‘Gilmore Girls’ Revival

Like everyone else, I had high expectations for the Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. For me, the show has always been about a script that digs into relationships by using fast talking dialog and pop culture references. Winter, spring, summer and fall, I would be there to escape my hectic life in lieu of the cozy arms of Luke’s Diner and a twinkling gazebo in Stars Hollow. I had a plan for my watching experience. Embrace the wacky townsfolk. Finally decide if Dean, Jess or Logan is right for Rory. Bask in the glory that is Lauren Graham and Kelly Bishop. Commit six hours to the process. Feel sad that it’s over, again, but ultimately satisfied that the Gilmore Girls revival happened in the first place.

Some of that happened. Some of it didn’t.

  • I may have teared up when Rory and Lorelai hugged in the opening scene at the gazebo.
  • I may have been disappointed that there wasn’t an updated theme song montage set to Carole King’s “Where You Lead.”
  • In my opinion, Winter and Fall were the best episodes. May I also point out that these were the two Amy Sherman-Palladino wrote. (Her husband wrote the other two.)
  • I felt Emily and Lorelai’s pain and confusion over Richard’s death.
  • I believe Emily’s story arc was heartbreaking and completely believable. Her life was Richard. The hole in her heart forced her to figure out who Emily Gilmore is without Richard by her side. Berta and her extended family did a good job filling that void.
  • Emily wearing jeans = Yes.
  • Emily blowing up at the DAR meeting = YES!
  • That phone call Lorelai makes in the desert to Emily proves why Lauren Graham deserves some sort of acting award. Bonus: It redeemed the unnecessary Wild storyline that made my pointer finger itchy to fast forward.
  • Town meetings in Stars Hollow are just as fun as before.
  • Was Bootsy the newspaper guy a character in past seasons? Did I forget him?
  • Taylor, Kirk and Babette haven’t changed a bit.
  • Miss Patty has!
  • Well hello there, Mr. Kim. Where have you been?
  • Lane never ages. She should sell skincare products and watch the money roll in.
  • I don’t think Rory would have boxes containing the contents of her life scattered across multiple houses. I can sort of buy her adopting a drifter lifestyle, going where the story leads, but the Rory I thought I knew would have carefully labeled boxes in a climate-controlled storage unit like a grown adult.
  • Speaking of adult behavior, Rory is secretly seeing Logan. Plus, he has a French fiancée. This highly irritates me. Didn’t young Rory learn her lesson when she slept with a married Dean all those years ago? This can not end well. There’s never any mention of love between the two of them. She’s just a vagabond who flies into London on occasion to shack-up with her college beau. What happens in the chateau stays in the chateau. Logan isn’t hiding his pending marriage from her either. This is when I started to really worry about our Rory.
  • Don’t get me started on her actual boyfriend who is dismissed throughout all four seasons. It’s a running gag that Rory, Lorelai and Luke conveniently “forget” that Paul is an actual human being. I did not think this was funny. Especially since Rory has been skirting around his back for the better part of a year. BREAK UP WITH HIM ALREADY.
  • AND GET WITH JESS ALREADY. First of all, I’ve never been on anyone’s team when it came to Rory’s boyfriends. I think Amy did a great job molding these three characters into plausible men for Rory. Dean is sweet and kind. Jess is the intellectual bad boy. Logan is the passionate adventurer with mountains of cash. After watching the revival, I whole heartedly land on Team Jess. He manages to scrape away all the insecurities, masks and walls Rory puts up to speak directly to her tender heart and smarty pants brain. Jess has grown into a responsible, compassionate, hard-working man who still loves to read and apparently likes to work out on ocassion. Milo Ventimiglia’s facial expression when he looks at her through the window says it all.
  • Disclaimer: Jess tells Rory to “write your story.” She considers this for a hot second and then proceeds to take his advice. They belong together. [Hey Jess, I’m still free. Take a chance on me?]
  • Disclaimer 2: I really felt bad when Jess walked away from the Gilmore house. I wanted them to end up together. Then I thought, “Well, at least he has Mandy Moore.” If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you need to stop reading this post and start watching This Is Us right now. It won’t hurt my feelings.
  • Jared Padalecki is so tall and cute. I’m glad he and Rory had a corn starch moment. I’m also happy that after all these years, she told him that he was the sweetest boyfriend and because of him, she knows what it means to feel safe. Perfect tribute to Dean.
  • Logan, Logan, Logan.
  • Here’s hoping this was the last jaunt of the Life & Death Brigade. Do they travel with their own costumes and smoke machines?
  • Do you know what else I never have to see again? The Stars Hollow Musical. Why did it have to be 13 minutes long?
  • They should have aired snippets of each song and then let Sutton Foster do her thing with that last emotional number.
  • Paris has always rubbed me the wrong way, but I appreciate her purpose is to spread friction and tension. Her scene in the bathroom where she kicks the door shut was one of my favorite moments from the entire series. I liked seeing her vulnerable. I also liked seeing her with kids, even though she sent them up to be with the nanny five seconds after greeting them. I wish she and Doyle were together.
  • Oooober.
  • I love Michel.
  • I loved the Parenthood cameos.
  • Sookie was not Sookie to me. She was Melissa McCarthey doing Sookie. Does that make sense?
  • I’m going to try stress tapping to see if it works.
  • My eyes stuck in a permanent state of roll when April entered the picture.
  • I love that Paul Anka is still alive and still weird.
  • Luke and Lorelai’s wedding felt right in some ways and spotty in others. I wanted Sookie and Emily to be there. The gazebo was perfect. The musical track was appropriate. Seeing Emily cover Berta’s family with blankets and sit outside by herself was sad. Rory seemed to phone it in. Was she tired? Was she irritated? Was she distracted?
  • Nope. She’s pregnant. Is it Logan’s baby or the one-night-stand Wookie’s baby? Will we ever know?

