My Gilmore Girls Review
Now I was debating if I should write this post. But I was so disappointed I need to vent. And vent I will.
Now you can see from the picture associated with this post that I was excited for the Gilmore Girls revival. Very excited. It has been all I could think about. I would get all tingly every time there was some sort of new promo. So I stocked up on Gilmore Girls food and waited until midnight. And I’m sad to report that I am now suffering from has been coined anticipointment. I was sooooo excited leading up to the revival but after seeing it I was left disappointed.
****SPOILER ALERT****
Let me first start with how off the acting felt. There was such a disconnect. It didn’t seem to flow like the episodes of old (I know, its nearly 10 years later everything can’t be the same). The jokes seemed strange and like they didn’t belong. Parts felt almost slapstick like, all that was missing was a laugh track. It was clumsy and awkward. But I pushed on, only to be even more disappointed with the horrible musical scene. It went on forever and ever. I get that they wanted to showcase Sutton and why not she is a delight, loved bunheads. But that scene was just bad and way too long. And what about the Life and Death Brigade scene? It seemed so fake. I kept waiting for Rory to wake up from a dream. But enough about that, let’s get to the good stuff, the characters.
Oh Rory. I really didn’t like how she was portrayed. It didn’t seem like Rory. I mean the boyfriend, Pete or was it Paul? Come on. The whole no one could remember his name bit was old the moment it started. The whole concept of Rory dating a guy for 2 years that she couldn’t even remember did not seem Rory. But what was really hard to handle was the fact that he was not the only guy Rory was seeing. Now I knew Rory was talking to Logan in that scene in the London apartment. I just knew. Maybe because I’m Team Logan but I just knew. And I was delighted to see them together. But to find out that Rory had not broken up with Paul and that Logan was actually engaged was upsetting. Now we can say that Rory was always a cheater. She kissed Jess while with Dean and she slept with Dean while he was married. So maybe in her case once a cheater always a cheater? But this felt different. She had a boyfriend, had a one night stand, and was sleeping with engaged Logan and she didn’t seem conflicted about any of it. I believe Rory of old would have had some misgivings about her behavior.
I think what really gets me is that it seems so out of character of Logan. Maybe I’m putting too much faith into him. But Logan had come a long way from his non committing, sleep around, days. Or so I thought. So while it is not so farfetched that Logan had retreated back to his cheating ways, especially with Rory who seemed to love more than he even knew he could, it still doesn’t sit right. I felt like Logan had grown so much in the last season but since that wasn’t Amy’s season maybe he wasn’t supposed to grow. I loved all the screen time Logan got and I’m not sure why they just could end up together it was so clear that there was still so much love between them.
And speaking of love, did you see the way Jess looked at Rory through that window? He still loves her! I thought the interaction with Rory and Jess seemed right. After all they probably have kept in contact and see each other frequently since Luke and Lorelai are together. I like that they still have that connection and friendship. He was always good helping to ground her.
Since I running through the boyfriends I have to talk about Dean. First let me say I’ve been watching Supernatural since day one but for some reason seeing him back in Stars Hallow in that black jacket was just too prefect. I love that he seems to have moved on from Rory and the Lindsey debacle. And those words that Rory said to him? It was just the right amount of sappy. I want my own Dean, minus the cheating on his wife part.
Now can we talk about the final 4 words. I’m very curious as to how this would have played out in the original series. But since we won’t know that I can only go from now. I didn’t hate the final words (even though they are out, I pledged not to tell the words and I will keep my pledge) but I feel the whole thing leaves a lot of questions open. I have to say I immediately knew that she was she pregnant when she visited Christopher (I kept wondering when he would make an appearance, I thought it would be Richard’s funeral) asking about how he felt about Lorelai raising her on her own. So Rory is having a baby, is it Paul’s? Logan’s? The one night stand Wookie? Is she a surrogate for Paris’ company? Who knows. I mean we all want it to be Logan’s but who knows.
