Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life Leaves Viewers Wanting More With Four Words

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Photo by: Charley Hrobsky

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life surprised viewers with laughs and tears within four seasons.

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life premiered on Netflix on Black Friday, the perfect weekend for NHS students to binge-watch a much anticipated show set in Stars Hollow mirroring the community of Neenah, Wis.

The show left no one upset by bringing back original cast members. Gilmore Girls’ fans feared a recasting of one beloved character: Richard Gilmore played by Edward Herrmann, who died on Dec. 31, 2014. Instead, Amy Sherman-Palladino, writer, allowed viewers and cast to mourn Herrmann’s death through Richard Gilmore’s funeral flashback prompted by a wall-sized portrait commissioned by Emily Gilmore, Richard’s wife. Through many tears from viewers and emotional speeches from the cast, Herrmann and his character received the funeral he deserved for his seven seasons on the original Gilmore Girls.

With concordance to the original series, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life brought back three of Rory Gilmore’s main boyfriends and introduced one new boyfriend, Paul. Initially, the introduction of the forever-forgotten Paul gave viewers laughs until their stomachs hurt. Eventually, however, Paul became forgotten by the viewers and broke up with Rory with a briefly mentioned text message. Throughout her relationship with Paul, Rory visits old college boyfriend Logan in his apartment despite his engagement to another woman. Logan and Rory’s affair reflects that of Dean and Rory’s affair in season four, which made viewers question just how little Rory’s 32-year-old self is different from herself during her twenties. After Logan introduces himself in the first episode, “Winter,” Dean makes a brief appearance quickly followed by Jess, who makes more of a concrete appearance. By the end of the limited-time series, viewers have hope or despair at Jess perhaps becoming a more permanent appearance in Rory’s life with his renewed interest in her.

Lorelai and Luke’s romantic ending in the original series flows into Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. Through Emily’s influence and a tumultuous episode, the duo declare an engagement to the entire town of Stars Hollow toward the end of the four-part event. Much like the first time, both consider eloping after the stress of the wedding begins to weigh down on the couple, but the end result differs. In a happier moment, the two decide to marry the night before the wedding with just enough witnesses and the priest in the town square full of the wedding decorations prepared for the next day. After tears of joy flow down viewers’ eyes, four words break them apart.

Finally, the moment every viewer anticipated and dreaded: the final four words. If you have not watched all the episodes yet, stop over to this book compilation for the holidays and avoid the spoilers. The final four words of the limited-time series come from a conversation between the two Lorelais revealing Rory’s pregnancy. After taking a step back, many viewers see how writers wanted the story to come full circle from the pilot episode of Gilmore Girls when Lorelai is 32-years-old, same age as Rory in the new series. The father of the child is no question for viewers who paid attention when one takes out Rory’s one-night stand with the Wookiee which leaves only Logan, engaged to another woman, to be the father.

With the new Netflix limited series, Gilmore Girls‘ fans hope for a continuation of the series because of its popularity with the last four words and nostalgia fully returned.