guys (like the love triangle with Dean/Jess or even chad Michael Murray’s character, can’t remember his name lol, but there are several times she lets him get away with wayyyy more than someone who loved their boyfriend would because, imo, she finds him more exciting than dean) but you can’t really say that once she leaves Chilton.
To me it feels like despite being raised by a super hard working single mom, she’s the one that was kind of the most elitist in that family- only in certain ways- but i always thought she kind of secretly resented Lorelei for not allowing her to have that kind of lifestyle as a kid, since for Rory, it would’ve meant more connections and opportunities academically- and more experiences academically only wealthy people get to have growing up, so Rory kind of became exactly what Lorelai was trying to avoid being herself.
@@PensiveWhiskers pretty much
I feel Marty not telling his feelings right away isnt a bad thing. I was in a similar situation once. (I was Marty). I had a crush on a friend and was very sure her feelings werent the same. Sometimes you just have to safe the friendship i guess. I and Marty know that telling her would change things and sometimes you dont want that and just suck it up i guess...
Did the friendship work out in the end?
Marty would have been the best guy for Rory. He perfectly straddles the two worlds she lives in. He is accepted in the Yale elder Gilmore life and he is a hard working regular guy that would not be out of place in Stars Hollow. She absolutely misled him by snuggling with him, etc. Girls that have hate for Marty have probably back-burnered guys like this themselves. Sorry, but if you have a guy who wants to cuddle with you, he wants more.
This is so wrong
This so right
But... but... Jesse.
what
I do believe men and woman can be friends but if college life taught me something is that a "real" friendship or a friendship without no ulterior motives only can happen if (more than not) the guy doesn't have romantic or se×ual feelings for the woman, once the woman reject them they start ignoring her and losing interest (just like we watch here). Also, even if Rory didn't notice his feelings (which I don't believe) she did say that she only sees him as a friend, I wish he took the hint sooner instead of doing all that
Yup, she did clearly state that Marty is just a friend while Marty was sitting right there. That should have been the moment that he took the hint.
I have a friend who was rejected by a girl and he was in love with her for like three more years, but now they're best friends. If they're really interested in the person apart from the romantic stuff, then one can just wait for the feelings to go away and have a friendship. But mixed gender friendships are very very common and normal in my bubble, so maybe this adds to that.
I've seen that happen as well; while in college, I know guys that had crushes on some of my friends and years later, everybody is in their own relationships and they still hang out as friends with their significant others. Some people are good at navigating this relationship dynamic, some aren't.
I completely sympathized with Marty. Have we not had crushes on ppl we were friends with or in a friend group with. If the relationship starts off as platonic and there's no flirting, it's very hard to confess your romantic feelings to your crush. Especially if they had a boyfriend durring the friendship. His behavior in season 7 is unexplainable. What were the intentions of the writers?
At this point, I'm thinking the writer's intentions were so that 20 years later, a random person on the internet will make a 20-minute video trying to figure out why the character acted this way. 😂
@@PensiveWhiskers 🤣😂
I totally sympathize with Marty. I've had many guy friends that I would have a crush on but didn't dare say anything. More times than not they would end up asking for advise on someone they like. Too often I am just looked at as someone to give advise. The latest was "oh, I have a girlfriend now who as a heart of gold" as I politely smile and say "congrats " and think to myself "I have a heart of hold too but I guess you are too blind to see it" 😔
oh my god... @@PensiveWhiskers HOW has it been 20 years?😮😮😮
It's best not to think about it. 😆@@c3ka
My hot take is I think Rory was trying to recreate what she had in high school with dean and jess. She liked having 2 options
Ooh, that is an interesting take!
It wasn’t the spicy, wasabi nuts that broke the ice. It was Paris coming in and yelling at Rory about her crazy Doyle whatever it was and then that made Marty start kinda laughing and remember all the fun he had with them.
growing up is realizing Paris is way better than Rory much of the time
Commenting before I've watched the video, but:
Amy Sherman-Palladino left after S6. Who knows how much she told other people about future plans for Marty. For me, knowing that S7 Marty probably wasn't her idea makes his character shift more understandable.
Those were my thoughts as well!
This makes sense. His story feels like that’s not what his intention was. Same for Tristan. I KNOW there was so much more to his story but since Chad got a new job his story came to an abrupt end
He was trying to make her feel more comfortable and was giving her food options since she missed the breakfast.
Your early late teens and early 20s can be really formative years. I don't read too much into Marty's actions season 4 and 5. I think he genuinely liked Rory, wanted to be friends, had a bit of a crush that developed into deeper feelings and it got painful for him, especially i think feeling rejected based on his class position. Rejection sucks and that hurt is valid but it clearly developed into resentment to her and Logan both after their friendship ended and he underwent a transformation.
