Jess Mariano
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Jess Mariano is a fictional character on the television series Gilmore Girls, played by Milo Ventimiglia.
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[edit] Background
Jess was raised in New York City by his mother, the emotionally and intellectually stilted Liz Danes, who was notorious for getting involved in bad relationships. Jess' father Jimmy Mariano (played by Rob Estes) departed after his birth when he told Liz he was going to get diapers and never returned. In Jess' teen years he became rebellious and Liz found him difficult to control until she eventually sent him away to Stars Hollow, Connecticut to live with her brother, Luke Danes, probably hoping that the gruff, no nonsense Luke could instill a sense of responsibility in Jess (Season 2 Episode 5-Nick & Nora/Sid & Nancy). Although labeled a bad boy, Jess was intellectually inclined and well read. He resented being shipped off to his uncle and continued to cause trouble by vandalizing Doose's Market, stealing, and lying to Luke. His arrival in Stars Hollow was not well received by the town or Lorelai because of his actions, but his literary and pop culture/music knowledge eventually appealed to good-girl Rory.
[edit] Relationship with Rory
From the time of his arrival in Stars Hollow, Jess and Rory flirted. The two of them became friends, regardless of the concerns of many, such as Lorelai and Dean Forester, who feared that Jess would somehow corrupt Rory. Jess pursued Rory, despite her relationship with Dean, who stood head and shoulders above Jess, including purchasing Rory's basket at the local picnic basket auction. This caused tension between Rory and Dean, who could tell that Jess wanted to "steal" Rory away from him. Jess left town for a while, following a car accident in which Rory is hurt, but he returned on the day of Sookie's wedding, where the two kissed despite Rory's decision to stay with Dean.
Jess and Rory officially started dating after the Dance Marathon when Dean's jealousy of Jess's presence around Rory got the better of him, and broke up with her. Shortly afterwards, Luke broke up a kiss between Jess and Rory and began to set some ground rules so that Jess wouldn't corrupt the innocent Rory. (Season 3, Episode 8-Let the Games Begin)
The groud rules were that when Rory was in Luke and Jess's appartment Jess had to be on the couch and Rory had to be on the chair or vice versa. Also that neither of them could be on either side of the aprtment but the middle and lastly that the door must be open at all times when Rory is in the apartment.
Their relationship was bumpy because of both Jess's and Rory's constant insecurities and lack of communication, a problem she generally didn't have with Dean, who was laid back and easy going. Rory was left in the dark to a lot of Jess's troubles and Rory had a hard time fitting Jess into her everyday life. Jess's main insecurity was with Rory's previous boyfriend Dean, who was intent to win Rory back. Jess also failed to tell Rory that his frequent absences caused him to flunk out of school and miss prom, which prompted an argument between Jess and Rory at a party. As Dean came upon a tearful and distraught Rory there, he realized it was Jess' doing. This sent Dean into such a rage that he attacked Jess, and the two engaged in a full-blown brawl, destroying the house at which the party was held. Rory later confided in her friend Lane Kim that she felt it was a mistake to date Jess, expecting him to treat her with the same affection that Dean had, only to realize that he never would because he couldn't.
[edit] Break-up
When Luke found out that he would not be allowed to graduate from Stars Hollow High because he had cut too many classes,he said he would kick Jess out if he didn't go back and graduate the next year. Unwilling to agree to that, Jess took off on a bus to Venice Beach, California to find his father without telling Rory. This was intended to be the introduction to a Jess spinoff, but production costs in Venice were too high, so the concept was scrapped. So, Jess met his father, who ran a hot dog stand, and his father's girlfriend Sasha (Sherilyn Fenn, who also plays Luke's old flame Anna Nardini in Season 6), and her daughter Lily , a stereotypical California free spirit/artist type with a lot of dogs. (Season 3, Ep. 21 "Here Comes the Son")
He called Rory a few times, always hanging up without speaking, until Rory, feeling that Jess had crossed the line, finally told him she couldn't continue to set herself up for hurt, on her graduation day.
