Friday, October 31, 2014

still team jess

So yesterday was the big Back to Work day-- and I'm here to tell the tale! Or not. I mean, I am. There's just not much to tell. It was better than I'd expected, and also I only went for a half-day, so...that probably helped. I survived three hours (plus lunch out with friends...but Millie joined us for that part, so I'm not sure it counts). Now I just have to do it again. And again. And again.

So since I'm not yet really ready to reflect on all that, let's chat about what I am currently devoting lots of brainpower to: Gilmore Girls.

Source
For once I'm not just a decade behind the times. I was a huge GG fan back in the original glory days when it first aired- I zealously watched every episode with my roommates and friends during college (and after...) and was more than thrilled when Netflix released all of the seasons on October 1! There are very few shows that I enjoy re-watching, but Gilmore Girls definitely makes the cut. The wit! The fast talking! The early 2000s clothing! The heartwarming relationship between Lorelei and Rory! The scary relationship between Emily and Lorelei! The charming small town!!

But above all?

Jess.

Ohhhhhh Jess.



Oh Jess.

I just...I mean, I'm 31 years old, happily married, and I can pretty safely say I have very few TV show crushes left...but there's just something about Jess.

When I started re-watching, I halfway wondered if he'd still have his appeal. I mean, I'm ten years older than I was the last time I 'met' him. Would his bad boy act still charm me? His wardrobe from 2001? His weird references to bands I've never heard of...would that still be alluring? 

Turns out...yes. JESS. What is it about him??!

PS. I'm not alone here. I regularly chat with no less than two other fellow married-and-thirty-plus friends who are also re-watching GG and who also still believe that he is as fabulous now as he was then. I also did a quick poll of my coworkers (perk of going back to work!) and the general response when I mentioned Jess was a dreamy sigh and an oh, Jess... So...I think I'm speaking on behalf of everyone (female) on earth, here.

Matt, upon hearing my excitement every time I see the words 'Milo Ventimiglia' scroll across the bottom of the screen during the opening montage, thus promising he will have a prominent role in the upcoming episode, started watching over my shoulder.

"What's so great about Jess? Isn't Rory dating Dean? What's wrong with Dean? Jess is a jerk."

It's hard to explain. I don't quite understand it myself.


There's nothing wrong with Dean. Dean is fine. No one hates Dean. He's just...boring. Predictable. Not terribly smart, not terribly funny, not terribly great. He's just fine. Not like fine-fine...not 'fine' like Matthew McConaughey...'fine' like vanilla ice cream. It's fine. It is what it is. It'll do if there's nothing better to eat, it's just not really worth getting excited about. 

Jess is the misunderstood, angsty bad boy. That character stereotype usually holds ZERO interest for me. I don't like bad boys. I was much like Rory as a high schooler- a rule following nerd. I liked guys that were also rule following nerds. I rolled my eyes at bad boys. But Jess...he's just different. He's smart. Witty. He has reasons for his bad attitude! And he is really, really, extremely good looking.

Source
While many of the show characters look a little dated by today's standards...Jess...no. Not a bit. But it's not just his good looks that have me on Team Jess. It's that he's just the better guy for Rory. 

After watching for about 30 seconds, Matt's like "so even though there's nothing wrong with Dean, you think it's fine for Rory to just leave him and date Jess because he's cuter and more interesting?"

It sounds harsh when you put it like that, but yeah, pretty much. I wouldn't advocate that to a married lady, but to a 16 year old high schooler (who is also a fictional character)? Sure, why not. Team Jess. Go for it.

I thought I would have a lot of really deep thoughts about this whole topic, but it turns out that I don't. Jess is just Jess. He's the better choice. And he is strangely beloved by a lot of women in their thirties, so...that isn't creepy at all, is it?

If you survived all that drivel, you will be rewarded with a little Halloween treat:


And the answer is no: there are not any more kissable cheeks on the face of the whole earth. She wins.