I think the Guy Friend that didn't want to get with Rory would have been Doyle.
But he did try something when they were drunk 🥴
Agreed, but he never showed interest outside of that
I feel like I never truly saw Doyle as Rory's friend. For me, I perceived him as Rory's editor and then, as Paris' boyfriend so his relationship with Rory always felt a little tangential to me. Although I think that the closeness of their friendship is certainly open to interpretation. I like Doyle.
14:16 I actually dont blame Marty at all for accepting the invite, he was probably also in the mindset of trying to repair his friendship with Rory and probably wanted to show her he cared and wanted to try to get along with her other friends by going along.
I’m afraid half the reason why we didn’t get more on Marty is because he’s not the center the show. At first we the audience only see Rory’s perspective, which gives us a limited view on characters like Marty. However later on we might draw our conclusions about things and people that the show doesn’t touch upon‼
You're absolutely right. We only see Marty with Rory and we end up drawing conclusions based on a very limited viewpoint. This is why I generally like to give the benefit of the doubt because we are missing a lot of information. I still draw conclusions but I know that they are speculative.
@@PensiveWhiskers I believe Marty approached Rory in the cafeteria because he felt mored confident. As for the reason he didn't say anything to Rory sooner about his feelings was because he wan't sure how things would play out between them. Maybe once he realized she would never like him the same way was what him change?!
The way Rory relies on Marty, how he's always there for her, I think he's written to be an echo of Dean. I think Rory was initially interested in Marty, which is why her eyes follow him and she almost made an attempt to talk to him that night of the dorm party before she was interrupted by the twins. The deterioration of their friendship coinciding with the introduction of Logan represents Rory's romantic interests evolving. The guy who most fit her old world, and her old desires, slides out of her view and she hardly notices, and she seems to restrain herself from admitting her feelings for Logan until Marty is out of the picture, removing any guilt she might feel for being attracted to the guy who makes Marty so uncomfortable. Without Marty at her side, Rory loses a bit of her class consciousness enough to admit her feelings and interest for Logan.
I always like Marty and I think the reason why is because that was the only character I identify with. During college I had 5 jobs and come from a very low class family. I’m also extremely weird and not keep my crushes because insecurities, specially economic. All my friends were middle class or high class I always feel not enough. Marty represent lots of us. So upset they make him an asshole:
This was a very reasonable, fair, and gracious interpretation! I love it!
Thank you! I try to be balanced. I feel like all of my videos will have some positives, even with characters that the fandom doesn't like.
FINALLY!!! A video about Marty! I’ve been wondering why no one mentions him when he was Rory’s best match. He was a Yale man, hard working, and made her feel at home in how they’d hang out for hours and watch movies together like she did with her mom. Rory fumbled Marty!
Tbh I forgot he existed 😂 poor guy!
so agree
It’s not a fumble. She just didn’t like him back.
I've actually wondered a lot about why Marty went out to get Chinese with all of them. If he was super into her and picked up on something between her and Logan, was he trying to go out with Logan and all the friends as some sort of challenge? Or was it because he was trying to convince himself there was nothing between Logan and rory and he wanted to see it? I always thought, financial aspect aside, that it was an odd choice for the character to make
I’ve always thought he went because he knew she wanted to go, this was their like “reunion” and the options were either end the night, when they were just starting to get cuddly again, or endure an hour or two of being around people you don’t like to finish out the night with her. It was a combo of him not wanting to leave her because he wanted to be around her, and him not wanting Logan to come back to her place at night.
Although we don't get a clear answer on this, I think your explanation makes the most sense. You phrased it much better than I could have. I appreciate it! 😁
I think people are also forgetting that Logan was technically Marty’s employer like Marty made a lot of money off Logan‘s parties so it’s a little awkward for him to be standing there with a girl Logan‘s trying to get with and be like no I’m not gonna go out to the dinner he kind of had to wait that’s right because he didn’t wanna piss Logan off like Rory needed to be the one to turn that down because once she asked him about it and that puts all the pressure on him and then once he supposed to say, no, I don’t wanna go out that looks awkward as fuck like Rory needed to be the one to put her foot down as soon as Logan showed up she should just say no I’ve got plans tonight you go hang out with your friends. But Rory went and turned and put it on to Marty to turn down Logan invitation, which is a very awkward position to put him in
I think he wanted to stay close to Rory and not wanted her to be "alone" with Logan
She liked Marty (should not have sat with her legs draped across him). She wanted Logan.
I always loved Marty, I definitely wanted him and Rory together. I like Logan, but… it’s Marty!
I would also like to add, I don’t think he was friends with Rory in the hopes of getting with her. I think they were friends, he developed feelings, and he decided to stay friends instead of asking her out right away
As a Marty fan, do you feel that there was an assassination of his character in Season 7 or do you feel that his actions could be defended in that season?
