Hello! Welcome to Return to Stars Hollow - a spoiler-free, retrospective podcast about Gilmore Girls! This is a special SPOILER FILLED podcast about the new Gilmore Girls Netflix revival!
You can direct download the episode here: SPOILERS - Netflix Revival #1
Have something to say about the Netflix Revival? Get your feedback in by Halloween to have your thoughts included on the Netflix Revival #2 podcast! Please EMAIL comments to returntostarshollow@yahoo.com!
From Milo's Facebook page: "I’ve always been pretty vocal about ‘Gilmore’ and I know everybody’s been waiting, and I was like, ‘That will never happen,’ and it’s totally happening.
ReplyDeleteWhile I was actually here, I got an email from the producers.
Again, I’m always vocal Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino; they’re two of my favorite people and two of my favorite writers ever of all time. Just to be able to speak their words again, of course I would do it. So I told them, yeah, of course I’ll do it." - MV
Gilmore Girls Revival
ReplyDeleteHere is my take on what has happened to the Gilmore Girls and the people in their lives. It brings everyone up to date to where the show should pick up again.
Start Part One
The show starts with everyone receiving the news that Richard has had another major heart attack and has been rushed to the hospital. He had continued to work running his boutique company under the umbrella of Floyd Stiles larger company, and he did not slow down, as Emily wanted him to for his health, because he loved working, and the economic downturn had increased pressure on the business world to do more with less. He always brought up franchising to Luke, but it never took, especially when the economy took a tailspin.
The news finds Lorelai in North Carolina at an inn, on a consulting trip for the Durham Group. She rushes to fly home. When the economy crashed, tourism dropped and the Dragonfly ran into financial difficulties. She didn’t want to borrow more money from her parents (their financial portfolio had also taken a hit), and she still owed Luke money from his investment. She and Sookie sold part interest in the Dragonfly and agreed to continue managing and running it, but also to spend part of their time consulting for the group. That work required them to travel to other properties the Durham Group’s Mike Armstrong has snapped up as the world economy faltered and property prices fell and businesses failed. Their travels to Europe and around the USA let them bring back some of the slow food movement and organic trends to the Dragonfly.
Sookie didn’t have to travel as much as Lorelai, since kitchens and menus were relatively simple to evaluate and refresh. She and Lorelai and Jackson also led the wave of turning to organic locally sourced food for the Dragonfly’s restaurant and had become very successful at it, seen as a model for and consulting to other area inns and restaurants. This development kept them fully employed and financially afloat during the crisis, and then as the economy recovered, well set professionally. She and Jackson are busy, but happy. They are still a good team and love each other and their children deeply. Jackson doesn’t involve himself in any more town politics, but he and Sookie do their part volunteering for the festivals and events, and are involved in their children’s activities as much as possible. Davy is 12 and Martha is almost 11 and they are both good students. Third child to be named and is nine. Davy plays baseball and Martha plays volleyball and takes dance at Miss Patty’s. Child three, a son, plays no sports, but likes music and helping Jackson on the farm. All three children can cook wonderfully and the family likes to invite Luke and Lorelai and their children over for dinner and cookouts. They go camping together.
(If Melissa McCarthy doesn’t return for the revival, she can be recast, possibly using Alex Borstein, the original choice, or written out. When the economy tanked and Lorelai and Sookie had to face selling part of the business, things could have been more complicated for Sookie and Jackson. Perhaps Jackson’s business was failing and they had to sell their entire share of the Dragonfly due to debt and the expenses from raising three children. Maybe they took their money and moved to a less expensive part of the country like Louisville, Kentucky or Nashville, Tennessee, to start an organic farm and an associated farm to table restaurant. Sookie and Jackson became well know for that movement and built a very successful business and are very happy together with their three kids. Lorelai and Sookie stay in close touch and exchange ideas for improving their inns and restaurants. The families get together for a week for camping each summer. Well, the dads take the kids camping and Lorelai and Sookie go to a hotel spa to get major girlfriend face time.)
End Part One
Thank you for sharing this, Carol! I think it's really cool to see your thoughts!
