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It’s been almost a decade since the series finale of Gilmore Girls, but I still remember watching that episode with my mom. For seven years, she and I tuned into the show together, silent and side by side. It is the only series in history that had so much to say, we didn’t feel the need to talk through it.
Back then, Rory had already turned down Logan’s proposal in the penultimate episode. I was grateful, because that meant the finale was more about saying goodbye to everyone’s favorite unofficial character: the town of Stars Hollow itself. Logan never respected Rory enough to fall in love with the town that loved her, the people who raised her, or the past that shaped her, so I was pleased the writers didn’t think he deserved a place in Gilmore Girls’ final moments.
Instead, I held out for two possibilities: that Jess would return (fingers crossed!) or that there would be sparks between Rory and a foxy new colleague. Much to my dismay, neither of those things happened. Rory wound up with the job of a lifetime — reporting on a then-obscure presidential nominee named Barack Obama — and left for her new life with as little baggage as possible, both physically and emotionally.
It wasn’t so much that she wanted to be single. She just had other things going on, and a man was not part of the picture. I’m sure that ending was meant to be empowering. But at 17, I was heartbroken. Why couldn’t Rory have the great gig and the grand romance? Does it always have to be one or the other?
Nine years later, I’m still not over it — which is why I’m hoping that, this time around, the writers let her have it all. On November 25, I will be curled up the sofa next to my mom, eating pop tarts and Chinese food, cheering for Rory to wind up with a guy worthy of being part of her story. (Still banking on her winding up with the man Jess grew up to be.)
Oh, and while you’re at it, we’ve pulled together 12 other smart, savvy ladies we wish wouldn’t have wound up alone at the end of their series — including Veronica Mars, Buffy Summers, and my girl Mindy Lahiri. (Okay, that last one is still in progress. Consider this a plea.) Without further ado: Let there be love!
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