That one fight him and Lorelai had when she said she was finally over him, MADE ME SO MAD, Because, though she worded it a little weird, he knew EXACTLY what she meant, he was just mad that she was closing the door on them. To this day I still think he didn’t care about Rory and only about Lorelai. At least in the earlier seasons but like not to mention Lorelai’s business school graduation he got her a REAL PEARL NECKLACE and for Rory freaking Highschool graduation, he just said “Take some pictures” EVEN LUKE WAS THERE. Theres so much Rory hate but no one ignores her relationship with her father who was barely there for her growing up, no wonder Rory’s history with boys is bad. I see Chris in Logan so much.
I agree, and I'm sad I didn't go a little more into that in this video, maybe I will in a future one. But it really does come off as though he is just using Rory to get closer to Lorelai, and then Sherri for a little bit, in those first couple of seasons and that he doesn't really feel the desire to just be close to his kid until she's already an adult. Definitely not a great look for him, and definitely something that affected Rory throughout her life.
So true, and I think that he inadvertently made Rory feel that way. She would always get sad when Lorelai rejected his attempts to get together with her because she wanted them to be a family. He was her father, it was his responsibility to let her know that she was his family no matter what. It also unfairly put the burden on Lorelai, as if by rejecting him romantically she was rejecting a father for Rory.
To be fair, most men don't. There's a reason kids see less of their dad once the parents separate or divorce. It's not always about finances either, they just feel less responsibility over their role.
Dang. Makes sense, though. He has so many opportunities to get things right and he doesn't take them, so I can totally see the actor feeling that way about him.
This video made me think, in the same way Chris dipped in and out of our protagonists lives when ever it was convenient to him the writers used him to dip in and out of the plot when it was convenient for adding necessary drama into their dramedy. Chris never seemed as fleshed out as the rest of the long running characters and was actually borderline boring at times. Even when his presence pushed some episodes into cheesy soap opera territory he wasn't as interesting as the rest of the world he existed in.
I definitely think that the writers could have fleshed him out more and made him a more consistent character, but they chose the other route instead. Maybe to focus on Luke and Lorelai ultimately, or maybe because they weren't sure what to do with him. I just feel bad for Christopher and Rory missing out on having a father daughter relationship.
I have a feeling Christopher never really knew himself. That’s one reason he was so drawn to Lorelei- because she always seemed to know what she wanted. With controlling parents like his forcing an ideal future on him without ever asking him what he wanted for his life, I think he was just lost. And I agree that he had self- esteem issues coupled with a high degree of selfishness that never let him be a present father for Rory.
I can excuse what a 16 year old Lorelai and Christopher did. But by the time of the show, he should have turned it around or at least made a consistent effort to. Like others say, it felt like he mostly was interested in Rory as a way to access Lorelai. But part of that is because of the sloppy way his character was written. We're filling in the holes because it's not thoroughly explained one way or the other.
I agree! I think that Christopher is an emotional dunce but he has intelligence. His parents definitely played a role in his low self-esteem. But I find it inexcusable that he wasn’t in Rory’s life for so long. Him and Lorelai not being a couple doesn’t mean he couldn’t be a present father. Also, it appeared to me (I could be wrong!) that he parents still funded his life through his ventures. Yeah, it’d be nice to have your own company like he kept trying to do but he could have done something he enjoyed and helped Lorelai financially to where she wouldn’t have needed to ask her parents for Rory’s tuition!
Anyone else think Christopher took NO role in helping raise Gigi at the start and Sherry was going through postpartum and went to get BETTER. Plus I bet Sherry had a way better job that Chris wanted her to give up to raise Gigi so he wouldn't have to.
Sherry ABANDONED her infant child. That's not on Christopher, that's 100% on Sherry. You are a sh!tty and selfish person to just up and abandon a helpless baby. You can't crap on Christopher for not being there for Rory and give Sherry a pass for doing something far worse.