DeleteStart Part Two
ReplyDeleteThe turn to organic farm-to-table food movement thrilled Luke, as he was adamant that Lorelai eat healthier during her pregnancy. After they reunited on the evening of Rory’s bon voyage party, they eloped after Rory left, as they had talked about, spending several weeks cruising up the East Coast to Maine together on Luke’s new boat, following the itinerary Luke had planned for himself and April. When they returned, he did move into Lorelai’s house and a few weeks later, Lorelai discovered that she was pregnant. They were thrilled. Nine months later they have twins, one shot and done, a boy, William (after Luke’s father) and a girl, Grace (after Luke’s mother), just like Lorelai’s dream. Life is crazy for the first two years as Luke and Lorelai are juggling work and parenting. It makes them very close as a team, but very stressed and tired. Emily is always hovering near trying to buy them extravagant baby gifts and devices, but Lorelai always fends her off, wanting to keep things simple and independent. Emily keeps pressing to hire a professional baby nanny, but Luke nixes that, wanting to care for his children himself as much as possible. He leans on Caesar and Lane to run the diner in his absence. The economic downturn doesn’t hit Luke’s Diner as hard as the Dragonfly, but business is still affected, so they need Lorelai’s income. Twins are expensive, even if you keep it simple and do it yourself. They have the help of the village, Babette, Morey, Miss Patty, even Kirk and Lulu help out with their daycare business. And Lane is full of good advice about juggling twins, since she managed during the summer while Zach was touring with Vapor Rub and found her mom groove.
As the twins grew, so did the involvement of the village in their lives, much to Emily’s irritation. She thinks it is all rather haphazard. Luke coaches Little League baseball, both of his children, now 8, are on the same team, and they are both great athletes. The daughter (a tomboy, much to Lorelai’s confusion) is the pitcher and sometimes shortstop and the son is the catcher and sometimes second baseman. Lorelai just goes and cheers and brings snacks. And after every game the team all eat burgers at Luke’s Diner. And their uniforms are top notch, sponsored by Luke’s Diner. They hang out in the diner after school and sports practice, doing their homework and helping out. Emily thinks it is terrible that the kids like to work at the diner. She is always trying to buy the girl pretty dresses and take her to get a manicure, to no effect. Friday night dinners have continued, though Luke doesn’t always attend since he has to oversee the diner, but he does go at least once a month. Richard and Emily have accepted him and the marriage, and they are thrilled with the twins, but they still try to push high-end living and more intellectual pursuits. But Luke is Luke and he likes his life the way wants it, on his own terms. Lorelai always defends his choices, keeping a united front, especially about not spoiling the twins and letting them pursue their own natural interests. The twins are smart, do well in school and like to read, but they are not like Rory was. They are more athletic and social, and they have lots of friends through their varied activities. Lorelai makes sure they listen to good music and watch movies, but they prefer being outdoors and active in sports. Luke loves this and encourages them and actively supports them in these areas. Lorelai has a good relationship with them, but their family unit is more balanced with two parents, and Luke actually spends more time with them than she does since he is the outdoors and sports guy. Lorelai makes every effort to participate, and she does always seem to catch the most fish (but she won’t take them off the line or kill them) but sometimes she feels left out since she doesn’t love those things. And she is out of town a lot. And since Grace is a tomboy and doesn’t care to go shopping and get manicures she can’t bond with her that way.
End Part Two
Start Part Three
ReplyDeleteThe question of Luke and Lorelai having children was a puzzle, but based on the natural progression of Luke’s character development arc of going from the most unlikely to be a parent to the most parental of characters it seemed natural and inevitable. He was a father figure and felt parental for Rory, uncle parented Jess, parented April when she showed up, and was moved by the birth of Doula to fight for his parental rights for April, and he was an attentive uncle to Doula when she was placed in his care, not at all freaked out or put off. In Season 3 episode 7, They Shoot Gilmore’s, Don’t They, Luke admitted that he wasn’t opposed to having children with the right person, and Lorelai admitted that having another child would be nice with the right person. In Season 6 Episode 1, New and Improved Lorelai, the cold open had his long and touching monologue to a half-asleep Lorelai about his dream of children in the Twickham house. After Lorelai got over the shock of his revelation, she told him, “Children would be good.” His unabashed broad smile of joy said that this was no small thing for him. Lorelai’s age gave some urgency to them starting their family right away, and her initial decision not to sell the Dragonfly removed that hesitation. It makes complete sense that they have a family so Luke could raise some of his children from birth. His character has been transformed by the events of the 7th season, including agreeing to be the godfather for Lane and Zach’s twin boys, and especially the April story arc, into a deeply loving, ferociously protective and tender father and family man. He is committed to it, body and soul. This is critical, as later events require him to step up into the role of primary caregiver when Lorelai has to travel for business.)
