CollegeNews recently put together a list of “Fictional guys we wish were real“, and included on that list none other than Jess Mariano (Milo Ventimiglia). Ok, he’s not in their top 5 (what’s with that), but is given a mention. Here’s there top 5:

1. Zack Morris
2. Jim Halpert
3. Edward Cullen
4. Van Wilder
5. Ferris Beuller

After this list, they ask who you’d bring to life if given the chance, giving Jess from Gilmore Girls as an example. And I think there are a LOT of you who’d choose Jess!

So, let me swing this a little - who would you choose to bring to life? Jess, Dean or Logan??

Image: TheWB.com

In ‘The Real Paul Anka,’ Jess comes to Rory’s rescue again. When he visited Rory in Stars Hollow, Jess helped Rory realize that her life was off-track and that she needed to return to Yale and pursue her dreams. And in this episode, he helps Rory realize that she’s still in love with Logan.

Rory is still very unhappy with the state of her relationship with Logan, and Logan knows it. She even wrote his story for the Yale Daily News, saying she had “no faith” he’d meet his deadline. Logan, frustrated that his mistakes are being held against him, decides to go base-jump in Costa Rica with the Life & Death Brigade boys.

Rory, full of anger and disapproval and hurt, decides on a whim to go to Jess’ bookstore open house. The invitation came at a good time. When she gets there, aside from running into Luke & April, Jess is very happy to see her. Perhaps he reads something into her visit. When Rory lingers in the store, Jess asks if everything is “fixed”, perhaps also implying the mess with Logan (who he thought wrong for Rory). I think Rory knew what he meant (don’t you?) when she agreed it was all fixed.

Anyway, Jess kisses Rory, and she kisses back. But then she gets up suddenly and calls herself a jerk. She says she can’t cheat on “him” the way he did on her. Jess is hurt that Rory is still with Logan, since he’s fixed up his crap and obviously wants to get back with her. Rory says that, despite everything, she’s in love with Logan.

So, I think kissing Jess solidified things for Rory. She realized that Jess wasn’t the one for her, that Logan was. No matter what her brain was telling her, her heart was saying “Logan”. And Rory knows she has to let go of her anger if she wants to be happy. So, again Jess helped. What do you think of this theory?

Watch “Gilmore Girls” ‘The Real Paul Anka’:

Check out Gilmore Girls on TheWB.com here.

Image: TheWB.com

In ‘Let Me Hear Your Balalaikas Ringing Out‘, Rory gets a visit from Jess late one night after suffering through a night of a bored-with-life-so-I’ll-get-drunk Logan, which was not fun for her.

Jess wants to show something to her, so Rory ushers him quietly to her room in the mansion. She can’t stop babbling about how temporary everything is - her job, living with her grandparents - like finally she’s embarrassed about it because Jess is there. She seemed proud of these things before.

Jess, who seems more confident and self-assured than ever, has something to show Rory. It’s a book, The Subsect, which he wrote! Rory seems impressed with what Jess has done with his life, saying she “knew he had the brains to do something like this.” Jess had everyone telling him he was a failure, and still he succeeded. I wonder if Rory thinks about that.

Jess and Rory have plans to go out again, but Logan interrupts and takes command of Rory and of their night. Jess seems quite skeptical of Logan: of his money, his attitude, and his arrogance. I think he seems surprised that Rory is with “the blond dick at Yale,” and Rory agrees that Logan is in a “bad way”. But Jess isn’t buying her excuses. He sees it all as part of a pattern.

“I know you. I know you better than anyone! This isn’t you.”

He talks about Yale, her grandparents, dating Logan. All of the things that Rory used to make fun of people for doing, she’s now doing. Rory finally comes to the realization that she’s not doing anything, that she’s wasting her life. She still seems to believe that there are people stopping her from being what she wants, not fully taking control of her own destiny, but at least the realization is there. It’s what Lorelai tried to say, but what Rory wasn’t yet ready to hear from her.

What I want to know is, how deep is this realization? Is it just about Yale? Or is it about everything? All the stuff that feels ‘untrue’ to Rory - the expensive clothes, the A-list friends, dating the rich boy… did Rory lose her way entirely?

Another big question for me with this episode, though unrelated to this discussion, is whether or not Luke wants kids. Some episodes he seems to, and others he doesn’t. I’ve always wondered at that inconsistency.

Watch ‘Gilmore Girls’ ‘Let Me Hear Your Balalaikas Ringing Out’:

Check out Gilmore Girls on TheWB.com here.

Image: TheWB.com

In the season 3 episode, ‘Here Comes the Son, Jess Mariano (Milo Ventimiglia) left Stars Hollow to travel to Venice, California to see his dad Jimmy (Rob Estes). His dad is then living with his girlfriend Sasha (Sherilyn Fenn before she took on the role of Anna Nardini) and her daughter.

This episode of Gilmore Girls was to serve as a “backdoor pilot” for a spin-off show to star Milo Ventimiglia. The show, entitled Windward Circle, was going to be focused on the relationship between Jess and Jimmy. Due to the high costs of filming in Venice Beach, the series never made it to air. ‘Here Comes the Son’ was the pilot episode fro this new series, but instead was merged into Gilmore Girls as a Jess-focused episode.

