‘Gilmore Girls’: Two People Knew Rory Gilmore Wasn’t Cut Out for Journalism Before Mitchum Huntzberger Broke Her Spirit

Mitchum Huntzberger, Logan Huntzberger’s father, is often villainized for “breaking the spirit” of Rory Gilmore on Gilmore Girls. Mitchum, who had years of experience in the newspaper industry, told Rory that she simply didn’t have what it took to be a world-renowned journalist. The comment sent her into a tailspin that ended with Rory leaving Yale and sitting around on her grandparents’ couch for several months. While Mitchum is often credited with being the first person to identify Rory’s lack of journalistic instincts, he actually wasn’t. Two other characters suggested hard-hitting journalism wasn’t for Rory years before she ever ran into Mitchum, according to Reddit Users.

Headmaster Charleston didn’t see Rory as a serious journalist way back in season 1

Headmaster Charleston was pompous and condescending every single time he sat down with Rory. That’s not up for debate. Even though he didn’t say it in the nicest way possible, he made it clear that he didn’t see Rory fulfilling her dreams in the second episode of the series.

The headmaster, upon meeting Rory for the first time, asked her about her aspirations. She quickly stated that she wished to be like Christiane Amanpour. Amanpour, a foreign correspondent, was a worthwhile role model, but the headmaster quickly gave Rory a look that indicated that he just didn’t see it. The headmaster even rattled off the names of correspondents who covered lighter content, indicating that perhaps he saw Rory in a less demanding role.

Perhaps the headmaster was quickly clued into Rory’s apprehensive nature. Sure, she was only 15 at the time, but Rory was meek even for a 15-year-old in a new environment. That overly-cautious nature was never going to translate into such a fast-paced career.

Jess Mariano always knew Rory would make a great writer, but a bad journalist

Jess Mariano was a brooding teen when fans first met him. He may have done a lot wrong in his relationship with Rory, but it was pretty clear from early on that he could read people well. When Rory confided in Jess that she wanted to be a journalist, he, just like the headmaster, was incredibly surprised. He even told Rory that the career path seemed too rough for her, point out Reddit fans.

Later on, Jess would be the person to guide Rory towards writing a book instead of continuing down the path of journalism. As an adult, he was more tactful and never outright told Rory she didn’t have what it took to be a journalist, but he did gently steer her away from the career path. Jess knew Rory better than most people gave him credit for.

Rory proved, time and time again, that she wasn’t cut out for journalism

Headmaster Charleston and Jess both seemed to know Rory wasn’t cut out for journalism, and Rory, herself, proved that they were right time and time again. Rory not only had very little understanding of how the career path she was so interested in worked, but she did absolutely nothing to learn about it before graduating from Yale.

Rory didn’t bother to pursue an internship after her first year at Yale. Instead, she took off to spend the summer in Europe after sleeping with her married ex. She didn’t seem to learn her lesson after that, either. Rory focused on picking up side jobs that would make her money, instead of “suffering for her art”, as she put it.

RELATED: ‘Gilmore Girls’: Did Amy Sherman-Palladino Want to Destroy Rory Gilmore?

At the end of the day, it’s clear that Rory was never supposed to be a journalist. In fact, it seems entirely possible that Amy Sherman-Palladino, the showrunner of Gilmore Girls, dropped hints at Rory’s impending failure from very early in the series. Whether or not Rory can redeem herself remains to be seen. A second revival series is rumored, but no official announcement has been made.