Let’s discuss the Gilmore Girls revival that hit Netflix last week. I’ve watched all four episodes and even though I tried to spread them out, I ended up watching Spring, Summer and Fall all in one day. Oops.
To be honest, I’m not 100% happy with A Year in the Life. Winter and Spring felt very off to me and almost boring. Not a lot happened and everyone seemed kind of disconnected with their characters. I know it’s been ten years since they played them but the performances were stiff and even Rory and Lorelai didn’t quite interact with each other the way I was used to. Thankfully, this seemed better by Summer and Fall and those two episodes were extremely enjoyable and felt very much like the Gilmore Girls I know and love.
Rory’s story arc through the entire season was frustrating. She should have been over her “vagabond existence” by age 32 and I absolutely HATED Paul, the new boyfriend. He was so unnecessary and I suppose added in to bring comedy to the series but it just didn’t work. And the Logan affair – DID SHE LEARN NOTHING FROM HER STUPID MISTAKE WITH DEAN?? I seriously wanted to shake her when I found out Logan was engaged to Odette, yet they were still carrying on like it was no big deal. Poor Paul – even though I hated his character, that still wasn’t right to treat him that way. For someone who didn’t have a steady income, Rory seemed to be doing a lot of flying back and forth to London and as someone who has flown abroad, those flights aren’t cheap! I thought it made the story seem a little choppy and even though I love Alex Kingston from ER & Doctor Who, she was yet another character that seemed out of place. I think if the season had been longer than 4 episodes this would have worked better but I didn’t like how it messed with the pacing of the show.
Logan disappointed me. Even though I’m a Jess girl, Logan actually seemed to grow up a bit by the end of Season 7 of Gilmore Girls. I wouldn’t have hated it if he and Rory eventually ended up together but in the revival, he seemed to regress and become more like Mitchum Huntzberger. Yuck. His character saving moment was during the Life and Death Brigade montage which was quite possibly the best part of the four part series.
Also, can we talk about the musical? I do not enjoy musicals anyway and even though I thought it was a very typical thing for the town of Stars Hollow to do, 10 minutes out of an already limited series was wasted on something completely non-essential. The final song was important since it sent Lorelai off on her “Wild”trek, but why not just show that instead of the whole thing? My guess is that it was a way to give Sutton Foster more than just a quick cameo role since she worked with Amy Sherman Palladino on Bunheads.
Now that I’ve gotten most of what I didn’t like off my chest, let’s talk about what I DID like! First of all, I just really loved being back in Stars Hollow and I wish there was more to watch, especially since it really got going at the end. I hope they make more, but it sounds like neither of the Palladinos have thought about anything past the final four words so I don’t expect anything any time soon.
Luke and Lorelai’s story ended the way I always hoped it would – the wedding was magical and I loved it. I got pretty nervous in Summer when everyone started fighting and then Luke thought she was going to leave him after her “Wild” trip but I am so glad it worked out for them. I always wanted to see their wedding and when I heard someone was getting married, I had hoped it would be them and not Rory. Wish granted 🙂
I loved the presence of Edward Hermann throughout all four episodes – he may have been gone but he was most definitely not forgotten. The funeral was so sad and I admit that I cried and probably would have cried more had I been watching it alone.
Paris Geller was even more Paris Geller than before and that door kick! I’m holding out hope that she and Doyle reconcile in any potential future episodes because they’re just hilarious and so made for each other that it would be a shame if they didn’t.
The Life and Death Brigade sequence was THE BEST. The episode in the original series when Rory does a story for the Yale Daily News about the secret club is probably my favorite episode of all time and I would have preferred ten more minutes with then rather than the stupid musical.
Emily Gilmore really came into her own – with Richard, all she knew how to do was be a society wife, going to parties, DAR meetings and functions and keeping the maids in check. But now that he’s gone, her house seems to big, her life empty and she moves on to something and somewhere new. I’ve always liked Emily even though she could be very harsh at times but she just really soars to new levels in the reboot. Her meltdown at the DAR meeting is a new Gilmore Girls classic scene.
Jess. Once Jess got over his bad boy ways, he really became Rory’s Luke and even more so in my imagination now that we’ve heard the final four words. Logan = Christopher and Jess = Luke. Jess always tells Rory what she needs to hear and gives her a push in the right direction. Team Jess forever 🙂
I could probably keep blabbing on, but this post is getting a little long. I’d love to hear what other fans think! Did you like it? Hate it? Meet or exceed expectations? I kind of feel like watching it again so if you comment and I take a while to respond, I’m probably in Stars Hollow having a hot chocolate, burger and fries at Luke’s.