With the help of rapid-fire dialogue and ceaseless celebrations, Gilmore Girls built a steady fan following. The charm of small-town life coupled with the allure of high society proved to be a winning combination and secured the show a seven-year run on TV. Series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino brought her wholesome vision to life with the help of The Family Friendly Programming Fund. Even though Gilmore Girls was appropriate for all ages it still tackled complex subject matters like teen pregnancy, infidelity, and family dynamics through the relatable lens of Rory and Lorelia Gilmore.
After Sherman-Palladino left the show in 2007, much of the enthusiasm at the helm was gone and the show was canceled after just one season aired on The CW. Nine years later fans were still pining to know how Rory and Lorelai’s lives turned out. Netflix took notice and revived the show in a four-episode special, with Sherman-Palladino back in charge. The show’s seventh season had left many questions unanswered, and the Netflix revival tied many of these loose threads up.
Nevertheless, the revival was not able to resolve all of Stars Hollow’s mysteries. In addition to its affable characters and complicated love-triangles, Gilmore Girls has been known to leave a few plot holes in its wake. Its eight seasons contain a number of continuity errors, illogical character traits, and unexplained disappearances. This list highlights some of the show’s most subtle mistakes – that once seen cannot be unseen.
Here are 20 Mistakes Fans Completely Missed In Gilmore Girls.
20. Rory’s Underage Driving
In the episode “The Deer Hunters”, Rory drives herself to school and gets hit by a deer while waiting at a stop sign. Attentive viewers might notice that the sign she stops for faces both ways, but this is actually not the only thing amiss in this scene.
Rory’s trip to school might seem innocuous, but the she had not yet turned sixteen – she celebrates her birthday two episodes later.
By law, young drivers are not even allowed to drive with an accompanying guardian until their sixteenth birthday in the state of Connecticut. Rory even told her teacher that she drove to school alone, which she probably would not have done if she was doing something illegal. Her lawless stunt is never discussed and was clearly an oversight by the writers.
19. Stars Hollow Going Off The Septic System Twice
Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life brought viewers up to date with what had happened in the Gilmores’ life over the last decade. An ongoing debate in Stars Hollow showed that the town might be facing some new changes as well. In the revival series, the town’s residents eagerly discuss whether or not they should stay on the septic system.
What makers of the show had clearly overlooked was that Stars Hollow had already gotten off the septic system. Rory revealed as much on the show’s first season when she explained the town’s penchant for celebration to Dean. In a sarcastic remark she quipped about the festivities that followed after the town got off the septic system the previous year.
18. Alex Lesman’s Unexplained Disappearance
During the show’s third season, Lorelai and Sookie run into and old business partner who introduces them to Alex Lesman. Alex, played by Billy Burke, hits it off with Lorelai and the two seem to be dating for a while. Even when Lorelai runs into Max further down the road, she is said to still be dating Alex.
Lorelai may still be dating him, but viewers never see Alex again. Alex slowly fades into obscurity and no details are ever given about their break-up. Burke described his time on the show as “nothing but a joy,” so there seems to be no real reason that he could not be invited back for a proper send-off.
17. Dean’s Wavering Walnut Allergy
After they first lock lips in “Kiss and Tell”, Rory gets Lane up to speed on everything she knows about Dean so far; “He likes Nick Drake and Liz Phair and the Sugarplastic and he’s deathly allergic to walnuts.”
Despite having learned about his fatal allergies, Rory brings Dean a batch of Rocky Road cookies in the very next episode.
Rocky Road cookies are usually made with walnuts, which someone would probably inquire about if they happened to be affected by a nut allergy. Dean, however, gladly accepts the cookies without any questions. His blase attitude towards a potentially life threatening situation suggests there was a slip up in the writer’s room.
16. Luke’s Sudden Wet Spot
Maintaining continuity in a scene requires extreme attention to detail. Continuity coordinators are often on set to make sure that props return to the same spot and that nothing changes in between takes. On most long-running shows, production sometimes gets distracted and small errors end up on screen. In “The Fundamental Things Apply”, one such mistake pops up in an early scene. Lorelai is on the phone with her mother inside Luke’s diner and is doing her best to get off the call. She tries to grab Luke’s attention, but his mind is elsewhere and she ends up having to throw a lemon at him.
The curious thing about this scene is that a wet spot appears on Luke’s back before we ever see Lorelai throw anything. The sequence was probably shot several times and someone forgot to change Luke’s shirt in between.
