When you take a good long look at Bonnie Winterbottom on How to Get Away with Murder, it isn’t hard to imagine that her path is one Paris Gellar could have walked quite easily.
Any good Gilmore Girls fan knows that Paris Geller was absolutely capable of murder, and if it weren’t for her friendship with Rory Gilmore, probably would have snapped at some point.
Taking that into consideration, it isn’t too far of a stretch to consider that Paris’ life might have looked a bit like Bonnie’s if Rory never came to Chilton. Here are five reasons why we believe that Bonnie Winterbottom could easily be Paris Geller.
1. Law School
In season 7 of Gilmore Girls, Paris decides to follow her dreams of becoming a doctor, but has the option of law school as well. It’s not hard to imagine that if Paris never met Rory, she may have chosen law over medicine. After all, Paris wanted success and security more than anything, and a career in law would provide those without the pesky bedside manner required of pretty much any type of doctor. Rory always had a humanizing effect on Paris, so it’s not hard to imagine that without the kind-hearted Rory to teach her softer ways, maybe Paris would grow up and harden to the person Bonnie has become.
2. Bonnie’s friendless existence
Let’s face it. Beyond Annalise and Frank (and sleeping with Asher), we don’t see Bonnie interacting with anyone else. Annalise seems to have friends and colleagues galore, and even Frank has a contact or two, but beyond her interactions with Asher, she only speaks to the interns, clients, or Annalise. Paris didn’t really have time for friends before Rory. She had minions afraid of her and willing to accompany her into whatever crazy plan she needed assistance with in Madeline and Louise, but we wouldn’t call them friends of hers. They merely knew Paris’ worth and were happy to go along with her quest for excellence. Bonnie’s lack of friends is just one more thing the two have in common.
3. Ruthlessness
Paris was never afraid to do what was right by her. She was ruthless when it came to academics, and didn’t let up when it came to extracurricular activities and volunteer work. She wanted to be the best, and it didn’t really matter to her who she might step on to get what she wanted. Again, this quality softened a little here and there thanks to Rory’s influence, but if Rory hadn’t ever met Paris, we could see her demeanor morphing into the calculated woman Bonnie has proven to be.
4. Smart and eager
Paris was nothing if not incredibly intelligent and eager to not only please her teachers, but go above and beyond. She never did anything halfway when she could make binders, meet with a focus group, write four drafts, and take an informal poll instead. Prior to the distractions the Keating 5 have brought into Annalise’s life (particularly the whole covering up Sam’s murder bit), Bonnie was a trusted member of the team. She, Frank, and Annalise seemed to know exactly what each of their roles were, and Bonnie was a valuable member. Lately things have been strained, but her intelligence is definitely not what caused it.
5. Problem solver
Okay, so Paris Geller never killed anyone. We all may have known her to be capable of it, but there weren’t any murderers on Gilmore Girls. Anyone watching How to Get Away with Murder knows that Bonnie has crossed that line. She has taken a life, but she did it to solve a problem for Annalise that she couldn’t see another way around. Paris was nothing if not a problem solver. She certainly didn’t care if her solutions caused issues for anyone else as long as they solved whatever dilemma she was facing.
There are certainly a lot of similarities between Bonnie Winterbottom and Paris Geller. Until we learn more about Bonnie, it may be hard to separate them in our brains. Same actress, same drive, and same intelligence can make it easy to wonder if we are watching what the adult world could have been like for Paris if Rory had just stayed at Stars Hollow High.
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