Gilmore Girls revival thoughts.
******STUFFED TO THE GILLS WITH SPOILERS, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!!!******
It’s been just shy of a month since the Gilmore Girls revival hit Netflix, and after my third (yep) viewing – this time with pen and paper in hand – I’ve finally decided to write up my feelings of the year we spent with the girls. From the good, to the bad, to the downright ugly.
First off, it’s important to point out that I am a Gilmore Girls super fan. To the point that the launch of the new episodes was not viewed as just a TV show, it was an EVENT. We got up at 7am, wore Luke’s T’shirts, bought copious amounts of junk food…it was huge for us:
Having said that, I am fully aware of the flaws of both the original series as well as the new episodes, so didn’t go in with any rose tinted glasses. So here we go:
Gosh, wasn’t the whole thing just beautiful to look at? The attention to detail for every season was stunning, from the pretty pink blossom leaves to the twinkly Christmas lights and the fabulous red bow on the Gilmore fridge that was absolutely 100% Lorelai and 0% Luke.
I was also a big fan of the way the series was shot, particularly this scene that was just so Wes Anderson it hurt, and I loved it.
I never really think of Gilmore Girls as a ‘dated’ TV show until I go back to the earlier seasons and see some of the wardrobe choices. Chord trousers, people?! REALLY. Here, though, they outfits are a lot more current and up to date. I would like all of the outfits in Rory’s wardrobe, please and thank you Santa Claus.
Some of the ‘other’ characters.
After seven years of being a fabulous but criminally underused member of the core cast, Michel finally got some much deserved backstory. I love his descriptions of his husband ‘ordering’ a baby for them to adopt, and the bits with him searching for a new job gave Yanic some time to get involved in some of the emotional plot lines. The part in the secret bar (genius) was lovely, and really validated a friendship that’s always been funny, but often left you wondering why on earth they’re friends anyway.
Now for Lane. Had I been a particular fan of hers in the first place, I think I’d have been really disappointed by her presence in the revival. For a girl who started out seemingly on a path to do her own thing after rebelling against everything she was ‘meant’ to be, it’s a shame that she seems sort of stuck.
She should be off conquering the world with her music, seeing different countries, falling in love, trying new things. Instead, she remains in her home town, still being pushed into church things by her Mother, raising two kids and still married to the same guy who never really deserved her anyway.
Of course there’s nothing wrong with making roots and doing the whole family thing, it just didn’t seem very her. When the biggest shocker for her character is that you finally see her Father (the elusive Mr Kim) on screen, you feel like she may have deserved better. But at least Hep Alien are still doing their thing.
Someone who gets a much better deal out of the revival is Paris, who was one of the biggest assets to the original series thanks to Liza Weil’s brilliant portrayal. Here, she pretty much steals every episode that she’s in. THANK GOD.
Of course Paris fantastically successful in her career, but her personal life is still chaotic, which leads to some classic ranting and oversharing. I think I laughed most when she was on screen, whether she’s booting the doors down at Chilton or discussing the horrifying situation of ‘the stairs’.
For me, Emily’s story had the most emotional heft out of everyone's; It’s a word now contaminated with sickly connotations thanks to reality TV, but she really does go on a journey throughout these four episodes. We have the grief and the anger and the depression you’d expect of a woman who’s lost her husband, partner and soulmate, but then her story takes off into so many different unexpected and wonderful directions and I honestly loved every single one.
There are so many glorious Emily moments to treasure in the revival, and for so many different reasons: delivering the first proper swear in Gilmore history (thank, Netflix!) by calling out everyone’s ‘bullshit’ in the DAR made me laugh and also want to applaud, and the phone call with Lorelai aout her happiest Richard memory made me want to cry it was so touching.
Her ending, though, was everything I never realised I wanted for her and then some. Moving homes with her long term (!) maid and her family, slipping her trainers (!) on for a day at work traumatising kids at the whaling museum and tucking the maids kids in at night was so different for her and really showed her growth and development now that’s she’s lost her other half. Kelly Bishop deserves all of the awards for this, she was wonderful.
Let’s not beat around the bush: this was a *very* problematic series for Rory, essentially shining a huge magnifying glass on everything that made her somewhat unlikable in the first batch (more on that later) but there was on arch of her story that I really liked: her writing a book about The Gilmore Girls.
She might be struggling in the world of journalism (yet can somehow afford to dot back and forth from Stars Hollow to London every week, but we’ll leave that one) but her idea to write down the story of Lorelai and herself seems very right. And writing it from her Grandfather’s desk is a really lovely touch. And obviously her chemistry with Lauren Graham is still what glues the whole thing together, and their dialogue together is still A+.
But, then, there’s the dark cloud over the whole revival, which is:
In the original series, a major tipping point people for people who stopped being Rory fans was when she had sex with married Dean. It was such a horrible thing to do that it was hard for the character to come back from it, however it was saved slightly by her at least feeling something along the lines of guilt after a right old bollocking from Lorelai. In the revival, we’re greeted with a similar plot line, as Rory (with a boyfriend) is still hooking with Logan (who openly has a fiancé). Yikes.
