Why Is Rory Clueless About Marty?
March 9, 2009 by Arieanna
In ‘Jews and Chinese Food‘, Rory continues her “casual dating” of Logan, much to the distaste of Marty. Oh, Marty! How many of us wish that you had spoken up to Rory about your feelings. I’m not sure if Rory was capable as seeing Marty as more than a friend, but I feel so sad for him.
Rory notices that Marty has been avoiding her a little, and even ran away from her once. So when she spots him outside the Daily News, Rory goes up to tell Marty she misses him a lot (poor guy) and suggests they have a Marx Brothers weekend. Marty can’t resist the offer, despite how obviously frustrated it makes him.
Rory goes all out on her Harpo Marx theme, dressing up and theming their snacks. Marty is awkward until Paris throws a fit, then he feels more at home. Later that night, Rory has her legs draped over Marty and they’re talking and enjoying their night. Until Logan shows up and wants to hang out with Rory – to take her for Chinese. Logan pointedly invites Marty to get to know him “without a waiter’s uniform on” – putting him in his place. Marty knows that Rory wants to go, so he tags along. It’s a disaster and Marty hates it. Not only that, Logan makes it clear that Marty should pay his ‘part’ of the expensive meal, which he can’t afford.
After all the frustration of the night, Marty blurts out that he wants to be more than friends with Rory. But Rory says she likes Logan, though she doesn’t know why.
So, I ask this – do you think Rory would have gone out with Marty if Logan wasn’t around? Was Marty a good fit for Rory? Or would he have been too much like Dean, someone who didn’t challenge her enough? Here’s a fan video about Rory & Marty:
And on top of all that, why the heck didn’t Rory notice that Marty liked her?
Check out this episode to watch in full (for a limited time) on TheWB.com here.
Image: TheWB.com
Marty was nice but BORING. He was so dull, Dean (my beloved Dean) seems thrilling. Besides, at that age, girls love bad boys and make the good boys their friends.
*groan* obviously written by a girl who is unfamiliar with the ladder theory.
I wish Rory had dated Marty rather than Logan. Sure, he could remind us of Dean but deep down he wostly more alike to Rory than Logan was.
Not that she had to date someone like her but regarding values, kindness, etc. they were meant to be.
Logan was a jerk, IMO.
I don’t know why the writers didn’t push that storyline.
Concerning Rory not noticing Marty’s feelings we could say say, like mother like daughter…
But mostly I think that because she really just considered Marty as her friend, she didn’t figure that he had feelings for her.
I think that Rory has always been a little slow to acknowledge or recognize romantic feelings. Look at how long she agonized over the Jess situation when it seemed obvious to everyone else. I think it’s a case of book smart – life not so much. As for Marty, the world will never know.
I don’t know why Rory didn’t go for him. Even I had a crush on Marty! I pretty much hated him in every episode of season 7, though, because of his uber-annoying relationship. “BOYFRIEND!” Kill me now!!
I agree with him being annoying in season 7!
At first I guess I thought he was sweet, but I am definitely all about Jess.
They by far had the best chemistry. They had so much in common and Jess knew all of rory’s potential and supporeted her even in later seasons.
I think he was the *one* lol.
Well Marty is allright and he not good for Rory.I hate it Lucy keep said boyfriend without say Marty’s name in 7 season that so annoying.
Alas, poor Marty, I knew him well [with apologies to the Bard who treated poor old Yorick much better than the GG writers ever treated Marty]. That Rory never saw Marty as more than a good friend was unfortunate but understandable. Their first meetings when Marty was first quietly isolated in the hall and then passed out in the hall did not make a first impression that screams out “boyfriend material”. That Marty recovered to the point of attracting her attention, even as friends, was miraculous and he knew it. This only occurred because Marty turned out to be a novelty for Rory, a nice intelligent guy with a compatible sense of humor who was her own age and not obviously on the hunt. In a lot of ways he was the brother she never had and a terrific buffer in their first year of Yale to balance out the craziness associated with having heavy class-loads and dealing with Paris as a roommate.
