When thinking about the main characters on Gilmore Girls, Sookie St. James stands out for having a fairly straightforward story arc. She has a career that she loves but is nervous about dating, falls in love with Jackson, starts a family, and opens an inn with her best friend Lorelai. While fans appreciate Sookie's quirks and her talent in the kitchen, along with her support of Lorelai and Rory, they can't help but find a few parts of her personality problematic.
Some fans feel that Sookie changed after the first few seasons of the show, and others question her decisions when she claims to want to be an equal partner in her business. Many Gilmore Girls viewers have talked on Reddit about some confusing parts of Sookie's character.
Why Not Agree To Forget About Lunch?
Reddit user scoutiesteph didn't like when Sookie got upset about having to get rid of lunch at the Dragonfly Inn.
In the season 5 episode 'Norman Mailer, I'm Pregnant!' the Dragonfly Inn's accountant thought that it would be a good idea to stop serving lunch, and while Lorelai knew this was a great idea, Sookie wasn't so certain. While Sookie can be relatable, this was definitely a strange moment, as she could still focus on the other meals, and she should have understood the situation.
She Crashed Dean And Rory's Movie Night
Reddit user ingridwithoutbraces mentioned that it was a problem when Sookie showed up when Rory and Dean were having movie night. They don't understand Sookie's behavior and explained that she "stayed there even though Lorelai firmly asked her to leave because she didn't want the situation to be even more awkward for rory."
Fans love the episode 'Kiss and Tell' as Rory and Dean have a unique first date. It was confusing when Sookie came over and had trouble leaving. While it made sense that she was curious about Rory's love life, she seemed nosy and unfair, and she could have been more mature and respectful.
She Could Have Helped More With The Inn
Reddit user IVgo_noble found it problematic that Sookie didn't want to be too involved in opening the Dragonfly Inn. They explained, "Sookie totally reveals herself by saying “my part comes after.” She doesn’t know what it means to be a partner in opening a business."
The fan made the point that Sookie said she was in charge of the kitchen and that was it. While it's true that such a talented chef would be more interested in planning menus and testing recipes, Lorelai did need more help, and Sookie could have chipped in more. It was wrong to assume that Lorelai could do so much.
She Didn't Need To Decorate Her House For Jackson
According to Reddit user rae9215, it was strange that Sookie changed her house so Jackson could move in. They didn't like "her redecorating to make it a man cave, despite Jackson's objections."
Sookie sometimes made assumptions about her relationship with Jackson that didn't end up coming true, and instead of just asking him what decor he wanted or what pieces of furniture or objects he wanted to keep from his own place, she re-decorated. Many fans like that Sookie is a quirky person, but they wonder about some of her decisions.
She Made Fancy Food For The Lord Of The Rings Birthday Party
This Reddit user and Gilmore Girls fan posted that it didn't make any sense when Sookie made food for the kids' birthday bash that was too fancy. As the fan explained, "Sookie has been in Rory's life for years. She knows enough about kids to know they won't eat weird food."
The season 4 episode 'The Hobbit, the Sofa, and Digger Stiles' stands out to fans, as it was fun to watch the characters cater a children's party, and this episode has also become famous because of Sookie's odd menu choices. While Sookie is an amazing chef and people rave about her dishes, she could have done a better job here.
She And Lorelai Didn't Communicate Enough
Reddit user winduslightsaber brought up the "poor communication" that Sookie and Lorelai had around their inn.
In the season 4 episode 'The Incredible Shrinking Lorelais,' Lorelai made it clear to Sookie that she was totally stressed out and drowning in the amount of work that setting up the Dragonfly entailed. Sookie wasn't very receptive, and when examining Lorelai and Sookie's friendship in each season, it seems like the characters should make more of an effort to really talk to each other. They don't understand where the other person is coming from, and that's a big problem.
She Pressured Lorelai And Luke To Pick A Wedding Date
Reddit user twilipig thought that it was strange that Sookie kept bringing up that Luke and Lorelai didn't have a wedding date. They wrote, "But for some reason she became really judgemental and mean about Lorelei’s love life after her and Luke got together. The most frustrating was definitely when she kept pressuring her and Luke to get married and pick a date and then saying that if her and Luke didn’t get married in like a month then they never would."
While Sookie wanted to support her best friend, it does seem a little unfair that she put pressure on Lorelai, as the situation was dramatic and complicated. It would have been more helpful if Sookie had asked if Lorelai needed to talk about what was going on.
What Happened To Sookie In The Revival?
Fans know that Melissa McCarthy had a brief time to be on the set of A Year In The Life, but several people wondered why Sookie's revival appearance wasn't what they were expecting. Reddit user justo316 said that they didn't understand Sookie's storyline here. They wrote, "I think her story arc was just underdone. I found it hard to believe she would take off from the Dragonfly as she did. And then to not be invited to the midnight wedding, that seemed off to me."
Many fans feel the same way, as after years of working with Lorelai and being her best friend and confidante, it seemed strange that Sookie would leave. It was also odd that she wasn't involved in Luke and Lorelai finally getting married.
Her Character Changed As The Show Went On
This Reddit user shared their opinion that Sookie became flakier as the show continued and wrote, "I liked Sookie in the beginning, (although I did think the absent-minded accident-prone chef routine was overworked) but as soon as she became a mother, she was completely unreliable as a friend or business partner." Many viewers agreed that Sookie became a worse character.
The general feeling seems to be that Sookie was funny and quirky for several reasons, but when she started a family, she changed and wasn't there for Lorelai the same way that she was before. She didn't understand the problems she was having with Luke and she wasn't a true partner in the inn.
She Didn't Show Up To Look At The New Sink
According to Reddit user emilgore's post, it was problematic that Sookie didn't approve of a new sink at the inn, even though she told Lorelai that she wanted to be involved. They thought, "Sookie is slacking on the responsibilities with the Inn...it sucks for Lorelai to have to pick up all of the slack and do all of the work."
Many fans have pointed out that they take issue with this storyline. It's true that Sookie was a new mom and she was busy and exhausted, but this is an example of a Sookie plotline that makes no sense. A viewer replied to the Reddit post and said Sookie could have brought Davey to the inn so she could look at the sink, which seems like it would have worked.