Before anyone continues reading, please keep in mind that there are spoilers ahead! If you have not yet watched “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life,” then stop reading immediately! You’ve been warned!
I personally loved it. However, I am not a huge critic. Nine times out of ten, I will still like and appreciate a piece of work, even if I have seen its faults, purely because I know it is just that -- someone’s piece of work.
However, I truly did enjoy these four episodes of GG.
I was more than happy to go back to Stars Hollow and see everyone again.
The storyline of Emily was perfect. The way we saw her grow after the death of her husband Richard was truthful and real. We saw Emily for who she is -- a grieving widow who still has pent up feelings regarding her only daughter, and who wants nothing more in life except for herself and her family to be happy.
With Emily, we see the spirit in her evolve. From leading The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and hosting parties weekly to selling her house, leaving the DAR and basically welcome the entire family of her nanny into her home, Emily shows the qualities we always knew she was capable of. Listening, understanding and nurturing those around her. The death of her husband was horrible, but the impact on Emily was not all that bad.
Lorelai and her struggles with her life regarding the inn and Luke were not naive. No couple is perfect, even after being together steadily for nine years. Things at the inn had changed constantly, especially regarding Sookie and Michele. These are situations that were, of course, going to impact Lorelai.
Not only did Lorelai have to handle changes at the inn, but she was also dealing with the death of her father as well as trying to keep a hold on the relationship with her mother. If a couple is having some issues, that is not stupid or pointless. That is life.
Her having to find herself again shows that even if life seems hard and you feel stuck, taking the time to figure it out is so much more beneficial than crying on the couch about it.
Rory struggled with her career. How is that a bad thing? I guarantee that many college graduates and people in their thirties will tell you that nothing comes easy and that it is good to show people how hard finding your career niche can be. The evolution of Rory shows something a lot of us pretend does not exist -- disappointment. Life comes with hardships, battles, confusion. Sure, parts of her storyline, such as the boyfriend situation, don’t entirely seem like the same Rory from 2007. However, it has been nearly a decade. Even for fictional characters, life happens and people don’t act the way we expect. With Rory, we saw her go from a lost journalist who was trying to get back on the track she worked so hard for all her life to a determined writer who realized a change of pace was just what she needed. And that is not always a bad thing.
However, a few things in the revival made me cringe. While I respect Amy and her writing, I did question the cheating storyline for Rory. However, Rory has always had the tendency to be impulsive and not act in the best interest of those involved when it came to relationships, so I guess I can understand it. Also, the last scene with the elopement -- why wasn't Jess there? He was in the previous scene, but not this one. Sure, he'll be at the wedding ceremony the next day, but not at their elopement? As much as I love Lane and her relationship with Luke, Jess should be present for his uncle's elopement above anyone else.
On lighter terms, Kirk and his pig were adorable. I loved seeing Michele and Lorelai have an actual friendship. And to find out Lorelai purposely overpaid Michele for years -- cuethetears. The entire Life and Death Brigade throwback. Emily having a job. Dean & Rory & the cornstarch. Jess being supportive to Rory. Jess pulling the WiFi unit out of the wall. The story Lorelai tells Emily about her experience with her father -- I CRIED. And of course -- Luke exclaiming to Lorelai that he will never stop fighting for her. Talk about character development for some of these characters.
One thing that this show did was actually show life. Sure there are some sugar-coated things or random tidbits. No one would actually believe the reasons Sookie left the inn. But that is someone we as viewers just chalk up to show business. Stars Hollow has always been quirky and random, and that is what drew people in from day one.
So my response to the reviewers who complain about how this revival was a waste of six hours and ultimately pointless is this: no revival will be “perfect” in anyone’s eyes. They did what they could. So what if the last four words were “predictable.” So what if Lorelai didn’t say all of them like some of us thought she would. This is the storyline that Amy picked.
If you respect Gilmore Girls, then you respect Amy Sherman-Palladino. Also, before you start to complain about storylines for characters like Sookie, learn how to actually spell her name before typing something up and posting it. Reading a review (multiple for that matter) that is misspelled and incorrect regarding actual facts about the cast and characters does not make me trust you -- it makes me doubt you.