@@PensiveWhiskers I definitely think there was a character assassination. There isn’t really any excuse for his behavior in season 7. But it also feels out of character. I don’t think season 4 and 5 Marty would do stuff like that, let alone all of it
loving these video essays! i need one of Paris - she was my favourite character in GG (other than Sookie ofc) but her dating storyline was weird af; like leaving her bf for a professor didn't make sense. And I think she ended up being more interesting than Rory, her sad home life, her lack of social life and trying to find worth in her education and so on. i never watched the last few seasons as I got annoyed with rory lol so don't actually know what happened to Paris, so a video essay would be most helpful haha!
Thank you! Paris is a fun character. She might be a little too big for me to dissect (I'm trying to focus on smaller characters for now, or smaller topics on characters). I was thinking of covering her in the context of her relationships with others. I don't know how far you've gotten in the series but I was going to cover her boyfriend after the professor (I really like the actor). I was also considering doing a mini video covering Paris' relationship with her nanny. Paris turns out well at the end, you would be happy.
@@PensiveWhiskers Thanks for the response and totally get that doing a Paris vid is daunting! And her relationship with her nanny was so sweet - completely forgot about that! Glad Paris's story arc ends up well - was rooting for her to have a happy ending! :)
Marty season seven is the Marty who didn’t learn from his mistakes in season 4 &5
You are so right he didn't learn anything
I feel like if we’re gonna give Marty passes because he’s 19 then Rory must be given the same grace. You can say when he asked if she has a boyfriend that can be read as a sign he liked her, but seeing as he never acts on it it’s fair for her to assume he doesn’t like her.
I defense of Marty choosing to go to dinner: When you’re poor and want a social interaction at like a restaurant, sometimes you say yes and try to get the cheapest thing possible and then pay for your own. But it was awkward when it was unanimously decided that it’s gonna be a split bill. He could have gone up and paid on his own at the bar and left. But I know they needed the drama! 😂
Even though season 7 marty was next level cringe, i think the reason he stays in our memory is that it's relatable to a LOT of women. It's very common for men to act this way when they get rejected and he portrayed it very very well. So i guess the writing was not bad after all. Marty always had a habit of avoiding Rory when he felt rejected and he was always prideful. Then he got stuck in a situation where his girlfriend is best friends with the girl that rejected him. So he just kinda ghosted her to her face. It's messed up but it seems like his character. BTW i still 100% also blame rory and ALL women that lead men on. But overall this plot is good drama for the show
Rory seems to have a bit of trouble reading social cues
Also noticed that Lucy resembles Rory a lot 👀
Rory kept leading him on and the poor guys was tormented inside
well she still liked him as a friend
I don’t think she led him on. She made it clear that she saw him as a friend. I wish that they could have stayed just friends and there was no awkward romantic feelings
@@malloryweeks3306 If you have met a heterosexual male who is interested in sitting on a couch snuggling and cuddling without wanting more, one of you is in denial. And your Dad doesn't count.
I don't get the splitting the bill part. If you ordered lobster, why should I pay half? In Eastern Europe we just pay for what we ordered
Maybe a rich ppl thing. If you have enough money to not care about the exact amount, splitting evenly is probably easier
@happytofu5 yeah it drives me crazy that anyone ever thinks it's fair to just split the bill evenly but I think there is a cultural thing I've seen where people assume everyone will order similar enough in price things and it's almost perceived as rude or idk overly concerned about your money to make sure you don't pay a few dollars more than is fair? I think it's definitely a rich people think to do and it also doesn't make any sense if anyone paying a tiny bit of attention knows one person only ordered a salad or something cheap and other people ordered 4 courses.
Have you been to Chinese restaurant ? It’s not like you have your own dish. Lots of different dishes are on the table for every one to share.
Ideally people would pay for what they order but a lot of restaurants refuse to do that, especially in the northeast us.
I've definitely been stuck paying $60 when I just ate $20 worth of stuff
19:16
I totally agree that logan should not have spilled the beans.
He told us that it wasn’t his place to help them keep a secret but it wasn’t his place to tell it either. He should have not contributed to the secret whatsoever. Now if Lucy said “SO LOGAN THINK THESE GUYS HAVE ACTUALLY KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR YEARS?” Sure, logan should say so but he is not hurting anyone by keeping this secret. However, Lucy and Marty were obviously not good together considering how Marty was rude and unfaithful to Lucy so it did do their relationship a favor.
I completely forgot this character existed, in the few GG reviews/retrospectives I don't believe anyone has mentioned him at all. I'm guessing he didn't come back for the sequel either. Thanks for awakening this memory.
