One cannot simply watch “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life,” one must experience it. With at least two kinds of take out, popcorn, blankets and pillows at the ready, only then you can start the ultimate binge experience. And of course, bonus points if you’ve got a mother-daughter duo cracking jokes through the whole thing. My mom and I opted for a six hour coffee, pizza and ice cream fueled marathon full of laughs, tears and sarcastic remarks. I think Lorelai and Rory would’ve approved (and Emily definitely wouldn’t have).

For you poor souls who are unaware of the glory that is “Gilmore Girls,” the show aired from 2000-2007 and all seven seasons can be found on Netflix, as of now. The plot surrounds Lorelai Gilmore and her brilliant daughter Rory (played by Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel) as they go through their crazy life in the small town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut. It also ties into the story line of Emily and Richard Gilmore (Kelly Bishop and Edward Herrmann) Lorelai’s parents as they financially support Rory’s private school pursuits in exchange for a family dinner at their mansion every Friday night. Spoiler: season seven ends with Rory heading out into starting her journalistic career and Lorelai finally in a relationship with the character everyone wanted her to be with since season one, episode one.

The revival season aired on Nov. 25 on Netflix and was comprised of four episodes (an hour and a half each) named for each of the four seasons of the year: Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. “A Year in the Life” is just that, it showcases the struggles of Rory as an adult trying to balance her career, family, and love life, and Lorelei feeling restless as her life settles into a monotonous rhythm. It also deals with the classic Gilmore family conflicts following the death of Richard, and all of them trying to come to terms with their loss.

My favorite part of the revival was the way it felt distinctly Gilmore. There was no awkward summary or forced connections to the original series; it was natural and really did feel like stepping back into Stars Hollow after being away for years. The characters all came back for cameos and their beloved running gags slipped seamlessly into the dialogue.

I will admit, the ending of “Fall” was unsatisfying. However, it ended exactly the way creator Amy Sherman-Palladino wanted it to end since the very beginning. She was quoted several times saying she knew the exact ending down to the last four words, and while they may leave me wanting at least 12 more seasons, I appreciate that she didn’t shy away from the ending for that reason.

All in all, I loved it. It made me laugh, it made me cry (at least five times), and I couldn’t help but fall in love with the plot and characters all over again as their slightly insane, mostly hilarious, antics played on screen while I laughed along with them,

So, get ready for the emotional roller coaster that will switch you from crying to laughing so hard your sides hurt, and get your Gilmore on.