#also RIP to Snorre sorry I butchered your spelling baby I grew up with the modern Norwegian translations

[anxiouspotatorants]

So @johermione and @stellaluna33 have been having this really cool discussion about comparing Jess Mariano with Mr Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, and they got into the topic of Loki/e, the Norse god most famously depicted in the MCU. And while I’m not an MCU fan (I’m not anti MCU, but I’m not exactly fond of their depiction of Norse mythology either.... that’s not the point though), I do want to throw in my two cents about comparing Jess to Loke from Norse mythology!

(Quick disclaimer before I start: there is very little written records from the time of exactly what Scandinavians believed in during the Viking age and how they practiced their belief. Like, astoundingly little (oral culture over written yada yada it’s a long story). And the little we do have isn’t 100% reliable either (just look at any historian debating about the validity of Snorre Sturlason’s works... or which gods are actually just aliases of each others and which aren’t) So take everything I say and every interpretation I make with a huge grain of salt... also! I’m writing anything from Norse mythology and poor Snorre’s name in modern Norwegian-ish spelling because I’m lazy :P)

For those who need a refresher, Loke is a god from Norse mythology whose alliances are sort of flimsy. He is of Jotunætt (aka of the Jotuns) but considered to be part of the Æsegods. He can be defined as a trickster god who often gets the other gods in trouble, but also helps them out a lot (except for when he doesn’t). He’s a shapeshifter who can switch species and gender, and has both fathered and mothered various creatures and gods (Sleipnir, Hel, Fenris, the Midgardsorm). He tends to cause the other gods a lot of grief (like when he cut Siv’s hair against her wishes) and even crashes a party once to offend every god he can until Tor threatens him away, but what finally severs his ties to the gods is the death of Balder (long story short he tricks Balder’s blind brother Hod into shooting Balder with an arrow that kills him. When Hel only agrees to let Balder return to Åsgard on the condition that every living being weeps for him, Loke shapeshifts into an old crone and refuses to cry). He flees for a while, is then captured, and in Ragnarok he’s going to lead the army against the gods only to die in combat with Heimdall. 

Now one important thing I have to explain that is crucial to understanding both the mythology and this meta about a Gilmore Girls character, is that Norse Mythology doesn’t really operate on black and white morality. The Jotner are not inherently evil, but rather foils to the gods and competition. If the gods represent order the Jotner are chaos. But the two main groups are also tightly connected, both narratively and literally. Several gods, like Loke and possibly Tor (info on Fjorgyn/Jord is scarce), are related to Jotner or at least part Jotun themselves. Frøy, god of autumn, prosperity and fertility, marries a Jotun woman. And many of the male Jotner desire his sister Frøya. It’s also worth noting that the gods and Jotner have different factions within themselves and are also just some of several species. For example, the gods themselves are split at least between the Æsegods and the Vanegods, who actually fight for ages until the Æsegods win, and Vanegods like Frøy, Frøya and Njord are taken into the clan. Basically, all of this needs to be said so that you understand that just because Loke ends up on the side against the gods, doesn’t mean he is pure evil. And the gods aren’t secret villains either. To quote Rachel Bloom: “The situation is a lot more nuanced than that.”

So what does any of this have to do with a 2000s romcom tv character? Not a lot actually. I think it’s fair to say that there’s little point in speculating whether Loke would see himself in Jess Mariano. He’s a literal god, he has other things to deal with, and also I don’t think I have the gall to assume what he would think or feel. But that doesn’t mean Jess wouldn’t see himself in Loke. So hear me out:

When Jess arrives to Stars Hollow, he’s instantly branded as an outsider and a threat. The townies don’t like him, his motivations are constantly questioned, and every f**k up he makes is held over his head like a proof of his deviousness. And hell, why try to be anything else? He’s a crafty kid, and he’s never been one for order anyway. So why not put a chalkboard outline of a dead body outside Taylor’s market? Why not steal the school’s 500 baseballs? Why not rile up that cute girl’s boyfriend just to see how much steam he can get out of those ears?

Now imagine this Jess, teenage dirtbag Jess, coming across an English translation of the Prose Edda or the Poetic Edda. Imagine that boy reading these stories, of gods who fight and love and make stupid bets and dress up as the opposite gender to get their hammer back and are just generally pretty messy and entertaining but also dark and violent. Who would that boy relate to? The thunder god with a loving wife, magical tools and his very own hall? The golden boy son of rulers, described as sweet and kind and fragile and loved and mourned by almost every creature in existence? The symbol of fertility and success, the very essence of desire, a ruler of his own realm and a man of peace? 

Or does he relate to the asshole outsider who always gets people into trouble, never gets credit for fixing things, and is kind of creative as f**k?

Jess might not relate to Loke as a diety, but he sure as hell might feel like people have cast him in the role of Loke. And narratively it does check out. Jess did screw up and end up having to patch things up (the car crash, the love triangle, Luke drama). His efforts to improve are initially dismissed or treated like the least he could do, and one day he does the thing that is just a step too far. Obviously not as far as killing another person and refusing to revive them when given the chance, but far enough in this human small town life to destroy his ties to Rory, Luke and Stars Hollow. His existence also has this lingering effect on the narrative that mirrors Loke. As mentioned, Loke parents a lot of creatures, and while some (Sleipnir) serve the gods well, most of them become future enemies in some way. Hel refuses to let Balder go and rules what is considered the ‘crappy’ place for dead people, Fenris is prophesised to kill Odin in Ragnarok (a fate that is sealed when Odin decides to chain down Fenris) and the Midgardsorm is- like, the Midgardsorm. It’s a giant snake swimming around Earth eating anyone who goes over the edge and has to be defeated by Tor in Ragnarok. And again, obviously Jess’ actions don’t have nearly as colossal consequences as this, but he does become this ghost to the season 4 narrative with what he did in season 3 and his current absence. He becomes this unnamed boogeyman who haunts Rory’s romantic narrative and reminds Luke of his failings, and every time he does show up he leaves things even messier than he found them. 

But just like the mythology Loke belongs to, Jess’ situations are a lot more nuanced than that. Obviously he’s not the only one causing trouble (two good examples of this in the mythology are the bet in Gylvaginning and the chaining of Fenris); there’s also Dean and Lorelai and Rory and Luke as well as many others. And what’s important to know about Jess is that he’s not a villain, he’s a teenager. A teenager who might not be part Jotne, but does come from a troubled background. Who isn’t a shapeshifter, but is a bit of a modern day trickster anyway. Who might not have intentionally betrayed his friends and murdered a beloved God, but did cut off his loved ones and consciously antagonise several people of a small town. But where Loke would eventually become the leader of the enemy, trapped in a fate written long before it began, Jess got to grow up. Make amends. Live his life. Be an actual human being because that is what he was. Not a myth.