The news of Richard’s death finds Rory in a meeting with Jess in Philadelphia. They had kept in touch as she travelled the country covering the Obama campaign, and then afterwards when she settled in Washington, DC to continue being a political and foreign affairs writer for the Washington Post. She also appears periodically on MSNBC as a political commentator. She has dated and had a few relationships, but is currently single and at a career crossroads. Her trust fund gives her some financial freedom, as it supplements her journalism income, but she loves writing. She is feeling stale professionally, and cynical after the Republicans beat Benghazi to death to badger Hillary. She thinks about the possibility of going back to school to get a masters degree in something. She is not sure what she wants to do. And she is not sure if she wants to take some time off, get married and start a family. She admits to Paris that she is lonely. She and Lorelai talk daily on the phone, but the realities of Lorelai’s busy life mean that their formerly close relationship has more space in it than it ever has.
End Part Three
Start Part Four
ReplyDeleteJess has turned Truncheon Press into a hip and critically acclaimed online magazine/website/publishing house. He has written and published two more modestly successful novels, and he continues to write, but the magazine is his main business. He is a sharp and assertive political Progressive, and he has kept up a dialogue with Rory on the political climate of the country, along with good books and current music. These common interests keep them in contact through Facebook, Twitter and email along with visits when she comes through Philadelphia. They are in frequent communication and are close friends. He is excited by the Sanders campaign. He is meeting with her because he wants her to go back out on the campaign trail for Truncheon, either with Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders and cover the tensions within the Democratic Party and the grassroots energy focused on Sanders as the election season unfolds. Rory is intrigued as no one expected Sanders to do so well, but she still has a soft spot for Hillary as her hero and role model. She is with him when she gets the call about Richard’s death. He comforts her when she breaks down crying and drives her to Stars Hollow.
Logan’s business in Palo Alto turned into a raging success and he made a lot of money when it went public. He was sitting on cash and invested wisely when the stock market was depressed and became even wealthier as the economy recovered. He is now a venture capitalist with a business incubator/consulting firm. He has offices in Palo Alto and New York City, and he spends time on both coasts investing in and growing Internet businesses. He married soon after he moved to California, but just as quickly divorced. There were no children, and he is considered a very eligible and sought after business tycoon bachelor. He is seen with models and actresses, but never with the same one for very long. He still loves Rory and he follows her career with great interest. He is active in charities and foundations and travels in Richard and Emily’s social circle, so he knows what is going on in Lorelai’s and Rory’s lives. He makes a point of it. Richard has the heart attack at a charity function that Logan is attending, so he goes to Emily and stays with her on the trip to the hospital and is there when Rory and Jess arrive. Luke and Lorelai are already there, Lorelai having flown in from Asheville. Everyone finds out that Richard has died during emergency open-heart surgery.
End Part Four
Start Part Five
ReplyDeleteThe twins are with Liz and TJ. They had spent the early years continuing to travel the RenFest circuit, selling Liz’s jewelry and then adding woodcrafts that TJ built with his carpentry skills. They had two more children, the first a boy born just 6 months after Luke and Lorelai’s twins, and the second, another girl, a year and a half after that. Doula is very atheletic, playing all sports. The younger children play sports, too, but not like Doula does. They were also selling Liz’s jewelry on consignment in Stars Hollow shops. TJ would spend the offseason making his woodcrafts and doing carpentry work for Tom, the contractor in town. As the task of taking care of three children grew, they hired someone to go on the RenFest circuit with their merchandise, and Liz opened an Etsy store, along with her website, and then a small shop in Starts Hollow as the economy recovered and the kids started school. Luke taught TJ a lot of carpentry skills along the way. He was a loving uncle, giving the kids a much needed sensible perspective, and took the kids camping and fishing, along with the Van Gerbig twins/his godsons, and his and Lorelai’s twins. They would go on multi-family camping trips in the summer. Jess visits regularly, remaining close to Luke, and on good terms with his mom and TJ. He is a bemused stepbrother, with a dry sense of mocking humor, treating them with a more adult-like respect, much as Lorelai treated Rory and Lane, always introducing them to books and more intellectual ideas.
