- "You! You can make fun of me all you want to today, 'cause today I am a god. Today, Mother Nature has bowed down to me"
- —Jackson to Michel about his rasquat joy[src]
Jackson Belleville is a recurring character on Gilmore Girls. He is portrayed by Jackson Douglas.
Character[]
Jackson is a farmer and the produce supplier for the Independence Inn and later at the Dragonfly Inn. Jackson is a friendly, happy guy, but also witty, with a sarcastic sense of banter with Sookie and Lorelai. As his and Sookie's relationship becomes a marriage, Jackson is a bit more subdued toward the women. He sometimes tends to live his own world, his reaction to Sookie first telling him she's pregnant to cram numbers and retreat into his head for a while.[1] He's also very protective and supportive of his wife[2] and likes to joke around with his friends[3], and develops a good friendship with Lorelai. He frequently gets into fights with Sookie about the quality of his vegetables.
He had a beard in the beginning of the show, then later shaved it off after marrying Sookie St-James
Story[]
Jackson is introduced in the series as the producer supplier of the Independence Inn where he frequently banters with Sookie, the head chef, about the quality of his produce.
When Sookie realizes she has feelings for him, she shyly asks him out.[4] It takes a little bit of time for them to work up the courage to schedule the date, partly due to Jackon's cousin Rune crashing at his place and taking up his spare time. Sookie suggests they double date with Rune and Lorelai which the latter reluctantly agrees to. After an incredibly awkward start to the date and Rune bailing on the group, the new couple finally have a chance to relax and bond at Luke's.[5] Their relationship blossoms from there as a happy, committed couple until they hit a snag when Jackson hints about him giving up his current apartment so he can move into Sookie's house. Sookie hesitates to take the bait, Jackson refuses to buy her basket at the Bid on a Basket Fundraiser until the pair finally talk it out. He has to buy the basket back from townie Kirk, so he can enjoy a picnic lunch with Sookie. It's during this picnic that Jackson rescinds his suggestion to move in with Sookie, much to her surprise, only to switch gears to a marriage proposal. Sookie tearfully accepts. They marry in a beautiful, spring, outdoor ceremony at the Independence Inn, and Jackson moves in with Sookie.[6]
Not long after their wedding in They Shoot Gilmores, Don't They?, Jackson declares he wants to have "four in four," meaning four children in four years. This shocks Sookie who quickly agrees to it despite not wanting that many children that quickly. After finding out she confided in Lorelai about their plans to reproduce, Jackson gets angered at his wife, but the two come back to mutual terms on having children in time. In The Big One, Sookies discovers she's pregnant with their first child, and Jackson panics at first as he calculates their finances, considers adding on an expansion to the house, and wanting to immediately baby-proof their home. Sookie fears he doesn't actually want the baby, but Jackson later reassures him that he's excited. He even later declares that he wants to go the traditional route of waiting until he birth to find out the sex of his baby (even with Sookie already knowing). He chooses the name Davey for a boy and Colgate for a girl. Particularly surprising Lorelai, Jackson and Sookie decide to have the baby born at their home instead of the hospital, and Jackson's brother Bo stays with them when Sookie is at her due date. Unfortunately, the delivery is late, causing his brother to miss more time off of work than expected, but she gives birth to their son, Davey, in 2003.
Later, Jackson builds a greenhouse in his backyard so he can grow year-round vegetables, causing Sookie to be joyous at the fact that she's no longer relent on seasons. However, Taylor Doose declares that the greenhouse is too close to their property line, which violates town code, and Jackson would need to tear it down and move it over six inches. This causes Jackson to run in the town election as the next town selectman which he wins by a landslide. On election night, though, Jackson realizes he's in over his head because he actually doesn't want the nomination, but it's too late. The votes are in, and he starts the elective role.[7] The duties of the position heavily take a toll on him, and, off-screen, Taylor takes back the job.
In Norman Mailer, I'm Pregnant!, Sookie realizes she is pregnant with their second child, and she later gives birth to Martha in 2005. On the day of her birth, Sookie tells Jackson that he is to have a vasectomy as she doesn't want anymore children now that she has a boy and a girl. This completely catches Jackson off guard because he had wanted four children, and he reluctantly leaves with "the big nurse" to get the procedure done. Unbeknownst to the new mother, Jackson doesn't get a vasectomy and lies to Sookie.
In 2007, Jackson and Sookie leave their two children with Lorelai for the day while they go skiing together. When Sookie wants to actually go skiing because she didn't like her book, Jackson refuses to let her do so. He also doesn't let her drink. This upsets Sookie who was already having a rough start to the day when she couldn't decide what to wear and cried over leaving her children with Lorelai. They come home early. As Sookie checks on her children, Jackson confesses to Lorelai that he thinks Sookie is pregnant, and he fearfully tells Sookie that is, admitting he did not get the vasectomy done. The shock causes a rift between the couple as Sookie did not want to be pregnant again, especially now that her children were no longer in the "baby stage." Finally, the couple reconcile their issues over Lorelai's broken dollhouse, and Sookie admits she is actually excited about the baby.
Quotes[]
- "You know what, I'm not even gonna charge you for these. I am not going to profit off the death of creativity. I would rather starve myself than know that my food was paid for by the lowered expectations of the American public"
- —Jackson to Sookie[src]
Trivia[]
- Jackson took a lot of courses at a learning center including How To Write A Diary.
- Jackson went to high school with Andrew.[7]
- Jackson's squabbles with Sookie sometimes result in him being rant-prone. This expands to a full blown character trait as the series progresses.
- Among Jackson's famed cross-pollination creations are the (dubbed by Sookie) 'Zucchini tush'[4] and the Rasquat (Raspberry-Kumquat).[8]
- Jackson has a hard time waking up in the morning, half-slumbering on and unable to converse, but recalls conversations in this wakening period some hours, sometimes days, later.[9]
- Jackson was adopted, being mentioned in Always A Godmother, Never A God.
- Jackson likes Red Bulls as a drink.
Photos[]