Now let’s talk about Lorelai. I don’t feel much was out of place for her except the fact that she did the Wild hike, or at least attempted to. She was never the outdoor type as Luke pointed out but she did backpack through Europe so there is some precedent. Lorelai was Lorelai. I had pretty much resigned myself to knowing that she and Luke were together so that was no surprise. The one thing that was surprising or should I say just completely strange was the whole surrogate plot. That did not seem like Lorelai. I guess that was the way to get Paris in but that was not what I saw Paris doing, more on that later. Something else that seemed off, I guess there was more than I thought, was the funeral scene when Lorelai talked about the “bad” Richard memories. Now Lorelai is often inappropriate at times, most times, but I don’t see her being that way at her father’s funeral. She would have said something like “He always wore great bow ties.” Or “Books! That man loved his books.” Then Emily would be upset with her because that was the only nice thing she could say. The other seemed inappropriate even for Lorelai.
Since I mentioned Emily it’s only right I discuss her next. First, Kelly was as always amazing in her portrayal as Emily Gilmore. Her grief seemed appropriate. What did seem off was her allowance of the maid and her family. But maybe that was part of her grief and a way for her to not feel so alone after losing Richard. I loved that she quit the DAR and the way she quit was true to Emily style. What didn’t seem in Emily style was the boyfriend. I mean was he her boyfriend? That wasn’t exactly clear. She seemed way too excited to see him go from her Nantucket home. I don’t see Emily dating so soon after Richard died. I was very happy to see her get some much needed closure. She sold the house, the scene of so many wonderful Friday night dinners, she and Lorelai seem to have a good relationship at last, her keeping a maid and not only the maid but her whole family as well. And finally, Emily be a docent at a whale museum where she scares children with graphic storytelling, perfection!
Now that this post is way longer than I ever intended I’m going to try and wrap up this up by “briefly” talking about everyone else.
Lane: Why was there not more Lane? Why was her story not flushed out more? What exactly has she been up to besides raising her twins? Is she working? Is the band touring? Are they on a label? How popular are they? Has Mrs. Kim ever seen a show? Where exactly is Zach working? They mention he got a promotion but a promotion doing what?
Paris: Like Lane we needed more Paris. Less musical and strange LDB would have done that. I’m not sure what I saw Paris doing but it was running a surrogate agency. I guess it makes sense. But her Doyle getting a divorce? No. There is no one who can handle Paris like Doyle. Let’s hope they reconcile. And one has to wonder, did she have those children via a surrogate? Because can you imagine Paris pregnant? Yeah me neither.
Sookie: The tiny bit we had was good. But of course I, like the rest of the world, wanted more. But did she run off to be on farm and leave her kids and Jackson? And why she not at the pre wedding wedding? There’s no one she would have missed that. Lane and Michel didn’t seem to fit in there. I know Melissa could only be there for a short time but I would have loved to her in that scene.
Michel: I don’t have an issue with his character being gay but him being married? I don’t know Michel never struck me as the marrying kind and definitely not the kind to have a child anywhere near him. I was surprised that he was gay in the revival I guess I just never saw it in the series, he was just a man obsessed with fashion, counting calories, and Céline Dion…hmmm, maybe I did miss something. I think Michel leaving for bigger and better made sense. We all know that it was strange that Michel was in Stars Hallow.
Luke: Luke was Luke. Nothing unexpected or out of place. I like seeing that he and Jess have the relationship they do. And yes, him handing out fake WiFi passwords is very Luke.
Chilton Reunion: We got a little Francie. I appreciated that but Madeline Louise were definitely missed. What happened to them? Did they ever leave spring break? And Chad Michael Murray could not have made an appearance? I thought the bathroom scene was very good and the fact that the Headmaster did not want to be left alone with Paris was dead on.
The town: The town is just as I remember it, which wasn’t hard since I’ve watched Gilmore Girls nearly constantly since it left the air. Getting to see Taylor, Patty, Babette, Cesar, and all the others was a nice trip down memory lane.
What this really boils down to is, was the revival necessary to the story? I don’t think it was. As much as the 7th season was hated I felt it wrapped things up, if it was awkward. There was enough backstory for each character that you could imagine what did happen. Did we need the musical? No. Did we need to see Luke and Lorelai get married? I don’t think so. I think we knew they found their way back to each other. Did we need to finally see Lane’s dad? Not in the least. I liked never having seen him, it was like Maris in Frasier, always around but never seen. All in all I think the revival left me with way more questions than I had going in. I didn’t love it, but I have literally just now realized I need to watch it again because considering how sleeping I was maybe there was something I missed and also I can’t just give it one shot. it is after all Gilmore Girls.
