WARNING: If you have not watched Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life in its entirety, stop reading now. This post contains spoilers.
It is the Friday after Thanksgiving. It is overcast with a slight drizzle in my hometown in New Jersey. I was up late last night showing my mom the official Netflix trailer for the Gilmore Girls revival, and obsessively shanghighed the HC Marist Twitter account with polls of Team Jess or Team Logan. I prepared my mother for the onslaught of fast-talking movie references and probable headache that would ensue from 360 minutes of Gilmore Girls for days leading up the release. Although she despised my favorite dynamic duo during the years I spent sprawled out on my living room floor watching reruns at 11 A.M. and 5 P.M. on ABC Family, I told her we would binge watch this revival like she never binge watched before. And so in my comfy Victoria’s Secret sweatpants on our brand new couch, we sat, we laughed, pleaded my new puppy to play with a toy that didn’t squeak, we made fun of my father who stayed awake through it all, and we watched my beloved Gilmore Girls.
Team Jess or Team Logan
We can all agree that Dean was out of the picture a long time ago – probably when he married that whack job Lindsay. So then there were two. Personally, I am Team Logan. Jess treated Rory like dirt, and Logan is the man of all of our dreams. So when Rory was doing the whole what-happens-in-Vegas-friends-with-benefits thing at the beginning of Winter and somewhat through Spring, I was disappointed. You both love each other, so just dump the girl with a Shakespearean name and say it already!
Fall was the best season.
Winter, Spring, and Summer were surprisingly underwhelming. I felt that there was no plot throughout true first two seasons. I felt slightly hurt that as an aspiring writer and editor myself, I had to sit and watch as my childhood idol’s dreams were crushed, and even more so that she was a homeless floosy having an affair with an engaged man! Winter had entirely too much Kirk, included an unnecessary plot line about Luke and Loreali contemplating surrogacy, and left me saying “I’m so confused.” Why was Emily allowing her maid’s family to take over her house? I know Richard is dead but the woman never kept a maid for more than a week, and she couldn’t even understand what this one was saying! While the tribute to Richard was lovely, and the story of Lorelai’s self-discovery was a beautiful one (although the whole Wild thing was a little unnecessary), I couldn’t help but think that at some points, they only created he revival to pay tribute to Richard. Harsh, I know, and I love Richard as much as the next GG fanatic, but they spent a little too much time on the dead guy.
Everyone looks the same!
As character after character reappeared, I kept saying “She looks the same! He looks the same!” Mrs. Kim, my God, that woman is like a wax figure. She hasn’t aged a day! The only ones I have to exclude from this compliment are Zack and Miss Patty. Gill looked the same as he did ten years ago but Zack looked 70! And Miss Patty, just yikes.
But wait, dare we mention the mysterious and elusive Mr, Kim? Was there more of a storyline there and they just forgot to film the rest of it? “Oh, look, my dad is here!” And then nothing?
A show of cameos.
The most exciting part of a revival is seeing all of our favorite characters again. I kept a tally in my head of who was missing as the seasons went on, and shouts of “Digger! Christopher! Jess! Tom the carpenter!” and so on could be heard in the neighborhoods surrounding my house. Of course, Rory and Jess’ banter in the Gazette office was one of the most laugh-inducing moments of the series (as was every scene that involved Milo Ventimiglia). But at one point or another, we have to wonder if the actors did this revival just to squeeze as many of their friends as possible into the show. Stalkers of Lauren Graham and/or fans of Parenthood will have noticed Mae Whitman (Amber Holt aka Lauren Graham’s daughter from Parenthood), Jason Ritter (Mark Cyr from Parenthood as Park Ranger #1) and Pete Krause (aka Adam Braverman from Parenthood and Lauren Graham’s real-life boyfriend as Park Ranger #2).
How about Sutton Foster and that guy from all the Broadway shows (Christian Borle)? I seriously contemplated fast forwarding through Stars Hallow the Musical. One song is cute, but four is pushing it.
Now, let’s talk Chilton. Francine, no one liked you the first time around so just GTFO. Also, that Tristan moment that sparked outrage in my household: How can you mention Tristan and not bring back Chad Michael Murray?! That was just sacrilegious!
Lastly, I hated April to begin with, and her presence in the revival was just as pointless as her storyline in the original.
Some of my other favorites included Rachel Ray and the real Paul Anka.
Related: The 8 Best Cameos in the ‘Gilmore Girls’ Revival
My favorite moment.
In omnia paratus. Colin, Finn and Robert (who I don’t really remember, was he always there?) were incredible as always. The whirlwind night with our favorite secret society members galavanting through Stars Hallow may have been plucked from my daydreams. I didn’t want that scene to end.
Not enough Sookie.
There was a rift between Melissa McCarthy and the whole revival thing. We get it. But she’s Sookie! We loved her before she made horrible movies and her voice started sounding all funny (did anyone else notice that or was it just me?). You can’t just bring her in and tease us with an amazing Sookie and Lorelei scene and then crush our dreams when she is not at the elopement. Hearts broken, Amy. Broken!
The last four words.
First of all, I totally called it! When Rory interrogated Christopher about Loreali raising her on her own, I knew she was comparing it to her own life, contemplating how she should handle her pregnancy. With Logan! Thank goodness! I love Logan! At least we hope it’s Logan’s, and not the wookiee’s baby.
Other than being a homage to the late Edward Hermann, it is possible that this revival was a revenge fantasy that Amy Sherman-Palladino has been dreaming about since she didn’t write the last season of Gilmore Girls. Apparently “Mom,” “Yeah,” “I’m pregnant,” were the last four words she intended to end the series with. Clearly there’s a whole circle of life thing happening with Loreali asking Emily for money (exactly as in the pilot) and Rory’s pregnancy mirroring her mother’s, and we appreciate the craft instilled in it. Bravo, Amy.
The questions we all have.
Will Rory’s baby be named Loreali? Will Rory tell Logan about the baby or just raise it on her own in Stars Hallow? When will those two people at the Stars Hallow Gazette die so Rory can run that place right? Will someone publish Rory’s book so we can all read it? WILL THERE BE ANOTHER REVIVAL?!