Why Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life isn't liked by most fans, some theories about the show make it much more entertaining during re-watches. The beloved family drama Gilmore Girls aired on TV from 2000 to 2007, winning the hearts of viewers. Nine years after the show ended, Netflix launched a revival, featuring four 90-minute episodes.
Unfortunately, the revival failed because the Gilmore Girls the characters have also failed to progress or have regressed since the end of the original show. The show also used old-fashioned humor and pop culture references. While AYITL's failures are frustrating, fans have begun to develop their own revival theories that could make the show more entertaining and tolerable despite the narrative problems.
10
Rory wrote the entire Gilmore Girls series
Rory writing the original show explains character discrepancies
One of the biggest complaints about A Year in the Life is that few of the characters act like themselves, especially Rory. The young woman from the original series is soft-spoken, studious, very studious and motivated. She wants nothing more than to be a foreign correspondent journalist and won't let anything get in her way. However, Rory in the revival is vapid, unfocused, entitled, and selfish. Although some of these characteristics existed in Rory in the original series, they did not have the same intensity. However, one theory could explain the main differences between the two versions of Rory.
The original Gilmore Girls is actually Rory's memoir, except she paints herself and her mother in a much better lighthighlighting your strengths and minimizing your flaws. This is probably the most popular AYITL theory because it preserves the original program, allowing it to exist separately from the revival.
9
Lorelai should say the final four words, not Rory
Gilmore Girls foreshadows Lorelai Gilmore's pregnancy
Amy Sherman-Palladino has remained steadfast about the fact that she planned Gilmore Girls' final four words from the beginning. She uses them in the revival, completing her planned ending. They look like this:
Rory: “Mom”
Lorelai: “Yes?”
Rory: “I’m pregnant.”
Those final four words don't live up to the hype, and it's frustrating to think that Amy Sherman-Palladino would have gotten 23-year-old Rory pregnant, as that would have stifled her character's growth in previous seasons. However, Key Set's former Gilmore Girls client Valerie Campbell made a TikTok video theorizing that Rory wasn't the one to reveal a pregnancy.
Instead, Campbell suggests that Amy Sherman Palladino intended for Lorelai to say those words to Emily. Several clues point to this theory being true. Lorelai's pregnancy is foreshadowed by the fact that she had the pregnancy scare where she wished for an apple in the season 5 finale of Gilmore Girls. Luke also mentioned wanting kids, and Lorelai said kids would be cool. If the events of AYITL happened in the original series, Lorelai and Luke would be together and discussing having a child. This provides the perfect opportunity for Lorelai to say the final four words.
8
The Life and Death Brigade sequel was a dream
Too many strange things happen for the scene to be real
One of the most controversial scenes in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life is the return of the Life and Death Brigade. Most viewers either love it because of the nostalgia or hate it because it's so bizarre. The scene is basically an imitation of Through the Universeeven using the same song. It seems totally out of place for Gilmore Girls, and many people have suggested on social media that the reason is that the entire sequence was a dream.
Dream theory would explain the fog, the talking crow, the woman on the street, the altered words on the sign, the strange lighting, and the choreographed dance sequence. It also explains why no one else is walking around Stars Hallow in the AYITL scene. In the original series, even when Sookie and Jackson tried to weed themselves in the middle of the night, they bumped into people and passed others on the street.
7
Rory is Luke and Lorelai's replacement (unmasked)
Rory's professional wrestling may have led her to surrogacy
Because Rory announces her pregnancy at the very end of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Lifethe program does not confirm the identity of the father. This led viewers to speculate on the matter. One of the most fascinating theories, suggested by u/ArtHistoryCoffeeGirl on Redditpoints to Rory carrying Luke and Lorelai's baby. At one point in the revival, Rory makes a flippant comment to Jess about the fact that she could become one of Paris' replacements because she isn't having success in her career.
Luke and Lorelai also visit the Paris surrogacy clinic to discuss wanting to have a child. It would be interesting for Rory to help Luke and Lorelai have another child, but the fact that she is carrying her own brother could complicate the situation. While the theory is interesting, it was debunked because, in addition to creating Lorelai's four-word theory, the costume designer revealed that Logan is the father of Rory's baby in AYITL.
6
Gilmore Girls AYITL takes place while Lorelai is in a coma
Coma theory explains character changes
One of the cardinal sins of writing and fan theories is the idea that the entire story was a dream. Second is the story that takes place while the character is in a coma, imagining everything. However, in the case of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, Reddit user u/TreeHugBookLove suggests a theory in this realm that is preferable to actual rebirth. They suggest that the revival takes place while Lorelai is in a coma, which would explain why the story and characters are so different from real life.