What are your thoughts on the Gilmore Girls revival? Am I totally off on some of these? Did you expect those last four words to be those last four words? Let’s discuss!

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evangeline
evangeline
December 3, 2016 11:11 am

I was a little disappointed, maybe watching the whole thing at once was not a the right way to watch it, the musical was WAY too long!! I did love the one song, it was perfect
Paris bugged the crap out of me, but she always has
I had the same feeling with Sookie, I wanted to feel the feels, but I didn’t, maybe that scene was too short
The whole Life and Death brigade was just weird weird weird!!

I so wanted Rory to end up with Jess!! At least we get to see him on This is Us!!

I thought the whole story with Emily was perfect!!! I think it was because we needed to grieve with her and I loved that she bonded with the family staying with her!!

Was that really Carole King??? I love when they told her her song wasn’t catchy enough!! I wanted to hear, “Where you lead,” ,so bad!!! Finally heard it at the end!! Did a happy dance in my living room!

The wedding was sweet, but I wanted more feels, where was Sookie? And Emily should have been there!!!!!

The best part for me was when Lorelei called Emily and told her her daddy story!! I lost it!!

Nicole
Nicole
December 3, 2016 12:26 pm
Reply to  evangeline

Yep that’s Carole King she was in the original ran the music store… It’s one of my favorite things about the show (:

Mary
Mary
December 3, 2016 11:31 am

So many feelings! lol Overall, I was disappointed with the revival and the best part was seeing all of the characters. I was disappointed by Rory too. I am totally team Jess. I feel like they left it open to them getting together. Maybe Jess will be to Rory and her baby what Luke was to Lorelei and her! I was sad Sookie wasn’t in the episodes ore. 🙁

I have more thoughts, but those are my main ones =)

Amy A
Amy A
December 3, 2016 11:33 am

Yes, yes, yes!! I couldn’t agree more…especially the Rory boxes thing! The forgettable boyfriend thing was annoying. Zack was different. The Wild thing didn’t seem Gilmore, but I loved seeing Sarah Braverman’s word colliding with Lorelai’s.. I have been firmly on Team Jess for years. The Logan story was not what I’d expect from thirty-something Rory, but the final Life/Death outing was great! Emily wins most valuable character…or at least most improved. Who DID send the awful letter talked about in therapy?? Lukes stay together speech!!!!! I needed less London more Stars Hollow. I need to take my time watching again to see if it grows on me.

Tasha
Tasha
December 3, 2016 11:41 am

I am so embarrassed that the Parenthood cameos went right over my head. I have so many feels about this. The whole Logan thing made me mad the entire time. In my heart she is and always will be with Jess. Just because she is pregnant doesn’t mean they can’t be together, right?

