Logan Huntzberger was Rory Gilmore’s last boyfriend on Gilmore Girls, and I’m of the mindset that he was also her best (controversial, I know). He wasn’t a cheater like Dean, he wasn’t brooding like Jess, and while he could be a big arrogant, Logan was usually pretty receptive to Rory putting him in his place. Matt Czuchry, who played Logan, is back for Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life on Netflix, so let’s have a little refresher course for those who need reminding about how Rory and Logan broke up on Gilmore Girls.
It’s worth noting that all of Rory’s boyfriends appear in the Netflix reboot, and I think that’s detail is fanservice. Choosing Rory’s best boyfriend is like choosing the best pizza in your neighborhood — everyone has their own favorite and everyone is very, very loyal to that favorite. The outcry would be insane if Jess, Dean, or Logan were omitted from Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life. Sure, it takes place a decade after Rory graduated and went to work as a journalist on then-Senator Barack Obama’s campaign, but why can’t all of her boyfriends still show up? Like I said, Logan was always my favorite, and I was always sad that these two didn’t end up together. Let’s take a walk to memory lane to refresh our memories regarding their relationship before the big Black Friday reveal of Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life, shall we?
The Beginning
Rory and Logan meet through Marty, aka “Naked Guy,” when Logan and his dumb friends (I may like Logan, but I don’t like his friends) tease Marty for being a bartender at their parties. Rory doesn't like Logan’s ‘tude, and she gives him a lecture for being a jerk to Marty. Rory and Logan then get to know each other when Rory is working on a story on the Life & Death Brigade at Yale, a secret group that Logan leads which does all kinds of secret things at school. She is fascinated by the crazy stuff that the club does, and the two grow closer as they tackle these obstacles, including jumping off a very, very high platform with umbrellas. We can pretty much see Rory’s crush forming here, and she and Logan soon agree to a friends-with-benefits type thing. The thing about being friends-with-benefits is that one party usually wants more, and Rory eventually decides she can’t handle it and breaks it off with Logan. She wants a relationship. Instead of losing her, Logan opts to be her boyfriend instead — something he usually doesn’t do.
The Middle
Even though Logan's family doesn’t approve, they date happily, at least until Logan’s dad, Mitchum, hires Rory as an intern at one of his newspapers and then tells her that she’s not cut out to be a journalist. Devastated, Rory steals a yacht with Logan, gets arrested, and drops out of Yale, but Logan and Rory keep dating. That is, until Logan becomes jealous of a visiting Jess for absolutely no reason. Logan's jealousy causes the pair to be on a break, except that Rory doesn't think it's a break, and she becomes upset with Logan for sleeping with some of his sister’s friends while he and Rory are apart. Gross.
After many a romantic gesture (and a big talk with Lorelai), Rory and Logan got back together, and she takes care of him after he’s injured in a base-jumping accident with the Life & Death Brigade. He heals, and Mitchum sends him to London to get right, since he’s acting like a rich baby. The separation is tough on Rory and Logan, but they make it through, especially since he gifts her with a rocket ship based on a Twilight Zone episode in which a man waits for his love for an eternity.
The End
Two more situations rattle Rory and Logan’s relationship, but they stay together — the first is when Rory is jealous of Bobby, Logan’s attractive coworker, and the second is when Logan tells Lucy, Rory’s friend, that Rory actually knows Lucy’s boyfriend — it’s Marty. Logan is there when Richard has a heart attack, and Rory is there when Logan loses a ton of money in a bad business deal. As Rory’s college graduation approaches, Logan asks Lorelai if he can propose to Rory, and Lorelai is like, “Well, if you want to, sure.” Logan proposes at Rory’s graduation party (which is a really bad time), and Rory asks if she could have more time — after all, he did just spring this on her. When Rory says she’s not ready to get married, Logan says that he can’t go back — it’s all or nothing — and in the penultimate episode of Gilmore Girls, he walks away. Rory is sad, and the show ends with Rory and Logan as separate entities.
Will Rory and Logan get back together in Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life? I mean, I can dream about it, but I’m not sure. I think it was a big deal that Rory ended the series on a journey to pursue her own destiny — her dreams weren’t tied to a man — but a big part of life is trying to find someone to share it with. Whether or not that someone is Logan remains to be seen, but I’m certainly hoping so.
Images: Warner Bros. Television; Giphy (3)
