What is the “Bad Boy” Trope?
It’s a trope often employed in stories where a male character is introduced who is in every sense of the word “trouble”. He is a young delinquent, who commits crimes, smokes, wears a leather jacket, sleeps around and has no interest in being in a relationship. He may or may not be secretly intelligent, but he almost always has moments of vulnerability because he has a troubled past or bad home life. These moments exist because the bad boy always comes into the story to tempt the curiosity of the good girl. She is attracted to him for his stoic, devil-may-care, trouble making spirit, and either peeks his interest or tries to convince him she’s worth his time. The good girl then gently uncovers the troubled heart of the bad boy and redeems him through love, turning him into a half decent guy.
Reasons Why Jess Mariano Plays Into the “Bad Boy” Trope
1) he moves to the small town from the big city
2) he gels his hair like an 80s greaser
3) he’s hostile and antisocial towards other people
4) he’s stoic and silent
5) he has a bad home life
6) he smokes, skips school, and participates in petty misdemeanors
7) he has a leather jacket
8) literally everyone in the small town thinks he’s a bad boy
9) he’s actually really smart and likes to read
10) his favorite authors are iconoclasts (ugh, Jess)
11) he’s interested in the “good girl”
12) he has his moments where he’s actually a sweet guy and he has moments where he is vulnerable
Reasons Why Jess Mariano Play Out of the “Bad Boy” Trope
1) he actually doesn’t have a leather jacket until season 4
2) he’s hostile and antisocial but sometimes he’s just plain socially awkward
3) almost all of the “crimes” he commits are just pranks (given a perspective shift by the surrounding characters, he could just as much a jokester character as a criminal)
4) his stoic and silent attitude is carbon copied after his uncle who is decidedly not a “bad boy” trope and is the male hero of the show
5) the other characters in the show are “genre savvy” to him being a “bad boy” which is usually a writing indication that they are at least partially wrong
6) he actually wants to exclusively date the “good girl”, rather than having to be convinced by her that he should “settle down”
7) almost every story moment highlighting his troubled past exists between him and any character but the “good girl”, same for over half of his moments of vulnerability
8) as an extension of that, almost every story moment that brings up his troubled past and bad home life, either develops his character arc independently of the “good girl” or is introduced to cause problems in their relationship (when in normal “bad boy” stories they would exist to further the “good girl”s role of “redeeming” or “saving” him)
9) when these problems are introduced they are specifically shown to be beyond what a normal teenage relationship can handle
10) the bulk of his character maturation develops between him and his father figure, not him and the “good girl”
11) his “bad boy” character becomes reformed in part off screen and in part from other character relationships, not from love redeeming him. well, love redeems him through familial relationships primarily, not through a relationship with the “good girl”
12) he never tempts the “good girl” to get in trouble
This is just a partial list, so feel free to think of more things.
But as you can see, Jess matches the “Bad Boy” trope almost entirely in superficial traits, and then ends up subverting what makes up the true heart of the trope, through how actual storylines play out and character relationships develop
And this is actually a trend you can see in the writing of most characters in Gilmore Girls.
