Okay so when I was looking for a picture of April I saw so many posts about, “what it’s like to play gilmore girls most hated character,” and, “fans most hated character.” And I honestly cant fathom why. Personally I found her one of, if not, the most relatable characters on the show. Then I realised a possible explanation as to why shes so relatable; were both on the spectrum. And yes, I have receipts.
1.April doesn’t understand social boundaries.
Consider April’s introduction. She walks straight into Luke’s diner, wearing her helmet, asks for his hair, tells him he may be her father, takes a photo, and then walks back out. During this whole plot she doesn’t consider the shock, anger and other emotions that could bubble up when finding out about a daughter you didn’t know you had. Not because she disregards the situation or that she doesn’t care about Luke’s feelings, rather she doesn’t see them in the first place. Luke is, in the most literal sense, a subject in a science experiment, not a potential father figure.
2.Aprils personality is driven by brutal honesty.
Now here you might argue, “okay, but so is Paris’s and Emily’s,” and yes, you’re right. However, when it comes to Paris and emily, they are aware of what they’re saying and they have a motive as to why they’re saying it, usually to judge or critique someone else.
In April’s case, she is only aware of her bluntness because other people made her aware. Also, she doesn’t say anything with a motive, especially not to hurt people, she cant. The words come out naturally without any recognisation of the potential emotional reactions they could cause. She has no filter.
3.She struggles with her peers.
Not many people seem to see how obviously April struggles and the reason seems to be because she doesn’t fulfill the stereotype of someone who is challenged socially – quiet, shy, oblivious to humour, disinterested in friendship. April is outgoing and conversational and has a deep interest in making friends with other people her age. Yet, when it comes to moving to New Mexico, one of her biggest concerns is friends. Saying how she doesn’t want to be friendless or considered a geek again. This shows that shes been isolated socially before and we know that the entire concept of being integrated with her peers was relatively new despite being around for years.
4.Special interests.
What differs April’s intelligence from that of characters like Rory or Paris is the manner in which she learns. When it comes to academics and interests with Rory and Paris they are able to breeze from topic to topic remaining interested but not too invested in whatever it is they’re studying. Also, they’re usually learning something for the sake of school or other similar obligations. April, on the other hand, has interests that play such a big role in her life they dominate entire parts of her personality. The most persistent throughout the show is biology. April doesn’t only learn biology in school, she reads about it, researches it, and talks about it in almost all of her scenes. From genetics to bears to animal cells learning about the things she loves basically consumes her life. And the same focus goes into less relevant topics like colours, words, even people at her new school.
5.April loves details and order.
April spends a large amount of time at Luke’s diner helping with small tasks, the one we know the best is filling the salt and pepper shakers. To other people, especially kids, meticulous tasks like this may seem tedious but to April they’re just as enjoyable as anything else she could be offered because they give her something to focus on that involves order and detail.
6.April struggles with lying and deception.
In the year in the life series we see April struggling with lying about something that no one is questioning her on to the extent that she becomes frantically nervous and has to confide in Rory who is well aware of the fact that she was lying. However, to April the concept of dishonesty is alien and knowing what lies people can detect and what lies people cant is abstract and confusing.
So in conclusion, April Nardini fulfils enough diagnostic criteria to be seen as an autistic character.