The theory is reinforced by the fact that Lorelai constantly talks about problems with her car. Gilmore Girls. Plus, the Life and Death Brigade sequence looks too fantastic to be real. Emily Gilmore would also never willingly go to therapy, based on the original story. The only part of this theory that should be rejected is Lorelai's death because that is too sad to happen in Gilmore Girls.
5
Violet from AYITL is Michelle Simms from Bunheads
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life Could Have a Big Connection to the Bunheads
Amy Sherman-Palladino has a history of featuring the same actors on different shows. When she got the news of the Gilmore Girls revival, she promised Bunheads star Sutton Foster that she would write a role for her (via Poster). The end result is Violet, a sarcastic, fast-talking woman who previously starred on Broadway in the show Kinky Boots. Aside from her name, Violet shares a shocking number of similarities with her Bunheads character, Michelle Simms. As such, one AYITL theory suggests that they are actually the same person.
In the final episode of Bunheads, Michelle makes a connection with a Broadway pianist who gives her his phone number and promises to get her a gig if she comes to New York. Considering Michelle wants to perform on stage again, it's not strange to think she'll head to New York and land a role in Kinky Boots on Broadway.. Artists often use stage names, so perhaps she changed her name to Violet. So, she somehow ended up in Stars Hollow, auditioning for the town's musical.
4
Rory is pregnant with Wookie's baby (unmasked)
Rory had sex with a man dressed as a Wookie
The main options for the father of Rory's baby are Paul, Logan, surrogate or Wookie. Even though the obvious and correct answer is Logan, there's something hilarious about the theory that Rory got pregnant with the Wookie's baby. Obviously, this would be the ideal situation, as she would be able to take care of her son alone, without worrying about the father's involvement in the situation.
Plus, it's not completely out of the question, despite her being around six months old at the time of the announcement. Even though she didn't have a visible pregnancy belly, No two pregnancy experiences are identical and some people who have their first child only experience it much later. Ultimately, the theory is fun to think about, even if the probability seems extremely low.
3
Trix wrote Emily Lorelai's letter
The Gilmore Matriarch Could Have Directed the Hate at Emily
During a therapy session, Emily accuses Lorelai of leaving her a “hideous letter” on her pillow for her birthday with horrible accusations, abuse and profanity. However, Lorelai seems really confused and denies writing the letter. In other circumstances, it is reasonable to doubt Lorelai's statements to her mother. However, in AYITL, she will go to therapy with her mother and make a genuine attempt to confess her mistakes. However, it raises the question of who wrote it.
The most obvious answer is right under viewers' noses – Lorelai “Trix” Gilmore. When Emily makes her accusation, she never says how long ago the letter was written. A harsh reality about Emily Gilmore is the fact that she holds a grudge like no other, which means the letter could have been written before Trix's death. Grandmother would write the same name on the paper, since Lorelai is named after her. Additionally, Trix has a history of writing cruel letters, as proven by her letter to Richard before her wedding.
2
Sookie is the leader of a plant cult
Sookie's story could be linked to Liz and TJ's story
This theory combines two character stories in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. Sookie, as a character, barely appears in the revival because she is working with chef and food educator Dan Barber at his Blue Hill Farm to create new breeds of vegetables. It is later revealed that Liz and TJ have joined a plant cult, which seems like a bizarre coincidence. Fans quickly developed the idea that Sookie was part of the same cult as Liz and TJ.
However, an even funnier version of the theory, postulated by a viewer named Kathryn, who wrote for New York Timessuggests that she is the leader. Sookie intentionally running a cult seems completely out of character for her, but she looks like she could be swept under the influence of the true leader, without realizing the fact that she is the face of the cult. Either way, a cult would explain why she barely exists in AYITL.
1
Bootsy destroyed Luke's floating cabin
Bootsy and Luke have had a fight since childhood
A great mystery that remains in the minds of Gilmore Girls fans everywhere after A year in the life was the one who vandalized Luke's floating cabin. The question comes up several times in “Summer,” but they never provide an answer. One theory suggests that Bootsy is the person who destroyed the floating cabin. Bootsy only appears in Season 2 of the original series, but he reprises his role in “Spring” and “Summer,” meaning he was present in Stars Hollow at the time of the incident.
Luke and Bootsy also have animosity that dates back to their childhood because Bootsy destroyed Luke's clay handprint. Considering their rivalry lasted about 30 years between the incident and them being mentioned in the original series, there's no reason to believe they would hold any less grudges against each other in the revival. This would also explain why Bootsy criticizes him over the floating cabin at the town meeting in AYITL.