There is plenty to love about Gilmore Girls: the small-town traditions of Stars Hollow, the delicious recipes, Lorelai Gilmore, and Rory Gilmore's boyfriends (although maybe not Rory herself...), just to name a few. After the chaos of Gilmore Girls season 5, veteran and new GG fans alike agree the show's infamous season 7 just didn't have the same heart as the rest of the series (which has always been chalked up to the fact it's the only season showrunner/writer duo Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino aren't involved).
When Netflix gave us Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life in 2016, fans were thrilled to see their favorite characters onscreen again — and then were absolutely shocked at the final four words of the last episode. (At least I was!). Sitting on the steps of the town gazebo, Lorelai and Rory share a cup of coffee before Rory asks, "Mom?" "Yeah," Lorelai says. "I'm pregnant."
While those final four words are the last *official* plot detail we've gotten about Gilmore Girls, there's a new TikTok theory that suggests the news was supposed to come from Lorelai, not Rory. Honestly, it makes more sense than the canonical scene. Here's why.
Image via Saeed Adyani/Netflix
If you're a Gilmore Girls fan, then you know the entire show revolves around the fact that Lorelai had Rory at 16 years old, and all the decisions that came after. Now that the original teens are adults themselves, one general theory fans hold (yours truly included) is that Logan is Rory's Christopher and Jess is Rory's Luke. Those final words from Rory in A Year In The Life echo Lorelai's younger years in a way that brings the show full circle.
However, Gilmore Girls set costumer Valerie Campbell suggests those final words might have been intended for Lorelai, had the show gotten an eighth season like Amy Sherman-Palladino intended. "What if the final four words, which Amy knew from the very beginning of the show, were not meant for Rory to say [and] instead were meant for Lorelai to say?" Valerie proposes in a TikTok video.
Because this hypothetical season 8 would have obviously taken place right after season 7, we would have seen a different arc for each character than we saw in A Year In The Life. Less time would have passed, meaning there would have been less time for people to grow apart or for careers to slip. It also means Lorelai would have been at an age where she was still comfortable having kids herself (because Luke and Lorelai are both in their late 40s in the reboot, they visit Paris Geller's surrogacy clinic!).
Image via Saeed Adyani/Netflix
"I don't think Amy would have really wanted to make Rory pregnant at that age," Valerie continues. "It actually makes more sense that Lorelai would have been the one saying it."
Because we don't have time to see Lorelai's full reaction to the news, I've always thought the moment was more anxious than joyous, that it just conveyed the cyclical nature of life. But having Lorelai say those words instead of Rory would have brought the show full circle in a different — and honestly, more satisfying — way.
Lorelai's life looks completely different at the end of Gilmore Girls than the beginning. If she had been pregnant in season 8, her parents would have been involved in the baby's early life, and Lorelai wouldn't have had the same anxiety about providing for the baby. She would've had a job and a whole community she cared about, and a future with the man she loved. Every detail would have highlighted how much Lorelai has grown, and represented a new beginning for her. I'm getting teary-eyed just thinking about it!
Amy Sherman-Palladino told Vanity Fair another season of A Year In The Life is a possibility, so hopefully we'll get to see Luke and Lorelai raise a baby in the future!
What do you think about this Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life theory? Drop your most memorable line from the show in the comments.
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