When Rory's had too much Founders' Punsch and is crying on the bathroom floor she says something like "Why doesn't he call?" On the surface, this refers to Logan, but I think that despair is anchored in her feelings toward Christopher
@@yourlittlesistersproductions but more so reacting to any rejection with all the force of a lifetime of suppressed hurt, anger and confusion. Rory has all that within her, but not many outlets, cause Lorelai is so consumed with her own feelings and relies on Rory being the adult
Only a few seconds in but I have always had a very strong opinion that a father is an everyday person in your life unless he happens to be in the military or have a job that takes him away a lot. A father should be there every single day or at least on a regular basis. There might be some other exception I'm overlooking but I just can't get over the fact that anybody else would just be a really cool Uncle figure in my kids life if they could not be there as consistently as the other parent/legal guardian
I agree that a parent is someone who should be in a child's life as often as their circumstances permit. Christopher, unfortunately, doesn't ever take the opportunity to be there as often as he can and is unreliable at best with visits and keeping in touch.
@@yourlittlesistersproductions yeah, I consider that being an uncle. With an uncle of the bar set really really low there is really no expectation for you to be a part of their life but it is pretty cool when they show up because you know they are family.
So true! I grew up as an army brat, and my dad was deployed a lot when I was little. Whenever he was home he was absolutely present, and he still sometimes feels bad he wasn’t around more. But my mom always made sure that I knew that his being away was for work, and that was his way of taking care of us. That said, I can’t imagine a father deciding it’s not worth it to be there for his kid if he’s not with the kid’s mom.
Lorelai should have put her foot down, asked for more involvement and some money. He was clueless but no one held him accountable and taught him that he was being an idiot. He felt like it was okay because no one pushed him. He's selfish but not a bad person. They show him several times making (weak) attempts. Yes it's ridiculous he can't come to the conclusion on this own that he needs to be around more...but since he's clueless, someone should have been real with him. Much sooner than wait until Rory was 16+ yrs old. But the fact that Lorelai hooks up with him a couple times, then later dates/marries him is basically saying that she's okay with things. He has a meltdown with Gigi but that's normal. Many people have meltdowns like that with babies, but he sticks around and takes care of her. So he grows. When he marries Lorelai he's all in. He moves to her house, tries to adapt to the town etc. He's out of touch & still a man baby but he has evolved a lot since season 1. I don't think he's a good father but he gets better. But only after it was pointed out he needed to step up.
Thanks for this comment! I agree that, without anyone pushing him or showing him how to show up for his kid, he was clueless. It doesn't seem as though he had the greatest examples in his own parents. But I am glad for Gigi's sake that he seems to grow up a bit and is there more for her.
Personally, I think that it's fun to look at Christopher in one light and then the other, since we'll never really know for sure. Though I love that you mentioned how unclear the exact circumstances surrounding Lorelei's departure for Stars Hallow really was, because that is something that had stood out to me back when I first watched the slow. It doesn't excuse the fact that Christopher was absent for so much of Rory's life, since contact had clearly been made prior to his first visit to Stars Hallow when Rory was a teenager, but since it was never really clear whether Christopher had been invited to go with them that day that Lorelei left a note for her parents and packed up Rory's stroller, and since we were given multiple examples of how spineless Christopher is, I can't help but wonder if this had been a situation where someone thought they didn't have a choice when they actually did. Which again, does not excuse Christopher. But I think it adds nuance, which makes rewatching the series all the more interesting, since you can see him one way or the other.
Yes, the more times I re watch the show, I always find myself thinking or learning something new! Christopher is a very nuanced character and it was a lot of fun to go through and think about his side of things.
I really didn’t like Christopher’s character. I really hated the conversation that Rory had with him in the YITL. It made it sound like he and Rory blamed Lorelei for Christopher’s absence. As if it was Lorelei’s choice that kept Christopher away. Hated when Lorelei married him. It isn’t a wonder that Rory had some messed up relationships with men. I never saw Christopher in Logan but I know a lot of people do. There could have been a better storyline for Christopher. The character just wasn’t developed or interesting.
I will be honest, I don't like YITL, so I remember they have a scene together, but not what they said because it's been so long since I saw it. But I agree that writers could have developed him more and didn't, and that Lorelai always welcomed Christopher to be involved. It was 100% his choice to not be there.
@@yourlittlesistersproductions I don't like it either - I watched it once and now pretend it doesn't exist because as much as season 6 and 7 are my least fav seasons of the show, AYITL doesn't even feel like the characters resemble the characters from even those seasons.
