Paris Geller: from Villain to Smart Girl Icon | Gilmore Girls 

While Paris was the over achieving hard worker on the show, Rory was the golden child smart girl... at least for a while. Next, check out our video on how Rory became the epitome of the faltering millennial: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dKXTJvR1COw.html

Paris Geller once mentioned to Rory that being the smartest student doesn't guarantee future success or happiness. She believed that hard work, adaptability, and real-world experience often play significant roles in achieving success beyond academics. So maybe rory's downfall in the show is a lesson since everything her whole life was perfect.

It's funny how the character we're suppose to "hate" became the most realized and has THE narratively satisfying arc compared to the central lead of the entire series.

the fact she didn't get into harvard while rory was criminal but it was realistic and she actually developed positively as a character because she actually faced her challenges not like rory

Paris definitely has the squidward effect of the show as in we are supposed to hate this person when really she becomes the more relatable and well rounded character

Paris and Rory are like the realistic down-to-earth versions of Blair and Serena.

You have to admit her being just a character on a screen is a big reason why we can like her so much. No one wants to be stuck with someone like this in real life. Imagine if she was your employer. You’d hate her💀

The best Paris moment is when Logan is in hospital and Rory calls her up to say the doctors won't tell her anything. Paris gets the doctors on the phone, works her magic, and then calls Rory back to fully inform her of the situation. Sometimes you need a "difficult woman" to get something done, and I love how realistic that moment is in terms of Paris helping Rory the best way she knows how - by being the force of nature that she is.

It’s interesting how Paris told Rory that a lot of Valedictorians don’t do well later in life, and it ended up becoming Rory’s case.

Absolutely obsessed with the love for Paris in this video and in the comments! “Tie your tubes idiot” is one of the funniest lines of TV 😂😂

i initially hated paris for being such a bully but towards the end of the series she became the kind of friend i would want to have to guide me - rational, reliable, critical, and very clever.

I believe Rory wouldn’t have gotten into Harvard if it weren’t for Paris telling her about needing extracurricular activities to build up her resume because grades alone won’t get one in. Rory wasn’t even doing anything of sorts

Much like Samantha Jones on Sex and the City, Paris Geller is shown to be the most genuine character to admire on their respective series. It shows how we as women have evolved in a positive way to see how problematic Carrie Bradshaw and Rory Gilmore were when we initially admired them as lead characters. As a 50 something woman myself who watched both series, I'm proud of us as women who are growing stronger in society so we can see that those old series are really dated. I am thankful we had Gilmore Girls and sex and the City during the early 2000s though because it was important to see women like them as we navigated a very different society that conspired against women. We now see that in how society treated Britney and so many female public people then.

My favorite Paris moment is when she becomes very Comrade at Rory's DAR USO themed party. She really does feel the most layered character on this show. She's the best.

None of the two girls can hold a stick to Lane. She always stayed true to herself and everyone. She was compassionate but knew when she had to stand her ground. She was hard working but not a sore loser even when her dreams crashed down on her. Yet, she is always overlooked. If she had the privileges Paris and Rory had, she’d put everyone to shame.

Paris is a legend. Thank you for shining a spotlight on her character.

Paris became the new Rory as she didn't peak in high school like Rory did and then sank. Paris was a Phoenix!

Paris was never a villain she had such a hard personal life and Rory brought so much joy to her life and made her better. Thank heavens the writers kept her after season 3 when Rory went to Yale!

Paris, outside of Luke, has always been my favorite. Paris could have easily been a one note character, but Liza brought so much depth and warmth to her. Plus while watching the show I found a lot of myself in Paris, so she really helped me grow as a person. I was disappointed with her regression in "A Year in The Life." Of course everyone but Dean, Emily, Jess and Luke had regressions in "A Year in the Life."

