The 'Gilmore Girls' Wedding Shouldn't Matter

Like pretty much every other human being who was a pre-teen in the early '00s, I've spend the last several months in a constant state of dazed happiness, thanks to the steady stream news and reports that've come out of Gilmore Girls' Netflix revival. From the ever-growing cast list to the Melissa McCarthy drama to the hinted return of Jess' leather jacket, practically every single piece of info that's been released has been cause for celebration. One particularly major reveal, the news of a possible wedding, has gotten many Gilmore fans to happily freak out, constantly theorizing over who could be getting married and dreaming up all potential romantic pairings. Yet while I get the excitement, I don't see it as something to obsess over; in fact, I believe that the Gilmore Girls wedding, whoever's it is, shouldn't even matter.

Don't get me wrong — if the wedding ends up being that of major characters, I'll be as thrilled as anyone. Like all Gilmore Girls fans, I followed the romantic exploits of Rory and Lorelai with enthusiasm, and have strong opinions about who each woman's best boyfriend was (Luke and Jess, obviously). Yet despite my love for these couples, I never felt like who each Gilmore girl dated mattered all that much when compared to everything else that happened to them on the show. Rory, Lorelai, and Emily are some of the most complex female characters ever on TV; their love lives, while certainly interesting, are far less important than their personalities, their jobs, and, most of all, their relationships with one another. Yes, romance has always played a big part in Gilmore Girls, but it's never been what the show was about. To focus so much on a potential wedding, regardless of whose it is, takes away from what the series actually stands for.

I'm not saying that the wedding doesn't matter at all, or that talking about it is silly. I get that pretty much any Gilmore Girls revival news is exciting, and that the idea of a major character potentially getting married is a pretty big deal. But the way people have been talking about the wedding recently, it's as if it's the only thing about the show that matters — who's getting married, who's dating who, what couples may or may not still be together when the show comes back to TV. It's overshadowed talk about what Rory's job will be, or if Lorelai will have had another kid, or what Kirk could possibly be up to in 2016. And, most importantly, it's made the real focus of the show — the complicated, flawed, totally fascinating relationships between the series' main characters — take an undeserved backseat.

At its core, Gilmore Girls is a show not about romance, but about women's complex bonds with one another: Rory and Lorelai's, extraordinary close but featuring not-small challenges; Lorelai and Emily's, filled with friction and yet with undeniable similarities; and Rory and Emily's, full of pride and support but with plenty of tension, too. The three Gilmore women have always been the show's true stars, and now, with Richard's death, the need for them to take center stage has never felt more urgent. When the reboot comes around, it's those three woman, not the men that may or may not be in their lives, who deserve our full attention.

So keep on theorizing about the wedding, and have fun imagining potential romantic futures for the Gilmore women — that's all well and good. But when you do so, remember that it shouldn't take the place of wondering about where they'll be in relation to one another when the reboot airs, or what hopes and dreams of theirs may or may not have become a reality. Gilmore Girls has never been simply about romance, so don't make the reboot be any different.

Images: Warner Bros; Giphy