The real question is Marty’s continuing immobility in not at least hinting about his ever increasing interest in Rory. Probably comes down to the inexperienced shy guy not wanting to do something stupid that would jeopardize the best friendship he made all year. He erroneously assumed that he would have more time for his feelings to become obvious ignoring the fact that other more aggressive guys would be interested in Rory and she might in turn return their interest [Dean and then Logan]. Thus, his window of opportunity was much shorter than he expected and in the end he had no choice but to speak his mind since he had nothing to lose. By then he already knew that he had lost his best friend. However then he could then face himself, learn from the mistake, and try to do better the next time a romantic opportunity occured.
Hi All
Im with Sylvia about Marty shareing more of Rory’s values. He seemed like a bit of a ‘Luke’ Charactor to me (though not as sexy) not exactly a fire starter but decent, hones, hard working and there for people.
It seams to me that Marty and Dean are from Loralai’s world where as Logan is from Richard and Emilys, which unfortuntly seems to be the world that Rory wants to move into. Perhaps it is just a case of the grass is always greener, maybe if she had been brought up in her grand parents world the simpler life would have held a charm and appeal?
Please dont hate me for this as I think Amy SP is a goddess and a genious. However I cant help but wonder if there is not a little too much stero typing going on here. All of the rich charactors – the grandparents, the huntsburgers, paris etc are mean. All of the poorer charactors (basically the whole of stars hollow and marty) are kind and loyal? Surely there would be some cross over.
Suzi x
Allow me to explain the Ladder Theory more clearly because the relationships of Rory and her contemporaries are a perfect example of the theory in action. The theory says that people are ultimately shallow and when they meet someone of the opposite sex, the person is put on a ladder. The goal is to be with the highest person on the ladder available, even if it means breaking up with the person you’re currently with.
For example:
Rory: Logan > Jess > Dean
Logan: Rory > his sister’s friends and other random chicks
Jess: Rory > other unattainable chicks > Shane
Dean: Rory > Lindsay
Lane: Dave > Zach
Marty: Rory > Lucy
Paris: Professor Fleming > Jamie
Kirk: Lorelai > Lulu
So with this in mind it makes perfect sense that Rory dates Dean, then dumps him for Jess, then Dean marries Lindsay (thinking she is the best option available) then dumps her for Rory (breaking up the marriage). Then Logan comes to his senses and realizes that Rory is at the top of the ladder and Rory dumps Dean for him. It all makes perfect sense.
The difference between guys and girls is that girls have a second ladder for people they just want to be friends with. It doesn’t matter what he does, the guy has no chance if he is stuck on that ladder. Girls make the decision and there is no way for a guy to jump from the friend ladder to the boyfriend ladder. They might try, but they inevitably fail (and usually look stupid in the process). Clearly Marty was assigned to the friend ladder (along with Kirk, Hep Alien band members, etc.) so he had to settle for the next best option available, Lucy.
By the way, Lorelai’s story also follow the Ladder Theory pretty convincingly. Chris is above Max, Jason, and a bunch of other losers on the ladder but Luke is actually at the top of the friend ladder, above Jackson, Kirk, and assorted others. Then because she is psycho (or, as they say, tragic) she goes against her own rule and sleeps with Luke, screwing up her friendship.
Do you think the Ladder Theory is real or crap? If you do think it is crap, how come GG follows it to the letter?
I liked Marty, but I never became too invested in his character because he didn’t had much quality screen time. As for him being with Rory, nah, just can’t picture those two together. They had a friendship relationship, period. Rory was right in choosing Logan, in my opinion. At that time in her life she needed a guy like Logan because he challenged her. Don’t we all need a good challenge when we become too comfortable in our own little bubble.
Maybe the ladder theory makes sense for Rory but I beg to differ regarding Lorelai. IMO, she and Luke were meant to be together.
If she screwed up anything, it’s her engagement to Luke by sleeping with Christopher.
I’ve always thought that Lorelai and Lorelai have mistaken what was a relationship for friendship and Lorelai and Christopher have mistaken their friendship for a relationship.
@Sylvia that’s a good point. While I still believe that Luke was the friend and Christopher was the relationship, it is certainly plausible that it is the other way around. Either way, I think you can safely say that Lorelai has her ladders confused and that is a major reason that her relationships are chronically screwed up.