Gilmore Girls’ Realistic Ending: A Lesson in Perseverance and Growth

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Gilmore Girls started as a sweet and genuine story about a dedicated single mother and her smart daughter. However, as the show went on, things got much more complex for both of them, and I initially struggled with that change. When we first met Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, their personalities and roles were very clear.

Lorelai was a lively, humorous, and often disorganized mom who deeply loved her daughter and would do anything to support her. Rory, her daughter, was a brilliant student who thrived in everything she did and always aimed to please others. Looking back, I realize that even though both characters faced challenges and weren’t perfect in later seasons, that development actually served the story well.

Rory Goes From The Perfect Daughter To A Total Mess

Both Lorelai and Rory grew and evolved throughout Gilmore Girls, but Rory’s changes were more striking—and, personally, I found them less satisfying. She starts as a bright, driven young woman who relies on her mother for support and has a clear vision for her future, but she gradually becomes somewhat directionless.

The situation truly starts when Rory has an affair with Dean while she’s at Yale. She sleeps with him even though he’s married, and she doesn’t immediately show much regret. Lorelai is especially upset to discover Rory actually trying to justify her actions, defending why it was okay to cheat.

The hardest part of Rory’s story to watch is when she decides to leave Yale. After Mitchum Huntzberger criticizes her, she loses confidence and takes time off from school. This causes a rift with her mother, Lorelai, and Rory ends up moving in with her grandparents, Richard and Emily.

Before Rory even leaves Yale, she makes a serious error in judgment – getting arrested for stealing a boat with Logan. This isn’t just a simple break from school for her to find herself; it marks a significant turning point where she starts to become very different from the Rory viewers had grown to care about.

The Conclusion Of Rory’s Story Was Originally So Frustrating

Rory eventually returns to Yale and regains her self-assurance, understanding that she shouldn’t let anyone else’s opinion – like Mitchum’s – dictate her identity or capabilities. While she’s happy to be back, she initially struggles with the fact that she isn’t the same high-achiever she once was.

For years, we knew Rory as a high achiever – she was accepted into both Yale and Harvard, a feat even Paris Geller couldn’t manage. But by the end of Gilmore Girls, she surprisingly turned down a job with a local newspaper, holding out for an internship at the New York Times.

Rory doesn’t land the internship, leaving her feeling lost and insecure again. It was heartbreaking to watch her struggle so close to the show’s end. Ultimately, she finds work covering Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.

Rory’s new job seems really promising, and she’s clearly excited about it. The original Gilmore Girls ended with her starting this adventure, suggesting a positive future. However, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life shows that things aren’t always as easy or ideal as Rory—or the audience—might have expected.

Okay, so let me tell you, Rory’s life is a mess right now. She’s not doing the amazing journalism everyone expected after college – she’s basically a hired writer for this really unpleasant woman, and she has no idea what she wants to do with her life, or even where she wants to be! On top of that, she’s repeating old mistakes – she’s having an affair, again, this time with Logan, who’s actually engaged! And to make things even worse, she’s also seeing Paul, who is seriously the worst boyfriend she’s ever had. So yeah, even if it’s Paul, it still counts as cheating, and her whole situation is just… complicated.

At the end of A Year in the Life, Rory appears to be on a good path, pursuing her dream of becoming a writer by working on a memoir about Gilmore Girls. However, the season also reveals she’s pregnant, and it’s unclear who the father is.

It seems Logan is the probable father, suggesting Rory is pregnant with the child of a man who is either engaged or married. This outcome is quite different from the future fans imagined for Rory when she was in high school.

Gilmore Girls Deserves More Credit For Being Realistic

Okay, I’ll be honest, when I first finished watching the Gilmore Girls finale and then A Year in the Life, I wasn’t completely happy with how things ended. I get that the writers were aiming for something more down-to-earth, but that’s not really why I loved the show! I wasn’t looking for total realism – let’s face it, a single mom working at an inn probably couldn’t afford that amazing house, and that was part of the fun!

Over time, I’ve started to appreciate how both shows concluded. It’s become clear that there’s not much to be gained from Rory always succeeding and never facing setbacks. It actually feels right that she thrived in a small town—particularly Stars Hollow, where a lot of people are content with a simple, peaceful existence.

Watching Rory step out into the world after Chilton and Yale was really relatable. It quickly became clear she wasn’t always going to be on top, and honestly, that was a good thing. Seeing her stumble and figure things out—even question who she was—showed me that everyone messes up sometimes, no matter how smart or accomplished they seem. It really hit me that all the pressure to be the ‘perfect daughter’ probably created a lot of hidden struggles for her, ones no one really saw.

I’ve grown to appreciate both Gilmore Girls and A Year in the Life, especially how they ended. While I didn’t get the perfect, happy ending I’d hoped for Rory, the conclusions they reached feel realistic and show the kinds of struggles someone like her might actually experience.

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2025-11-09 16:39