I waited 9 years to return to Stars Hollow and upon arrival, I found that not much had changed.

And while my return was quite lovely, I do have to admit, watching four 90-minute episodes in one sitting is quite tiring. Thankfully, I had a little help from my friends: pop-tarts, Chinese food, pizza, red vines and lastly, the Lorelai to my Rory aka, my best friend. There was absolutely was no way I’d let the internet spoil those last 4 words for me… that being said….

SPOILERS AHEAD!

STOP READING IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED “GILMORE GIRLS: A YEAR IN THE LIFE.”

We kick things off with a magical winter in our favorite small city town. Rory stops by for just “one day” before catching her red eye back out to London, which we all assumed was to go visit her BF Logan. And well, we weren’t wrong, but it wasn’t all that it seemed either.

Rory was “dating” Logan but under the “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” rule. In fact, she had a whole new boyfriend entirely when she was in the states! His name was Paul… or Pete… or Pat…whatever! He wasn’t memorable and he definitely wasn’t Logan Huntzberger so he didn’t matter. We only saw him twice in the series but his presence was felt throughout all 4 parts, simply because Rory kept “forgetting” to break up with him, until he eventually did it for her.

As for Logan, well, he’s ENGAGED to some French heiress named Odette but still having a rendez-vous with Rory and it’s all EXTREMELY annoying because if you’re like me, you found yourself screaming “can they just be together,” several times throughout the course of the series. But of course, that wasn’t an option because that would make Rory’s love life less complicated. Instead, they’d sneak in nightly calls and secret meetings because their relationship was so under the radar, Rory didn’t even tell her mom, which was probably the most shocking part of it all.

Rory wasn’t doing too well in the career department either.  She had one great “New Yorker” piece that Luke couldn’t stop raving about and she was penning a book that eventually fell through because the woman was a drunk. Figures. As Rory saw her job prospects withering away, she began to feel like quite the failure – also a characteristic we’re not used to seeing from the Yale-graduate. “Everyone around me can smell it,” Rory told Jess as she threw her hands up in defeat as he visited her at her glorious, un-paid job as editor of the Stars Hollow gazette.

Now, Jess might have been the resident bad boy but he’s turned over quite the new leaf. In fact, the best thing he ever did was give Rory a new outlook on life. “Write a book about you and your mother,” he told her over lunch, which consisted of scotch because, obviously. How brilliant is that idea? We love the show because of the incredible bond these two women have. And who else could tell the story better that Rory herself? Despite objections from Lorelai, who felt it was too invasive into her personal life, Rory called the book “Gilmore Girls.” An apt name, don’t you think?

Her new career move was definitely fitting considering she’d “read every single book.” Dean’s words, not mine. Her encounter with her “first true love” at the grocery store may have been brief but necessary for two reasons – his role in her life shaped her to become who she is and no one can visit the town without running into their ex, who has 3 children plus one on the way, by the way. Dean’s been a very busy man!

Jess’s book idea also saved Rory from getting her masters and teaching at Chilton. While I don’t doubt Rory would have been a great teacher, it wasn’t her calling and she would not have been happy with it. The kids would have been though because that would mean less advice from Paris, who clearly does NOT have it all together. Yes, Paris Geller hasn’t changed a bit… and that might be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it.

Paris played a much larger role in the revival than I anticipated, providing the best moment – her kicking the bathroom door to keep the students from coming in and seeing her total meltdown which consisted of her admitting she’s a phony with an empty briefcase and confessing that she’s still in love with Doyle.

Overachieving and brash Paris is now the head of one of the best surrogacy agency’s and offered to help out Luke and Lorelai, who were curious about their options of having children this late in the game after Emily called out her daughter for only ever caring about what she wanted and never considering Luke’s desire for children.

Luke unfortunately had trouble understanding how this whole surrogacy thing works (no, you don’t sleep with all these women) objected to the idea, which was probably for the best because neither of them are at a point in their lives where they need kids. In fact, Luke finally all he needs to be happy in this life is Lorelai and his wi-fi-less diner. Not multiple diners either, which became an option after Richard left him a trust of money to franchise his shop as his dying wish. Eventually, that money went to Lorelai to help her expand the Dragonfly Inn and hopefully keep Michel as an employee, cause you know no one can replace him!