I think Lorelai liked how Christopher saw her, and always wanted to maintain that image, which is part of why I think she didn't get a court order for child support or custody. But I also think she always left the door open for Christopher, and he chose not to use it as often as he could/should have.
I do not hate Christopher I he was not for Lorelai. Remember that this was early 2000,'s when teenage pregnancies were frowned on still. Everyone always runs Lorelai for her choice but could you imagine what would have happened if they had gone with Richard and Emily's plan living under the same roof as her parents you see how Lorelai's parents would hame taken over Rory and brought her up the same way they did Lorelai. If Chris and Lorelai did not work out Lorelai would have been blamed again because Chris can do nothing wrong they would have ruled his life because Richard gave him a job and a roof over their heads it would have been a thousand times worse for all three of them. Plus Chris family would be blaming Lorelai for ruining Chris's life and her parents for taking him in
I agree that living with Richard and Emily would not have been the best solution for them. My newest video goes over Emily's parenting and how we can see the full scope of her control when Rory starts to live with her grandparents. Be sure to check it out!
The show started in the year 2000 but Rory would have been born in the early eighties. Yes, teenage pregnancy was frowned upon and I agree that Chris and Lorelei should not have followed their parents plan. But I never understood why Chris did not follow Lorelei and Rory to Stars Hollow and find a job there and Rory could have had both her parents in Stars Hollow what could possibly keep a father from being with his daughter 😢
I really hate that Sherry left. If there is a different season eventually, I hope that Sherry comes back and we can see them reconcile and work together to raise Gigi.
I agree! Sherry leaving was really sad. Although it does seem as though she becomes a bit more involved with Gigi while living in Paris. Maybe Gigi goes back and forth between Christopher and Sherry?
@@yourlittlesistersproductions For sure! I feel like as a whole the plot of Gilmore girls still has a lot of story left. But it’s so cool to see people on UA-cam keeping the story alive
lorelai told christopher she didn't want him to stick around and raise rory. now, apparently, later on, she regretted that, but we never saw her actually say so to christopher and ask him to come be an active parent.
It's true that we never see her ask him to be involved in making decisions or paying for anything for Rory, but she does admonish him for not being consistent in keeping in touch with Rory. And she encourages Rory to maintain a good relationship with him even when she is not on speaking terms with him.
While that was incredibly wrong of Lorelai and it makes sense that a 16-year-old Christopher would take her at her word, I just feel like at some point-when he hit his 20s, when he got a stable job, when he saw Rory for the first time-he should have told her that Rory was his daughter too, that he had a responsibility to be there, and that it wasn’t fair to Rory that she only get one parent because they couldn’t work things out. He later bleats something about “she needs her father” when Rory is like 17 years old, but by that point she’d given up on him because he never fought for her.
Children who are abandoned by one of their parents are traumatized even if it happens before they can remember. The other parent is traumatized. No matter how well that parent compensates, it causes disfunction, and the alienated child and parent don't warmly welcome the estranged parent in and out of their lives. This storyline and the way it was written was horribly gross and literally craps all over the levity of abandoning a child.
Yes, I think they definitely took the trauma Rory had from being abandoned by her father way too lightly! They mostly use Christopher as a plot device to help move storylines forward, rather than really dive into how his actions affected her.
I do agree that he was a bad dad for the majority of Rory's life, and a bad friend to Lorelai for allowing her to struggle and do so much by herself with their kid. But I liked having his character on the show, if for nothing else than as an example of the effects of having an absentee dad.
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That one fight him and Lorelai had when she said she was finally over him, MADE ME SO MAD, Because, though she worded it a little weird, he knew EXACTLY what she meant, he was just mad that she was closing the door on them. To this day I still think he didn’t care about Rory and only about Lorelai. At least in the earlier seasons but like not to mention Lorelai’s business school graduation he got her a REAL PEARL NECKLACE and for Rory freaking Highschool graduation, he just said “Take some pictures” EVEN LUKE WAS THERE. Theres so much Rory hate but no one ignores her relationship with her father who was barely there for her growing up, no wonder Rory’s history with boys is bad. I see Chris in Logan so much.