BTW, someone who admitted she only watch a little of the show told me that Rory was a 32 year old woman, why was everyone so upset that she was pregnant? I wanted to drop kick her. It’s not that I’m upset by it, it’s just…not ideal and not the Rory I envisioned. Not so much the pregnancy but the whole Logan thing / job / get your shit together, Rory! The job interview business really irritated me but I come from a place of take a job if you need money. I just kept thinking I guess she didn’t need money because she surely has a trust fund between Richard and Christopher and that’s just not who she is. Or I guess it is but I assumed she was more make her own way like Lorelai. I hope the Stars Hollow Gazette fills that void for her. Sigh.

I could write about this forever but I will spare you.

Amy A
Amy A
December 6, 2016 5:47 am
Reply to  Tasha

I was confused by the job storyline aa well. She talked about being broke, yet could fly to London on a whim, then takes an unpaid job as editor. That just isn’t Rory-level smart.

Alyssa Joy
December 3, 2016 11:54 am

I’ve been reading your blog for years now (started for the Bachelor recaps, stayed for the Disney, Jesus-loving, orphan-hugging and hilarity). Never commented, but as I am also passionate about Gilmore, I figured this was the time. Basically going point by point through your post. 😉

-There was an updated “Where You Lead” in the trailers. So sad it wasn’t in the show.
-Winter and Fall were also my favorites. Then Spring, then Summer. I hated almost all of Summer.
-Everything with Emily was perfection.
-Lorelai’s phone call made me sob.
-Bootsy was in the earlier seasons! Not often, and he always wore a hat. He ran the newsstand where Rory and Lorelai bought bridal magazines after Max Medina proposed.
-Everything with Logan made me mad, except their chemistry. Holy hot. Also loved his exit when he put the hat on Rory and took the mental picture. Tears.
-Holding out hope for Team Jess and deciding in my head that he’s the one she ends up with. He’s her Luke!
-That musical was a waste of my life. We could have been seeing more Paris! Or Liz and TJ (who didn’t get a single scene)! Or the other townies! Or Rory and Jess making out! Ahem…
-Thought the Sookie stuff was perfect. She seemed distant, but it worked since the story followed that she and Lorelai had been apart for a while.
-Wookiee was too long ago, it has to be either Logan’s baby or something we didn’t see. This is where my favorite fan theories come into play.
1) Rory and Jess got together offscreen and the baby is his.
2) Rory is acting as a surrogate for Paris’ company to make money and is her mother’s surrogate.
While I hated the ending, her pregnancy certainly changes the tone of that awkward conversation with Chris.

Nicole
Nicole
December 3, 2016 12:07 pm

I totally felt these ways too… Then I watched it a second time and realized it was perfect. Try rewatching it, I think watching it with the high expectations gone is sooo much better. And yes about Jess !

Nicole
Nicole
December 3, 2016 12:11 pm
Reply to  Nicole

I’ve always been team jess he’s always been able to cut through all her crap and get her on track (:

Tasha
Tasha
December 3, 2016 12:13 pm
Reply to  Nicole

Thanks for saying this. I’m totally doing this while hubs is out of town this week!

Leah
Leah
December 3, 2016 12:52 pm

I signed up for Netflix specifically for the GG reunion, and I’m so glad you, as my pop culture guide, had the same feelings about it: I wanted each episode to be jam-packed with the rapid fire dialogue, but there was more wistfulness (if that’s the accurate description) in each episode that I had expected. I was also disappointed by many of Rory’s decisions – I wish the writers had set a more definitive foundation for her being in a life and work funk before showing it to us. But it was lovely to see the characters again. Maybe a second viewing will be better? (especially knowing I won’t miss anything by fast forwarding through that horrible musical)

Heid
Heid
December 3, 2016 2:25 pm

I enjoyed it and agree the musical and the steam punk scene too long and a bit weird. It is probably too long after the Wookiee for him to be the dad and doubtful it is the forgettable boyfriend. That leaves Logan which makes since because in many ways he is Chris which brings us full circle and the idea of coming full circle was mentioned more than once. Nice recap.