I’ve seen a lot of people saying they dislike Rory for being ‘slutty’ in the revival, which I disagree with; she could fuck a million wookies if she was single and they were single and I wouldn’t care a jot. But this is cheating, and that’s different, because they’ve both got people they can knowingly hurt.
Sure, Paul is presented as a bit of joke, but he seems like a nice guy and Rory guiltlessly fooling around his back just seems mean. And Logan paying for hotel rooms for mistress Rory in London behind some poor girl’s back is just icky. What a catch, huh?
It’s made even more annoying when Lorelai finds out and it’s sort of just like ‘ha ha sort your life out a bit, but you’re still my perfect little princess.” Where’s that fire and those principles that came out when she hooked up with Dean?? Can Rory literally do anything she wants now with no negative comebacks?
Honestly, this whole story line should just have been scrapped the moment the idea came up, because it encapsulates all of the selfish, privileged, entitled traits in Rory’s character that make her someone who’s often difficult to care for. At least it has finally made my mind up once and for all that I am no longer routing for Rory. She is, in fact, dreadful.
All three of Rory’s exes made an appearance, and all made their impact in different way. Logan, for example, is still an awfully smug, smarmy arsehole. He was always a selfish smart arse, but here he’s given new levels of dislikability by screwing around behind his girlfriend’s back care free.
We also get a visit from the ever-irritating, over privileged Life and Death Brigade. Oh, how we laugh as they break in and trash the market and buy tango clubs and hotels willy nilly. God, I always have and always will despise these dip shits. Can Logan just quickly do what we all know he’s going to do anyway and finally just disappear full up his own arsehole, never to be seen again.
I was never really a Dean fan either, but I found his one scene rather sweet. Hideous fling with Rory aside, he always seemed like he’d end up in a happily-married-with-kids setup, so there one scene together was nice. Short but sweet.
Jess is still by number one Gilmore guy without question. I mean first things first we’ve got his general physical perfection because
Let us all raise a glass to those bulging biceps, well done friend.
It’s also nice to see him doing well: he’s got his books and he’s close with Luke and he’s crinkled out his attitude and he’s got his shit together, so it’s nice to see he’s maintained the development his character showed during the course of the original seasons.
I also went into the revival heavy TEAM JESS for ending up with Rory, but I’ve changed my mind now. She doesn’t deserve Jess. So head my way if you like, Mariano, you will certainly be appreciated…
Thank goodness these two are still going strong. Sure, there’s a small blip in the summer but it never felt like we were heading into breakup terms, which is excellent because my heart could not handle it.
Of course there’s still a chunk of Lorelai drama, with an overreaction that leads to her ‘doing a Wild’ and attempting to trek around America. This is a bit silly and unnecessary, but it’s worth it for the phone call she makes to Emily about her Father that brings a tear to her eye.
The overall loveliest moment, though is their wedding. Or rather, the bit just before, as they wander through the sparkles and the square looks so pretty and magical. It gave me that nice, warm fuzzy feeling which was just what I wanted from the revival. And the look on little Kirk’s face when she sends him the ‘it’s perfect!’ text is just too darn adorable to handle.It’s nice that despite any drama and difficulties along the way, these two wind up exactly where they belong.
It was fantastic to see pretty much everyone from the revival return to the show, but there were still a few noticeable omissions. Obviously, there was Richard, whose absence was dealt with in a sensitive and beautiful way. Then, there was the insufferable Liz and TJ, who we were mercifully spared from actually seeing and had to deal with only as silent participants at the end of a phone line.
However, there were still a few other characters that I’d have liked to have seen. Like, why weren’t Madeline, Louise and Max shown at the Chilton reunion? Officially, they’d have loved the actors to have been there but they ‘ran out of pages’. But less important love interest Jason was there, as was less important frenemy Francie. I’m sure the majority of the fans would’ve preferred to see the other guys squeezed in the script, especially when they spent about three years on that godawful Stars Hollow Musical.
I feel like a real bucket list point was ticket off when I found out what ASP’s final four words were. Were they worth the eight year wait? Maybe not, I don’t think anything ever could be, but they certainly open the door for more episodes, and that can only be a good thing. Come on, Netflix, flash that cash and get us Gilmore revival.2 PLEASE.
I think personally I’d have preferred if the last four words were something really weird and quirky (after all, that is the nature of the show) that no one could ever have predicted, because I’d heard the actual ones mentioned at a few times. One of the ideas that floated through my head after the Keifer Sutherland chat would be this:
Rory: That’s Keifer Sutherland.
I’d have liked something like that a bit better, but my brain is a very strange place. It’s still exciting that we might someday soon get to see a brand new shiny Gilmore Girl. Or even, guy.
I might sound like I’m being quibbly and moany, but I actually really liked the revival. It was funny and sad and smart and frustrating, and basically everything I loved about the original rolled up into one lovely binge-watchable package. I hope this is not our last trip to Stars Hollow, but if it is, I’m glad it was the trip Amy Sherman Palladino wanted us to take.
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