AS AN ONLY CHILD, I missed out on some of the seminal television trends that would’ve been introduced by an older sibling. No Dawson’s Creek, no Buffy, no Saved By the Bell. It wasn’t until last winter that I was told I was missing another generational touchstone, Gilmore Girls.

Praise Netflix, I took to the task of digesting all seven seasons at age 26—eight years after the show’s final airdate. It was delightful. A rollercoaster of emotion carried on the back of reference-laden dialogue delivered at light speed. Twists! Turns! Mother-daughter relationships! Romance! Watching the show at an age smack-dab between the ages of Lorelai and Rory allowed me to relate to both—and crush on both their romantic interests, Luke and Jess (fuck Dean and Logan), without feeling like too much of a creep. Ideal!

So should you commit to the Gilmore Girls rabbit hole?

Yes. There are a lot of reasons you should watch Gilmore Girls RIGHT NOW, but here’s my most convincing argument: While it may seem like a show about posh, East Coast white women—and to some degree, it is—Lorelai and Rory are also great examples of that too-rare thing: COMPLEX FEMALE CHARACTERS. Unlike many of its contemporaries, GG passes the Bechdel Test 1,000 times over. It crushes the Bechdel Test, and if only for that, Gilmore Girls is probably very, very good for you.

In this dark time, I’m not saying GG is the cure for anything—but it is a brief, welcome vacation. The show is heartwarming, hilarious, and at times completely inane—but right now, what do you need more than an escape into a fictional, wholly absorbing timeline? Where women actually talk to each other?