Yeah, it's kind of been my new shtick; to talk about characters and relationships that rarely get discussed. I didn't set out to do that, but I have been enjoying it the most. I'm happy you enjoyed watching me go into gritty detail about a very small character!
i don't blame Marty for season 7 until he flirts with Rory at Lucy's party. up until that point it's understandable that he'd want to avoid Rory since he still pines for her.
Going out to dinner can be crazy expensive and Marty is placed in a no win situation. I think Logan covering him is a genuine recognition that Marty didn't choose the place to go and it's a problem for him that the bill comes out higher than a place he would choose because he's hanging out with rich kids. Logan doesn't come across as trying to get one up on him BUT I can understand why Marty would feel terrible accepting it.
Agreed. Rory should have said no to Logan and stuck by Marty that night since they made prior plans.
13:45 maybe im out of touch, but usually with any people I go out with, we all pay for just our own portion, so i wouldn't have expected to split the check. If I were Marty I also would have expected $18 to be enough to pay for whatever I ordered. I've never been somewhere, especially in a college town, where food is that expensive. And since Marty isnt rich he may not have ever expected food to be that expensive
I have to respectfully disagree with your take.
As a woman who’s been friends with a “Marty” not once but many times starting from HS into my early 30s, he’s what ppl like to refer as the “nice guy.” Meaning he initially comes off as Rory said sweet, nice etc and parental figures approve, but in time show their true colors.
Some people like to claim that they’re interested in friendship when in fact they’re playing the waiting game/long game thinking one day this person, who has repeatedly not shown romantic interest in them, will suddenly see them as they want or feel they deserve to be seen. Eventually they realize this will never happen and that’s when the mask comes off. They were never interested in the person’s friendship, they had ulterior motives the entire time. This is extremely hurtful. It’s like saying someone has no value unless *insert what they truly want here* happens.
Not every person that shows interest has a claim on the person they’re interested in. Things don’t work that way. This is a very dangerous way of thinking and it isn’t being a friend.
It was unfortunate that the show was incapable of featuring a true male friend to Rory. They were all love interests. Logan’s friends, in my humble opinion, don’t count as they were more his friends than hers. How they got the Oz send off in the revival, I’ll never know but that’s a whole other can of worms.
It would have been very 00s at the time too. Not that Nice Guys hadn't been around prior, but it really got codified at the time.
What are your thoughts on how quickly a person should tell someone that they like them? I'm a proponent of giving a grace period but of course I understand that this is subjective.
I do think Nice Guys are real and I’ve known them myself, but I don’t think Marty was a Nice Guy. I think he maybe should have confessed his feelings sooner and that he made some mistakes but ultimately I think painting him as a Nice Guy is overly simplistic. (And I personally do not accept season 7 as canon)
@@PensiveWhiskers I’ve never clocked it personally. But I do feel that 1-2 years is wayyy too long. You know when you like someone and it’s not a passing ship - simple physical attraction. Based on the amount of time Marty and Rory spent together, this is something he should have known weeks into knowing her. Verbalizing it is tough for me to estimate because, to me, it all depends on what kind of relationship they have (closeness, communication etc) and there is only so much we see on the show. Without knowing that, I think a couple to a few months after getting to know Rory would have been a very generous timeframe for Marty to have spoken up. That timeframe came and went before the “do you have a boyfriend” conversation.
I do think some people play games like that but I don’t think that was Marty. It felt like they were friends at first, then he realized he had more romantic feelings for her, guessed that she wouldn’t feel the same (which I think has more to do with his awkwardness and self-esteem about being the ‘poor’ kid at the Ivy League school), and kept his crush to himself. It truly didn’t seem like he was plotting to me.
I actually got a little too mad when she practically begged him to come over for movie night and then just switches up for Logan, putting him in a predicament. To me, it may have thrown him off balance because she should have just said "I'm having movie night, another time maybe", but didn't. Seemed like a forced scenario for the plot to happen
I had several friends when I was younger that excitedly made plans with me then bailed at the last minute when a guy they were interested in showed up. Even if it sucked, it did seem like a realistic thing Rory might do.
@@TheOptimalLife it just seemed like it added insult to injury, why lure him back just to kick him again 🤔 she could at least pretend to care by sticking to the commitment that was her own idea lol
Marty is the insidious guy who always insists he’s such a nice guy but the second a girl turns him down he reveals himself to be as much of a jerk as most other guys. But on the flip side, Rory DID lead him on and send him mixed signals, I would argue that she was young and didn’t know better-she had literally never had a guy friend before and she didn’t know that it usually blows up in the woman’s face if the guy likes her no matter how well the woman handles it so…
I'm glad this video popped up for me - Marty's a topic i haven't seen discussed before, and you did a fantastic job 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I always thought Rory would have been much better off with Marty than Logan. I like Marty much better than Logan!
