Why Gilmore Girls’ frustrating four word farewell worked

Obligatory SPOILER warning: as the above title suggests the following article discusses the ending of the ‘Gilmore Girls’. If you’ve not seen it yet then you probably shouldn’t read ahead. Instead, grab a coffee, get cosy, and watch the final four episodes of the delightful comedy drama.

It might not feel like it at the moment, but the ‘Gilmore Girls’ revival had everything that we wanted. It was funny, effortlessly heart-warming and rousing with drama, especially when it came to one scene, which only needed four words to leave fans beside themselves.

“Mum.” “Yeah?” “I’m pregnant.” Cut to black. Cue all the emotions. While the revelation that Rory is pregnant wasn’t too much of a shock, the fact that we weren’t given any more time to digest it or were even told who the father was felt like a punch to the gut.

That was the immediate reaction anyway. But after having some time to process it you can’t help but conclude that’s exactly what made it so special. While this might sound a bit callous, in the context of ‘Gilmore Girls’ who the father was doesn’t really matter. This was a show about Rory and Lorelai, and the closeness and bond between them that subverted pretty much every other mother and daughter relationship we’d seen on TV before.

As a viewer you can’t help but pine to see how that evolves now that we know Rory is pregnant, and that Lorelai is going to be a grandmother, but the fact that Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino have left so many unanswered questions and the ripe potential for further stories that only viewers themselves can imagine means that ‘Gilmore Girls’ will continue on even though the episodes have come to an end. There’s just too much love, camaraderie and affection in this world and amongst these characters for it not to have a life of its own.

Co-creator Dan Palladino justified the conclusion to BuzzFeed News, admitting, “We didn’t do it to drive people crazy. It felt right for Rory not to solve everything in this journey.”

Amy Sherman-Palladino, who created Gilmore Girls alongside her husband, also discussed why it was the right way for the show to bow out with The Hollywood Reporter, explaining, “When we picked those words and we went down that path, it just felt right then and it actually feels even more right now especially because Rory is older.”

“She’s the same age Lorelai was when the show started. It really does feel a little Lion King-y, the whole circle of life.”

But could there be further episodes that do explore Rory’s life as a parent? Amy Sherman-Palladino wouldn’t rule it out, even though she admitted ‘Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life’ was pitched and written as, “This is the year in the life. This is the way it was ending.”

Obviously there are plenty of fans that would love to see more, but with the show having currently ended on such a perfect knife-edge of tease and delight there’s every chance that returning to Stars Hollow again could be one step too far. Sometimes it’s just better to actually let things be.

[Images via Netflix]