So, my question here is, what would Windward Circle have been like?

Would that have been the end of Jess’ relationship with Rory (Alexis Bledel), or would she have come to Venice to see Jess? Would the show have had enough spunky characters, or was it too limited to know? So far, we had just Jess, Jimmy, Sasha and the odd little girl. Great actors, but it’s no Stars Hollow. Just think of the life Jess would have lived there - would he have been happy? What would he have done? Would he have finished school?

Here’s a few extra scenes from Windward Circle that never aired: Read more

In a very in-depth video interview that Milo Ventimiglia did with Collider.com, he took a brief moment (in video part 2) to talk about Gilmore Girls and how happy he was with the evolution of his character, Jess Mariano, through the series.

Milo Ventimiglia thinks the way his character line ended on Gilmore Girls was good. That Jess grew up and “turned into the kind of well-rounded guy a lot of us want to be.” Jess was no longer just a “punk” doing things selfishly, but he thought Jess had put a lot into his life and how to change himself.

Milo shares that when Jess returned to the show, to complete this storyline, that he thanked Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino, producers / writers for the series, for allowing him that. He thinks that Jess grew into a great guy, one able to replace anger in his life with stillness. But still with the Jess spunk.

I think what Milo says of Jess is very true - he turned out to be a great guy. Taking lead in his own life and doing what he loves. That takes a lot of courage. What do you think about how Jess changed?

If there was a Gilmore Girls reunion, would Milo reappear? That is a question Milo leaves hanging, saying “I don’t think there could be… I don’t know” to the prospect of the series continuing in some fashion.

Thanks to Steve for the tip! / Image: Newscom

TV Guide has put together some of the more memorable teen tv couples, and have included Rory & Jess in that list! The "Hottest Young Couples of TV" includes 14 couples from past and present shows. 

1. Spencer + Heidi (The Hills)
2. Veronica + Logan (Veronica Mars)
3. Angela + Jordan (My So-Called Life)
4. Troy + Gabriella (High School Musical)
5. Blair + Chuck (Gossip Girl)
6. Seth + Summer (The O.C.)
7. Rory + Jess (Gilmore Girls)
8. Buffy + Angel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
9. Serena + Dan (Gossip Girl)
10. Joey + Pacey (Dawson’s Creek)
11. Donna + David (Beverly Hills, 90210)
12. Brenda + Dylan (Beverly Hills, 90210)
13. Joanie + Chachi (Happy Days, Joanie Loves Chachi)
14. Zack + Kelly (Saved by the Bell)

In memorium for Rory & Jess (and also to Alexis Bledel & Milo Ventimiglia, who dated for a couple of years), here are some Alexis & Milo couple photos:

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Gilmore Girls 6.18 "The Real Paul Anka"
Original Air Date: April 11, 2006 (Recap date: May 9, 2008)
Recap & Discussion

Discussion Questions:

• Is there any significance to Lorelai’s dream of the Paul Anka’s?
• Did Lorelai feel Luke needed other clothes, or did she just feel the need to give him another suitcase?
• Luke wants April to meet her cousin, Jess, but not to meet her future step-mother… why?
• Did Rory reset Logan’s clock on purpose?
• Why does Luke sit with the kids on the bus?
• Is Rory being unusually vindictive towards Logan? With the story, for example? Isn’t that childish?
• When Rory does the article she had no faith Logan would do, was that really a judgment on his "past performance" as her boyfriend? And to prove how miscommunication is not an excuse?
• Is April embarrassed by Luke, or does she honestly like Freddy?
• Does Logan dismiss Rory’s safety concerns because he thinks she’s trying to embarrass him?
• Has Logan given up on Rory forgiving him?
• Do you think Luke and April are bonding well?
• Does Rory go to see Jess as a friend, or as something more?
• Has Luke not told April about Lorelai? Why?
• Why does Luke call Lorelai "complicated"?
• Did Luke want to leave as soon as he saw Rory there?
• Is Emily right? How do Luke & Lorelai expect to marry if Lorelai is not allowed to have a relationship with April?
• Was Rory leading Jess on? Why did she kiss him?
• Did kissing Jess make Rory realize Logan’s position? What he was doing, in his pain of their separation? Or, was she just not the kind of girl to be that mean?
• Was Jess still hoping to get back together with Rory? When he says "it is what it is", has he now given up on that?
• Is Rory weak in character for loving Logan? For not leaving him, despite her pain?
• Why does Lorelai destroy the dress, in the end?

Gilmore Girls Episode Recap:

Lorelai calls Rory with details of her weird dream. In her dream, she takes Paul Anka for a walk. Not the dog Paul Anka, the real Paul Anka. Dog Paul Anka runs away to Doose’s, where the real Paul Anka has a job, and the dog Paul Anka was giving a concert in Luke’s apartment. Real Paul Anka was on Babette’s lap but notices dog Paul Anka staring at him from outside.

