On The Last Four Words Of The 'Gilmore Girls' Finale

After eight years of waiting for our favorite fast talking, coffee-loving, quick-witted mother-daughter duo to return to our television screens, we finally received some sort of closure in the Netflix revival: Gilmore Girls: A Year in The Life.

Here's a quick recap of that final scene in case you need to relive the astonishment one more time:

Rory: Mom?

Lorelai: Yeah?

Rory: I'm pregnant.

Roll credits

You see, Amy Sherman-Palladino left Gilmore Girls before the seventh season and was replaced by David S. Rosenthal. When Amy left, she took with her those those four, fateful final words that she planned to end the beloved series with. Finally, the Netflix revival was her chance to end the series the way she intended. The reason for a bombshell like this, though? 

Because it all comes full circle.

We all can agree that Amy is a genius. She's responsible for creating these characters that have become our best friends, our role-models. She has helped us grow up and witness the success and failures of these wonderful women. With that being said, she intentionally wanted the show to end this way to show that their flawed, yet beautiful story will continue with a next-generation Gilmore.

It is imperative that we look at this finale in contrast to its original finale, "Bon Voyage." At the end of this finale, we watch Rory as she leaves to take on her first reporting job, after years of hard work and dedication to her future as a journalist. This finale was not conclusive. We were excited to see Rory head off to fulfill her dreams, but something was missing: Stars Hollow; the small, quaint town that Rory is bound to live a happy life in with her family and friends.

Flash forward to the latest finale and we have a pregnant Rory. At 32 years old, Rory has accomplished some great feats such as attending Yale University, reporting on Obama's campaign and getting her work published in The New Yorker (as raved about by Luke).

At the same time, Rory has also struggled. She didn't fulfill her big dreams of working for a major newspaper and refuses anything less than greatness.  At this point in her life, she has been working as a freelance writer and investing so much of herself that it consumes her life. Not only does she struggle with job security, but she also gets involved with Logan Huntzberger and stays with him in London, despite the fact that he's engaged to a French heiress. Oh, Rory.

Needless to say, a year back in the life of the Gilmore girls has us laughing, crying, screaming, laughing, and crying again. Why does Amy make all of her ambitious female characters pregnant? In Rory's case, it's more than just  "coming full circle" and mirroring her mother. She makes great accomplishments, but there's no doubt that she's lost and needs purpose. 

While the ending of "Bon Voyage" is about Rory's personal journey to fulfill her ambitions, "Fall" serves the journey of the Gilmore family. Family is what the show is truly about, which makes sense that it is the way it should end. Not only will Rory Gilmore make an incredible mother, but Lorelai and Luke will have a child in their lives that does not involve the intervention of Paris Geller. After the loss of her husband, Emily Gilmore will be delighted (after her initial shock) to witness the circle of life continue within the Gilmore family.

Most importantly, this ending is the only way we can continue the beautiful, generational story of the women we have grown up watching. As we have witnessed over time with the Lorelai and Luke saga, the reality of life is that it takes time for things to fall into place and perhaps a baby is what it takes for Rory Gilmore to finally figure out what she is meant to be after all: a mother.

[Photo via Netflix]