12 plot holes and errors you probably never noticed on ‘Gilmore Girls’

When viewers watch “Gilmore Girls” for the first time, they might think that they’re seeing double because several supporting actors played more than one character throughout the series.

Actor Sherilyn Fenn played both Jimmy’s girlfriend, Sasha, and April’s mother, Anna. Alex Borstein played the Dragonfly Inn’s crotchety harpist, Drella, and Emily’s stylist, Miss Celine.

And Sean Gunn first appeared as Mick the DSL installer on episode two and “Swan Guy” on episode three before he eventually became the series regular Kirk.

Lane Kim (Keiko Agena), Rory’s best friend, makes references to her parents (plural) throughout the entire original series, but viewers only ever meet her mother, Mrs. Kim (Emily Kuroda).

The character reminded a complete mystery until the “Spring” episode of the revival aired in 2016. Mr. Kim suddenly appeared on screen for a few short moments during the Stars Hollow International Spring Food Festival.

The cameo was most likely added as an inside joke for die-hard “Gilmore Girls” fans, but absolutely zero questions about the character were answered — other than the fact that he does, indeed, exist.

On season one, episode three, Loreli’s (Lauren Graham) mother, Emily Gilmore (Kelly Bishop), pointed out that her dinner plates used to belong to Lorelei Gilmore the First, Richard’s mother.

During that same episode, Richard also said: “Lorelai the First was my mother. She was an extremely accomplished equestrian, a distinguished patron of the arts, and she was also world-famous for her masquerade balls. She was quite a woman, my mother.”

Throughout his monologue, he refers to her in the past tense as though she were dead.

But 15 episodes later on “The Third Lorelai,” Rory’s great-grandmother is alive, well, and terrorizing Emily. 

Lorelei the First, played by Marion Ross, made several more appearances before her character dies (seemingly for a second time) on season four, episode 16, “The Reigning Lorelai.”

Friday dinners with Emily and Richard are often a non-negotiable outing for Rory and Lorelei. 

On season one, episode 16, Rory attempts to get out of dinner to celebrate her anniversary with Dean, who has a big night planned out. Lorelai scoffs, knowing it will be tough to get out of dinner with her parents. 

As Lorelai goes to get the phone, a boom microphone drops for a quick moment. 

Despite Lorelai’s consistent affirmations that she and Rory are fairly broke, their lifestyle seems to contradict that.

The pair rarely, if ever, re-wear clothing on the show. They also order takeout from pizza joints and Chinese restaurants on almost every episode, which adds up.

Additionally, real-estate listing site Trulia estimated that Lorelei and Rory’s Connecticut home was probably worth around $445,000. Plus, she renovated and fixed the house several times throughout the series. 

Although her parents, Emily and Richard Gilmore, are wealthy, Lorelei is prideful about the fact that she doesn’t receive financial help from her parents — except when it comes to Rory’s education. So all things considered, it’s unclear how Rory and Lorelei can afford to live the way they do. 

During an episode of “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life,” a great debate raged between the townspeople about whether or not Stars Hollow should remain on the septic system.

But way back on season one, when Rory is telling Dean about the town’s tendency to go overboard with events, she says they held a monthlong celebration when they got off the septic system.

This story was originally published in April 2019 and most recently updated on Octover 25, 2024. 

Read More:

• THEN AND NOW: ‘Gilmore Girls’ characters on their first and last episodes
• 17 celebrities you probably forgot appeared on ‘Gilmore Girls’
• 21 of Rory Gilmore’s most iconic outfits on ‘Gilmore Girls’
• 15 things you probably didn’t know about ‘Gilmore Girls’