Gilmore Girls‘ final four words left Rory’s story on quite the cliffhanger. Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino breaks down what it all means.

After years of waiting, the Gilmore Girls revival gave fans the highly anticipated final four words. They delivered a shocking revelation for Rory, while bringing the series full-circle. Fans (and some writers) were left confused and angry, while some felt oddly satisfied.

But what exactly did Amy Sherman-Palladino have in mind for those four words all those years ago? And what do they mean now for the future of the show as it stands?

Could ‘Gilmore Girls’ feature an abortion?

Never say never. That is the motto of Amy Sherman-Palladino after she went from saying “no” to a Gilmore Girls movie years ago to witnessing a revival come to life. The creator mentions to Buzzfeed that Rory is at a crossroads. “I think that somebody as smart as Rory is going to take a step back and look at all the angles, and then make her decision, because it’s too important a job to make the wrong decision when it comes to kids,” Sherman-Palladino comments.

Rory’s original story arc saw her entering this pregnancy at 22. Fresh out of college, the world was at her feet.

Related: How ‘Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life’ broke my heart

But, even at 32, Rory is just as unstable as ever. This is partially due to the fact that Amy Sherman-Palladino had to get her character back to the state of life she originally pictured Rory hitting.

A Year in the Life highlights how much growing up Rory still needs to do. She is no spring chicken who can rely on one good piece of writing to get her through the door. Rory always pushed the olive branch life extended to her until this point. Finally, it gave out and snapped back. The final four words sent her tumbling into reality.

Sherman-Palladino acknowledges that Rory must consider who she is and how that will affect the well-being of her child. Even though 32 is certainly not as young as 22, Palladino notes, “32 is frickin’ young, man.”

Lane’s pregnancy gave away a piece of the story that Sherman-Palladino hoped would belong to Rory. However, it did not ruin her master plan by any means. Speaking to TV Line, the creator adds, “By the way, Rory doesn’t have to keep the baby. There are choices here that she can make. It’s just the left turn. It’s that curveball that life throws you. I will say, weirdly, that I like it much more now.”

Not many series take the leap into tackling abortion. However, the few that do, namely Jane the Virgin‘s Xo story arc, approach it from a place of care and consequence. While religion plays a large role in Jane, the well-being of the mother, quality of life for the child, and emotional ramifications of the decision are universal circumstances.

Gilmore Girls viewers may not ever see the decision Rory makes in regards to her future.

It’s less about the boy and more about the mom

Team Logan, Team Jess, Team Dean, Team Paul (if you exist) can all put down their fighting arms. Sorry, but the next step for Rory in this moment is not obsession about a boy, but an examination of her options.

Sherman-Palladino goes on to say to TV Line, “Her discussion with Lorelai is going to be about, ‘What do I do? Where do I go from here?’ It’s not going to be about, ‘I can’t believe it’s this boy that wound up [being the father].'”

There are no cliffhangers

Wait… what? You read that correctly. Amy Sherman-Palladino believes that the series left questions, sure, but it is closed for now. The final four words were meant to be — say it with me now — the final four words.

Finally, Emily finds some happiness in her darkest days spearing imaginary whales. Meanwhile, Lorelai lingers in her post-marital bliss. But Rory’s story does not close a chapter at all. Instead, a new chapter of her story at the same age as we found Lorelai all those years ago.

The cyclical nature of Gilmore Girls is a comfort to some, but not all. How do you feel?

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