I will admit, my love of Gilmore Girls is relatively new. Sure, as a tweenager I watched the show when reruns were on but I actually hated it back in the day. This summer, I decided it was the right time to finally take the plunge. I watched all seven seasons, loving every single moment I spent watching the show, up until about season 6.
My disappointment with the original show started with Lane, I felt they didn’t do her any justice. She was intelligent, quirky, and just so great. I felt that it was a cop out for the writers to just dismiss her as a character and have her become a mother of two at such a young age. She didn’t go to school, barely had a chance to enjoy her freedom from her mother, and then she suddenly was pregnant. Granted, there’s nothing wrong with motherhood as a young woman but I felt that they didn’t know what to do with her character so they went with something typical of tv shows. Lane wasn’t the only character I felt frustrated with.By the end of the show, I was furious with the way they ended things for both Lorelai and Rory. So open and not at all a happy finale like I so badly needed.
That being said, I was hoping for so much to come out of A Year in the Life. I spent most days looking through facebook for theories of what was to come and freaking out over the trailers and pictures that were released. I just so badly wanted to see their story continue, especially with such a large gap in time. Let me start by saying what I actually did like about this continuation of what I believe to be one of the best tv shows of our time. Just be warned: there are definitely spoilers ahead.
I am so thrilled that Luke and Lorelai FINALLY got what they both deserved. They loved each other so much and they’re meant to be. Of all things that happened in the revival, that’s one thing they got right. Their wedding was so unique to them and their relationship which felt completely right to me. I kind of wanted to see their actual ceremony at the fall festival because one of my favorite things about the show is the charm of Stars Hollow, but of course they didn’t show us that.
So what didn’t I like?
First things first, why in the world was that musical scene so long? It needed only about 5 minutes max in the entire episode. Really, it didn’t even add to the plot of that episode in the slightest. It was irrelevant and that time could have been used to further the plot of one of the main characters or fan favorites.
I am really disappointed with Rory’s character development. She is intelligent, kind, loving, and overall incredible. She’s the girl that I would kill to be. They left her in a relatively good place, I can’t say that I was 100% pleased when the original show ended but it could have been worse. However, she starts off floating place to place, relatively jobless, and grasping at straws. Sure, it wouldn’t be so fun for a long revival such as this one to have Rory’s life in perfect order but of all things…really? It upsets me, as an aspiring journalist, that they make it seem as if there is little hope for a job out in the world, even for a Yale graduate.
The thing that upsets me most of all is that I hate that they have Rory clinging to Logan. I have tried as much as I can to slightly defend Logan (though I love Jess WAY more) but after watching the revival I am sure that he’s my least favorite of Rory’s exboyfriends. I think that Rory deserves more than being with someone who she knows is engaged and letting herself be a casual fling of sorts. It goes to show that Logan will never change, that he’s not right for her despite his support and kindness. Those two things do not outweigh how terrible it is that he has no disregard for how to treat someone when he’s in a relationship with them- or worse, with someone that he’s engaged to.
But, like, can we just talk about how little screen time the beloved Jess got? I won’t even pretend that I wasn’t rooting for Rory and Jess to finally get together but it kills me that they only have one real scene where they were together and it was relatively meaningless. Yes, Jess may have been a whiny and angsty baby when they dated but he’s grown so much as a person/character so I don’t understand why they wouldn’t have continued his growth. Logan deserved way less screen time if you ask me.
Of course, you can imagine if I don’t like the way they left off Rory’s love life, you can probably assume I hated- I mean, literally loathed- the ending. Seriously, the last two words of the episode had me screaming at my laptop and running from my room to complain to my mom. It’s not even that I have a problem with that plot development (which I sort of do based on my earlier feelings about Rory’s character now) but I don’t appreciate the cliffhanger. It’s just torture waiting to see if they’ll decide to continue the show again. Seriously, if they leave it just at that I will be crying buckets of tears.
Speaking of relationships- sure it seems like they’ve set things up nicely to maybe do season 2 (we’re looking at you, Amy) but I hate that Lorelai and her mother still are at odds. I mean, on one hand you could say that it does show a true representation of relationships because they’re not all perfect and sometimes things can’t be fixed. However, on the other hand it feels like Lorelai and Emily deserve to finally have a mother-daughter relationship that means something. They did have that nice moment over the phone but really? After all those years and after the loss of the beloved Richard don’t they get to have more than that?
Overall, did I love it? Yes, of course. It felt so great to see them where they “are” in 2016. I love that they haven’t changed a bit. Watching this felt like coming home; Lorelai and Rory always felt like family. They were characters that I quickly became attached to and I wanted the best for at all times, even when they kind of sucked. I expected so much though and I felt a little like I was let down. Please, Amy Sherman-Palladino, make at least one more season. It can’t officially end yet, not like this.