When Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life came out in 2016, I was underwhelmed. Disappointed and frustrated? Like a lot more frustrated than I was by the vile season seven situation.

Tonight as I was sipping on some mint tea and letting my mind wander, maybe it’s the goldenrod pollen clouding my judgement, but as I sat and let my mind unwind, I pondered Gilmore Girls. In the background Florida and Tennessee play and a myriad of commercials clutter the game, including a Dancing with the Stars commercial featuring Alyson Hannigan who portrayed Lily on How I Met Your Mother. I remembered how much I disliked Lily and preferred Robin, yet now in 2023 I can’t see past the painful “not like other girls’ characterization of Robin. Then I thought of Rory. How Rory is special, that phrase hovers in the wings of every episode. But why is Rory special? Is she ” not like other girls”? Or maybe she is designated as special because the ending of Gilmore Girls ingeniously makes the odd writing make sense? Could it?

Hear me out, the ending that Rory writes a book about their lives called “Gilmore Girls” as the wrap up to the story was a bit on the nose for me. I found it a cop out to the illustrious future she was supposed to have and questioned whether this whole reboot was a cash grab (before that became a trend in the 2020s) and not a way for Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino to get redemption for season seven and wrap up their show their way. I doubted and I scoffed. I questioned the whole revisit to Stars Hollow and have shunned it from Gilmore Girls cannon.

In the years since, I have struggled with stomaching Rory’s behavior and the self-centeredness of the Gilmore Girls throughout the series as their actions are brushed off and accepted as frickin’ adorable even when they are out of line. Maybe it was maturity or the reboot left a bad taste in my mouth? I’m not sure. Currently I stop my Gilmore Girls re-watches at the end of season five because Rory and Lorelai’s falling out in season six felt too close to some of my own personal issues. The Huntzberger drama and Luke’s daughter, the marriage of Chris and Lorelai, Lane and Zach’s marriage, etc. It’s all bad. So I end my journey at the end of season five and hope that Rory really doesn’t drop out of Yale and act like such an entitled brat in season six. I know it’s silly but I grew up with Rory’s story arc and she was a character I wanted to be more like. I wanted to be driven and achieve great things and early Rory was kind, thoughtful of others, I wanted to be like that. She doesn’t stay that way, she becomes a bit of a monster, yet her world doesn’t see her that way. How does that work? It’s one of the biggest plot holes to me, unless the ending of the reboot makes it make sense.

If Rory indeed wrote the Gilmore Girls story, then her main character energy would make sense. Her behavior would be excused by her bias. The town, friends, and family would revolve around her in her world and it would justify her inability to take criticism, because why would she need it if she is writing her “truth”.

The bizarre reflection of her choices and decisions that always come up smelling like roses no matter how bad her decisions are (like her affair with Dean) all seem plausible now. The magnetic energy of Lorelai and how she is the “queen” of Stars Hollow would also make sense because she sees Lorelai as her hero. Those behind the scenes out of character sweet moments from Emily and Richard, seem like wishful thinking instead of reflecting how manipulative they choose to be. It all makes sense. Even Christopher’s docile portrayal of not being that bad of a guy, even though he abandoned them, I mean I always wished for that from my dad. In the bad times, as a kid, I’d try to paint him in a better light.

It’s interesting to think of at least that maybe all the ugly of the final seasons of Gilmore Girls actually wraps up into something that makes sense. Rory paints herself into someone we like, a unicorn that everyone loves because she is telling the story and that is how it all weaves together after all. Something to think about at least as I rewatch the series again this fall.

Have you ever watched Gilmore Girls? If so did you like the reboot? Do you like the character of Rory through the entire series?