Spoiler Alert: This article contains information about "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life." So, if you don't want to know anything about the episodes, especially the last four words, you should probably stop reading.
I saw there were just a few minutes of the final episode of "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life" left to go. I sat up straight and leaned closer to the screen. Lorelai and Rory were sitting and having a conversation. This is when it was going to happen. The last four words of the series that fans had been waiting ten years to hear were finally going to be spoken.
I started counting. Five words. Six words. Two words. Three words. What on earth were they going to be?
I only had two guesses: "Will you marry me?" or "I love you, too." I was leaning toward the latter as I saw the show would end with just the mother and daughter that I had grown to love so dearly.
And then it happened:
"Mom."
"Yeah?"
"I'm pregnant."
And the screen went dark.
The following is a very true account of how I reacted to the last four words: I screamed twice. Then ran into the other room to scream some more. Then I laid in the floor and burst into tears. I stood back up and couldn't make it very far before I burst into tears again.
It had hit me. The show that I have loved for around seven years was over. And it had ended perfectly.
Now, I know this might not be the most popular opinion to hold. This doesn't surprise me, as I am one of the few that loves the ending of "How I Met Your Mother." But just hear me out.
Rory and Lorelai have a bond that is unmatched. They were best friends from the moment 16-year-old Lorelai gave birth to Rory. Their relationship has stood the test of time. These two have laughed, cried, and fought over their bra sizes. And now they get to venture into an entirely new world of friendship as Rory raises a baby of her own.
A lot of people will likely criticize the ending because so many kids want to break the stigma that they will follow in the footsteps of their parents. But in the pilot episode of the original "Gilmore Girls," when Luke tells Rory she doesn't want to be like her mother, she replies, "Sorry. Too late."
And this situation does greatly mirror the one Lorelai was in. Rory becomes pregnant with the child of a privileged guy that she can't be with and will likely raise her baby without him, especially after the conversation she had with her father. She will raise that baby while Jess looks on from afar, just like Luke waited for Lorelai. And if she has a daughter, Rory and that little girl will probably become the best of friends.
But there are also so many differences. Rory has a relationship with her mother so unlike the one Lorelai had with Emily. Luke and Lorelai will be there every step of the way, and Emily, as well. Rory will have a massive support system where Lorelai's was sorely lacking. Rory is also thirty-two now instead of sixteen. She has a smash hit of a book in the works. She is much better prepared and so capable of being a wonderful mother, just like her mother was.
At the point in which the show ends, Rory's life hasn't turned out the way she, or a great deal of viewers, ever anticipated. And a lot of people are probably expecting more episodes to come.
But I don't think that is necessary. Amy Sherman-Palladino, the creator of "Gilmore Girls," has had this ending planned for years. Everything isn't tied up in a neat bow, but we are capable of drawing our own conclusions.
Lorelai is happy. Luke is happy. Even Kirk is happy. And I am confident that Rory is on a journey towards happiness. She doesn't need a man right now. She has Lorelai. That is all she needs, and that is all she has ever needed. And she's going to be a mother that has learned from one of the best.
It may have taken me some time to process the last four words, but I think they were the perfect ending to the best show I have ever watched.
And yes, I am sad that the show is over. But when I feel sad, I will just say, "Oy with the poodles already." Because it's impossible to not smile when saying the funniest catchphrase known to man.