“‘Please Luke. Please, please, PLEASE.’ ‘How many cups have you had this morning?’ ‘None.’ ‘Plus?’ ‘Five.’ ‘But yours is better!’” And it was with this quote that I, and millions of others, jumped back into the world of Stars Hollow on November 25 for the “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life” revival series released on Netflix.
All of me wanted to love this revival. Ever since I watched the original series when it came to Netflix, I have been obsessed with it...too obsessed, some might say. But that is not the point. I was pumped for this revival, and it fell extremely short of my expectations. So short, in fact, that I cannot believe I spent six and a half hours of my life watching it.
What did I dislike about “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life” so much? Well, for starters, the changes seen in Rory’s character are changes I cannot get behind. Remember the innocent, wide-eyed twenty-two year old we left leaving for Obama’s campaign trail in 2007? Yeah, me neither. The only comparison I saw between the “old” Rory and this “new” Rory as I will call it is the fact that everyone needs to like them.
The Rory that did not want to hurt a soul? She is now having an affair with an engaged Logan, while she herself has a boyfriend. And even with these two men keeping her busy, she still finds time to sneak in a quick one night stand with a man dressed as a wookie. What a catch! The Rory that once sat it out in Mr. Huntzberger’s office for a job? She is now sitting it out in her old bedroom, living out of boxes, whining about what a failure she is. When Rory goes back to Chilton, Headmaster Charles offers her a teaching position. Rory politely turns him off, saying how she does not think teaching is her future. Well then, Rory, if teaching is not your future, what is? Because you do not seem to be putting in an effort to find a future.
While I could go on griping about this new Rory for a year, other instances in the revival bothered me, too. When dealing with Lorelai’s father, Richard’s, death, Emily, Lorelai’s mother, starts therapy and, as happens when you are a Gilmore, Lorelai gets roped into it, too. In one of their sessions, Emily freaks out about a letter she assumes Lorelai had written; the letter being one that completed ripped into her and insulted her as a parent. This accusation results in a minutes long argument between the two, with Lorelai denying having written the letter, and Emily adamant that she did. And then, just like that, the subject is dropped. You never once hear about the letter again.
To me, this is a huge plot hole. The letter could have led to something more, delving into the relationship between all three Gilmore girls. Instead, however, it is never brought up again.
After the topic of the letter suddenly disappears from the script, the Life and Death Brigade shows up, and decide to go gallivanting around Stars Hollow and then up into the deep woods of New Hampshire. The crew robs Doosey’s, make drunken purchases of a bar and Latin dance club, and an inn. No, they are not in their twenties. The entire group is in their thirties. I know, I know “In Omnia Paratus!” and all, but come on guys, get a grip. You are not in college anymore, make something of yourselves and stop getting drunk, robbing places, and buying things you do not need like you are a teen who just found out what alcohol is.
Then we have Chris and Logan, the two characters who fought so hard against their fathers in their teens and twenties. Instead of having continued fighting, the two have become carbon copies of their fathers. Both work in their family businesses, wear suits, and have become the person they hated for the longest time. While on some level seeing this is sad, it also shows how the circle of life goes on, and that no matter what, it is hard to break free from your parents and their choices. Which leads us to the last four words. The sacred last four, which fans were warned to keep close to their hearts before the revival was released. Maybe I, too, would keep these four words a secret if the revival was better. But, it was not, so here goes: “Mom, I am pregnant.” Although Rory is not sixteen, her having a child out of wedlock shows how she, too, is following in her mother’s footsteps and with that, continuing the cycle for the Gilmores.
As much as I disliked “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life,” there is still a part of me that secretly loved it. Lorelai is still a smart aleck, Paris is still dynamite, Luke is still, well, Luke, and Jess is still hot. It was a return to my home away from home, the computer screen Stars Hollow. Even with my many grievances, if the show does come back for another season, you can bet I am watching it. It may end up being another six and a half hours of my life down the drain, but that is okay. Because who knows, maybe Team Jess will pull through, and I will have lived through a fabulous six and a half hours.
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