Ashley v
Ashley v
December 3, 2016 5:10 pm
Reply to  Heid

Agreed. Logan is Rory’s Christopher. She can’t quit him. Jess is her Luke. 😉

Ashley v
Ashley v
December 3, 2016 5:07 pm

I was a little disappointed by some of the same things you were. I was really disappointed in Rory. Disappointed that she was sleeping with another woman’s fiancé (hello, doesn’t she remember when Logan slept with the bridesmaid?? Why doesn’t she care that she’s “the other woman” once again??), and that she had a one-night-stand. I don’t like the Wild storyline either. Who do they think Lorelei is to do Wild? Also, the whole Sookie scene was so weird. That was NOT Sookie! I need to get over it, but what if Amy S-P had written season 7? Those last four words might have landed a little differently!

Elizabeth
Elizabeth
December 3, 2016 6:06 pm

LOVE this post!! Some thoughts and reactions:

Completely agree with you about Melissa McCarthy!!

Your #teamjess argument just may convert me.

Mr. Kim!!

Did you know the same actress that plays Gypsy was Berta?

LOVED Carol King as a townie!

Stress tapping looks very relaxing.

Luke and his wifi passwords

Emily
Emily
December 5, 2016 10:53 am

Apparently the one night stand guy wouldn’t fit the timeline for pregnancy, but Logan does. If that’s he case, it’s kind of the perfect full circle. Logan is Rory’s Christopher (which makes sense after seeing the confusing scene with her going to talk to Christopher and not knowing what she was alluding to) and Jess is Rory’s Luke. Rory is now Lorelei, like Lorelei is becoming Emily (kind of) with all the firing of people at her inn. Without another mini series showing how everything ends up, it helps me to think that she raises Logan’s baby but ends up with Jess.

Maddison
Maddison
December 12, 2016 10:46 am
Reply to  Emily

I totally agree with this!

Kristin
Kristin
December 5, 2016 12:39 pm

I am a huge IHGB fan as well as a Gilmore fan so reading this was a great treat! Overall I was happy with the revival. That being said-if they don’t do another one I will be more than a little ticked. In regards to a few of your points (which were excellent!)
1. I would have liked the whole Life and Death Brigade part had they just shown up as they did and gone straight to the tango bar. I didn’t need that ridiculous montage/fever dream or whatever it was.
2. That being said I would like to hang out with Colin and Finn and Robert Grimaldi on a regular basis. Not so much Logan.
3. UGH THE MUSICAL. No thank you.
4. Rory is the absolute worst. She is seriously the most spoiled, self absorbed, judgmental brat I have seen in awhile. You could tell she was really ticked when she found out that Logan was really going to marry Odette (RUN ODETTE!). Like she couldn’t believe he would actually go through with it.
5. Final four words-would have been an entirely different situation had it been said at the end of the original series. She is a grown up 32 year old person. And you know she has a trust fund. They told us that in Season 1-Trix had it set up for her and it was $250k and she would get it at age 25. Did she blow through that in 7 years??? And Richard and Emily had one for her too! He mentioned it as a bargaining chip in Season 6 when Rory was doing her DAR thing.
6. Paris-I love her.
7. The fat shaming was mean and unnecessary.
8. Kirk with the Brita pitcher in his OOOber
9. When Rory was walking around the house and remembering moments I got teary. When she opened the door to her grandfather’s study and he was at the desk I wept.
10. Luke really is a sweet and good guy.
11. I loved when Emily was out in Nantucket with Natty Gann’s dad and he had to leave. She could barely contain her joy of that men getting out of her space.

There is more but those are my big points.

Alyce
Alyce
December 5, 2016 3:07 pm

It’s not the Wookie’s. That was Spring. She announces her pregnancy in Fall. She would be showing for sure by then. Not the wookie.

Allison
Allison
December 9, 2016 12:26 pm

I agree that the best episodes by far were Fall and Winter–if they make anymore then Amy should write them all! The characters and story just make more sense and have more depth with her writing pen! Overall it was nice to have these characters back though disappointed in the direction Rory has taken! Definitely Team Jess–he’s HOT!!!

April
December 11, 2016 10:16 am

Lincee, I read a month or two ago in an interview with Lauren Graham that there’s more seasons of G.G. in the works…. Can’t remember where I saw… Never watched the series when it was on but began watching this past spring and when I did my usual google search on all the actors… which is something I often do when I watch something from a while ago…I found an article about the upcoming reunion series, and if I am recalling correctly, it did say there was going to be more than 1 season.

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