Out of the many many gripes I have with A Year in the Life one of not the biggest was what happened with Paris’ personal life. Like I get relationships don’t always work out but Paris and Doyle had a strong connection and understanding of each others strengths and weaknesses. More frustrating ( and keeping in the theme of special that people are destined repeat their parents choices) is that she has chosen to the nanny be the primary caregiver of her children. There absolutely nothing wrong needing help/support as a parent but she seems appears to not really know them or be close to them. Obviously good parental attachment is harder when you don’t a model it yourself but to seems like Paris would put in the effort to do better.

What I like about Paris is she isn’t your stereotypical mean girl who is mean to Rory because she thinks she’s pretty or trying to steal her man. Paris is mean because she is academically hyper competitive which is a refreshing twist.

Always thought that Paris was a complete badass. Driven, focused, but not a snob and willing to try everything, prepared, open-minded... Where as I am very dreamy, when My poorly written goals fall apart I tend to fall by the wayside.

I really didn't like the new season "A year in the life" because of Rory struggles (and other stuff) but after watching this video I kind of made peace with that because if you think about it everyone has a time in their life when you have to face the hard truth that life isn't going to be what you planned and for Paris that moment was the final years of high school and not being accepted to Harvard, while for Rory it was in her thirties, as A year in the life tells us (and I am actually in Rory's situation right now). I find it beautiful in a way.

Me and my sister hate watch Gilmore girls because we just can’t find Rory and Lorelai relatable. But we both agree that Paris was far and away the better character. She would have made a better lead. She could easily be a Tracy flick and she was in the beginning but she a proper character and story arc that branched out better in the spin off than Rory and lorelai

Always hated how much Rory seemed to be reluctant and embarrassed about their friendship. Meanwhile Paris felt like much more of a real person with flaws. In the episode where they join the creampuffs and they are both "kidnapped" and dragged out of bed by the group to go vandalize the school, we see Paris is disheveled, her hair messy and generally she just looks like a girl who has been sleeping and ripped out of bed. Meanwhile Rory is woken up with makeup and perfect hair, because of course, it's Rory. Paris asks Rory if she wakes up like that, and Rory says something like yep, and Paris say something like life isn't fair. I thought this was a really interesting layer to their relationship, and kind of the hidden tension between them that could have been explored more. Both from filthy rich families, but with Rory as the perfect, smart but not too nerdy and attractive to guys debutante, and Paris as the overachieving, type A, insecure and troubled "shrew" who will do anything to get to where she wants. And then later the narrative punishes Paris for losing her virginity, bc ofc this show has a creepy thing about purity. I honestly would have explored the disconnect between them in their friendship more, with Rory's detachedness and judgment towards Paris vs Paris' intense insecurity and jealousy towards Rory, for her loving mother and happy small town life vs Paris' cold and traumatic home life. They kind of explore it in the show, but moreso as something ONLY Paris needs to grow from. Rory expresses some sympathy towards Paris but I never got the idea she cared much about what Paris had gone through after they become friends and especially in the college seasons. Paris just seems to be something for Rory to laugh at and talk to her love interests or Lorelai about behind Paris' back, bc Rory really didn't have many female friends or friends period besides Paris. Which is something else I think the show could have explored if it was a bit more enlightened. And maybe if the show wasn't up Rory's butt for so much of it would could see Paris call her out on her flaws a bit more and see some conflict between them where Rory isn't ALWAYS the victim. Idk

“Rory was the only one who wasn’t afraid of Paris, and Paris was the only one who didn’t see Rory as a perfect angel.“ That really stood out to me more than anything else.

Paris was a great character. She was the right balance of flawed and sympathetic. Paris was never really a villain when Rory and Lorelai were more villainous. The character was made for Liza Weil because of how well she auditioned. Paris actually deserved to go to Harvard or Yale with her efforts, unlike Rory. Rory spent her high school years being told how great she was and the show treated her like the angel who could do no wrong. Paris got her rejection form Harvard and experienced not getting what she wanted before college. She was not going to drop out just because a professor hurt her feelings.

I loved Paris! Unlike Rory she was a loyal friend and a VERY hard worker, despite being a nepo baby.

Loved how Paris also used resources that were available to her due to her family’s financial status. She knew she was privileged but never abused it; used it to further her academic career and future in general. She works hard for the money! Shout out to the late, great Donna Summer.