I agree with everthing you say, the thing is, after binge watching all of the show you realize that a LOT of plot points made were based off misscommunication. So much of the conflict could've just been avoided by communicating honestly, and it's not only the teenagers.
Very true. 🙂 I feel like that's kind of true of other shows when it comes to relationship drama. It seems to be the easiest way to create drama.
I don't think that Marty was Rory's friend just to get in her pants. I think they were just friends first, but when their friendship got closer (hanging out nearly daily basis, late night cramming sessions, movie nights on the same sofa touching each other, etc), he developed feelings for her. He wanted to be more than just friends, but wouldn't want to risk their friendship and thus hesitated on asking her out on a date.
I wouldn't blame Marty at all in seasons 4 and 5, it was pretty realistic depiction of how things might turn up sometimes. Season 7 Marty was just awful, but then again so was pretty much the whole season, so it checks out. There could have been more Marty in the show in season 6 and 7, where they could have developed their friendship more. It would have been interesting to see Rory being at Logans party with rich kids and Marty being a bartender there. They could have had interesting conversations between Marty and Rory about the different point of views of how elite lived their lives. But alas, it wasn't made that way.
I kind of wish Rory and Marty had a brief fling. I doubt he was ever going to be her longterm boyfriend but maybe they could have dated for a few episodes.
Marty showing up was a breath of fresh air for me. When I saw the direction the writers were going - focusing on Logan (who I had zero interest in) I stopped watching completely. So glad I did! Would have loved a spinoff based on Marty. Hate where the writers went with this show. Thanks for making this video - very thoughtful.
Thank you for watching! I'm glad I got to make it and share the rest of the story. :)
Logan invited Rory and Marty to eat dinner with him at a restaurant, I would have let him pay!!
I never told my friend how I felt (they figured it out, and we talked about it years later) but I never had any intention of having that kind of relationship with them either. They didn't swing my way, and I valued the friendship with them very strongly.
I was in love with them for seven years before I got with my now husband, and they are still my friend to this day.
I fell in love with a friend of mine and I never told this friend mostly because yeah they are aromantic and don't want a partner with anyone, plus they don't want to be a parent and i do. We were completely incompatible. I never will tell this person. The longing to be partners faded with time. We are still really good friends.
I always assumed it was a hazing thing. The waking up naked deal.
marty was my favorite charachterrr i was so sad when they stopped showing himm
Marty is soooool handsome and sweet. I really like Marty and I love him and Lucy together. I wanted them to work.
Yeah, I wish they went in a different direction with him in season 7.
9:02 I think Rory has known this entire time that he has at least a little crush on her. She (like lots of women) was probably hoping it would go away without her ruining the friendship.
I wanted to find out what happend to Marty after he graduated. The writers screwed us out of that..🤨
The fact that the title card image is not of Yale but Cambridge (UK) 😂 Love your videos btw!
Thank you! You caught me. 😳 I use generic images sometimes and hope to get away with it, but I usually get caught.
Would be awesome to see you do a video about the friendship between Lane and Rory❤
That would be a good topic! I will add it to my list.
I want to add onto the end of your points about season 5: I'm also considering how Rory was raised and the "male & female roles/ dynamics" that were modeled for her. She was raised by a mom who had a close male friend who offered and gave a lot. From Rory's perspective, it's very normal to have a male friend a girl can rely on regularly for big things, to the point of even taking him for granted, and it was always confirmed to her and others that there was no romantic spark between Lorelei and Luke.
There is also a not-subtle-at-all undertone of Lorelei being a "hot mom" and how as Rory matures, she is growing into a similar state of "pretty privilege" as her mom (pilot episode, for example). IMO, that plays a role in how Rory was socialized by her fairly open-hearted mother and small, safe town, to behave as she grows into a woman: essentially, to not really questioning the motivations of the "very helpful male friend."
The dynamic between Lorelei and Luke, accepting outlandish levels of help, not questioning motives, etc. was all being modeled for Rory while she was growing up (especially in her High School years, as romantic and sexual attraction was something she was learning to understand). IMO, this was the primer for how Rory then treats Marty, and was a key reason she remained somewhat naive (or at least, consciously remained naive) about Marty's feelings for her.
I like what another commenter said -- that Rory pretends not to notice the obvious signs that Marty likes her as a way for her to avoid accountability. I'm still thinking Rory does this without realizing it.
That is a very interesting connection. It works well within the narrative and makes sense given the relationship between Lorelai and Luke! I could see how a girl would interpret male friendships in this way based on her mom. I definitely agree with you on the pretty privilege.
