‘Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life’: Was the Dummy Ending More Realistic?
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life premiered on Netflix in 2016. The filming of the revival was a covert operation. Fans were shocked when Rory Gilmore revealed that she was pregnant in the final moments of the four-part limited series. While not everyone was thrilled with the ending, very few viewers can claim they weren’t surprised by it. The cast was, too. Amy Sherman-Palladino, the show’s creator, crafted a dummy ending to keep even the cast and crew in the dark.
Lauren Graham revealed that 95% of the cast thought the dummy ending of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life was the real ending
Lauren Graham, the actor who portrayed Lorelai Gilmore for all seven seasons of Gilmore Girls, sat down with The Los Angeles Times shortly after the revival to discuss the process of returning to Stars Hollow. During the interview, she revealed that the cast shot a dummy ending for the revival. Some fans wonder if the dummy ending was a more realistic way to end the series. So, what did it entail?
Graham revealed that the fake ending found Rory sitting on a train heading away from Stars Hollow. She looks up and smiles at an unseen character in the scene, and then the show ends. Graham couldn’t recall what the final words of the dummy ending were. She did remember that the scene would have ended the series on a cliffhanger, just like the final scene that made its way to fans.
Lauren Graham revealed that Amy Sherman-Palladino never wrote down the revival’s final four words on paper
There is a good reason why most of the cast had no idea that the dummy ending wasn’t the real deal. Graham revealed in an interview with The Los Angeles Times that the final four words were never written down in the script. The production team gave the cast a “Fall” script, but they left out that last scene. Graham and Alexis Bledel both learned the final four words from Sherman-Palladino before they shot it.
In the same interview, Graham also revealed that she does not know the identity of Rory’s baby daddy. Fans largely assume that Logan Huntzberger fathered Rory’s baby. Matt Czuchry has made it clear that he knows the father’s identity, but he isn’t willing to share it with the public. If a second revival is ever produced, fans will find out.
Was the dummy ending more realistic?
While Sherman-Palladino always envisioned ending the show with Rory telling her mother that she was pregnant, fans aren’t convinced it was the best or most realistic ending. They argue that it would have been a great way to end the original show. Nine years after the series finale, it felt a little forced and contrived. So, would the dummy ending have been more realistic?
It’s hard to say. Since Graham couldn’t recall what was said, it is hard to ascertain the scene’s implications. Reddit users have suggested Logan was sitting across from Rory, indicating the pair would take off together. For several different reasons, that feels like a realistic ending. It’s especially fitting when you consider that the couple was deeply in love with each other, regardless of their relationship status.
