Entertainment

Rory & Logan Should Be 'Gilmore Girls' Endgame

by S. Atkinson

There are many, many reasons to get excited about the upcoming Gilmore Girls relaunch — but only one I really care about. The showrunners left some loose ends at the end of the seventh season, the most intriguing of which was Rory Gilmore's love life or lack thereof. Having Rory choose herself was admittedly pretty great and somewhat ballsy. Instead of having a cliche girl-swoons-into-boy's-arms ending, Rory rode off into the sunset on her own steam, ready to report on a presidential campaign trail. But the news that the Gilmore Girls revival will end with Rory reunited with one of her exes made me wonder, will the Gilmore Girls revival deliver the happy ending we're all waiting for? By which I mean, of course, Rory ending up with the man who's right for her: Logan Huntzberger. That's right. I think Rory and Logan should be together — and hey, maybe even tie the knot one day.

I know, I know. Rory's first boyfriend Dean Forester was a sweetheart. And Rory's second boyfriend Jess Mariano had way more in common with her as Stars Hollows' resident culture vulture. But hear me out: Logan simply makes the most sense. Let's eliminate the competition.

Be warned: if you haven't watched the Gilmore Girls series all the way through yet, there'll be some spoilers here. Maybe schedule a Netflix and chill weekend, and then come back and check this out afterwards.

What About Dean?

At first glance, Dean was perfect for Rory. Like her, he was deeply committed to his hometown, Stars Hollow, and he was as sugar-sweet as she is. And, sure, he was great first boyfriend material — ideal for bringing home to a secretly hyper-protective parent like Lorelai. But nobody wants to stay with their high school boyfriend forever, right? And, of course, there was the little case of Dean's cheating on his wife... with Rory. Morals are of paramount importance to Rory, so this felt like a case of Rory getting dragged down by Dean's obsessive fixation on her.

Also, mean but true: Dean's a little blah for a lady who talks 100 miles a minute and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of pop culture. I mean — there had to be a reason why Lorelai was invited on so many of their dates in high school, right?

What About Jess?

Ah, Jess. Those puppy dog eyes, those bad boy stylings. He was like On The Road's Dean Moriarty, but, y'know, in your actual town rather than at a 1950s jazz hop. Like Rory, he lived for literature and music, and they seemed to have an instant (steamy) connection in the way that Rory and Dean lacked (at least, pre-weird affair).

But family is more important to Rory than anything — including boys. Jess took a lackadaisical approach to his own relationships with family members and was often dismissive and contemptuous of the person who basically functions as Rory's main father figure in Christopher's absence: Luke. He also managed to enrage the whole of Stars Hollow when Rory got injured in a car accident while he was driving. Given Rory's preoccupation with staying close to her community, a punky guy who's always flipping the bird at middle-class mores probably isn't a great end-game choice for her.

Sure, But Why Logan?

Logan combines the best of both Dean and Jess: like Dean, he's crazy about Rory and doesn't care who knows it. Heck, he even stages a public fight over Rory's affection in a lecture theatre at Yale. But, like Jess, he's smart, witty, and he encourages Rory to loosen up a lot — something she could really use. After he invites her along to cover an event staged by Yale's secret society, the Life and Death Campaign, Rory ends up jumping from a great height with just an umbrella to slow her fall. I can only imagine that Rory's story is all sortsa gonzo-journalism with Vice magazine levels of ballsiness with an angle like that.

Although Logan has problems with his family, he makes a huge effort with Rory's, even going to ask Lorelai for permission first before he proposes to Rory. And, when Rory chooses to take time out from Yale, he 100 percent supports her decision and helps finance it. They're different enough to keep Rory balanced out — she's artsy, he's focused on business; she's a workaholic, he's a party animal — but similar enough to stay connected, with both of them ending the series on a career-focused note.

As such, although Logan may seem like a wild card choice for happily ever after, appearing as late in the series as he does, he's the perfectly adult ending for a grown up Rory love story.

Images: Warner Bros. Television (3); Giphy