15. Stars Hollow’s Unusual Weather Conditions
While the fictitious city of Stars Hollow is located in Connecticut, the show itself was shot on a Midwestern-style set in California. The team behind Gilmore Girls managed to give Stars Hollow a timeless charm, but some of its atmospheric conditions did not exactly match its New England setting.
The cast often wear flimsy scarves and leave their jackets unzipped in the middle of winter.
On top of that, the episode “Rory’s Dance” included an even more blatant meteorological error. After Rory and Dean attend winter formal, Miss Patti finds the two asleep in her dance studio. She wakes them up to tell them that it is 5:30 AM and Rory rushes out into the street. It is already light outside and the streets are covered in snow – two conditions that would never occur together at 5:30 in the morning in Connecticut.
14. Jess’ Dad Walking Out Twice
When Jess showed up in Stars Hollow, Luke explained that his dad had walked out on him two years earlier. The arrival of the softhearted bad boy threw a wrench in Rory and Dean’s budding romance and fans would never be in accordance again.
As Jess turned out to be an extremely popular character writers decided to add more meat to his arc and set him up for his own spin-off show. Jess no longer recognized his own dad, Jimmy, when he came knocking in season 3, and he was now said to have walked out 17 years ago. Whether it was a conscious decision or an oversight, there were clear inconsistencies in Jess and Jimmy’s back story.
13. The Kims’ Break With Religious Practices
In the middle of season one, Dean and Rory try to set Lane up with one of Dean’s friends. They plan to go on a double date and Lane requests that they do it after she has gone to church on Sunday.
Lane would probably not be attending church on that day.
Lane’s family belongs to a religious community known as the Seventh-day Adventists, which is one of many Protestant denominations. Their beliefs do not differ much from other Protestants, except for the fact that they observe the Sabbath on Saturdays. This means that the Kim’s would usually be going to service on Saturdays, not Sundays.
12. Luke Storing An Invisible Boat
After Jess skips town, Luke keeps his car locked in a rented garage in an attempt to lure his nephew back. In season 4, Luke goes to check on the car, but to his surprise he finds the garage completely empty. It turns out that Jess has returned and broken his car out of storage.
In the following season, however, Luke is told by the owner of the garage that he has to move an unfinished boat he had been storing there. The adjoining house was sold and he could no longer keep renting the garage. The boat had supposedly been standing there since Luke’s father passed, but it was nowhere in sight when he opened the garage the previous year.
11. Jimmy And Luke Dating The Same Woman
Lorelai and Luke’s relationship was tested when Luke’s biological daughter April showed up in season six. The actress Sherilyn Fenn took on the role of Aprils’s mother and Luke’s former fling, but this was not the first time she set foot in Stars Hollow.
Fenn had previously played Jimmy’s girlfriend in season 3, which means April could have been both Jess’ cousin and potential stepsister.
In reality, their relationships were not that tangled. Fenn’s previous role had a different name and was another character altogether. Although she is not the first actor to take on different roles in Gilmore Girls, the Twin Peaks alum was easy to recognize each time she entered the scene.
10. Dean’s Moms Had Several Names
While Rory was facing difficulties with Jess, Dean dropped a bombshell on her. The day after a big fight broke out between the two suitors, Dean told Rory that he asked his girlfriend Lindsay to marry him. Shortly thereafter, Lorelai read their engagement announcement out loud to Rory over breakfast; “Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Lister announce the engagement of their daughter Lindsay Ann to Dean Forrester, son of Randy and Barbara Forrester.”
Two seasons on, the dynamic between Rory and Dean is still complicated. The two have now had an extramarital affair and they are trying to date again. It would seem that not much had changed in the course of two years, but there is one notable difference. On a visit to Dean’s home, Rory refers to Dean’s mom as “May.” The name change is never explained and appears to be a mistake.
9. Lorelai’s Mid-Scene Shoe Change
Considering their restricted budget, Lorelai and Rory look exceptionally well put-together. Lorelai is hardly ever seen in the same outfit twice, and in one episode she even makes an impromptu shoe change from one take to the next. During the episode in question, Lorelai is having lunch with Paris at the inn.
As she is walking Paris to the door, she is wearing a pair of sneakers.
When she turns and walks towards the kitchen she is suddenly in a pair of red stilettos. Lauren Graham may have changed out of her high-heeled shoes to shoot the scenes at the table and no one remembered to get her back into the heels for when she stood up.
8. Jason Never Returns From The Bathroom
Before she finally stars dating Luke, Lorelai has a fling with one of her father’s business partners, a man by the name of Jason Stiles. Jason is an extremely quirky character, even for Stars Hollow, and Lorelai eventually dumps him when he decides to sue her father.