Edward Hermann’s death was devastating but it helped set the tone for the revival as much of it focused on how Richard’s death affected all 3 generations of the Gilmore Girls, especially his wife Emily. At first, she’s a mess four months after his death – she’s depressed, unable to get out of bed and isolating herself. It doesn’t help that her relationship with Lorelai is even more strained and damage because of her inability to tell a warm story about her father at his funeral, mumbling only of the bad times where he “left.”

As the seasons change however, Emily flourishes into a widow who is enjoying life and cutting out the bullshit… literally. The first thing she drops is her DAR meetings. She then sells the house that “hasn’t felt like home since Richard’s death,” buys their vacation how in Nantucket and gets a job as a presenter at a Whale exhibit. She’s no longer the high-maintenance, nose in the air Emily we’ve come to know, but she’s become more lovable, approachable and pleasant. She’s even wearing TENNIS SHOES and for a brief but misguided moment, JEANS!

Lorelai goes through ups and downs just like the other two leading women but in the end, finally gets her happy ending with the man of her dreams, Luke. About damn time right? They’ve always had a relationship that was distant – never allowing themselves in too much – despite being together. For most of the episodes, Emily referred to them as roommates so it was nice to see Lorelai get a moment of clarity and explain that what she wanted more than anything was to get married. And heck, why wait till the suns up for a full on wedding ceremony, complete with a white dress and tux? That’s so not Lorelai’s style. Instead, the two tied the knot in the middle of the night in a beautifully decorated and lit up town square… thanks to Kirk and his pig, Petal. (That short movie though….)

While Lorelai got the man, Rory had to say goodbye to hers. I like Logan for her I really do, but was so frustrated with his “you have to accept that I’m getting married, but we can still have an affair attitude.” It’s SO CLEAR that he still loves her – he’d do anything for her, even come to Stars Hollow for a night of salsa dancing and shenanigans with the Life and Death Brigade aka the secret society formed at Yale. But all good things must come to an end and when he refuses to call off his wedding to be with her, she realizes it’s time to end things.

But can we be sure it’s goodbye for good? Those last 4 words might change everything between the two of them. Let’s re-live them shall we?

Rory: Mom…

Lorelai: Yeah?

Rory: I’m pregnant.

Bomb. Dropped.

Were those 4 words as intense as described? Possibly…. but only if you interpreted them the way Amy Sherman-Palladino wanted you to. At some point, you had to expect that Rory would be pregnant right? But the words play into the situation that Rory finds herself in because it mimics her mother’s life completely.

There are currently two men in love with Rory, both of whom have their pros and cons – Jess and Logan. One of them is the baby daddy, presumably Logan (or the wookie, but she’d be showing), since she slept with him last. The other, Jess, is still in love with her, despite saying he’s not. And of course, there’s single pregnant Rory, who is Lorelai, except not 16.

This of course means we NEED another season right? We need to see how this all plays out. How does Rory handle the pregnancy? Do they confirm Logan is the father? Does she tell him? Does she tell him but not allow him to be a part of the baby’s life like Lorelai did to Christopher? There’s a reason she had the convo with her dad right before Lorelai’s wedding! Will it be a girl – a fourth Gilmore Girl? Will it be a boy and will they name him Richard?

The bad news though is that this could also mean this is the end of Gilmore Girls because it’s all the closure we need – everything comes full circle. We know Lorelai will be okay and we know Rory will because her mother went through this same thing….  she has someone to guide her through it all, no matter what choice she makes.

In the end, we came. We saw. We laughed. We cried. We grieved. We reminisced. And we wondered, who the hell is Paul. And while so many things changed, so many things stayed the same. It may have been years since we last saw the girls, but the revival made sure, nothing skipped a beat.

Other Thoughts

• Lane and Zack are still going strong and def still making sweet music together.
• We finally saw Mr. Kim who I never even knew existed.
• Sookie and Lorelai are friendship goals.
• Hopefully Lorelai’s Dragonfly Inn expansion forces Michel to stay cause lets be honest, no one can take his place.
• April is one odd child, sorry Luke!
• Taylor needs some new hobbies. Seriously, I loved everything about this revival but the whole Stars Hollow musical had to go. Maybe it would have been okay if it didn’t take up a whole 10 minutes but it felt redundant… almost like a time filler. NEXT.
• I found it hilarious to watch Gilmore Girls now that I watch Pretty Little Liars and know that bell tower is the one that killed Charlotte. Just saying.
• Edward (Richard) is probably smiling down from heaven right now.
• Kirk’s “ooo ber” was such a huge highlight.
• Is anyone else upset we never actually saw Odette? I would have liked to know who she was and put a face to a name.