What are the Final Four Words of Gilmore Girls – and why do they matter?

Well, for Gilmore Girls devotees, it will be the end of a decade of waiting, wondering – and hoping.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGGNNSmGDpU

To explain: in 2006, the show's creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and her writer-director husband Daniel Palladino left the show she had nurtured since 2000, leaving season six exec producer David S. Rosenthal to finish the seventh and final season alone.

Apparently, Sherman-Palladino had planned and plotted every aspect of the series, right down to the final four words she wanted to close the show with. But she never got her chance: the seventh season aired – without the fabled four words – and many fans felt it didn't live up to previous seasons.

Now, though, Sherman-Palladino has a chance to deliver the ending she always envisioned. The four, feature-length episodes on Netflix will – all being well – answer the years of speculation over exactly how the series was meant to end, with fans spending hours discussing what the last four words could be.

Of course, the trouble with releasing all four episodes at once is that fans will come to the end in their own time, rather than sharing in the big reveal together. Even Sherman-Palladino wanted to release the series in instalments, telling TVLine, "You don't always get what you want."

"I told them I was going to hang myself with a shower curtain if they put them all out at once, and they said, 'Wow, OK.' It's such a journey and it's such a build to the last four words... However, you don't always get what you want. The good outweighs the bad in the sense that this is a wonderful place to create things and do things in a different way."

Sherman-Palladino also said she hoped people would watch the series in full rather than skipping to the final scene.

"It really is a journey...it's going to mean a lot less if you just flip to the last page," she said. "I would hope that people would want to take the whole trip. It's a fun trip. It's worth it."

Furthermore, the show is asking fans to 'Take the Four Words Pledge' and not spoil the ending for fellow viewers. While we heartily approve of this message, the fact is we can't pledge to never talk about the significance of an ending of a show because someone, somewhere, might not have seen it.

So, be warned. If you haven't watched the series yet, bookmark this article now and come back later. From here on in, there will be spoilers.

What are the last four words of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life?

OK, here goes. Last chance to back out.

The last scene of the last episode, titled 'Fall', sees Lorelai and Rory sitting together in the gazebo after Lorelai and Luke finally – finally! – got married.

Rory has just had a text from her unimpressive boyfriend Paul, and although Lorelai is reassuring her, she's clearly distraught about something.

"Mom?" Rory says.

"Yeah?" Lorelai replies.

"I'm pregnant."

There it is. The pair look at each other, then the scene cuts. Roll credits.

Sherman-Palladino tells The Hollywood Reporter that it was an "interesting" experience seeing the words finally being said out loud on camera.

"It was satisfying in the context of when we put it altogether," she said. "It's an emotional moment."

It certainly is – and surely leaves the door ajar for more from Stars Hollow? Sherman-Palladino isn't sure – she's waiting to see how the audience responds.

"We really had a very specific journey in our minds and we fulfilled the journey. So to us, this is the piece that we wanted to do. And the whole thought about, 'Is there more, is there more, is there more?' – this has to go out into the universe now," Sherman-Palladino said. "And then whatever happens, happens."

So, having watched the final scene (and hopefully the rest of the series), do you think there's more? Did you guess the ending, and even if you did, was it the emotional finale you were hoping for?

Let us know in the comments below.