Jason later tries to win Lorelai back by waiting for her one night at the Dragonfly Inn. As Lorelai’s dinner service is coming to an end, however, he excuses himself to go to the bathroom and is never heard from again. Jason’s disappearance remains one of Stars Hollow’s greatest mysteries and we will probably never know what happened to him in that bathroom.
7. Lane Buying A Drum Set Without Any Income
Lane had an epiphany when Sophie’s Music shop opened in Stars Hollow. As her eyes fell on a bright red drum set, the young rocker knew she was destined to play the drums.
Unfortunately for Lane, she could neither afford a drum set of her own nor did she have anywhere to store it.
Lane ended up convincing the store’s owner Sophie, played by the wonderful Carole King, to let her volunteer in the shop in exchange for access to the drums. Later in the series, however, Lane suddenly had a drum set that she played in the Gilmores’ garage. How she managed to save up for a pricey instrument in secret, especially under her mother’s watchful eye, was never made clear to the viewers.
6. Luke Never Tasted Lobster
In a rare getaway episode, Luke, Lorelai, Rory and Logan take off to Martha’s Vineyard for a Valentine weekend trip. During their stay there a few new revelations breach the surface, but none are as jarring as Luke’s admission that he has never tasted lobster.
Luke’s inexperience with the marine delicacy is probably meant to highlight his down-to-earth nature, but it comes across as very out of character. After all, Luke makes a living running a small eatery in Connecticut. It is hard to believe that anyone who operates a restaurant in New England is unfamiliar with the ingredient. He does end up liking the crustacean, so perhaps Luke’s Diner got another item on its menu after the trip.
5. Luke’s Missing Chain Lock
Luke put his final touch on the newly renovated Gilmore residence in season six by adding an extra security measure. As Lorelai tried to enter her house in “The Prodigal Daughter Returns” she discovered that a chain lock had been put on her door.
By the end of the episode, the lock had vanished without a trace.
The lock’s disappearance could be an oversight on the part of production, but it could also be evidence of Lorelai’s machinations behind the scenes. She looked none too pleased to find that her door had been tampered with and could have had a screwdriver on hand while she waited for Luke to step out of the house.
4. The Gender Of Babette’s Cat
Babette’s cat Cinnamon was remarkable in many ways; it would go on passeggiatas in a covered wagon, it lived to be 260 (in cat years), and it brought the town together for its wake. Despite its many virtues, Babette struggled to remember her cat’s gender. In the third episode of season one she referred to the cat as male, while in the fifth episode she referred to it as female.
These conflicting definitions could be a sign of Babette’s absent-mindedness, but they are most likely the result of a minor continuity error. Nevertheless, Cinnamon exceeded the life expectancy of any common house cat by quite a stretch, so there is no reason to believe that the ginger-maned feline could not transcend earthly gender constraints as well.
3. Rory’s Excitement Over A Picture ID
Rory’s journey from Stars Hollow into the real world was lined with pitfalls– the aspiring journalist stumbled more than once. In Gilmore Girls’ fifth season, she landed an attractive internship through Logan’s dad but struggled to keep up with the fast-paced environment of a competitive workplace.
On her first day on the job, Rory gushed about getting her first picture ID ever.
Perhaps Rory was trying to charm her new employer, but this was most certainly not her first photo ID. Viewers had already seen Rory get her picture taken for her Yale ID in the show’s previous season.
2. Cups Changing Colors From One Shot To The Next
In a blink-and-you-miss-it moment during the episode “Red Light on the Wedding Night”, a surprising continuity blunder can be spotted. Max, Lorelai, and Rory are having breakfast in Luke’s Diner, and in the middle of their breakfast order, their coffee cups change color from red to blue.
Lorelai and Rory are known for drinking excessive amounts of coffee so it is no wonder that the crew struggled to keep track of all their cups. Alexis Bledel has admitted that she hated the stuff, and would fill her cups with tea instead. No matter their content, there is little doubt there was a mix-up with the cups during this short scene.
1. Dean’s First Cell Phone
Shortly after his wedding, Dean calls Rory to tell her that he will be working on constructions at the Dragonfly Inn. During their conversation he also reveals that he has finally gotten his very first cell phone. Having a private means of communication may have been a lead0in to Rory and Dean’s affair, but his statement is not very accurate.
Dean has, in fact, always had a cell phone.
Paris even called it in season two to get a hold of Rory during a wedding. Modern technology often feels out of place in the world of Gilmore Girls, which is probably why the writers were able to get those lines past the audiences attentive ears.
What other mistakes did you catch in Gilmore Girls? Let us know in the comments!