0:12 "No, its national baptism day. Tie your tubes idiot." My girl is ruthless. 😂

Paris is by far the best character in Gilmore Girls. She is strong willed, hard working and always improving herself. For girls, she is the best role model.

I really love her ambition, diligence and dedication

The tie your tubes comment. Haha damn. Poor Paris, I always felt bad for her.

I think paris and rory is a potrayal of 'rival' relationship. I often find it funny how many stories and real people cried the hardest when their rival gone, more than their best friend. Probably the same people that know and went the same hardship with you would become your ultimate companion afterall😂

I think this video has made me cry more than any other one on this channel. Thank you.

Ok, but be honest, how many of you would put up with being Paris' friend most of the time? Rory deserves a metal for patience.

Paris once mentioned that Rory is the only person who can challenge her mentaly and she need her. I think it was when Rory decided to take a break from Yale. I'm surprised it was never mentioned in this video.

Thank god for this take on Paris. She is my favorite character on Gilmore girls and love her spirit and her ambitions. I love that Rory and Paris became friends and helped each other with their shortcomings. The episode of Rory and Paris dumping their boyfriends and drinking founder's punch episode is one of my favorite.

The one thing I felt was off was the fertility clinic. She strikes me as being the type to know boutique overpopulation wasn't it. Or, at least, I think they should have made it clear she was doing it for the money but didn't want children herself. Or better yet, I could see her being a taskmaster foster parent. Giving kids who had difficult home lives like hers a chance to feel secure (and also bettering their grades lol)

Should've added that Lorelei told Rory she was going to get kidnapped, and not to forget her lip gloss.

5:16 that statistics was so true for rory 😮

Yep. Loved her character

So grateful to have this video pop up in my feed

I’m tempted to watch the show because of her 😊

I watched the show for her

Once they left high school and the show got exponentially worse, she carried the hell out of it

Controversial opinion: The only reason Rory got into the big 3 was because of her legacy status & stat-sharing amongst the schools.

Paris is my spirit animal

Paris was my favorite definitely could relate to her ❤

Hands down the best, smartest, funniest character on the show. A legend and a role model. Thanks for giving her her due.

I love Paris 😭

Paris was one of my favorite character, never betrayed herself, was focus, very smart, sarcastic and have goals, also became more successful than Rory, who was annoying, entitled, and went downward spiral in the end.

I don't see the flaws everybody sees in Paris. She's good-natured and has morals and ethics. Maybe that was Rory's friendship and her nanny's upbringing, But Paris is good-hearted, and although she now has a lot of power, she'd never do something to harm other people. I think she's fine and underachievers should go back to their tree branches, complain about the world and blame others for their problems while the Paris of the world will continue to do better for others.

Please do a video about Lane from Gilmore Girls!

I'm surprised that no one has really mentioned that Paris seems to be on the autism spectrum. She is socially awkrawd, hyperfocuses on things, and says things like they are. Being on the spectrum myself I could relate a lot to her 😁

I see a lot of myself in Paris, it’s great to see positive portrayals of Type A characters

Liza Weil's talent definitly helped to make Paris more well-rounded than just an antagonist. She was in a really good teen film circa 1999 called Whatever, and she helped to make Paris feel more grounded and more interesting than Rory, as Rory often came off as too lucky in her life without really trying, then couldn't handle failure.

I just watched Gilmore Girls for the first time and I loved Paris lol

Paris isn't perfect even in the revival, but I appreciate that unlike Rory she never stopped fighting for her goal of being an HBIC.

I get the criticisms of Rory, but if she were a main male character, she’d be perceived as a slacker genius lol

@thetake is still uploading to Spotify right?

Yes *"thinker"* archetype women should be given a chance to shine... instead of women always being portrayed in media as ambivalently drowning in emotions all the time (tiring and old)

i love her

parisssss 💗

I loved Paris' character arc, how she ended up in a great place academically while having a pretty stable relationship with a pretty mature world view. I hated what they did to her personal life in the revival.

