Rory's Dreams Could Be Vital On 'Gilmore Girls'

Ever since the very first trailer for Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life was unleashed onto the internet, I haven't been able to stop thinking about dreams. Aside from the fact that our first glimpse at the Netflix Gilmore Girls revival obviously sent me straight into a dreamy, excitable stupor for a long while after first seeing it, there's also the small matter that dreams are pretty important in the show. Whether it's Lorelai or Rory who are experiencing them, we've seen both of the characters' insecurities and true feelings played out within their very own respective dreamscapes. Which got me to thinking that perhaps dreams play a pivotal role in developing the narrative of the revival, too. And even more importantly, that perhaps they're the real reason why all three of Rory's ex-boyfriends are returning for the Gilmore Girls revival.

I mean, let's look at the facts for a second. A quick glimpse at the Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life IMDb page confirms that, though Matt Czuchry's Logan is returning for all four episodes of the revival mini-series, and that Milo Ventimiglia's Jess will star in three, Jared Padalecki is to only star in one as Dean. Back in July, Padalecki broke the hearts of Team Dean shippers everywhere when he confirmed to US Weekly that he was only on the Gilmore Girls set for one day, stating:

I wanted to be a bigger part — I think they wanted me to be a bigger part of it as well. But it was shot during Supernatural, so I only did one day. But in that one day, it was a really good amount of stuff I got to do, and explained a lot.

It seems a little unusual that such a major character would be given such little screen time. Whether Padalecki was busy or not, the fact is that the character of Dean has such a big history with Rory, Lorelai, and with Stars Hollow itself that it feels almost impossible to imagine what sort of a story he could play out within just one, single episode. Especially when you consider that Dean's story in the revival only required one single day of filming. Unless, that is, if he was to appear in a dream sequence.

It would feel a little contentious, after all, that Logan, Dean, and Jess would all just so happen to be in Stars Hollow at the exact same time. Jess and Logan in the same place at the same time? Sure. Jess and Dean? Absolutely (and bring that scene on). But all three of them at once feels like a bit of a stretch. So, instead, Bustle editor Sam Rullo posed a theory about the presence of Dean, Jess, and Logan in the revival — and it just so happens to fit within an already existent pop cultural canon (of which Lorelai would be proud to reference).

At some point during one of the episodes, we'll be introduced to Rory — with Dean. They'll be coupled up, but not necessarily very happy. Perhaps they'll have a pack of adorable, but noisy, children running round their messy home while Dean watches a hockey game on TV and Rory tries (and fails) to concentrate on writing an article. They'll probably argue, Dean will get defensive, Rory will feel like the villain in the relationship, and the argument would no doubt escalate until the moment where she wakes up in bed with Jess.

And, together, they probably have a cool, artsy apartment and no children at all, and Mr. Mariano will just so happen to be reading one of her favorite books next to Rory while she wakes up. They talk for a while, it's as cute and adorable and charming as ever until he reminds her that he has to leave for another book tour that day. He climbs out of bed, picks up some bags waiting by the door, kisses her goodbye, and leaves her calling after him to come back until she wakes up in bed with Logan. And, well, you get the idea.

All fan fiction aside, I genuinely think that this could be a route that A Year In The Life may take in one of the episodes — showing how Rory's life may have turned out with all three of her respective exes (and possibly warping such dreams into an Inception style Russian Doll i order to keep the audience on their toes). Of course, I'm sure that the shapes that those unlived dream-lives will take will differ wildly from my speculative interpretation of them (I'm shooting from the heart here, people). But such a narrative approach would certainly give fans of each respective relationship some kind of an opportunity for closure.

Back in April, remember, Czuchry mentioned to The Hollywood Reporter that he believed that the Gilmore Girls revival will give fans "closure," stating: "You're going to see where the characters have been, you're going to see where they are now and you're going to see where they're going." It's easy enough to see where a character has been and where they are now, but it's a lot less easy to suggest where a character is going in a way that can grant "closure" (especially when they're only appearing in one single episode, like Dean is).

As such, it'd be easy to imagine that we could very easily be seeing the results of Rory picking and spending the rest of her life with Dean, Jess, and Logan, albeit experiencing those alternate realities through the medium of Rory's dreams. Considering how vastly talented Gilmore Girls showrunner Amy-Sherman Palladino is in constructing stories that feel true to the characters they're about, I can foresee how these dreams could potentially be done so realistically that fans could experience some form of closure from them.

Such a narrative foreshadowing device is already an existing trope of pop culture (and you know how much Gilmore Girls loves that). In Archie Comics (issues #600 — 606), the existing canon was paused for three issues in order to show two alternate, potential life paths. The first three issues (#600 — 603) focused on the results of lead character Archie picking and marrying rich, mean girl, Veronica (over her love rival, Betty), while the next three issues (#603 — 606) took the reverse approach, and showed the results of Archie picking and marrying girl next door, Betty.

Regardless of who Rory actually picks (if anyone), wouldn't all Gilmore Girls fans want to see what sort of a life Rory could have with all three of her exes? Because I definitely do. And a dream narrative technique could be the perfect way to bring those ideas to life.

And, like I said, dreams became a big storytelling device in the later seasons of Gilmore Girls, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see them return. Particularly as a means to disseminate a part of Rory's life that has never been simple for her, hopefully helping to guide her towards making a resolute decision regarding her exes.

Remember the Season 6 episode in which Rory has a dream where she gets kicked out of Chilton and goes home to find Paris and Doyle (and their kids) taking residence in her and Lorelai's home (right after she leaves Yale and moves in with Emily and Richard)? Or the Season 5 episode where Lorelai deals with her issues regarding her relationship with Luke by dreaming of them watching her lack of reciprocity play out like a movie in front of them both? And how about the Season 3 dream where Lorelai is woken up by dozens of clocks to find Luke cooking breakfast for her and their unborn twins?

Dreams are a big deal in Gilmore Girls, and they're also a fantastic narrative device for sharing the intimate, unseen, and the unspoken nuances of a character with an audience. We might all think we know Rory, and we might think we know what's best for her, who's best for her, and which ex-boyfriend she should ultimately wind up with. But, in all likelihood, we probably don't. Hell, there's a possibility that Rory might not even be aware of those answers yet. But, if there's one thing I've learnt from life and from Gilmore Girls, it's that your dreams will always tell you the secrets of your sub-conscious.

And as an audience, we might just be privy to those secrets, foreshadowing, and future projections via Rory's very own dreams when Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life comes to Netflix in November. I live in hope.

Additional Reporting By Sam Rullo

Images: Warner Bros. Pictures; Giphy (4)