Lane survived the summer that Zach spent touring and with help from her mom learned to be an efficient and effective mother to the twins. Zach’s tour was very successful and he was asked to continue with the band when the original band member’s hand didn’t heal properly. He continues to tour and record with Vapor Rub. The money is pretty good, but, twins are expensive, and Lane goes back to working at Luke’s Diner when Zach is home to stay with the twins. Mrs. Kim still runs the antique store and helps out when he is on the road. She insisted that the boys go to Bible study and church with her on Sundays, and Lane and Zach allow it, realizing that it is a small compromise as long as they can moderate the extreme views that Mrs. Kim holds with their own parental input. Hep Alien lives as a part time band, playing gigs in the summer at local festivals, and Lane keeps her hand in her drumming. They record songs and release them on iTunes and have a dedicated group of fans following them, but it is part time for them all. Bryan still works in real estate and Gil still has his sandwich shop. Lane also produces a music reviewing podcast with a healthy list of subscribers. The twins are learning rock and roll, Steve plays drums and Kwan plays guitar, and they both study piano with Morey. The Van Gerbig twin boys are only a year older than Luke and Lorelai’s twins and they hang out together, along with the children of Liz and TJ.
End Part Five
Start Part Six
ReplyDeleteMorey Dell teaches piano to supplement his income when he is not playing regular gigs. He started when the entertainment gigs dried up somewhat during the financial downturn. He finds out he loves it, and keeps doing it even when his regular gigs pick up again. Babette loves interacting with the kids, and she both volunteers at the local pet shelter, and babysits for the children that are everywhere now in Stars Hollow, especially Luke and Lorelai’s twins, whom she adores.
Miss Patty is still running her dance and everything else lessons studio, and she also sometimes baby sits for Luke and Lorelai, along with Babette. They team up to sit the twins, and also sometimes sit the Van Gerbig twins, as well, Babette knowing them through the piano lessons and feeling quite comfortable with kids now. The kids always have a blast doing quirky things like jam sessions. They like hanging out at both Babette’s and at Patty’s dance studio. Lots of music, and performing going on, and games, and such. Miss Patty has married and divorced again in the interim.
Kirk continues his entrepreneurial ways and when the economy tanks, he starts buying and flipping houses, using Tom the contractor, TJ and Dean for the construction and remodeling work. He sells some houses and rents others out, becoming quite the real estate tycoon. He eventually owns more properties than Taylor and argues that grass should be mowed to a height of 2 inches, not 1½ inch. He marries Lulu and they have two children. Lulu decides to open up a daycare and after school care center to accommodate all of the young children being born in Stars Hollow. Her time spent as a third grade teacher gives her the needed skills and experience, and she can take care of her own children there, too. The daycare is located in the Twickham house. He bought the Twickham house, after it came back on the market as a foreclosure during the downturn, and has turned one of the rooms into his home office. He and Lulu have two children, and they are quirky but loving parents, Lulu being the ballast to Kirk’s more flakey, but well-intentioned and sincere attitude. Their kids are about one year younger, and two years younger than Luke and Lorelai’s twins, Kirk having followed their lead in a sort of hero worship of Luke.
End Part Six
Start Part Seven
ReplyDeleteTaylor is still running the grocery store, the ice cream parlor and being a landlord, and is still town selectman, though Kirk plays a much larger role in the town business since his real estate holdings have given him confidence and ownership of parts of Stars Hollow. Kirk and Taylor now have conflicts about whose kooky ideas will get played out in the festivals and how to decorate the square to spice things up, and what colors their different rental properties should be painted, along with the grass height. Walmart came sniffing around Stars Hollow, but the town banded together and fended them off in support of local merchants and keeping Stars Hollow small and eclectic. Same thing with Starbucks, no dice as long as they have Luke’s to keep them in good strong plain coffee, and Weston’s for the fancy coffee drinks and pastries.
Michel has taken on more and more of the daily management of the Dragonfly, picking up the slack left when Lorelai and Sookie have to travel for their consulting responsibilities. Lorelai negotiated his getting a small part ownership of the inn for his increased responsibilities, along with the profit partnership. He succeeded in getting more spa services offered when they needed to boost business, and the Durham group investment allowed the construction of a building on the property for those services to be provided. Michel is very up on all the latest trends in spa pampering products and services. He also met a chow breeder, a woman who breeds and competitively shows chow dogs, and from whom he bought another chow puppy to replace Chin Chin. She is a no nonsense woman who lives on a property on the outskirts of Stars Hollow where she breeds her dogs. She has a sharp tongue and matches Michel’s quips and barbs, and he adores her. She hates Celine Dion and she does not dance. They fell in love and got married at the inn. No children planned, the dogs are their children.
