The day has arrived. The seasons went by. The last four words were said. A year in the life. And it was so complicated.
First off, props to the creative mind behind our teenage obsession - Amy Palladino - for bringing us along in this beautiful, dramatic and fascinating 16-year journey. From all the TV series that made my adolescence less painful, yours is definitely on the top of the list.
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Now that I have made my appreciation for Amy very clear, let's take a moment to analyze some of the wonderful characters she has created in Gilmore Girlsand how they changed in A Year In The Life:
Logan is the person we will all have at some point in our lives. That person will show up on your porch in the middle of the night, and not matter how long it has been or how wrong do you think it is, you'll always ask them to come in.
Dean is the same nice young fella that every good girl will take for granted. Rory is lucky he was her first love. First lovers almost always bring the hardest headache. But not Dean. He is the perfect guy, just not for Rory.
Jess always knows what to do to make Rory find herself again. He comes back when she needs someone to put her back in the right track again. Jess knows her in a way Logan never will. When it comes to challenging Rory, he never failed. Team Jess, all the way!
Luke is still the same person we fell in love throughout the seasons. He got Lorelai's back. He got Rory's back. He got Taylor's back. He got Jess' back. He got all of our backs. He will never leave. He will never think about leaving. We all, consciously or not, search for someone like him to have by our side. Like it or not, Luke is the best character of this show.
Nine years later, Emily showed us a side of her we didn't know. Grief does change you. I used to hate her character when I was younger because I saw in her so much of the pressure that my own mother put on me that I forgot to turn the other side of the coin. Emily, I owe you an apology.
Lorelai, Lorelai... I always find myself wondering what to say to make justice to the complexity yet simplicity of her character. I feel like we will all have a Lorelai moment sometime in our lives. Hell, some of us will be Lorelai ourselves. She is such an honest, raw and simple character that sometimes I refuse to think she came out of someone's imagination. Her ambition and courage are what started this show and I can't think of a better person to bring her to live than Lauren Graham. Man, that woman transformed this character in a way I predict not even Amy saw it coming.
Rory is 32 years old. I don't know about you, but it took me all four episodes to finally come to terms with that. When I was 15 I saw Rory as the perfect teenager role model. I knew I would never be that way and I confess I kind of felt ashamed because of it. Today, I saw parts of her that I see every day in the mirror: worthless diploma/ no job/ no clue on what to do with my life/ going back home/ writing a book. 32-year-old Rory is way more relatable - probably the most relatable character of the show. It is safe to say we were all tired of seeing the perfect princess getting everything she fought so hard for - that's not how it goes in real life. It has been so magical to see all the ups and downs of her character. The daughter that so many times were more mature than the mother ended up with the same destiny. "Where you lead, I'll follow you." Rory deserved more. But I get what Amy did. I think the point she dreamed of making since she left the show (and our hearts) in 2006, is that Stars Hollow is Rory's place. And when a place is yours, it is hard to go on with your life somewhere else. Rory being pregnant doesn't mean she will 100% move back to her little hometown in Connecticut, but her comeback proved to be the changing point of her entire life. A place for sure can change you.
Yes, this revival answered so many questions after a disappointing last season nine years ago. And I don't think I'm the only one to find it fascinating how, with just four little words, they were capable of giving us so many more than the last time it ended.
Knowing we won't ever get them answered, every single fan who grew up entertained by the show will now have to live the rest of their lives with both Rory's last words and Lorelai's shocked face stuck in their memories.
We'll never get an end. And maybe that's the greatest end of all. Rory and Lorelai are growing old with us, and maybe that's how it should be. While they are out in Stars Hollow, we are here in our little or big towns fighting our own battles, sometimes not very different from them.
These 360 minutes of nostalgia has given me such a clearer view of my own life. Gilmore Girls are not only Lorelai and Rory. Gilmore Girls are us. We're all Gilmore Girls. When we watch our lives falling apart right in front of us while we decide to just take another sip of coffee. When we figure out the pain that has been hurting us for so long is only a reflection of our pride. When we keep making the same mistakes over and over again to only figure out how wrong it is when it is too late.
We're all Gilmore Girls and this is not the end. Stars Hollow will always be much alive in our hearts.
