Can Jess' Spinoff Predict His 'GG' Revival Arc?

Remember sometime around Season 3 when Jess almost had a Gilmore Girls spin-off? I do. Because, in between my hours-long Gilmore Girls marathons that I’ve been having on the regular, and dreaming about the four-part revival that’s coming to Netflix, I spend a lot of time thinking about that spin-off that never happened. It was to be called Windward Circle, and it was to be awesome. But back then it was just a bummer: Reports came out that it got too expensive to film in Venice Beach. These days, I think about that spin-off, and I think about whether or not it might reveal what Jess will be like in the revival. Because, even though the spin-off didn’t happen, there are still plenty of clues about Jess’s Gilmore Girls revival storyline from that show that never happened.

There’s very little out there about the spin-off, but there is still one cut scene from Windward Circle that reveals a lot. In it, Jess faces down a couple of surfer dude on the boardwalk, and, trust me, it’s tense. But what can you tell from the cut scene? Well, a lot actually. Something tells me that those skateboarding kids (or ones like them) would have eventually become Jess’ friends in the spin-off, softening his New England ways into a laidback, in touch, vegan-eating Californian. Because can’t you see California softening Jess just a bit? He’s so painfully East Coast in this clip, dressed all in black and with an edge the size of the Grand Canyon. Living in California could have only helped to dial back his bitter angst.

But there are more, too, like the fact that the show was supposed to be all about Jess’ relationship with his father, Jimmy. But it wasn’t just Jimmy out there in California. There was also his girlfriend and his girlfriend’s daughter, all of whom may have changed Jess just a bit. Think about it: Living with Luke and having a strong male role model was pretty life-changing for Jess. Remember the book Luke passed on about showing affection? I can only imagine that having his father nearby — and an adorable little sister — would have a similar effect on Jess’ lone wolf mentality.

So while nothing about his role in the revival has been revealed just yet, I think there are plenty of clues from the cancelled spin-off to hope for a more laid-back and in touch version of Jess Mariano.

Image: Warner Bros. Television