Liberal Values Defending Liberty and Enlightened Thought

Gilmore Girls fans have generally been disappointed since David Rosenthal took over for Amy Sherman-Palladino, but Rosenthal did a good job with the finale. The show had to be written so that it could work as either a season or series finale, and it worked on either level.

It was a good decision to have the break up with Logan take place at Rory’s graduation the week before. If the show returned, there’s always the possibility for the two to get back together if desired, but there were greater prospects for stories following graduation with Rory moving on. Having Logan’s last appearance in the pentultimate episode allowed the series to end as it should back in Stars Hollow where Logan (like Christopher) just do not belong.

We might never know how Amy Sherman-Palladino planned to end the show she created, or what would have happened if the negotiations for another season were successful. My suspicion is that, if the show was renewed, we’d briefly see Rory on the campaign trail following Obama, and then have her use connections she’s made to land a job near Stars Hollow. For a new graduate to go off to cover Barack Obama was somewhat of a fairy tale ending, but having her work for virtually no pay for an on line magazine made it sound plausible. From now on, whenever I see an Obama rally, I will feel that Rory Gilmore is somewhere nearby covering it. This ending provided a greater sense of the liberal spirit of the show, but it might have been more fun to have Rory cover a conservative Republican, allowing for a few final moments of sarcasm which were generally missed in the final season.

The finale returned to the feel of the early days of the show, from the reminder of Rory’s dream to be a reporter like her idol Christiane Amanpour, who she finally got to meet, to the final scene at Luke’s. We once again saw why we love Stars Hollow, from the town meetings to Rory’s going away party, which reminded us of all the town celebrations over the years.

Gilmore Girls is primarily about mother daughter relationships, and centered around this in the finale. Logan’s gone, and there was just enough between Loreli and Luke to leave hope for those who wanted to see them get back together without turning the finale into a rushed and unrealistic wedding episode. Although Rory is leaving home, the strength of her relationship with Loreli is seen. There is also another major development in that other mother-daughter relationship between Loreli and her mother Emily. The show began with Emily virtually bribing Loreli and Rory to have a weekly Friday night dinner with them, after beng apart for years, in return for paying for Rory’s education. In the finale, Emily was searching for a way to again make Loreli feel indebted to her, but finally it was not necessary as Loreli indicated her plans to continue their dinners together.

Rather than giving in to the temptaton for a grand exit with major changes in character’s lives, the show ended as a moment in real life. Rory’s life had to change with graduation, but Loreli remains running the Dragonfly Inn. Her relationship with Luke remains up in the air as it has for much of the last several years. We can imagine that, at any time, we might return to Stars Hollow with it pretty much as we remember it from the past seven years.

Related Post: Farewell to Stars Hollow