My first acquaintance with the Gilmore Girls was as the show which was always on when I tried to tune in to the WB to watch another show that I liked at that time. That other show is probably best forgotten, and it would probably be best if I not admit what it was (but *cough*Roswell*cough*).

It really didn’t look like my type of show–too girly and WB teen-melodrama-ey. But then I started watching it. I tend to be entranced with shows, books, movies, etc. that have me looking up the references they make to others of the above. GG proved to be one of those shows; plus it’s one of those shows that, for me, sort of echo where I am or was in life in some way. True, I’m not a single mom or a genius teenager, but in the family struggles, small victories, and groups of supportive (if excessively quirky) friends reminded me of some of my own issues.

The show’s main characters are a young mother (Lorelai) with a teenage daughter (Rory). Lorelai came from a wealthy family, but ran away from home after having a baby at 16, because her parents were pressuring her to marry the father and let them dictate the course of their collective lives. Lorelai made a success of this rather unfortuitous beginning, becoming a successful business woman and then owner of her own inn in the small town of Stars Hollow. The show revolves around those two characters, Lorelai’s parents with whom she has a very troubled relationship, the eccentric townspeople of Stars Hollow (most importantly Luke, the owner of the town’s diner), and people Rory meets at her private school and at Yale.

I watched for a couple of seasons, kept entertained by the charming main characters, the Northern Exposure-esque townies, and the light touch and humor used to depict Lorelai and Rory’s various misadventures. This ws the show that got me drawn into Television Without Pity’s recaps: the GG recapper was as amusing to read as the show itself, and she, like me, often seemed to feel like the show was really about her.

Somewhere along the line, I stopped watching. The show had a definite turning point where it became less light-hearted and more of a typical WB soap opera, in my opinion at least. Sure, my pure-minded corn-fed Heartland self didn’t care for some of the choices made by the characters, but what really bugged me was that I felt I didn’t know who the characters were any more. Lorelai and Rory were very strong, well-depicted characters in the first three or four seasons, but after that I felt they were simply made to do whatever the writers felt would add angst to the plot, regardless of whether it was in-character or not–and whether the plot devices involved would make any thinking viewer roll her eyes till she got too dizzy to walk a straight line.

The end of Gilmore Girls came rather suddenly, apparently. The shows’ creators left last year after a contract dispute, and this season was headed by someone new. There was some debate over whether there would be an 8th season, and we found out there wouldn’t just before the airing of the penultimate episode of the 7th.

So, I watched the last two episodes of the show, and I have to say, they wrapped things up very nicely. I wouldn’t say the last episode reached quite the levels of the first couple seasons, but it let all the townies take their turn and settled the ongoing conflicts nicely. Lorelai was even congratulated by her parents on the way she’s managed to make a success of her life and daughter–something she, and we, have been waiting 7 years for. The fuss the town was making over Rory was a little ridiculous, but since very few of the towns’ other young people even have names, apparently, I guess it was justified.

I was happy with the ending. I was able to skip three and a half years of the show and still feel that this series ender was a satisfying one, which was true to the spirit of the show and let us imagine everyone’s lives continuing on their own eccentric paths, even if we don’t get to watch.