I feel like Rory just befriends Marty because she's a freshman at college and doesn't know anybody, then later she quite obviously uses Marty as a comforter. Once she's with Logan she basically ditches Marty and only goes after him because she wants him to keep wanting her, by then is pretty clear that he likes her.
marty was my favourite potential ship for rory. in the relatively few scenes we got they showed how naturally they hung out. prime example how she talks to him about christopher in 5x09. that sort of closeness and personal chat we did not see with any other guys. the sort of relationship a young college student like rory would not realise is better then the flashy money fuelled partying with logan stuff until later life. more of a luke than a christopher but in a rory way not a lorelai way. honestly i just ignore season 7 as i like your video title just see it as a character assassination the writers did on him.
Don't get me wrong, I love Gilmore Girls and have watched it more times than I can count now. That said, I typically stay away from this kind of content and fan theories because my biggest complaint about the show are plot holes and character discrepancies. I feel like even though the writing is great, it oftentimes was not well thought out so they go in really weird directions sometimes that make the characters seem completely different than who you thought they were, but in ways that don't make sense to me. One example I would use for this is the episode where Lorelai and Rory stay in that bed & breakfast on their road trip; they live in Stars Hollow with the craziest, weirdest bunch of townsfolk yet they were so incredibly rude to everyone at the B&B. It was so cringe and just seemed so unlike who they were. This is how I felt about Rory and Marty. I feel like it's not even this complex and just a writing issue. I think at a certain point they just didn't know what to do with Marty so they assassinated his character to deepen the storyline for Rory and Logan, and for Rory and Lucy just to add some drama. I do agree with your overall assessment of Marty though; just young and insecure for the most part. Good video!
I completely agree with you. Do you not like this content for this show or for any show? I think that for a show like Breaking Bad or The Good Place, character analysis videos would be more coherent. For me, the characters on Gilmore Girls are not as consistent as characters on other shows. I think the writing was driven more by the story than by the character consistencies. I do think that what I am doing is kind of a silly fun project since I am creating stories and theories for fictional characters that the writers didn't intend. I love my unhinged theory videos more because if I'm going to speculate, I might as well go all out and be ridiculous. I know some people are not fans of those though. So I guess in sum, you are not alone, I have been feeling the same way.
I loved Marty. Wish we could have seen more of him.
Oof just got to the s7 analysis. Did not know that happened 😳.
I feel like Marty is a "nice guy". He bends over backward for her then lashes out when she doesn't reciprocate his feelings.
Am I the only one on the planet who actually wants to be friends with someone before they ask me out/i ask them out?
Marty’s character displayed Rory’s lack of moral center, which is the biggest difference from her mom. Lorelai has empathy and understands how others don’t have privilege. Also, Logan was awful to Marty. He humiliated him and openly treated him as less than. He bullied him in front of Rory, who is supposed to be his friend. But that didn’t deter Rory from dating Logan while it gave most of us the ick. Her lack of character starts showing from here. I was really disgusted by that. Rory was just a mannequin of a person-defined only be her lore and not who she really is.
why do people complain about characters being one-dimensional and then also complain about them developing in negative ways? they can't all have happy, inspiring character arcs.
I honestly don't think that Rory was at fault with the dinner situation when Logan invited her out. Rory specifically states that she would go only if Marty wanted to and that he clearly didn't, so they would not be going out with Logan. Marty is the one that tells her that they should go and even turns off the TV, clearly indicating that he is alright with going out with Logan and his crew. It was Marty's decision, the ball was in his court, and he bailed on himself by putting himself into this situation where he went out to dinner with a bunch of rich people and could not afford to cover his meal.
What was Rory supposed to say to that? She would make him mad by insisting that they stay in her dorm and he would likely accuse her of thinking poorly of his financial status, thereby having them go anyway to prove a point.
However, I do agree that Rory was far too comfortable with Marty and that level of familiarity while on they were sitting on the couch was a little much. I barely cuddle my partner that I am married to and have been with for 16 years like that in a common area, let alone my guy friends! For her own sake, I would have suggested putting some distance between them.
Also, I despise how the writers in season 7 change Marty so drastically! He's just genuinely terrible.
even after i never hated marty, lots of potential and the class divide between the rest of the people and him was a very interesting plot.
I agree, there was a ton of potential there. I feel that the show ultimately leaned into the love-triangle plotline rather than the class divide plotline. If the show used Marty as a tool to explore class divisions, I think he would have been a more interesting character.
I saw your other comment about making a video about Logan, Rory, and class divisions. That is an excellent idea. I must say that I do not feel qualified to discuss this subject. Admittedly, my videos are rather shallow since I am solely relying on my opinions. If I were to make a video on a topic such as wealth, I would want to do extensive research. This is not to say that I will never make this type of video. I wish to work my way up to making well-researched videos where I provide more than just my opinion. I hope this does not come off as me dismissing your idea, because I truly think that it is an excellent idea.