13 comments:

  1. So I've never watched GG. Too much teenage angst for me. However the photo reward at the end of the post made it worth reading anyway! Ha!! Happy Halloween!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have been watching GG on Netflix like it is my second job! (Wish it was my first). Even though I've seen the episodes 100 times, I'm having way too much fun re-watching the whole series again (for like the 10th time)! I even still notice a few things I hadn't before! You know the episode where Fran dies and Sookie and Lorelei are trying to talk to her lawyer while they're walking her casket around town? That's Melissa McCarthey's husband in real life! Of course I only recognized him because of bridemaids but thank goodness I'm re-watching it because I would have never known before!!!
    I'm totally Team Jess as well and yes it's because he's JESS! Peter has watched the series because his little sister is smart and also a GG fanatic. He agrees and thinks Dean is boring but he didn't like how they just broke up and she went right to Jess. But it's Jess - how could you stay single when he's single too?! I liked how they brought him back a few more times in later episodes and they were ultimately on good terms - way to go writing a book Jess!
    And now I think this is probably the longest comment I've ever left you and it's just about GG....but I could talk about it all day and as a fellow GG fan I know you don't mind reading it! :) Happy Friday!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Haha! I will never be Team Jess... such a jerk. I equate your love of Jess as your "sowing your wild oats". As you never did that in High School, you lived vicariously through Rory and wanted her to have some fun and leave small town life behind. How's that for psycho-babble this early in the morning?

    At least we'd never have to fight over him. Team Dean for-ever!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agreed!! I flip flopped in Veronica Mars though. I liked Logan not Piz.

      Delete
  4. I'm also not Team Jess. I felt like he showed up and Rory was so mean to Dean. I really didn't like the way that all happened. And then when Dean dumped Rory and she was so upset. I mean, how was she surprised?!?!? She'd been treating him so awfully. That whole storyline was the only time I didn't love Rory.

    And upon further reflection, I also never liked Logan. Why were Rory's boyfriends all so lame?!?!? Blah :(

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love Jess. My friends and I like to think that Rory and Jess ultimately ended up together.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I randomly just started working my way through GG on Netflix last week, so good timing with this post! I'm not to the Jess days yet though, so I'm still over here rooting for Rory and Dean to get back together.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What is all of this anti-Jess blasphemy in the comment section?! No, I get why some people don't like him. He was definitely a jerk at first...but oh, when he makes an appearance back in the college years and you see that he has grown into the person you knew he could be. sigh. I think part of the appeal of Jess, besides being really good looking, is his vulnerability. He hides it of course underneath all of that macho bravado and being selfish, but it's there. And seeing that glimpse of vulnerability is like seeing a window into who Jess is going to turn into once he matures and figures out life a bit. Team Jess forever! Also, I watched Heroes for a bit just because Milo was one of the actors.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Happy first week back to work :(. Boo! On another note, you may have totally convinced me to watch Gilmore Girls... I've never seen it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Okay, so this might shatter our blog soul sister bond, but I totally thought that guy was famous for being on Heroes. He's on Gilmore Girls? What??

    ReplyDelete
  10. I loved Gilmour Girls. It's based on a small town near where my parents live in CT. They actually refernence their real town name at times. I'm also a team Jess supporter. He was intellectual and had an earnest background, unlike the rich boy Logan. Dean was the precusor to Charlie in the first season of Girls, the guy whose flaw is being too nice.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Yessssssss, I watched GG for the first time on Netflix, yes really, and Jess was my favorite. So dreamy and yes a bad boy. Just how I like them! it's that whole confident in himself thing, such swagger!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love that you love GG!!!!! I have all the seasons and pretty much have them memorized! I am Team Logan though! I think he is just sexy and hot! But I do love Jess! I have made DeWayne watch it so many times that even he knows all of the GG comments that I make!

    ReplyDelete

I love comments almost as much as I love Mexican food. Seriously.