Paris is still in professional training, completing her neurosurgical residency in Baltimore, Maryland at Johns Hopkins. She and Doyle are married and he is a freelance journalist and blogger. No children, yet. Paris has goals to meet and she plans to go into neurological research studying brain differences in Spectrum Disorders such as ADHD, OCD Bi-polar Disorder and Autism in children and adults. She and Rory stay in touch and Rory visits them whenever she is in the area, pretty frequently since she has been in Washington, DC for several years.
End Part Seven
Start Part Eight
ReplyDeleteDean continued working construction jobs for Tom while he finished his degree part time. When the economy tanked and work slowed down, he moved back in with his parents and took more classes at college and finished his degree in less than the 5 years he had planned, but he ended up really liking the construction business and got an architecture degree. As the economy picked up he partnered with Tom and they built the business into one that services real estate flippers. Kirk and Taylor are regular clients of theirs. They also work for other real estate developers in the Connecticut area, both restoring and remodeling along with new design construction. Dean is successful and happily married, having met and married a real estate agent he met during the course of business. They have one child, a boy age 5, and his wife is pregnant with their second child. Dean is active in the Stars Hollow business community and coaches Little League baseball, Pee Wee League for his son’s team. He and Luke have become cordial friends, as he and his family eat at Luke’s periodically and they have the Little League coaching in common. He and Lorelai are friendly, and he always asks about Rory and wishes her well, but they do not stay in touch.
Chris is still wealthy, though he works as a consultant to keep from being bored. He and Logan cross paths when he gets called in for some specific advice in his field of computer software when Logan is investing in a startup business. Chris and Logan are on some of the same charity boards. Chris still lives in Boston, but has an apartment in New York, and one in Paris. He has remarried to someone he met in Europe while travelling the world after his and Lorelai’s marriage ended. He has another child, a boy, named Spencer, aged 6, with this woman, Gabrielle. Gigi is 13 and well adjusted, if a little priviledged, going to private school. Rory visits him and Gigi, in Boston and New York periodically. She has visited them in Paris as well. She gets along with the new wife, who is French, thus the Paris apartment. When Gigi goes to visit her mother in Paris, he and Gabrielle go for part of the time and then travel Europe for fun. He stays in touch with Lorelai, and Luke is fine with it, knowing that that chapter of Lorelai’s life was played out and resolved when she married and divorced Chris.
April just completed her undergraduate degree, having gotten a scholarship to Duke University. After high school she continued to spend large portions of each summer visiting Luke and working at the diner to earn extra money and to help him out so he could spend time with the twins during the summer. She lived in the diner apartment when she came to town. She majored in Biology and has been accepted into Harvard graduate school. She plans to be a research scientist studying genetics. She is in town visiting Luke for a couple of weeks before she goes back home to see her mother and grandmother. He is immensely proud of her and helped pay for her college and is planning to help pay for Masters/Doctorate degree. Another reason Luke wasn’t able to help Lorelai when the Dragonfly came into financial hardship. April has had boyfriends, but has mostly concentrated on her studies, and is unattached at this transitional time in her life. She loves her stepsiblings and is a great baby-sitter/sister.
End Part Eight
Start Part Nine
ReplyDeleteIntroducing a new character: Mike Armstrong. Now part owner of the Dragonfly, he comes into town periodically to meet with Lorelai and Sookie regarding the inn, and to discuss where he wants them to go next for the Durham Group’s interests. He is rich and ambitious, pleased that he owns part of the inn, since he had to wait to get a piece of it. He over-ruled Lorelai in favor of Michel’s spa services ideas and she is still sensitive about having lost that fight. Especially since Emily was all for it. He respects Lorelai’s and Sookie’s instincts regarding improving the properties he buys, but he is demanding and wants them to put in intense effort and time to turn the properties around fast. He flirts with Lorelai by always flattering her business instincts, telling her she could be travelling the world with him building an empire instead of staying close to Stars Hollow. He thinks Luke is too domestic and family oriented and that she should hire nannies and put her kids in ritzy schools, preferably boarding schools. She dismisses him at every turn, but has begun to think that she is being manipulated and overworked so he can spend more time with her and he can interfere with her relationship with Luke. Mike wants her to work more closely with him travelling to view potential investment properties. Sookie doesn’t trust him, and Michel doesn’t like or trust him, even though he sided with him about the spa ideas. Emily is impressed with him, since he is so successful and wealthy and socially connected. She has come to respect Lorelai as a businesswoman since Mike speaks so highly of her to Emily and Richard when they are at the same charity events. Emily wonders what would have happened if Lorelai had sold the Dragonfly on the first go round and spent time with Mike doing the travelling and consulting work. Maybe she would have married him instead of Luke. Her life would be more glamorous and wealthy, and the children would have the best of everything, for sure. She mentions this to Lorelai frequently.