I agree, and I'm sad I didn't go a little more into that in this video, maybe I will in a future one. But it really does come off as though he is just using Rory to get closer to Lorelai, and then Sherri for a little bit, in those first couple of seasons and that he doesn't really feel the desire to just be close to his kid until she's already an adult. Definitely not a great look for him, and definitely something that affected Rory throughout her life.
I don't think Christopher realizes it is possible to be a present parent WITHOUT being a husband.
Never thought about it like that! Makes sense with him always trying to marry Lorelai, though.
So true, and I think that he inadvertently made Rory feel that way. She would always get sad when Lorelai rejected his attempts to get together with her because she wanted them to be a family. He was her father, it was his responsibility to let her know that she was his family no matter what. It also unfairly put the burden on Lorelai, as if by rejecting him romantically she was rejecting a father for Rory.
To be fair, most men don't. There's a reason kids see less of their dad once the parents separate or divorce. It's not always about finances either, they just feel less responsibility over their role.
Apparently even David Sutcliffe (who played the role) thought Christopher was kind of an idiot. ☺️
Dang. Makes sense, though. He has so many opportunities to get things right and he doesn't take them, so I can totally see the actor feeling that way about him.
This video made me think, in the same way Chris dipped in and out of our protagonists lives when ever it was convenient to him the writers used him to dip in and out of the plot when it was convenient for adding necessary drama into their dramedy.
Chris never seemed as fleshed out as the rest of the long running characters and was actually borderline boring at times.
Even when his presence pushed some episodes into cheesy soap opera territory he wasn't as interesting as the rest of the world he existed in.
I definitely think that the writers could have fleshed him out more and made him a more consistent character, but they chose the other route instead. Maybe to focus on Luke and Lorelai ultimately, or maybe because they weren't sure what to do with him. I just feel bad for Christopher and Rory missing out on having a father daughter relationship.
I have a feeling Christopher never really knew himself. That’s one reason he was so drawn to Lorelei- because she always seemed to know what she wanted. With controlling parents like his forcing an ideal future on him without ever asking him what he wanted for his life, I think he was just lost. And I agree that he had self- esteem issues coupled with a high degree of selfishness that never let him be a present father for Rory.
I can excuse what a 16 year old Lorelai and Christopher did. But by the time of the show, he should have turned it around or at least made a consistent effort to. Like others say, it felt like he mostly was interested in Rory as a way to access Lorelai. But part of that is because of the sloppy way his character was written. We're filling in the holes because it's not thoroughly explained one way or the other.
I agree! He is a 32 year old man by the time the show starts, he can at the very least be better at staying in touch with his kid by this point.
I agree! I think that Christopher is an emotional dunce but he has intelligence. His parents definitely played a role in his low self-esteem. But I find it inexcusable that he wasn’t in Rory’s life for so long. Him and Lorelai not being a couple doesn’t mean he couldn’t be a present father. Also, it appeared to me (I could be wrong!) that he parents still funded his life through his ventures. Yeah, it’d be nice to have your own company like he kept trying to do but he could have done something he enjoyed and helped Lorelai financially to where she wouldn’t have needed to ask her parents for Rory’s tuition!
So sad how Christopher was never fully able to overcome the issues from his childhood to be there more for Rory.
Anyone else think Christopher took NO role in helping raise Gigi at the start and Sherry was going through postpartum and went to get BETTER. Plus I bet Sherry had a way better job that Chris wanted her to give up to raise Gigi so he wouldn't have to.
That is a very probable theory, sadly.
Sherry ABANDONED her infant child. That's not on Christopher, that's 100% on Sherry. You are a sh!tty and selfish person to just up and abandon a helpless baby. You can't crap on Christopher for not being there for Rory and give Sherry a pass for doing something far worse.
never thought about it before but you must be right !
When Rory's had too much Founders' Punsch and is crying on the bathroom floor she says something like "Why doesn't he call?" On the surface, this refers to Logan, but I think that despair is anchored in her feelings toward Christopher
It's typical Daddy issues, right? Trying to find someone like the person who abandoned you and get them to choose you 😞
@@yourlittlesistersproductions but more so reacting to any rejection with all the force of a lifetime of suppressed hurt, anger and confusion. Rory has all that within her, but not many outlets, cause Lorelai is so consumed with her own feelings and relies on Rory being the adult
@@tildisrabarberblad9816 Very well said, I agree!
