I just finished watching the Netflix Revival of Gilmore Girls and I, like many probably, cried many times throughout the shows. In fact, I bawled like a baby, sobbing at the end when Lorelai and Luke finally got married. I have a lot in common with the Gilmore Girls, raised by a single mother, having had a strong relationship – and now that my mother is gone, this show means even more to me. This is why when the revival was announced I was overwhelmed with happiness. I loved the show, original and revival. Although I was disappointed in many facets of the revival – as were many I’ve read online. The most important being that the characters didn’t evolve and mature over the past eight years. Please note – the rest of this is drowning in spoiler territory. If you haven’t seen the show yet, read on at your own peril.
First, there was Rory bouncing around homeless, so lost and aimless. I understand completely that she needed to move back home – so she could be there for the show, but the past eight years could have been better for her. The Stars Hollow musical was way too long. Plus I was disappointed that Sookie wasn’t there but I get it. The following is how I feel the show should have been. Not word for word – I liked the premise and staying on topic, just a few key points that really should have been there.
Most importantly – Rory WAS successful as a journalist. She was a Yale graduate, editor of the Yale Daily News and started her career on the campaign trail with Obama when we last saw her. She should have had many, many years writing columns for many successful newspapers, not just one article. It was only recently, like a couple years ago that she was laid off because newspaper print is dying. She then spent the next 8-14 months writing freelance articles, hoping to get them picked up by the big papers but settling for some of the smaller papers until they too couldn’t afford her. The part of her being a ghost writer is acceptable, so is not getting to finish the job because the woman was a lush. Rory coming home afterwards, that’s fine. Where we pick up with her accepting the interview at the Blog was also fine. Her not being prepared for an interview – not fine! She is Rory Gilmore, she gave it her all but realized she was meant for print and if print is dead so is this dream – writing a book then makes all of the sense in the world.
Her falling asleep in an interview – not our Rory. Her sleeping with the Wookie – I get you do stupid things when you’ve been drinking, but ugh. Her with Logan was logical. Logan being engaged was logical, his father is still controlling him. But he would have done anything for Rory, including leave the girl and marry Rory.
I think Rory being pregnant at the end is fine and I think a paternity test through Paris will detail it’s Logan’s. I think the next episodes could cover plenty of workable change as Paris urges Rory to give the baby up as a surrogate, Rory thinking she can do this like her mom and not wanting to tell Logan (and ruin his life). I think Lorelai will encourage her to tell Logan but respect Rory’s wishes and I think Paris will let the cat out of the bag either accidentally or through a potential surrogate family who looks up Logan and introduces themselves to him. I think once he finds out, he will go to Rory, profess his love and intentions to cancel the engagement and be with her, and Rory will decline. I believe, like Lorelai and Luke, they will need to get all of their affairs in order before it will come together but I think it will be done in nine months before the baby arrives or very shortly thereafter. I think if the show takes a couple of years (or longer) to come back, this very important story time will be lost and there won’t be a good way to ‘fix’ the story. I think if Rory does the mothering thing on her own and Logan doesn’t find out for nine or more years, there will be no way to fix that relationship. I also believe the full circle approach is not the way a girl who was raised so vibrantly and who is so smart should end up.
Paris always grated on my nerves (She was supposed to) but that story line should have been worked out as well. Doyle could do something great, tell Paris so they could celebrate and a drunken evening could open the doors to rekindling their relationship – it should have happened when Rory was babysitting the kids. Which many people were upset that she didn’t have any real interaction with the kids when she was babysitting. She doesn’t have the mothering instinct, Logan may not either, this could change but it doesn’t need to – there is absolutely nothing wrong with two people marrying and not having children. But I digress. Rory is pregnant.
Lorelai didn’t even tell Michel and Sookie about the plans to open a second inn. I would have liked to see their response. I would have liked to have seen Michel happy and Sookie excited about cooking again. That would have been a nice way to wrap up that story line before the wedding.
I also feel that Rory could have gotten the thirty’s group involved in the paper – given them jobs at writing or delivering the paper, something to make them worthwhile and do something with their pathetic existences besides hanging out drinking one shake with six straws. That was just ridiculous. As was the “I’m not back” and the swimming pool scenes. Never in 7 seasons did we see them at a pool and they didn’t even want to go in. So why even put it in there? This was a revival, not a makeup new stuff that doesn’t go in the Gilmore Girls. This and Mr. Kim, he was never a part of the show and there was absolutely no reason at all he should have been in the revival. He didn’t even go to Lane’s wedding. What were you thinking?
While there were minor things throughout the show I obviously didn’t like, the outline of the story was fine. We needed Rory to flounder and come back home, midlife crisis and a chance to reinvent herself. We needed Emily to mess with Lorelai and Luke’s head so they could take that next step and get married. I am actually very happy that Emily was happy in the end. I liked that the Life and Death Brigade came back and adored the Wizard of Oz ending to it. I never really got the LDB before, but they are an important part of Logan’s story. We needed the Dragonfly to falter so Lorelai could fix it by following her father’s dream. I even felt the musical was a good addition, just too long – the final song, completely perfect and necessary. All of that was acceptable.
I personally would have liked it if it was ALL wrapped up in a nice little bow. They could have done it and everyone would have been happy. I hated those last four words but I understand why they did it. But if the story doesn’t continue, it will have been a shame to have put so much effort into redeveloping the characters and story only to leave it with disappointment, questions and doubt. I know bows aren’t the Hollywood way and you are always supposed to leave them hungry for more, but Hollywood doesn’t realize that wanting more happy times is just as good as wanting to fix yet another problem.
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