Gilmore Girls:
A Year in the LifeRelease Date: November 25, 2016
Written by: Amy Sherman-Palladino
Starring: Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, Scott Patterson, Kelly Bishop, Keiko Agena, Matt Czuchry, Yanic TruesdaleSynopsis: Set nearly a decade after the finale of the original series, this revival follows Lorelai, Rory and Emily Gilmore through four seasons of change.
My Rating:
Well, it came. It’s here. And most of us probably finished it in two days. So, here I am, watching Gilmore Girls season one and writing this because I have some thoughts on that revival. This is informal, not really a critique, just a quick chat. So don’t mind the muddled mess of it.
*This contains spoilers so if you haven’t watched it yet, I don’t recommend reading this
First, let me just get this out of the way, it wasn’t enough. At all. For multiple reasons. One, when is there ever going to be enough new Gilmore Girls episodes? Two, 4 episodes wasn’t enough time to feel like I was really invested again. And three, that ending.
While I was incredibly excited to see what Lorelai and Rory have been up to, four 1.5 hour long episodes wasn’t enough to really put me back in Stars Hollow. The random short cameos from some of the cast wasn’t helpful either. It felt like a rushed catching-up.
I get why they had some of those cameos and I understand why some of them had to be short, but it just didn’t feel right. The short run-in with Dean was almost unnecessary to me. I wanted more about her relationship with Jess – because it seems like they were close, but it wasn’t really explained. His character also seemed to be the one that changed the most. I wanted more about how she ended up having an ongoing fling with Logan (I was never really fond of that relationship in the original). I wanted more Paris, more Lane (poor Lane). More Sookie (I realize that had to do with Melissa McCarthy, but still!)
To sum that entire paragraph up: I wanted more.
Then there was Rory who I found to be pretty annoying. Her character didn’t grow up at all. She treated her boyfriend terribly, still swooned when she saw Dean, didn’t prepare for an interview and then acted offended when they didn’t give the job to her, she didn’t consider her mother’s feelings when it came to writing her book and then didn’t care about her mother’s feelings once she knew them. It was frustrating watching her go through the four episodes being so selfish and then it comes around full circle for her.
Because now she will possibly be a single mother and will have to sacrifice so much for her child. It’s not the same situation as Lorelai, but maybe now she’ll understand why her mother wasn’t so thrilled about the book.
Oh, and don’t even get me started on the weird way-longer-than-necessary scenes like the Stars Hollow Musical, the The Beatles montage with the Life and Death Brigade, or the frolicking through the wedding decorations because those were just ridiculous.
With all that said, I didn’t hate it. I still enjoyed catching up with all the characters. I am so happy that Lorelai and Luke got their happy ending because they were always my favorite ship through the show. I loved how they dealt with Richard’s death and the development of Emily’s character, who was always one of my favorite characters. There were a few good quips, not the same as the OG show, but good. And while I wasn’t too fond of Rory, they did give her a realistic story of a young woman struggling to find her path.
What did you think? Was it what you expected?
What are your thoughts on Rory’s character? Did you find her more tolerable than I did?
9 Comments
I only watched season 1 of Gilmore Girls, finishing it just in time before this new season (I received a coupon for Netflix for my birthday, yay!), but it was enough background to understand what was going on and, despite I REALLY enjoyed these 4 episodes, I agree with everything you said. Rory was completely annoying and disrespectful, while some scenes weren’t necessary at all (see the musical, for example), and so on. I hope they will make another season though!
Okay, but please say you’re going to watch the rest of the seasons because ITS SO GOOD. & SO MUCH happens hahah But yes, Rory was a little brat in the revival. I’m rewatching the show right now to see if I just forgot she was annoying or something lol
I feel the same way, Molly.
1) Fall, Winter, Summer, then Spring – that is the order in which I favored the episodes.
2) While I was excited to be watching all new episodes of GG, I incredibly bored with the first two installments. Like…the Stars Hallow musical run through… I fell asleep so many times. Had to stop for the night and pick it up the next day. However, I did enjoy the Life and Death Brigade scenes.
3) It was wonderful seeing the whole cast, but dang, you are right. It wasn’t enough. I totes forgot the Dean was married and had kids, so I felt that the strange run in was out of place.
4) I didn’t like Rory either, now that I think about it. I felt like the 4 episodes where really all about Lorelei. Rory’s story was just left there….
5) I’ve always been a fan of Logan. But I hated that Logan and Rory were having an affair. I lost respect for both of them. And ya, since we all know who the baby daddy is, I want to know how that ends up working for her. BUT…I wanted more Jess time. And I want to see more of that relationship, but I think that one is the best for Rory. Ugh.
I think over all, my gut tells me that my rating for the show is the same as yours…3 stars. But the excitement of the whole thing and fact that we got more episodes that we, the fans never thought we’d get, makes me want to rate it higher.
I feel terrible, I can’t even list in order which ones I enjoyed. They all just blended together for me since I binge watched it lol
BUT YES. The musical. OMG. I think I left the room while it was still going lol And yeah, Dean’s cameo was just so random and kind of awkward. Her little spiel on how amazing he was….awkward. Also, agreed. I enjoyed Lorelei’s story so much more. Especially because I was always rooting for her and Luke.
Woops, submitted that before I was done. Honestly, I don’t remember much of Logan but I don’t remember being too fond of him? I’ll see. I’m rewatching the show so I’ll be reminded. I definitely wanted more Jess. He didn’t get enough at all.
It was exciting to get a revival, but I definitely just want more. Wanting more is basically what my entire review is lol
I decided to skip them after hearing friends talk about it. There were some behavior things that I just couldn’t get behind and I think would have made me like the show even less. So..skipping :/
Yeah, Rory wasn’t the best person in this. I liked Lorelai’s story so much more! So, if you do want to watch it, maybe just focus more on her? haha
Oh man I have so many thoughts and my own post because well thoughts. I agree with you though – it wasn’t enough and they didn’t utilize the time wisely either. Some of the cameos were too random for sure. I wanted so much more for Rory. Emily and Paris were the best for me!
Oh boy! I want to read your post! The cameos were SO random! Especially Dean! I wanted more Jess & less Logan too.. Now that I’m rewatching from season one I’m thinking of all these things that I WISH they did in the revival.