This villainization of Rory and heroization of Paris is, frankly, ridiculous. The character of Paris made the show more interesting, but as a person she is extremely rude, a terrible bully, has zero consideration for anybody else and is obsessive to an unhealthy degree. She's a nightmare as a roommate, she's offensive to everyone, she's extremely aggressive. Being smart and driven doesn't excuse this bad behavior. On the other hand, Rory makes a few mistakes and suddenly she's the villain of the century (in comment sections across YT). This video says that "everything just falls into place for her". Have you actually watched the series? Rory is also very smart, driven, focused and hard-working. Just because she's not Studentzilla doesn't mean she's any less dedicated. Of course, a person who is kind and considerate and doesn't roll over people will be more likeable. That's is how it should be.

Also, everyone is so upset that Rory cheats with Dean and no one ever mentions that Paris cheats on her boyfriend with the old guy.

You always seem to post videos about a specific character or subject right after I spend a couple days obsessing over them. 😂

everyone else wanted to be Rory. i wanted to be Paris.

Honestly, Paris was a little like Blair Waldorf. She was from a wealthy family but worked super hard and had to fight and even manipulate, cheat, hustle to succeed and Rory was just like Serena.. except Rory studied well but she breezed through everything. Anyone else see the parallels? I love the scene in Gossip Girl where Blair said she deserved to get in Yale way more than "that Rory" ...LOL

Speaking of smart girls. Can you please do an essay on Down A Dark Hall? The overall tone & ambience is dark literally. Society wants us to be perfect so we can be used.❤

Rory's rich kid privilege did ended up catching up with her.😂

Only thing I didn't like about her arc was her and Doyle getting divorced in the revival. I really thought their whacky relationship would go the distance :/

Paris was a great character

High strung characters are often attractive, even if comically, like invader Zim, I always dreamed to have such amounts of energy like Paris. Instead i'm sleepy and slow all my life.

Paris was always my favorite!

The Miranda of Gilmore Girls

Also let's not forget pretty privilege that may affect why some good things just came to Rory or why Rory was often chosen instead of Paris even though I am willing to bet that Paris worked harder. Some might say that Rory was better at dealing with people that Paris - well, of course she was - if she was always greeted with smiles and people approached her friendly b/c she was pretty, then she learnt how to deal warmly with people so it became her default.

Paris didn't have an assertive bone in her body, only aggressive and passive-aggressive bones.

Not calculating that she would be so well-liked by the audience and should actually be the better version of Rory than Rory, I find, is the biggest oversight by the writers. Hence, she ended up being terribly written - at least in the high school arc, I couldn't finish the show, unfortunately - and all she's ever wanted was nonsensically, unjustly given to Rory because she's the main character that we're SUPPOSED to root for 🙄 Oh also, Rory wasn't the only one who wasn't scared of her or did we forget the two girls Paris hung out with before Rory even came into the picture?

Paris is soooo loved!❤❤ I mean, she goes on to beat whatever put her down and define her own success, being accepted in many career paths and she truly " becomes who she is", whereas Rory clearly dwindles and is a more lost character on the end. Every time I watch the show I have different feelings and Lorelai mother and daughter become the less interesting characters for sure. The Kims, Luke/Jess, Paris all sooo much more endearing and layered

Loved watching this video! Low key Paris was my favourite character because I found perfect child Rory so annoying lmao

Actual question from someone that isn't familiar with the show, is paris autistic coded?

Paris our beloved 💖

I like to ship Paris and Jess. They would have been a cute couple. They got character development arcs and would have helped each other with their character development.

