5 Things I'm Looking for from Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life

Like all coffee-addicted Gilmore Girls fans, when I heard about the four new episodes being released in November, I got a little excited.

Actual picture of me and my best friend. (source)

My first thought was “OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH.” My second, not too long after, was, “There are so many ways they could screw this up.” Remember, at that time, they had yet to confirm the whole cast. And then there are all the relationships that have to be tied up (cough cough Rory and Logan cough cough), the death of Edward Herrmann to be accounted for, and everything that needs to be the same, but different. That's the problem with creating something people love: if you fiddle with it even a little, it's incredibly high risk. Fangirls be crazy, y'all.

(source)

If you haven't seen the preview material yet, you can find an interview here, a full cast list here, and the teaser trailer below:

After seeing all that, I have high hopes. But I'm trying not to let them get too high, lest they be dashed mercilessly against the walls of Luke’s Diner. That being said, here are five things I'm hoping for out of this magical, miraculous eighth season:

1. A Good Ending 

I imagine this goes without saying, but they need to end the show successfully. A bad ending--one that doesn't tie up loose ends or one that crams too much into too short of a time--leaves fans, well, irritated. To say the least. (Here's looking at you, How I Met Your Mother.)

(source)

By the end of these four episodes, I want to be informed, in a satisfactory manner, what happens to Lorelei and Luke, who Rory ends up with (and why), if Dean finds happiness (because we all know it won't be him), what Paris, April, GiGi, Chris, and Jess are doing with their lives, and how Lane and Zack are managing to raise twins while in a band, among other things.

2. Sookie

I am not a huge Melissa McCarthy fan. I think her movies are unnecessarily filthy, even if they do have funny moments. But I love Sookie. The thing I'm most worried about for these episodes is that Melissa McCarthy movies will be written into the Gilmore Girls script and will ruin the sweetness of the character.

So adorable. Not at all filthy. (source)

3. Coffee

One of the things I love most about Gilmore Girls is the coffee addictions that run rampant throughout the two main characters and the rest of the town. I can't even imagine what would happen if they didn't drink coffee. Stars Hollow would implode.

(source)

A new, caffeine-free diet would be horrible. Focusing too much on their coffee addiction would also be horrible. It was beautiful because it was always background to the relational goings on. It was a part of them, just like the quick-witted banter and the (usually) perfect hair. I don't want it to be a plot point. But coffee. Always coffee.

4. Jess

There is a good chance that I am in love with Milo Ventimiglia. I saw him in a restaurant once and almost hyperventilated.

(source)

We left Jess having pulled his life together and written a book, partially in charge of a charming little beatnik bookshop. I would have married him on the spot. I'm hoping the rest of his life continued to go uphill and that they didn't write him back into his emo, eff-the-world, bad boy ways for the sake of drama. Petulant Jess was an obnoxious Jess. Responsible, entrepreneur, author Jess is the one I want to see roaming Stars Hollow and causing girls everywhere to swoon this November.

And we love you, Jess. (source)

(And here's a link to more Jess gifs. Because you can never have enough. Ever.)

5. Reality

Now, I'm not expecting this to include events that could happen in my life. Stars Hollow is a very fictional town, and very few bookish girls can just hop from attractive perfect boyfriend to attractive perfect boyfriend while having rich grandparents take care of your every need. But I've noticed a trend in shows that last too long: they lose all touch with not only reality but the essences of the characters. The beautiful thing about Gilmore Girls is that while the situations were a bit out there, the characters were almost always real people making choices that you or I would make. I don't want the writers to be so focused on the forest that they miss the trees.

If they screw up the characters... (source)

I don't want a return of spoiled Rory from season six. I don't want Luke being the owner of a multi-franchise business. I want a good, old-fashioned Taylor/Luke debate (though I could do without Taylor being in these episodes at all...). I want Lorelai and Rory banter. I want pop culture references I don't understand and books I've never heard of being mentioned. I don't ever want to say--or even think--"well THAT wouldn't happen!" *intense frown* 

I want to be smiling and crying and laughing and clutching my heart from the first moments to the last.

My heart. (source)

Bonus: Colin and Finn

I love Colin and Finn. Specifically Finn. They're two of my favorite underappreciated secondary (tertiary?) characters. They're both slated to be in this series (yay!): Finn in two episodes, Colin in one. Sexy, spoiled Aussie for the win. (Why is that my type??)

(source)

See you on Netflix on November 25th!

What are you most hoping for from Gilmore Girls?