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But one of the best things of A Year in the Life is seeing Emily and Lorelai bridge the divide that has been such a big part of their relationship. After all of these years, it seems like the drama between them is going away or at least isn’t going to be the defining characteristic of their relationship. It was nice that Lorelai felt comfortable enough to ask Emily for help with the expanding of the Dragonfly Inn.

It was yet another callback to the beginning of the series when Lorelai needed help to pay for Rory’s prep school tuition. Emily agrees, with the condition that Lorelai and Luke visit her in Nantucket for three weeks a year. This mirrors their original Friday night dinner arrangement and again brings things full circle. But in a nice testament to how far they’ve come, this time Lorelai doesn’t see it as torture. Instead she calls it the circle of life, with a smile.

Another great delight of the revival has been the chance to see how characters have grown and changed. Or in the case of Michel (Yanic Truesdale) and Taylor, (Michael Winters) haven’t changed. Although Jess (Milo Ventimiglia) hasn’t been a huge part of the new series, it has been nice to see him in Stars Hollow.

It’s especially enjoyable to see how far he’s come from the early “bad boy” days. When he was last seen in Season 6, it was clear that he was already maturing. And it’s nice to see that the show kept his growth moving forward. He’s grown into a genuinely caring person, not unlike Luke, who was a father figure for Jess during a tough time in his life.

Because of this, it was really sweet to see the warmth and affection between them. And the show again brought things full circle when Jess was the one trying to take care of Luke who was very upset over Lorelai. Their relationship has grown, and it’s clear they care about each other, and sometimes even express it.

When it was announced that all of Rory’s major exes would return, it led to a lot of fan speculation. Would there be drama to see who would win Rory’s heart? Would there be another all out brawl? But in the end, it turned out that there wasn’t even a competition. Logan’s relationship, at least in its current form, with Rory is ending (more on that later).

And although it’s hinted that Jess might have some lingering feelings for Rory, for the most part, he has moved on with his life. That means there is only one former flame to speak of. And Dean (Jared Padalecki) is the last of the exes to be trotted out in a brief but moving cameo.

History has given Dean a bad name, but that’s always been a bit unfair. When he first appeared in Rory’s life, he was caring, supportive and nice to the important people in Rory’s life. He even knew Nick Cave! But when writers decided they wanted to make room for Jess, they slowly turned Dean into the bad guy who acted in uncharacteristically terrible ways. And it’s hard to overlook how dumb he eventually became.

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