I love Paris and always have, but there are parts of this video I don't agree with, mainly a) the parts that demonize Rory because I do not agree with The Take's take on her, and b) the idea that Paris got a "Happy Ending," because she did not. The video makes the point that Paris worked harder to get into Harvard than Rory because she did a bunch of extra curricular and volunteer work, and since that is how Universities tend to work, that is technically true. How ever, it's not something that Paris was willing to do that Rory wasn't. Paris grew up in the IV league pre-school and forward world, where probably the only relationship she had with her parents was them telling her what she needed to do to get into the schools she got into. She would also have counselors and teacher encouraging these sorts of behaviors. Rory, on the other hand, before the events of the S1, went to public school, which isn't always so great at preparing kids for college until high school, and even then, only so much. Her mother wanted her to go to Harvard, but didn't actually know how to get her in, other than good grades. Her grandparents knew the system, but were essentially cut off from Rory for most of her life. Basically, nobody told Rory what was required until Paris, where Paris would have been raised in a hyper-competitive environment where that would have been drummed into her from an early age. The fact that Rory does so well at such an advanced school and is able to get some curriculars under her belt at what is essentially the eleventh hour says a lot about her intelligence as well as her ability to rally. I'm not saying Paris didn't deserve to be valedictorian or to get into Harvard. Of course she did! But that doesn't mean Rory didn't also. Chilton Rory works hard to get where she is, and she earns what she gets. Another consideration when comparing the two is there chosen careers. Despite coming from money, or possibly because of it, Paris chose two very lucrative career paths. Rory, on the other hand, chose something is very financially unstable, and was encouraged in this choice by those around her. Both girls had the goal of getting into a college, and were a little thrown off kilter when they were no longer working towards those goals. However, once Paris started on her career path at Yale (because she did get into a lot of IV Leagues, just not the one she came on too strong about) she was able to use the same studious skills, because the career's she chose were very academic. Rory, on the other hand, chose a career path that wasn't quite as academic, which is probably one of the reasons that she struggled with it so much. That being said, her problem when she interned for Mitchum wasn't her writing ability, or any of the skills that make one a good student, but her timidness, her lack of being comfortable making herself heard when it would seem rude to do so. Paris will do anything to get her way, even if it seems rude, makes her less likable, or will even get her in trouble, as shown by her willingness to break into Chilton for the sake of the social contacts she can get from being a Puff. As the video says (and I do agree with this) Paris needed to excel at school, because it was all she had. This wasn't true for Rory, but that doesn't mean her home-life was perfect. As much as her family loved her, Rory's existence was essentially a mistake that she constantly felt she had to justify and correct. Why don't they have money? Why doesn't she have a relationship with her grandparents? Why isn't her dad around? Why is her mother so immature? The answer to all of these questions are because she was conceived while her mother was a teenager and it changed (some characters would say ruined) everyone's lives. Rory might know that Lorelai loved her, but she also had to be the adult for a lot of her upbringing. She also could never complain about her situation because the situation was her fault, and Lorelai gave up a more "comfortable," life to raise her. Her grandparents could only forgive her mother, and Rory's existence, if Rory was the new and improved Lorelei, with all the potential required. It was Lorelai's idea for Rory to go to Harvard, and probably Chilton too. When Rory has second thoughts, they are not allowed, and we see that once Rory sees how much her mother is sacrificing for her, and how it is affecting her family, she agrees to go to Chilton even if it's not necessarily what she wants, because it will make her family happy. Paris knew she couldn't make her family happy, so she needed something good outside of her home. Rory's world is full of love, but it feels conditional, like it could implode if she steps one foot wrong. Her mother and grandparent's relationship was ruined because of her existence, and it's her job to fix it. Her grandparents rejected her mother because of the mistake her mother made, a mistake called her. She's seen the consequences of setting one foot out of line, and it means you're whole world turning upside down. She loves her mom so much, and can't imagine losing her, but she believes her grandparents are good people who love their daughter, and were still willing to throw her away for messing up. That doesn't even address her father who was never around. She needs to be perfect and likable, or she could lose her family, and her family is her whole world. So, it's hard for her to risk doing something that might get her in trouble. She did okay at the internship, but she didn't do anything that she thought she could get yelled at for, and then she ended up getting yelled at for her lack of willingness to get yelled at. And this big rejection comes not only from this huge mogul who knows everything about her chosen field, but also her boyfriend's father. I do wish we got more context on why Rory chose to steal a boat, but I suspect that her reaction was so big because she felt she had already blown up her life. Then, when she suggests taking a little time off school to figure herself out, Lorelei flips out in a very Emily-like way, saying "no, you can't ruin your life, you can't go off the path we decided on for you and stay at home with me while you figure things out," which isn't all that different from what Rory feared would happen if she stepped a toe out of line. And I'm not trying to bash Lorelai as a mother, because I think she did a decent job for someone raising a child by herself when still a child herself, but whenever Rory goes off-book, she doesn't get the support her mom promised her she would always have. I know I've gone on a rant here, and this was about Paris, so I'll stop talking about Rory, but I just want to make it clear that while Paris deserved more than she got, it wasn't like she didn't get it because Rory did. For the second part, which I promise, is all about Paris, (and thanks if you're still reading my comment) the vidders say that when we caught up with Paris in A Year In The Life, she had found a way to get the life she wanted, and I strongly disagree. Paris' career was in a great place, and I'm so happy that she found that, but she was also going through a divorce, and had a terrible relationship with her kids, who she admitted she didn't even like, and was clearly not a good mom to. Now, romance and kids aren't everything, and if Paris had chosen to not have kids, it would have been totally valid. What we see, however, if that she has basically become her parents, good money, bad marriage. Hopefully she doesn't make the same tax mistakes they did (or however they lost their fortune) but when she was a kid, she had no reason to think she would go broke, yet she was still very unhappy with her home life. Now she's become the sort of mother that she had, the mother who made her feel bad about herself and like school was her only way out. She's still close to Rory, but as far as we can tell, she hasn't made any other significant connections in life, and in her divorce she's lost some. Basically, she's the same person she was in school, good at the work, bad at the social and family stuff, only now, she's the one responsible for kids who are going to grow up feeling unloved. You want to believe that if you had bad parents, you'll do better with your own kids, but Paris is just continuing the cycle and making the same mistakes, which is very sad. That's mostly what I wanted to say. Feel free to respond to my opinion.

