***Gilmore Girls ***began as a wholesome, heartfelt story of a hardworking single mom and her brilliant daughter, but later seasons revealed just how complicated things became for both women—and at first, I really didn’t like that. When Lorelai and Rory Gilmore were introduced, their characters were very clearly defined.

Lorelai was a spunky, funny, and somewhat messy mother who loved her daughter and would do anything for her. Rory was a straight-A student, bordering on a genius, who excelled at what she did and lived to make others happy and proud. Unfortunately, both characters devolve in the later seasons, and only now do I see why that was best.

Rory Goes From The Perfect Daughter To A Total Mess

While both Lorelai and Rory changed over the course of Gilmore Girls, it was Rory’s transformation that was the more noticeable of the two and, in my opinion, the more disappointing. Rory goes from the golden child, who goes to her mother with her problems, excels in school, and has clear goals, to a bit of a lost soul.

This really begins with her affair with Dean, which happens early in her college years at Yale. Rory sleeps with Dean despite the fact that he is married, and, what’s worse, she doesn’t initially seem all that remorseful. Even Lorelai is horrified when she realizes that Rory is defending why it was fine to cheat with Dean.

However, in terms of her overall character, the most difficult-to-watch period in Rory’s story is when she drops out of Yale. Overwhelmed by some negative feedback she received from Mitchum Huntzberger, Rory loses all faith in herself and takes a leave of absence from Yale. When Lorelai doesn’t approve, Rory moves in with Richard and Emily.

It’s also worth mentioning that, even before she drops out, Rory is arrested for stealing a boat with Logan—easily one of Rory’s biggest mistakes. This period is more than just Rory taking a break from school to figure out what she wants; it’s a complete undoing of the character audiences had come to know and love.

The Conclusion Of Rory’s Story Was Originally So Frustrating

Rory does eventually go back to Yale and find a renewed confidence, realizing that the approval of one person (in this case, Mitchum) shouldn’t define who she is and what she’s able to do. However, even when she goes back, she’s never quite the superstar she was before, and that was frustrating at first.

We’d known Rory as this incredible go-getter who was always the best of the best for years—I mean, she got into Yale and Harvard, the latter of which even Paris didn’t accomplish. Yet, come the end of Gilmore Girls, Rory turns down a job at a small newspaper, hoping she will land an internship at the New York Times.

Yet, Rory doesn’t get that internship, which sends her into another spiral of uncertainty. It was genuinely difficult to see Rory yet again seeming lost at sea and unsure of herself, particularly so close to the end of the show. Eventually, she does get a position following Former President Barack Obama on the campaign trail.

That role is exciting, and Rory seems genuinely thrilled and optimistic. She concludes *Gilmore Girls *by setting out on this new adventure, and the future seems bright. Unfortunately, *Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life *proves once again that reality isn’t as shiny and perfect as Rory (and perhaps viewers) had hoped.

Rather than a world-renowned journalist, Rory is ghost-writing a book for a (frankly awful) woman and doesn’t have a clear career direction or even a sense of where she wants to live. What’s more, Rory is carrying on an affair again, this time with Logan, who is engaged. She’s also dating Paul, easily Rory’s worst boyfriend, but it’s still cheating.

By the end of A Year in the Life, Rory more or less landed on her feet, as she’s writing a memoir, titled Gilmore Girls, which seems like what she’s destined to do. However, she also finds out she’s pregnant, and the father of Rory’s baby remains somewhat ambiguous.

The most likely answer is clearly Logan, though, which means Rory is pregnant with an engaged or perhaps even married, by that point, man’s baby. This isn’t exactly the future that viewers pictured or wanted for Rory during her Chilton days.

Gilmore Girls Deserves More Credit For Being Realistic

I admittedly wasn’t thrilled with the Gilmore Girls finale or the ending of A Year in the Life, at least not at first. While I understood that both conclusions were more realistic, I hadn’t gone into the show wanting realism. After all, the idea that a single mom working at a small-town inn could afford that house was absurd.

With time, however, I’ve come to realize that there is actually value in how both shows ended. Most notably, there isn’t really any lesson in Rory excelling and never failing. Frankly, it makes sense that she would be a standout in a small town—especially one like Stars Hollow, where many people are happy with a quiet life.

Likewise, it makes sense that when Rory went out into the ‘real world,’ she found that she wasn’t the absolute best all the time. Even Rory’s mistakes and her various identity crises prove that, no matter how brilliant you are, everyone fails sometimes. In fact, her story sheds light on how being the perfect daughter can lead to invisible battles.

Because of that, I’ve actually come to really respect *Gilmore Girls *and *A Year in the Life *for their respective endings. No, it’s not the fairy-tale ending I wanted for Rory, but it gives us something different: a nuanced conclusion that reflects the real-life challenges a girl like Rory can face.

Release Date 2000 - 2007-00-00

Network The WB

Writers Amy Sherman-Palladino