Honestly I can get the general dislike of Rory the last few years, but Marty? Yeah no, I think the author of the video cuts him a little too much slack in 5th season. By the tone of the episode where we find out that he likes Rory, it's clear why he lashed out on her and went home walking. He was jealous and acted like a doofus. Later I think Rory tried hard to talk to him not specifically because she started being interested only when Marty started avoiding her, but because the writers didn't wright enough scenes of them hanging out to establish that they are close, rather just implied it. I really think that's the reason.
Watching the breakfast scene after knowing his behavior in season 7 is so interesting bc the actors delivery lets you downplay what he’s saying - if he said it confidently we’d think he sucks. also, he eats breakfast with Glenn, another character they downplay but when you really look at his lines and behavior he’s not a great guy especially toward women.
the pj thing - he was likely trying to embarrass her, but playfully. it was a harmless prank. people weren't as uptight about things like that back then. we could, nine times out of ten, laugh off embarrassment and cared about intent over actions alone. there was genuinely less cases of anxiety disorders back then. I know 80% of people today have generalized anxiety, but back then, it wasn't like that. pranks like that were normal bonding experiences.
Marty is the classic struggling guy trying to make good by working his way through college. As a true friend Rory should have been sensitive to his up and down ability to finance things. Since she invited him to her dorm to watch movies she should have shout Marty as she wanted to go out with Logan and friends since it was on the same evening. Better still Logan should have also made it clear he was shouting them both as he was gate crashing their movie night. Marty should have turned down the dinner date offer but in essence he was in love with Rory and as we all know such feelings can led you astray in accepting offers just so you can be near the person you are in love with , plus Marty was in a slightly competitive struggle with Logan for Rory's heart so his ego again ruled the day and he said yes when his mind new better given Logan came from a wealthy background and in all likelihood the dinner would be at some expensive restaurant, way beyond Marty's finances. In essences Rory was not a great friend who just used Marty in so many ways and Marty let her because he had feelings for her.
Your comment pretty much nails what I was thinking as well. 🙂
Great video with very interesting points! I do want to point out the cab scene real quick. While I agree that Marty being broke was a valid reason for why he didn't ride in the cab, I believe it was more of him being upset bc Rory does say the cab ride was her treat which took him off the hook for paying. Just wanted to put in my two sense 😊 I also hated what they did to Marty in season 7 🤦♀️🤦♀️
I also think the primary reason Marty didn't get into the cab was because he was upset. The money thing was very much a secondary consideration. I just threw that in there as an added reason for why he didn't go, but I would agree that him being upset was the driving force for that decision.
@@PensiveWhiskers agreed! 👍👍
Would you be able to add Subtitles, please? I'm Hard of Hearing.
I picture him playing some get to know you strip version of Truth or Dare and he was so drunk he just fell asleep on the ground. Possible he wasn't sober enough to find his dorm.
I don't think he meant to embarrass her at that breakfast. He didn't ever seem that type.
Her having her legs over him and his hand on her legs did look more comfy than just casual friends.
I was surprised he didn't have a credit card, do people really just walk around with $75 and more on them? And yeah, he should have figured there would be money spending, and that everyone would pay for themselves.
Rory may not have realized he liked her, because this is Rory. People always treating her like a queen so it may have been hard for her to distinguish between "He likes me" and "He wants me".
I don't know why they ruined Marty. It's like they don't know how to write characters who can just be friends with the opposite sex.
Hello! The video has a "closed captioning" option (the CC button on the bottom right). Sadly, the closed captions are not perfect. Let me know if the button is not showing up for you. The CC are automatic subtitles from UA-cam so it mishears words sometimes. For example, it can never understand when I'm saying "Yale." I haven't quite yet figured out an efficient way to add my own subtitles but I am working on it. I would prefer to have my own subtitles over UA-cam's. I also want to improve my audio quality in the future so that more people can hear me more clearly. I have a very cheap microphone right now.
I like your idea of him playing a strip version of Truth or Dare. 😆On your point about the credit card; what's more surprising is that none of them have a credit card! Everybody starts pulling out cash and Rory gives Marty cash outside the restaurant. It's like they are all walking around with $100 in their wallet. Why would Rory have $75 on hand?
Not that I am defending Marty or anything but I swear Rory gets worse as she gets older. She also has a tendency to use men whether she does it knowingly or not.
I like how a lot of the time you say Marty it actually sounds more like Morty and I’m like yeah come to think of it Marty is exactly the kind of guy I would expect Morty Smith to become
Hahahaha, I could see it! 😂 I would like to think that Morty would grow up to become more secure without his grandfather's influence but realistically, he would probably turn out like Marty. New head canon; Marty grew up like Morty Smith so he has a wrapped sense of reality.
Am i the only one who even in real life would have never fallen for marty? He was too insecure regardless if he had to work for a living or not. At least Dean had some game in him when he tried to get Rory. To me the martys of the world are better off as friends, besides we cant even say that he wasn’t boyfriend material because he had a girlfriend. Sometimes you dont click with someone and it shows it has nothing to do with upper middle lower class.