There is a large funeral for Richard, and everyone is there, either because they are related to the Gilmores or they are there to support the Gilmore Girls in their time of grief, or because they are keenly interested in Rory and her plans for her future. After the funeral, the three Gilmore women find out that Richard, true to his faith in insurance, had himself insured with three multi-million dollar policies, ensuring that Emily was well taken care of. That Lorelai has options again, and Rory can take time to choose what she wants to do with her life, and where she wants to live.
End Part Nine
Start Part Ten
ReplyDeleteLorelai can repurchase the part of the Dragonfly that she had to sell off and buy her freedom from the Durham Group (if Mike will sell). The house is getting a little small, though, as the twins are growing up and separate bedrooms are starting to be considered. Emily reminds Lorelai about the offer to buy her and Luke a house when they were engaged. Luke refused, and then the economic conditions made it a bad idea to buy a new house or add on. So they switched rooms with the twins, dividing the larger upstairs bedroom in two and letting the twins have the upstairs. It’s been working fine and Lorelai got to stay in her beloved house. But she is burnt out and often cranky at being stretched so thin. Luke is an able and willing partner in the home and parenting front and she appreciates his constant support, but he is chafing at the hours she spends traveling, especially when she has to travel with Mike Armstrong. Luke wonders what Lorelai gave up when she chose to marry him and start a family instead of becoming a hospitality maven and tycoon, as she could have done, and if she regrets it. And he wonders if she loves the travel and work more than being a wife and mother. Especially since his pride and independence made him refuse offers of new homes and other assistance from Richard and Emily over the years that would have made their lives financially easier and more convenient. Now she and Luke can look at adding another bedroom to their house so the twins don’t have to share a room anymore, or they can buy a new home with more space but still in Stars Hollow. What does Lorelai want now that she can afford to choose anything? What does Luke want after these years of struggle? What is best for the family?
The timing and events during the time between when Richard has his heart attack and the funeral bring the Gilmore women into contact with people they have histories with, and bring up old feelings, especially Rory, who is in flux and unsure of what she wants. Logan asks her to dinner and catches up with her, telling her that while he is satisfied with his professional success, his personal life and relationships have not fulfilled him. That he still thinks of her and knows that he shouldn’t have pushed her for an all or nothing answer. That he regrets it and wants to know if she still has feeling for him, since she has not married and is not with anyone. What does she want out of her life now? And what does Jess mean to her, since he arrived at the hospital with her?
End Part Ten, Final Part
As much as I want to see Rory ending up not with one of her ex-boyfriends, but with a new guy who's perfect for her, I don't really see that happening. Even though four 90minute movies are quite a lot of time, it's still going to be very hard to get the audience on board with someone we haven't seen before. I imagine, maybe she's with someone at the beginning of the first episode, but sooner or later they break up and she reconnects with someone .. my money would be on Jess for this one, because from what I gathered, it was always the plan to bring him back and I liked season 6 Jess a lot and can see how they would fit together later in their lifes.
ReplyDeleteI think Dean is still exactly where we left him, still living in Stars Hollow, sulking around town, angrily glaring at Luke from the dark whenever he sees him because Luke managed to do what Dean couldn't. Maybe he married a nice girl who he occasionally treats like crap because deep down he's still pining for Rory (I feel very sad for this imaginary wife I just made up (we'll get to Lindsay soon)) and on his death bed, he's going to say "Why doesn't she love me?".
Overall I'm most excited that we will hopefully finally hear the last four words of the show ASP has been teasing for what feels like forever but never revealed in case something might happen.
I also need everyone to stop hating on season 7 when season 6 exists which, in my opinion, had the two worst storylines of the whole show even while ASP was still there. Now, you said that you didn't really like season 6, so this is not addressed directly at you, but almost every article I've read is complaining only about the last season. I can't wait to talk about this more when the rewatch reaches those seasons.
Oh, and your pronunciation of Vincent Kartheiser seems to be correct.