Mitchum is a powerful force, and after you experience him, nothing is ever the same again. When we see the Death card, it often means that we have to let something go in order to move on. When Rory encounters Mitchum, he forces her to let go of her dream of being a journalist (that bloated jerk). But the truth is, when he crushes her dreams, he inevitably helps her to let go of something far more powerful: her need for approval. After the whole estrangement thing, Rory comes back to Yale with a vengeance and doubles down on her dreams. She rocks it. Without Mitchum smashing her precious little world first, she might never have gotten to that place. So, thanks Mitchum, for literally making us question everything we've ever done so we can come out on top of our game. Now f*ck off.