Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life – six questions that need to be answered

Our return to Stars Hollow is nearly here. On Friday, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life will arrive on Netflix, finally (hopefully) satisfying all the questions we’ve had about the characters in the show ended in 2007. With all of the original cast (except Edward Hermann, who died in December 2014) – plus some new faces – set to appear in the new episodes, we have a lot of hope for what’s to come. When Gilmore Girls drew to a close nearly a decade ago, Rory was single and on her way to a new job and Lorelei and Luke had reunited. But what now? Here are six questions that need to be answered.

Much of the original series was marked by fighting and tension between Lorelei Gilmore, played by Lauren Graham, and Emily Gilmore, played by Kelly Bishop. The mother-daughter pair never quite got along and it was stressful to watch. Sure, they had their differences but now, after all they’ve been through, can’t they just hug and make up? Luckily Graham recently revealed to TV Line that some “healing” will happen between the two, especially in light Richard Gilmore’s death before the series opens. “The healing that happens between Lorelei and Emily is such a long time coming,” Graham said. “And because Richard’s absence is such a big part of our story, it really meant a lot to me to grow their relationship a little bit.”

Let’s be real: Kirk (Sean Gunn) was the best part of the original Gilmore Girls. His ridiculous antics offered a continual sense of comic relief, even when the drama between the other characters was high. His dance from season six remains ingrained in every viewer’s mind, as well as his incredible short film from season two. There’s such an authentic, unabashed sense of life in the character, as silly as he can be, and we want to see him in every episode of the new chapters. And maybe he has a follow-up dance to his original.

The show will surely take viewers back to Luke’s infamous diner throughout the four mini-movie episodes and he will likely have some quips about the ladies’ obsession with caffeine. Maybe he’ll have some informed opinions about the “java gene” or the claim that three to five cups a day can prevent heart attacks? If you’re planning to binge the series, I recommend grabbing a mug (or pot) and settling in.

Rory, played by Alexis Bledel, doesn’t need a man. She’s proven that as a character over the course of the original series, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t want to see her happy. Netflix has confirmed that all of Rory’s love interests – Dean, Jess, Logan – will be returning to the new episodes. Whether she’ll actually end up with one of them (please not Dean) is another question. Or maybe there’s a new guy in Rory’s future. Jess has always been a fan favorite, probably because he respected Rory’s intelligence in a way her other suitors didn’t, but does he have his life together in a way where he can really be there for her? So let’s hope for the best for Rory (not Dean) and cross our collective fingers that she gets success both at home and in her career.

Gilmore Girls is famous for the speed of its dialogue and its esoteric wit (remember “Oy, with the poodles already”?). The trailer for the new season makes it clear that there is a lot of rapid-fire chat between the characters, which could be ideal for the age of Twitter where zingers can become internet memes quicker than you can say “crying Michael Jordan”. So please, Amy Sherman-Palladino, give us some new quotable lines. Twitter is ready.

The world of Gilmore Girls is one of lightheartedness and positivity, even when there’s drama or fighting. It’s the sort of show you watch when the real world gets dark and you need a respite. Stars Hollow is a town we’d all love to inhabit and through these episodes we’ve been able to. So as the story of Rory and Lorelei and Emily continues, we want to see them happy. Gilmore Girls is not The Sopranos, so there’s no reason for an ambiguous fade to black. In seeing these women happy, we’re happy, and that’s important in today’s world. Different TV shows fill different boxes for the viewers and Gilmore Girls tells us: “It’s going to be OK.” What that happy ending is could be a lot of things, but we want to see everyone stroll off into the sunset – at least until Netflix green-lights more episodes.