There are a lot of Gilmore Girls revival theories to wrap your head around before the show returns to Netflix on Nov. 25. But the thing is, theorizing about the show is nothing new. Fans of Gilmore Girls have always been detectives, trying to connect the dots and explain the unexplainable. During its original run, which ended in 2007, fans have managed to find connections that they'd love to see explained. They've come up with questions that they'd like to see answered, and then come up with answers of their own. Basically, while the show was away, fans came up with possible explanations for some of the rather confusing things that have happened thus far. These are what I'm dubbing original Gilmore Girls theories.
While some of these theories are more farfetched than others, all of these GG fans put in the work to develop explanations for things you never knew needed explaining. There are theories about Paris Geller and questions about missing dads. Not to mention a not-so-secret connection to a David Lynch series. Since there is a whole new set of questions to ponder now that Lorelai and Rory are coming back, here are some original Gilmore Girls theories that fans have been floating around for years now. Some have been solved, some haven't, and let's be honest, some never ever will come true. But all of them are worth checking out to better understand GG and its fanbase.
1. Paris Geller Is What Rachel Green Should've Been
A recent theory connects Paris to the Friends character in a way that has to do with her name. Reddit user NotAnAverageTaunTaun questions if the Gilmore Girls writers watched the 2004 finale of Friends, which has Rachel giving up a job in Paris to be with Ross Geller, and decided Paris' final season's arc would represent what Rachel's life could have been.
Sure, it sounds a little out there, but as NotAnAverageTaunTaun points out, Paris ends up breaking up with her boyfriend Doyle when she thinks he could hold her back from her dreams. The only reason they get back together is because he says he will go with her and not stand in her way. It seems like it worked, since the GG Instagram posted a photo of Paris' name on a door, where fans knew it was destined to be.
2. Caesar Went To Chilton With Rory
This theory started after fans noticed that Luke's righthand man from the diner popped up in the episode "Rory's Dance" in Season 1. It had people wondering if this was actually Caesar, or the actor who plays him, Aris Alvarado, just playing a dual role. But the rumors were confirmed at the Gilmore Girls Fan Festival in Connecticut, where Alvarado said yes, Caesar did go to Chilton with Rory. “That was Caesar,” he told the crowd. “It’s funny because [the internet] just discovered that. I’ve been waiting, I never wanted to say anything [so I could] see who was going to find me one day.” The timeline works with Caesar being two or three years older than Rory, which is why they never crossed paths at school.
3. Kirk Is Actually Taylor Doose's Son
Ever wonder who Kirk's real dad is? Well, it could be Taylor Doose. Yes, fans know that Kirk said he was wearing the suit that they buried his dad in the Season 6 episode "Always a Godmother, Never a God," but one Redditor wonders if Kirk even knows who his dad is. Kirk talks about his mom a lot and his accounts paint her as a woman who may not always be so trustworthy, since all she wanted was for her son to love her and stay with her forever. (Let's hope he's finally moved out — maybe even into the Twickham house.)
If this isn't enough, the two do share some similarities. They both have night terrors to start. Not to mention, Taylor's been giving Kirk jobs for years. Maybe he feels guilty for leaving him? It's possible. And the real kicker, Kirk once asked Luke if Taylor was his dad in Season 4.
4. Where Is Lane's Dad?
For those who have always wondered where Lane's dad is, you should know that Lane herself (Keiko Agena) doesn't know either. But she does have a theory that explains the mystery of Lane's dad's existence, which she recently shared with Gilmore News: He was traveling. "He was away from home," Agena said. "I don’t know the specifics, but I felt like religion played a part in it somehow.”
In her mind, she said, "Mr. Kim was always there," even if that's hard to explain being that we never saw him. "I felt that they were married and that he was just somewhere," Agena explained. "I know it doesn’t make any sense; he didn’t come to the wedding, and so on, there’s no logical reason for me to feel this way. In my gut, for some reason, my mother is a married woman."
5. How To Get Away With Murder's Bonnie Winterbottom Is Paris' Alter Ego
Liza Weil played Paris on GG and then played Bonnie on HTGAWM, so the connection between the two could be as simple as that. But the parallel similarities are a bit eerie in ways that have people asking, could Bonnie be who Paris would have become if she didn't meet Rory? As Hypable points out, Bonnie is a lawyer and Paris toys with being one before deciding on being a doctor, a job that forces her to show some empathy. A trait she may have been lacking before befriending Rory. In fact, Bonnie has very few friends, if any. They're both problem solvers, but Bonnie's way (i.e. murder) is a little harder to defend. If Paris didn't find Terrence to help her figure out her anger, who knows where she would have ended up.
6. Logan Is Really Just An Extension Of Tristan
Remember Tristan, Rory's Chilton classmate who wouldn't stop calling her Mary? Well, one Redditor thinks you should, because Logan is really just Tristan in disguise. The theory goes that Amy Sherman-Palladino didn't like how Tristan's story ended, so she created Logan to finish his storyline. It is true that the two were both wealthy, privileged blonds with daddy issues. While Tristan ends up being punished, Logan tries to work though his problems to become a better person — the kind of person Rory could really love.
7. Gilmore Girls Is A Twin Peaks Tribute Show
Flavorwire came up with this theory in 2014 that highlighted the not-so secret connection between Gilmore Girls and Twin Peaks. Of course, Sherman-Palladino hired Twin Peak actors — like Mädchen E. Amick (Sherry), Kathleen Wilhoite (Luke's sister, Liz), and Sherilyn Fenn, who played both Anna Nardini and Jess' dad's girlfriend. But GG's odd small town filled with even odder characters and lots of coffee, coffee, coffee definitely makes it feel very Lynchian.
"It’s as if Sherman-Palladino built Stars Hollow — the small town in Connecticut where her heroes Lorelai and Rory Gilmore live — out of the DNA of Twin Peaks," Flavorwire explained, but she put her own positive spin on it. "There’s a lightness to Gilmore Girls that isn’t in Twin Peaks, a case of sweetness versus horror, but at the end of the day, the takeaway is the same: it’s a strange world that we live in, and you’ve got to leave the small town before it changes you forever."
Whether you believe in these theories or not, what this list proves is that Gilmore Girls fans have always been engaged with their favorite show. That's not stopping any time soon.
Image: Warner Bros. Television (2); Giphy (5)