I agree
Marty’s lack of trust fund meant he never had a chance. In the choose your own adventure of the show, Amy S-P always chooses money and status for her leads. Maybe if it turned out Marty’s new dad had bought Apple stock in the 1980s, Marty would have been a romantic option for a Gilmore Girl.
To see young Edward Hermann in college, check out a great movie about the ivy league, university and life generally called The Paper Chase (1973). It’s beautifully filmed on location and he’s very good in it as a law school student. At Harvard!
I'm no prude, but honestly, having your legs over a guy like that and him holding onto them is not something you do with a guy who is your friend. It made me feel like Rory had him on some sort of leash to keep him or something, even if nothing came of it. I'm a girl and I don't mind doing that with my friends who are girls, but not with a guy I'm not dating.
Marty was the ‘nice guy’ that thinks he is owed a relationship because he had feelings. He turned against Rory when she didn’t feel the same way.
7:20 I think it's totally fine for Marty to be hesitant to show his interest in Rory, and idk I think it's normal to really enjoy somebody's company and want to be near them in whatever way is possible. He wants more but also enjoys being a genuine friend to her. He's keeping a small bit of hope in the background and I don't think that's malicious. He's not only being friends with her to become her boyfriend, he's trying to navigate "what if I screw up our friendship?" and losing her entierly.
And 16:00 I think there's sometimes a bit of ignoring the facts in male/female friendships. Rory gets so comfortable having a nice, dependable male friend and she likes cozying up with him and hanging out, but she knows she's not interested romantically. But it's nice to get some of the parts of a relationship with a friend, and by ignoring his potential feelings she can keep the benefits of cuddling and reliability without having to make a choice. She's using him in this sense, but since he hasn't made anything clear it becomes a subconcious "ok" to do so. He enjoys this too, while he also wants more of it.
Such a good video, I love hearing your perspective, you lay it out so clearly and fairly. I personally never liked Marty bc it felt like his view of women was that because he was nice to her, Rory owed him something? And once he gets a girlfriend his ego gets all weird. He keeps making bad calls (like pretending to not know Rory, just like he agreed to the dinner he couldn't afford earlier) and to me it shows lack of self control and self awareness. He's not very considerate, very selfish and impulsive. He's only nice to people for what they can give him in return.
Great video! This was fun to think about!
I thought Marty was a misse opportunity for the writers.He is like a better,older version of Dean and Rory had a chance to be adored by someone who was "real" like Luke.
16:19- The way the show presented Rory, we were supposed to accept when she treated people poorly (which she did often). She was normally a good girl, but we, the less good audience, were supposed to relate to her in those moments because we’d feel the same way. The writers thought we’d also hate Jess’s girlfriend or Lindsey or whoever she was being crappy to that episode. And if she was being nasty to someone like Lane, we were supposed to forgive her once she came around and learned her lesson in friendship or whatever. She was supposedly never in the wrong, even when she was. And like we were supposed to side with Rory in those moments, we were also supposed to be incensed when anyone was rude to her. She friend-zoned Marty haaaard. While a more mature man would have accepted that it was either platonic friendship or walk away because he didn’t want that, Marty was an insecure college guy who wanted to fit in, who wanted someone to love him, who wanted someone to be in love with. That’s why he hung around Rory- if she and Logan broke up, he’d be her shoulder to cry on and earn her love that way. But that isn’t how relationships work, which a 20 year old inexperienced guy wouldn’t know. When he finally got a girlfriend, he was worried he’d lose her and be alone again, and that was too much to bear. I chalk it up to immaturity.
Marty is 'small'. He needed Rory to be 'small' so he would feel confident enough to approach her.
Why are we assuming Marty was ONLY friends with Rory because he wanted a relationship? Couldnt he also just enjoy her company?
I like to think that Marty wasn't only friends with Rory because he wanted a relationship but I came to the conclusion that his desire for a romantic relationship with Rory was stronger than his desire for a friendship with her. I'm basing that on Marty's decision to avoid Rory after he realizes that she only sees him as a friend (in the episode where they look for Anna). At that point, Rory didn't do anything bad to Marty but he made the decision to distance himself from her because he realized that she only saw him as a friend.
I recently watched the show again and I have to say it completely changed my opinion of Rory.. I really ended up disliking her to the point where I will probably never watch the show again. The story that every boy she comes into contact with falls in love with her, and stays in love with her for years after even with no contact (Marty, Jess) irks me to no end because she really isn’t very nice to anyone. She shit talks Paris, she isn’t there for Lane, she hates her grandparents after they give her a place to stay and indulge her own desire to not go back to Yale… like… why do people even like her?