"Real Paul Anka walking toward Dog Paul Anka, Dog Paul Anka toward Real Paul Anka. You can sense that something very bad is about to happen, when, suddenly, they meet in the street and bam! An other-worldly white light engulfs the whole town and there’s a loud explosion, two barks, and everything goes dark!"

And then she woke up. Weirdness.

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Gilmore Girls 6.08 "Let Me Hear Your Balalaikas Ringing Out"
Original Air Date: November 8, 2005 (Recap date: April 25, 2008)
Recap & Discussion

Discussion Questions:

• Is Lorelai hesitating on paint colors because Rory is not there?
• Why does the storyline go back and forth between Luke not liking kids and Luke wanting kids? Isn’t that inconsistent?
• Why doesn’t Rory tell Emily to back off a bit?
• Is Paul Anka sensing that Lorelai is depressed about Rory?
• Why is Logan putting up such a fuss about going to Omaha?
• Why did Jess go to visit Rory?
• Why does Jess credit Rory for playing a part in writing that novel?
• Do you find it odd that Rory didn’t tell Jess about having a boyfriend?
• Does Logan realize Rory dated Jess? Is there a vibe?
• Should Logan have let Rory see Jess on her own? Should Rory have insisted?
• Did Jess fill the role of the "wake-up call" that Lorelai knew Rory needed? A reminder about herself?
• How does Logan fit into all this? Is he a symptom of Rory becoming someone that is not her?
• Is Logan an alcoholic?
• What are we supposed to understand from the contrast between Jess trying to prompt Rory to take back her life and Logan just letting it all slide as temporary?
• Is Rory blaming Logan for not returning to Yale?
• Did the contrast of Logan getting the life she wants so easily make Rory give up on her own life?
• Why didn’t Rory go home?
• Does Paul Anka being sick make Lorelai realize she should have done more for Rory?
• Why is Emily so mad at Rory?
• Has Emily crossed a line? Become a mother? Forgotten how old Rory is?

Gilmore Girls Episode Recap:

Lorelai is choosing paint colors, a difficult task, made more difficult because she keeps changing her mind. Luke collects Lorelai’s shoes - Paul Anka has brought them downstairs one by one and lined them up. Lorelai tells him that Paul Anka has to bring them back up himself.

There is a white that Lorelai liked, but it doesn’t go with Paul Anka, so it’s out. They are under a time crunch to choose colors, so Lorelai sees if Paul Anka has any preferences. Paul Anka licks dark magenta. 

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Gilmore Girls Video Column with Kelly
Video Review: Literati - Hey There Delilah
Video Created By: Bedfordgirl
Added to YouTube: August 25, 2007

Review from Kelly:

Fist of all, I have to say that I am flattered that people are suggesting videos for me to feature—I’m happy that you guys are interested enough to want to contribute. But since I can’t continue to choose multiple videos every week, I’m not going to be able to feature every suggestion I get. I really encourage you to keep commenting, and, if you want, suggesting videos in the comments. That way, everyone can watch both the video I feature and everyone else’s great video suggestions!

The video I chose this week is a great one for all Literati fans—Bedfordgirl’s "Hey There Delilah." I absolutely love the concept of this video; bedfordgirl mixes clips of Rory and Jess with clips of the actual music video in such a way that it creates a beautiful array of images on the screen. And, while there are always multiple clips playing at once, it never gets overwhelming, as everything is matched perfectly to the song. It’s extremely well done; everything flows smoothly and feels almost professional. A video perfect for anyone who ever thought that Rory and Jess were soul mates.

Tags: gilmore girls, literati, hey there delilah, rory gilmore, jess mariano, jess rory, gilmore girls fan videos

Gilmore Girls 4.21 "Last Week Fights, This Week Tights"
Original Air Date: May 11, 2004 (Recap date: March 12, 2008)
Photos, Recap & Discussion 

Discussion Questions:

• Why is everyone so interested about Rory being single?
• Why does Lorelai want to know if Rory is ok hearing about Jess?
• What changed Jess’ mind about walking Liz down the aisle?
• Should Rory go out with the guy?
• Why is Luke flustered?
• Do you think Mrs. Kim can get over Lane living with boys?
• Why is Lorelai so mocking of Jess’ book?
• What do you think Lorelai may think after Luke’s reaction to the book?
• Why didn’t Rory call Lorelai?
• When she said yes, did Lorelai realize Luke was asking her on a date?
• Has Jess grown up?
• Why does Dean lie to Lindsay?
• Did Jess approach Rory the wrong way?
• Why does Rory say no to Jess?
• Does Rory want to be with Dean, not Jess?

Gilmore Girls Episode Recap & Photos:

Miss Patty is struggling to get the Maypole organized. Kirk is hurt not to be involved. Lorelai turns the corner and sees Jess reading a magazine - when he’s really reading the Love manual.

Sookie and Jackson are arguing radishes. Feels good to get back to the bickering. Rory calls, annoyed that everyone at Yale is partying while she is not yet done her finals. Lorelai wants to know if Rory wants to hear about the "J word" topic - seeing Jess around town. Rory says she’s ok with that. Lorelai offers to give him a taste of his own medicine - to run up and say she loves him, then run away.

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