Dean Forester
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Dean Forester is a fictional character from the TV series Gilmore Girls. He is played by Jared Padalecki.
Tall, strapping, and chestnut-haired, Chicago-born Dean is introduced into the series as the new guy in town. He immediately falls for the shy, sensitive intellect, Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel) after she shows him around Stars Hollow. Rory in turn quickly becomes infatuated with the good natured, laid back, even-keeled Dean, which briefly poses a problem with winning an enrollment to the fictional Chilton Private School as it takes her away from the regular high school which Dean would be attending. He quickly gets a job as a grocery store stock boy and is the first serious boyfriend for Rory, and arguably the most mature (though sometimes rather boring) one she has over the course of the series. At first their relationship almost doesn't work out because the emotionally repressed Rory has trouble expressing the intimate, affectionate feelings that Dean, like any boyfriend, likes to hear, but they manage to work through that. In short, he is set up as the boyfriend a girl doesn't fear taking home to meet her parents. With his all-American looks, polite personailty, and willingness to be there for people, he is something of the "Clark Kent" of Stars Hollow. Something of a boy next door, Dean is presented as the prototypical "knight in shining armor" boyfriend; always polite, always there for his girlfriend, and always willing to come through for her should she ever need him.
Family - Clara is his little sister. She originally meets Rory when Rory comes to the door pretending to be a girl scout.
Later, however, another complication arises in the form of Jess Mariano (Milo Ventimiglia), the bad boy nephew of diner owner Luke Danes (Scott Patterson). Initially put off by Jess's anti-social attitude, Rory warms up to him when she discovers he shares her fondness for reading. Dean is eventually driven to jealousy by Jess' presence and this leads to the end of his relationship with Rory, which frees Rory up to pursue a full time romance with Jess—only to have it fall apart when Jess's problems prove to be too much for Rory to handle. She later confesses to her friend Lane Kim that she got too used to Dean's affectionate nature and assumed that Jess would do the same, only to realize too late that Jess would never be as affectionate with her.
Even though he regrets breaking up wtih Rory, Dean later starts dating a girl named Lindsay Lister (Arielle Kebbel) and impulsively marries her. However, it is still obvious that he still carries strong feeling for Rory. His feeling for her remain so strong that, upon seeing a tearful and clearly upset Rory at a party (and knowing it was Jess' fault), he is so overcome with rage that he violently attacks Jess, resulting in a brawl between the two( it is worth noting that Dean threw both the first and the last punches of the fight.) During his bachelor party, a drunk Dean confesses to Luke that he cares for Rory and asks why she didn't love him back. Dean remains too close to Rory and, when it becomes clear to him that he's made a mistake in marrying Lindsay, he goes to Rory with his problems, and they have a short affair—Rory's first sexual experience. This incident creates a brief rift between Rory and Lorelai when Lorelai discovers what has happened.
Lindsay eventually finds out about the affair and angrily throws Dean out, which briefly complicates things with Rory. But Dean decides to rekindle his romance with Rory (even though she attends Yale, which takes her very far away from him), much to the aggravation of Luke, who judges Dean unworthy of Rory. Rory's grandparents, Emily and Richard (Kelly Bishop and Edward Herrmann) also disapprove of Dean and host a party with the sole purpose of introducing Rory to other prospective boyfriends, all of them blue bloods with business aspirations. Unfortunately, Dean and Rory's relationship ends again when it becomes apparent that their lives are heading in different directions; for Rory, this leads to an unexpected romance with the colorful Logan Huntzberger.
It is unlikely that Dean will ever make another appearance; Jared Padalecki is currently co-starring the WB show Supernatural. In his last appearance, Dean crossed paths with Luke and the two ended up antagonizing one another. Luke said that Rory had moved on and that Dean should, too, because Dean was only holding Rory back. Dean responded by saying that, ultimately, Luke would hold Lorelai back from whatever potential she may have, which proves to be true when Lorelai turns down a job offer that would have taken her away from Luke.
| Gilmore Girls | ||
|---|---|---|
| Main characters | ||
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Lorelai Gilmore | Rory Gilmore | Luke Danes | Sookie St. James | Lane Kim | Michel Gerard |
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| Recurring characters | ||
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Jackson Belleville | Taylor Doose | Christopher Hayden | Max Medina | Trix Gilmore | Mrs. Kim |
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| More | ||
