Luke Danes and Lorelai Gilmore get married, Richard Gilmore's death, and Rory's shocking pregnancy announcement. A key theme for the sequel – as in the original show – is the exploration of generational patterns. However, the story's cyclical structure suggests that, if Gilmore Girls season 9 happens, a heartbreaking piece of history could repeat itself.
Rory was born while her parents were 16 years old, and her mother, Lorelai Gilmore, insisted upon raising her on her own. Lorelai feared being pressured into marrying Rory's father, Christopher, so young, and moved to the small town of Stars Hollow, to start a new life. In adulthood, Rory meets a similar fate in her 30s, having an affair with her wealthy ex-boyfriend Logan Huntzberger and becoming pregnant. The show insinuates her plans to raise that child on her own. Despite the parallels between Logan and Christopher, Logan is far more responsible, and cutting him out of raising his child would be a tragic repeat of history.
Logan Is Almost Certainly The Father Of Rory's Baby In Gilmore Girls
Rory Is Having An Affair With Logan Despite His Engagement To Someone Else
While the end of A Year In The Life leaves the father of Rory's baby purposefully ambiguous, it is clear that the father is likely Logan. Rory and Logan continue to have an intimate relationship, years after she turned down Logan's proposal at her Yale graduation. Logan has since become engaged to a woman named Odette, who is never shown on camera.
It remains unclear why the couple never simply got back together, but viewers can presume that the new engagement is potentially a result of the family pressure that Logan once experienced during the couple's college years. Given that the revival showcases no other significant relationships in Rory's life, it is conveyed that Logan is the father, as confirmed by A Year In The Life costume designer Valerie Campbell (via Collider).
Since Rory finds herself in a career rut and continuing down the same toxic patterns she did as a young adult, it is clear that she will attempt to raise the child on her own. While the affair is unethical, Logan is a far more respectful and dutiful man than Rory's father, Christopher, is, despite their shared old-money backgrounds, and would want to help raise the child immediately. For the Gilmore Girls cycle to repeat would be disappointing, as Rory was given so many tools to evade the same struggles her mother endured.
Christopher's A Year In The Life Scene Suggests Logan Won't Be In Rory's Baby's Life
This Pivotal Scene s The Mirror Theory Of Rory's Fate
In a meta moment, Rory decides to write a book about the lives of her family, in particular, the women, and title it Gilmore Girls. When Rory questions her relationship with Christopher, asking him why he never fought to be a more active parent to her, it becomes clear that Rory is not only looking for answers, but attempting to gauge how Logan would act in this situation. While Rory has the advantage of a high-quality education and an independent life in her 30s, Logan, while a generally responsible type, has now built his own life in London. This leaves viewers to ponder whether Logan will repeat the same path as Christopher.
Gilmore Girls' Lowest-Rated Episode Confirms 1 Harsh Reality About Christopher
The lowest-rated episode of Gilmore Girls confirms one harsh reality about Christopher's storyline with Lorelei and his overall arc in the series.
Christopher expresses regret about walking away from Lorelai as a co-parent so easily, but makes it clear that he feels Lorelai was more fit to be a parent. In doing so, he attempts to absolve himself of responsibility – in reality, he was only willing to be a parent if he was romantically involved with Lorelai. This aspect of the pattern is exactly why Logan's story should not emulate Christopher's.
Gilmore Girls Season 9 Shouldn't Repeat Christopher's Story With Logan & Rory's Baby
Rory Has Broken Too Many Patterns To Repeat This One
In the absence of Christopher, Luke Danes stepped up as a father figure to Rory, even when his relationship with Lorelai was purely platonic. In his own way, Luke's nephew, Jess Mariano, finds himself in a similar role of to Rory as an adult, when he has matured and charted a secure path in life in the publishing world. Jess encourages Rory to stay true to herself and return to Yale after she drops out, and encourages her to write her book in A Year In The Life.
...it becomes clear that, despite his protestations, Jess has never gotten over Rory.
As Jess gazes at Rory wistfully through a window, it becomes clear that, despite his protestations, Jess has never gotten over Rory. His lingering feelings coupled with his instinct to help her in times of need mirror his uncle's relationship with Lorelai, making him the perfect candidate to become a surrogate father figure to Rory's unborn child should Logan choose to be absent.
The biggest difference between the two stories is that both Rory and Jess are more socioeconomically secure than Luke and Lorelai, because both uncle and mother worked to provide their nephew and daughter with better opportunities, respectively. While a mirrored plot line between Lorelai and Rory's pregnancies could illustrate that these struggles transcend generations, it would not make sense for these systemic issues to cross class lines in a contemporary setting.
Will There Ever Be A Gilmore Girls Season 9?
Series Creator Amy Sherman Palladino Is Open To It
In 2023, series creator Amy Sherman Palladino confirmed that she is certainly open to continuing the show and exploring the next generation of characters. Palladino previously expressed distaste for the ending of several of the characters' stories, namely Lane Kim. She said that "families are dysfunctional forever and because of that, it’s the best possible way to come up with stories because you will never solve your problems there" (via Rolling Stone). She went on to elaborate that there was more left to expand that she hopes to explore now in the streaming era with less time constraints.
Lauren Graham, who stars as Lorelai Gilmore, told the outlet that there is "no current plan" for another revival, but that she would be open to returning should one emerge. Sherman Palladino confirmed that a ninth Gilmore Girls season is certainly on the table for the future. This means that fans may yet get some resolution around the ongoing mystery of Rory's parental journey.
Sources: Collider, Rolling Stone
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life
- Release Date
- 2016 - 2016-00-00
- Showrunner
- Amy Sherman-Palladino
- Directors
- Amy Sherman-Palladino, Daniel Palladino
WHERE TO WATCH
Acting as a follow-up to the original series, Gilmore Girls, A Year In The Life is a comedy-drama series. Having completed her stint on the Obama campaign trail, Rory now finds herself as a freelance journalist with an inconsistent life. Meanwhile, Lorelei finds herself lost in life before her marriage to Luke. This four-part mini-series follows the titular mother-daughter duo as they continue to navigate their mother-daughter relationship in Star's Hollow.
- Seasons
- 1
- Streaming Service(s)
- Netflix
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