Only a few seconds in but I have always had a very strong opinion that a father is an everyday person in your life unless he happens to be in the military or have a job that takes him away a lot. A father should be there every single day or at least on a regular basis. There might be some other exception I'm overlooking but I just can't get over the fact that anybody else would just be a really cool Uncle figure in my kids life if they could not be there as consistently as the other parent/legal guardian
I agree that a parent is someone who should be in a child's life as often as their circumstances permit. Christopher, unfortunately, doesn't ever take the opportunity to be there as often as he can and is unreliable at best with visits and keeping in touch.
@@yourlittlesistersproductions yeah, I consider that being an uncle. With an uncle of the bar set really really low there is really no expectation for you to be a part of their life but it is pretty cool when they show up because you know they are family.
So true! I grew up as an army brat, and my dad was deployed a lot when I was little. Whenever he was home he was absolutely present, and he still sometimes feels bad he wasn’t around more. But my mom always made sure that I knew that his being away was for work, and that was his way of taking care of us.
That said, I can’t imagine a father deciding it’s not worth it to be there for his kid if he’s not with the kid’s mom.
Lorelai should have put her foot down, asked for more involvement and some money. He was clueless but no one held him accountable and taught him that he was being an idiot. He felt like it was okay because no one pushed him. He's selfish but not a bad person. They show him several times making (weak) attempts. Yes it's ridiculous he can't come to the conclusion on this own that he needs to be around more...but since he's clueless, someone should have been real with him. Much sooner than wait until Rory was 16+ yrs old.
But the fact that Lorelai hooks up with him a couple times, then later dates/marries him is basically saying that she's okay with things. He has a meltdown with Gigi but that's normal. Many people have meltdowns like that with babies, but he sticks around and takes care of her. So he grows. When he marries Lorelai he's all in. He moves to her house, tries to adapt to the town etc. He's out of touch & still a man baby but he has evolved a lot since season 1.
I don't think he's a good father but he gets better. But only after it was pointed out he needed to step up.
Thanks for this comment! I agree that, without anyone pushing him or showing him how to show up for his kid, he was clueless. It doesn't seem as though he had the greatest examples in his own parents. But I am glad for Gigi's sake that he seems to grow up a bit and is there more for her.
Personally, I think that it's fun to look at Christopher in one light and then the other, since we'll never really know for sure. Though I love that you mentioned how unclear the exact circumstances surrounding Lorelei's departure for Stars Hallow really was, because that is something that had stood out to me back when I first watched the slow. It doesn't excuse the fact that Christopher was absent for so much of Rory's life, since contact had clearly been made prior to his first visit to Stars Hallow when Rory was a teenager, but since it was never really clear whether Christopher had been invited to go with them that day that Lorelei left a note for her parents and packed up Rory's stroller, and since we were given multiple examples of how spineless Christopher is, I can't help but wonder if this had been a situation where someone thought they didn't have a choice when they actually did.
Which again, does not excuse Christopher. But I think it adds nuance, which makes rewatching the series all the more interesting, since you can see him one way or the other.
Yes, the more times I re watch the show, I always find myself thinking or learning something new! Christopher is a very nuanced character and it was a lot of fun to go through and think about his side of things.
I really didn’t like Christopher’s character. I really hated the conversation that Rory had with him in the YITL. It made it sound like he and Rory blamed Lorelei for Christopher’s absence. As if it was Lorelei’s choice that kept Christopher away. Hated when Lorelei married him. It isn’t a wonder that Rory had some messed up relationships with men. I never saw Christopher in Logan but I know a lot of people do. There could have been a better storyline for Christopher. The character just wasn’t developed or interesting.
I will be honest, I don't like YITL, so I remember they have a scene together, but not what they said because it's been so long since I saw it. But I agree that writers could have developed him more and didn't, and that Lorelai always welcomed Christopher to be involved. It was 100% his choice to not be there.
I relate to this whole comment so much!
@@yourlittlesistersproductions I don't like it either - I watched it once and now pretend it doesn't exist because as much as season 6 and 7 are my least fav seasons of the show, AYITL doesn't even feel like the characters resemble the characters from even those seasons.
