Whatever Happened To Tobin? And Other Tertiary Characters From Gilmore Girls

It’s the first day of Gilmore Girls week, and we’re kicking things off with a question – Whatever happened to Tobin? This might be a deep cut for some, but remember season three, when the inn burned down and someone called Lorelai in the middle of the night to tell her? That was Tobin. Remember the smarmy, “sycophantic tushy-kisser” night manager who was at odds with Michel? That was Tobin, too. He, like many other characters on the show, only appeared in a couple episodes, but made enough of an impact to make me wonder what they’d be up to now. So let’s go into the GG AU (That’s Gilmore Girls Alternate Universe for you non-Internet geeks), and check in on Tobin and the other many tertiary folks from Stars Hollow and surrounding areas for some final (made up) closure.

Tobin

Then: Working as the night manager at the Independence Inn.

Now: After a short stint at the Dragonfly as the night manager, Tobin decided to leave Stars Hollow and made his rounds at other local inns like the Maiden’s Teacup and the Sugarbear Inn, before moving to Vermont to start his own bed and breakfast called The Wicker Basket.

The Other Town Troubadour

Then: Showed up as a rival town troubador, later annoyed Taylor by selling vegetables from his cart-kiosk (cart-kiosk) across the street from Doose’s.

Now: Made his way cross country to Santa Fe, where he has an actual kiosk selling turquoise produdcts and is known ’round those parts as “The Singing Jeweler”.

Bootsy

Then: Runs the newsstand in Stars Hollow

Now: Bootsy handed over the reigns to his beloved newsstand to Amir in 2004, who was much more possessive of his publications than Bootsy, scolding anyone who flipped through a magazine without buying it. Bootsy retired from the news biz and picked up his second career as a jazz trumpeter. He moved to Los Angeles and became a sessions player for some of the best in jazz.

Pete

Then: The Pizzeria Owner who helped Rory make the biggest pizza in Connecticut for Lorelai’s birthday.

Now: Pete still owns the local pizzeria. In 2012, he tried getting on the Low-Cal Calzone trend, and decided they were too out of his “comfort zone”. He sticks to traditional pizzas now.

Alex

Then: Briefly dated Lorelai and had a couple of faux fishing and Broadway dates with her before they broke up.

Now: Alex was left completely puzzled as to why Lorelai just suddenly stopped contacting him and didn’t explain why they broke up. Wanting to gain Lor back, he put all his focus into opening the coffee shop with his friend Joe. Their The Mudhouse cafe opened in Hartford, and slowly expanded to places like Bridgeport and New Haven for the Yale crowd. Soon, it went national, and in 2014, they sold their coffee shops to Intelligentsia in a million-dollar deal. He went back to Stars Hollow to look for Lorelai – she was busy with her husband.

Rachel

Then: Luke’s ‘Elle MacPherson-esque’ ex-girlfriend Rachel who became his girlfriend Rachel who then became the Luke & Lorelai shipper ex-girlfriend.

Now: Her settling down in suburbia dreams came to an end after she realized she and Luke weren’t meant to be, so Rachel went back out on the road as a photojournalist. She’s covered war-torn countries like Egypt, Syria and even Iraq. She met and fell in love with a fellow photojournalist on the road and they technically have a loft in Brooklyn, but don’t spend much time there, on account of traveling the world.

Rune

Then: ‘What’s a Rune?’ A Rune is a curmudgeonly man who got set up on a date with Lorelai, and thanks to cousin Jackson, managed to score him a job at the inn, much to Lorelai’s discontent.

Now: Rune lives in nearby Litchfield, and has kind of become to Kirk of the town, going from job to job, and still as unpleasant as ever.

Young Chui

Then: Lane’s fake boyfriend who thought he was actually Lane’s real boyfriend, but she was secretly dating Dave Rygalski.

Now: Young Chui ended up going to Yale like Rory, but their paths never crossed, except he thinks he maybe saw her at a Pulp Fiction-themed party one time. He took more of the science track and graduated with a degree in biomedical engineering, and now works for a major pharmaceutical company in New York City.

Kyle

Then: Kyle was one of Dean’s BFFs from Stars Hollow High, and had the infamous house party where Dean and Jess got into an all out brawl and broke Kyle’s mom’s Hummels. He later joined the Navy but came back wounded, which explains the hook as a hand.

Now: Kyle’s babe magnet of a hook still scores him a number of lady friends, but he’s never been able to settle down. He started a hookah place near New Haven called Hooked, and has been a hit with the college crowd ever since opening in 2013.

Tana Schrick

Then: Tana was an awkward 15-year-old genius who lived with Rory, Paris and Janet in their surprisingly roomy four-person freshman dorm suite.

Now: Tana may have been socially inept, but she was always super smart, and graduated on track at the same time as Rory, with a degree in cognitive science. She married her longtime boyfriend two years after leaving Yale, and they moved to his hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Beau Belleville

Then: Jackson’s older, creepy brother, who was told by good old Rune that Lorelai was a nympho – which did the opposite of turn him off.

Now: Beau never quite settled down – he had a very long on-and-off relationship with a woman named Tammy, but it never seemed to stick, for some reason. He still refers to Lorelai as “The One That Got Away”.

Paul Anka

Then: An adorable, yet rather ill-advised adoption on Lorelai’s behalf, she welcomed the weird and quirky dog Paul Anka into her life while she and Rory had The Fight.

Now: Surprisingly, still alive.