Fans of Gilmore Girls may not always agree with the behavior of the main characters, but viewers love the coffee, junk food, pop culture references, and cute small town at the heart of each episode. There is a certain level of comfort in the familiar Stars Hollow setting.
Rory and Lorelai have so much in common, but while their personalities and caffeine tolerance remain the same, they change in other ways, and so do the people who they know. The coffee-guzzling mother-daughter duo and their fellow Stars Hollow residents do a lot of growing and transforming between the pilot and the series finale.
Lane Kim: A Family Of Her Own
Lane does some awful things over the course of the series, but Rory's best friend has a huge transformation that is ultimately positive.
Lane starts off as a rebellious high school girl who literally hides her love of music from her mom in the floorboards of her bedroom. She falls in love with Zack and they get married and have kids. Now with a family of her own, Lane has definitely grown up a lot. It was hard to tell if she would ever wind up in a peaceful, content place since she had so much trouble being herself because of her strict mother.
Paris Geller: From Rory's Tormentor To Ambitious Woman
At the beginning of Gilmore Girls, it would be impossible to have predicted that Rory and Paris would be almost like sisters. Initially, Paris is out to get Rory, tormenting her every day at Chilton and trying to sabotage her academic and extracurricular life.
Eventually, Paris calms down and the two become friends. By the end of the show, Paris is ready to take on the world. She's in love with Doyle (Danny Strong) and headed for grad school, and she knows that although she didn't have her family's love growing up, she can still be successful.
Emily And Richard Gilmore: Back Together And Healing Their Family Wounds
Sometimes Emily and Lorelai are friendly, but the majority of the time, these two are at odds.
Emily and Richard are in a really good place in the season 7 finale. They've gotten back together, seem to have a new understanding of each other, and they're healing the wounds that their family has had for decades. Even though Rory has graduated from Yale, they know that they'll still see their daughter, and that means so much to them. It seems like the Gilmores are finally being nice to each other.
Dean Forester: Moving On From Rory
Dean is really put through the wringer on Gilmore Girls. The new kid in town, he bags groceries at Doose's Market and just wants a quiet, simple life, but falls in love with Rory right away. Dean says a lot of sweet things but these two just aren't meant to be.
After marrying Lindsay, Dean cheats on her with Rory, and then realizes that neither relationship is going to work out. Dean is finally able to move on from Rory, and this is a huge deal. She's not a healthy partner for him as her intelligence and dreams for the future make him feel insecure, and those are issues that he has to work out.
Logan Huntzberger: Time To Grow Up
Logan, sweeps Rory off her (usually very logical) feet at Yale, and the two have a long-term romance.
By the finale, Logan has proposed to Rory and been rejected, and he has to figure out what to do next. It's definitely time for Logan to grow up. He has always struggled between what he wants and what his father expects, and this is going to be his lifelong journey.
Jess Mariano: A Happy, Literary Life
Jess and Rory's relationship has major problems, but Jess did a total 180 when Rory meets him again later in life.
At first, Jess is an angry teenager who would rather do anything than face his feelings. In season 6, Rory and Luke go see Jess at the publishing house he has started, and Rory sees how much he has transformed. Now he's a writer who is living a happy, literary life and he's a far cry from the rebellious kid who she knew.
Sookie St. James: Finding Her Confidence As A Chef
Melissa McCarthy's GG character goes through a huge transformation, too. She becomes a wife to Jackson, is expecting her third baby at the end of the show, and she has really come into her own as a chef.
Fans who have seen the imperfect Netflix revival A Year In The Life know that Sookie goes off to study with Dan Barber and she really improves her standing in the culinary world. Sookie is confident at the end of the series as she knows that she's talented and can do anything in the kitchen.
Luke Danes: Ready To Commit (But Still Grumpy)
Luke's biggest transformation is a personal one, as he listens to some advice tapes and realizes that he can't be afraid to fall in love anymore.
Luke and Lorelai suffer a lot in their relationship, but by the series finale, he's ready to commit. Sure, he's still his usual grumpy self and he still prefers backwards baseball caps and plaid shirts to suits, but he knows he has it within him to love Lorelai properly.
Rory Gilmore: From Young Teen To Young Writer, Going Off On Her Own
Rory is really young when Gilmore Girls begins, hanging out with her mom, drinking tons of coffee, and reading as much as she can — when she's not studying like her life depends on it.
While Rory has three main love interests, in the end she's single and ready to travel the world and start her life as a reporter. She leaves all the mistakes and tough times she has experienced behind, and it's very moving to see her grow up.
Lorelai Gilmore: Finally Lucky In Love
Some of Lorelai's actions are problematic now, but it's hard to deny how happy she is at the end of the series and how secure she seems that she can move forward.
She's finally lucky in love, as she and Luke find their way back to each other, and they know that they can get through anything that the future has to offer. It's a romantic ending and the one that fans were hoping for.