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On the plus side, freeing herself of Logan does seem to reignite Rory’s sense of purpose. With her spark relit, Rory heads off to Emily’s house to work on her book. Because Emily is in Nantucket, Rory has the place to herself.

What follows is a very melancholy and moving scene. Because her grandmother’s place has so many memories for her, being there alone triggers a lot of nostalgia for Rory. When she walks into the dining room, she recalls a time when her whole family was having one of their Friday night dinners. The show cleverly incorporates old footage into the scene so the audience also feels the nostalgia. It’s a nice move that has the desired effect. There are also some other sweet callbacks to the past in the scene. When walking into Richard’s office, Rory has a quick vision of her grandfather sitting at his desk. Seeing Rory writing her book at his desk adds to the running theme of things coming full circle. And to see the painting of Rory, from a Season 2 episode, still hanging up, is a wonderful touch.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before the Gilmore Girls made up, but it was nice to see them do it in the kitchen over a lot of food. The conversation is sweet, but it has a tentative feel to it. It was like they were still finding their way back from their fight. Rory reveals that she has finished the first three chapters of her book and shows it Lorelai. She wants her mother to read it. If it still bothers her, Rory won’t write the book.

It was also nice to see that Emily finally got out of the funk she’s been in.

It’s even nicer to see that it was a result of talking with Lorelai. After a rough year, she’s come to realize that her life no longer fits her. The house that has been such a big part of her life isn’t a home anymore since Richard passed away. And in order for her to move on, she has to leave the past behind.

Because of this, she decides to sell her house and move to Nantucket. Needless to say, Lorelai is taken by surprise and her shock extends to the audience. It’s hard to overstate how important the house has been to the show. So many memorable moments happened there. And its presence often loomed over characters simply because they were dreading having to go there.

It’s also very nice that the show offers a glimpse of what life in Nantucket will look like for Emily. She’s come a long way from being the person who would fire the help for the smallest mistakes. Now she’s taking care of her sick maid and making her soup, or at least heating it up.

And as she is heading off to her first day of work at the Nantucket Whaling Museum, there is a closeup of her white shoes that lasts a bit longer than it should have. At first glance, this doesn’t seem like much. But it’s actually a subtle callback to an episode in season one when Emily visited Stars Hollow and got a tour from Rory. Emily had to get rid of her fancy shoes and put on a pair of white sneakers to walk in. That, like now, was a moment of Emily stepping out of her comfort zone. And although it was pleasant to see Emily working, it does bring up a couple of questions? When did Emily become a whale expert? And how exactly did she get the job? What are the qualifications for this job? All of these are questions that are unfortunately left unanswered.

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