He was just a bad dad period only showing up whenever he wanted to etc
I feel for Rory, having a dad who doesn't want to be more involved in her life except when he finds it convenient.
Lorelei always encouraged Christopher to be an absent parent
She desperately wanted to be seen as "cool" in Christopher's eyes. "Oh we don't need u, just come around whenever ...
I think Lorelai liked how Christopher saw her, and always wanted to maintain that image, which is part of why I think she didn't get a court order for child support or custody. But I also think she always left the door open for Christopher, and he chose not to use it as often as he could/should have.
I do not hate Christopher I he was not for Lorelai. Remember that this was early 2000,'s when teenage pregnancies were frowned on still. Everyone always runs Lorelai for her choice but could you imagine what would have happened if they had gone with Richard and Emily's plan living under the same roof as her parents you see how Lorelai's parents would hame taken over Rory and brought her up the same way they did Lorelai. If Chris and Lorelai did not work out Lorelai would have been blamed again because Chris can do nothing wrong they would have ruled his life because Richard gave him a job and a roof over their heads it would have been a thousand times worse for all three of them. Plus Chris family would be blaming Lorelai for ruining Chris's life and her parents for taking him in
I agree that living with Richard and Emily would not have been the best solution for them. My newest video goes over Emily's parenting and how we can see the full scope of her control when Rory starts to live with her grandparents. Be sure to check it out!
The show started in the year 2000 but Rory would have been born in the early eighties. Yes, teenage pregnancy was frowned upon and I agree that Chris and Lorelei should not have followed their parents plan. But I never understood why Chris did not follow Lorelei and Rory to Stars Hollow and find a job there and Rory could have had both her parents in Stars Hollow what could possibly keep a father from being with his daughter 😢
I really hate that Sherry left. If there is a different season eventually, I hope that Sherry comes back and we can see them reconcile and work together to raise Gigi.
I agree! Sherry leaving was really sad. Although it does seem as though she becomes a bit more involved with Gigi while living in Paris. Maybe Gigi goes back and forth between Christopher and Sherry?
@@yourlittlesistersproductions yeah I did notice that. Maybe there is a chance for reconciliation later on?
@@Theinmy20sDiaries That would be nice to see!
@@yourlittlesistersproductions For sure! I feel like as a whole the plot of Gilmore girls still has a lot of story left. But it’s so cool to see people on UA-cam keeping the story alive
lorelai told christopher she didn't want him to stick around and raise rory. now, apparently, later on, she regretted that, but we never saw her actually say so to christopher and ask him to come be an active parent.
It's true that we never see her ask him to be involved in making decisions or paying for anything for Rory, but she does admonish him for not being consistent in keeping in touch with Rory. And she encourages Rory to maintain a good relationship with him even when she is not on speaking terms with him.
While that was incredibly wrong of Lorelai and it makes sense that a 16-year-old Christopher would take her at her word, I just feel like at some point-when he hit his 20s, when he got a stable job, when he saw Rory for the first time-he should have told her that Rory was his daughter too, that he had a responsibility to be there, and that it wasn’t fair to Rory that she only get one parent because they couldn’t work things out. He later bleats something about “she needs her father” when Rory is like 17 years old, but by that point she’d given up on him because he never fought for her.
Children who are abandoned by one of their parents are traumatized even if it happens before they can remember. The other parent is traumatized. No matter how well that parent compensates, it causes disfunction, and the alienated child and parent don't warmly welcome the estranged parent in and out of their lives. This storyline and the way it was written was horribly gross and literally craps all over the levity of abandoning a child.
Yes, I think they definitely took the trauma Rory had from being abandoned by her father way too lightly! They mostly use Christopher as a plot device to help move storylines forward, rather than really dive into how his actions affected her.
Christopher is just a crappy human being/character In The show.
I do agree that he was a bad dad for the majority of Rory's life, and a bad friend to Lorelai for allowing her to struggle and do so much by herself with their kid. But I liked having his character on the show, if for nothing else than as an example of the effects of having an absentee dad.
Yeah I think the most positive label it could possibly give him is a fun uncle.😢
@@laurao8099 Ya that would be a very far stretch.
Jl