By now you've probably heard the lore of Gilmore Girls' "last four words." Show creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband Daniel Palladino had these final four words planned for the ending of their beloved series, but when contract negotiations fell through ahead of the final season and the duo left the show in 2006, the intended closing lines were stashed away, never to be unveiled.
That is, until the Netflix limited series/revival came out in 2016 and the four words were revealed on the steps of the Stars Hollow gazebo.
RORY: Mom?
LORELAI: Yeah?
RORY: I'm pregnant.
When the "Fall" chapter in the miniseries ended, the final, open-ended words were met with a mixed reaction. Some praising the very "Circle of Life" nature of Rory completing her mother's cycle, others disappointed in light of how Lorelai, Richard, and Emily had spent a lifetime trying to see to it that Rory didn't replicated her mother's choices.
For her part, Amy Sherman-Palladino told The Hollywood Reporter that the final four words cemented just how tied the mother-daughter pair really are. "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 said. "She’s the same age Lorelai was when the show started.
In my mind, I do see how Rory's pregnancy encapsulates her journey on Gilmore Girls, and how she really is a mirror of Lorelai in more ways than one. But I think there are a few other four word combos that could have also tied the legacy of the Gilmore girls together. Humor me:
Scenario #1
Rory and Lorelai are sitting on the steps of the gazebo just after dawn, looking around blissfully at the town that sculpted them. Stifling a yawn, Rory turns to Lorelai.
RORY: Wanna get coffee?
Lorelai smiles.
LORELAI: Yeah.
Why these could work: Lorelai and Rory have been coffee fiends since the very first scene of the pilot, where Lorelai begs Luke for her sixth cup of joe. If the series had ended with paying homage to their main source of sustenance, it would have hit the right note of the constant coffee has always been in their lives and always will be.
Scenario #2
Jess stands at the altar next to Lane as one of Luke's groomsman during his and Lorelai's late night marriage ceremony. He looks up at Rory, who at first evades his gaze. But then she meets it, hopeful. He smirks to himself, then looks back at the reverend.
CUT TO: EXT. STARS HOLLOW GAZEBO - EARLY MORNING
Rory and Lorelai are in their same designated spot on the steps. But this time, Luke and Jess walk by on their way to grab coffees. Jess has his arm around Luke's back, patting his uncle to the effect of "you done good." He looks back at Rory, who has been watching the exchange. She grins. He smiles back. Lorelai sips her champagne. Rory turns to her mom.
RORY: Mom.
She pauses.
RORY: He's my Luke.
Why these could work: The show has never been about the boys in their love lives, however, to me, these words also reflect her parallel journey to Lorelai's. Jess still deeply loves Rory, as evidenced by being the one to encourage her to write a book about her relationship with her mom and his longing stare back at her the last time we see him. So as Logan had essentially become Rory's Christopher by the finale — a big love of hers but not the stable man she deserved - so too had Jess become her Luke, the person who aside from her mother, knew, supported, and loved her the most. If we ever do get a second revival, my money is on these two kids coming together after all this time.
Scenario #3
Lorelai, Luke, and Rory are about to head out the door to tie the knot at the late-night wedding ceremony with Reverend Skinner. But before they go, Lorelai has an important long-distance phone call to make. Lorelai picks up the phone.
CUT TO: EXT. NANTUCKET - NIGHT
Emily is sitting outside with her glass of red wine. She sees Lorelai is calling. Emily answers.
She is about to say every possible qualm she has with receiving a phone call at this late of an hour the night before her daughter's wedding - this is an absurd time of night to make a phone call; you should be getting your beauty rest since you don't want to have puffy eyes tomorrow; don't tell me you're going to back out now; etc. But before she can even get a word out, Lorelai breathes deep and takes the lead.
LORELAI: I love you, Mom.
Stunned, Emily sits back on her bench and smiles.
Why these could work: This is one of my favorite potential last four words ideas, and I'll tell you why. For most of the series, Lorelai had a contentious relationship with her mother that took years to come close to mending. So to see them finally put water under the bridge and for Lorelai to honor the Gilmore girl matriarch would have felt like a satisfying, full-circle way to tie the generations together. Rory could have had her ending where she was writing her book. We all could have inferred that Lorelai and Luke would have gone on to get married that night, even if we didn't see it. But this bow on Lorelai's and Emily's relationship would have felt restorative and like a watershed leading into the next chapter to follow, come what may.
Did the last four words in the revival feel like a worthy pay-off to you? What do you think they should have been instead?
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Image: Netflix screenshots