- Rory: Jess, is that you? Jess, I'm pretty sure it's you and I'm pretty sure you've been calling and not saying anything but wanna say something. Hello? You're not going to talk? Fine, I'll talk. You didn't handle things right at all. You could've talked to me. You could've told me that you were having trouble in school and weren't going to graduate, and that your dad had been there, but you didn't. And you ended up not taking me to my prom and not coming to my graduation and leaving again without saying goodbye again, and that's fine, I get it, but that's it for me. I'm going to Europe tomorrow and I'm going to Yale and I'm moving on. And I'm not going to pine. I hope you didn't think I was going to pine, okay? I think. . .I think I may have loved you, but I just need to let it go. So, that's it, I guess. Um, I hope you're good. I want you to be good, and, um, okay, so, goodbye. That word sounds really lame and stupid right now, but there it is. Goodbye.
- —Season 3, Ep. 22 "Those Are Strings, Pinocchio"
Jess is shown at a pay phone in California, which he hangs up and then walks away.
[edit] Return
Jess disappeared from the show for a while, but reappeared to steal back his car from Luke, tell Rory he loved her, and disappear again. He showed up at his mother's Renaissance-Faire–themed wedding (after Luke chased him down in New York and guilted him into coming). He later showed up at Rory's dorm room at Yale, asking her to run away from school to join him in New York. She shot him down and told him no.
He appeared in Season 6, having mellowed out a great deal, when Rory was very surprised (and happy) to see him. She was amazed when he showed her a book he had written. The two made plans to hang out the next night. While Rory and Jess were standing outside Rory's grandparents' house, Rory's boyfriend Logan Huntzberger showed up. Rory introduced Jess and Logan and the three went out to eat. The dinner was tense and Logan antagonized Jess, who walked out. Rory caught him and apologized for Logan had acted. Jess told Rory that her recent actions weren't the real her, referring to dropping out of Yale and dating Logan, who Jess calls a jerk. Rory did not argue and appeared to agree; Jess left calmly. This incident appeared to shake Rory, who fought with Logan and decided to return to Yale and move back home.
Also in season 6, in the episode "The Real Paul Anka," Jess made a second appearance. Invitations to the open house at the new book store/art gallery/publishing house in Philadelphia where Jess works were sent to Luke and Rory, and both attend. Luke, who was nearby chaperoning a field trip with his daughter, April, caught up with Jess and introduces his nephew and his daughter. Before Luke left, Jess gave him a copy of his book and the money he owed Luke for the repairs on his car from season 4, as well as money Luke spent on him such as paying off Kyle's parents for damage Jess caused at a party at their house between him and Dean. Rory, who was having relationship troubles with her boyfriend, Logan, after it was revealed that Logan slept with several other women while he and Rory were apart following the fight after Jess's last visit, traveled to Philadelphia while Logan was out of town. Rory and Jess kissed, but she quickly stopped him before they could go any further, admitting that she loves Logan even though he cheated on her. Jess was shocked the two are still together and felt disappointed and misled. Rory agreed it was wrong of her to come like that and left.
[edit] Relationship with Luke
Jess and Luke's relationship is very rocky, at first. Jess is resentful about being forced to live in Stars Hollow and he resists Luke's attempts to discipline him, lying to him about going to school and other matters. Luke in turn resents having his nephew forced upon him and resents having to play the role of disciplinarian and surrogate father figure. After Luke tells Jess that he must re-take senior year and graduate from high school in order to continue living with him, Jess takes off for California. He returns in season 4 to get his car and he and Luke have a fight. Jess tells Luke that his constant attempts to help people are always unwarranted and always make the helpee feel bad for having failed Luke. Despite these harsh words, Luke still gives Jess some money before Jess leaves again. Luke then guilts Jess into coming to Liz's wedding, and during this visit, the two of them seem to bond. The visit ends with Luke telling Jess that he is always there for him, and they hug. in season 6, Luke visits Jess in Philadelphia for the opening of a store Jess co-runs and introduces Jess to his daughter, April. Jess pays Luke back the money he has loaned Jess, and Luke tells Jess that he is proud of him.
[edit] Spin-off
The WB was originally going to air a spin-off featuring Jess as the main character, called "Windward Circle", in which he gets to know his estranged father better and befriends a bunch of California skateboarders. (The Gilmore Girls episode 3.21 "Here Comes the Son" acted as the pilot for the show.) However, the network cancelled the show before it aired, citing high production costs to shoot on location in Venice Beach as the reason. It was originally picked up as a mid-season show, set for January of 2004.
Ventimiglia says that his future with Gilmore Girls is all but done after the departure of series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino, and that he feels that Jess "turned into a grown-up" during his last appearance, fully-developed and having finally reached a happy ending. [1]
| 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 | ||