She was more caustic, so it put many people off, she did not pretend to be something she is not she doesn't mince words. She should have crafted her social skills, she would have been more successful with achieving her goals. Paris would have known this in real-life, and would have been able to learn needed social skills. But her parents were absent so who knows.

That character was written for that actress

She gives me Azula vibes.

My motto in life is WWPD

Paris may be smart, but she is a bully. Would you really be friends with someone like Paris in real life? Don't think so. Can't stand bullies like her who think they are better than everyone else. Confidence is one thing, but arrogance is another.

Do you have eyes to see / ears to hear ??????? Shepherd's Chapel Network !!!!!!!

That one girl Paris was talking to when defending Rory was Jane from Braking Bad. She will later choke on her own vomit.

Paris didn't sacrifice her true self and the same time she work towards improve in other aspects of her life where she was lacking besides academic. Adversity is her fuel.

To me Paris and Rory are the best of friend than Rory and Lane in my opinion.

The worst part of Rory's character to me was that she was a reluctant friend to Paris while Paris really cherished her in later seasons. Paris calling the hospital to find out information about Logan's accident when Rory is so worried about it is the ultimate testament to Paris's friendship to Rory when all Rory does is make fun of her with Lorelai and never fully stand up for her to the Yale Daily News staffers. Paris deserved a friend like Lane.

I'm sorry but Paris Geller is very problematic and toxic in some ways, she undermines Rory's success (the valedictorian rant and other stuff), doesn't know how to make friends because of her hostile attitude, is very agressive, and competitive towards everyone. Her adult life also sucks. She's just a try hard productivity tyrant which is the epitome of capitalistic ideology. Although I like her because of the touch of humor she brings to the show and her insecurities that makes her likeable she's by no mean a role model for me. She doesn't question the world and society she lives in.

I was also very upset when Paris didn’t get into Harvard but Rory did

Nothing more sad than an adult that still believes grades worth something, in adulthood or worst, the useless As they collect when they have eight.

Once a villain, always a villain. But of course you'd support villainous behavior.