Commentary by Darian Kuxhouse, Campus Carrier Opinions Editor

 

Growing up with the Gilmore girls was wonderful. I watched Rory, a fellow book lover, grow up and achieve goals that I would soon adopt. I likened my relationship with my mother to Rory and Lorelai’s, as I later found out many girls did. I sat cross-legged in front of the TV when season seven came to a close, and prayed that it wasn’t really the end. Thankfully, nine years later, I was able to pretend that I lived in Stars Hollow once again.

This four part Netflix revival has sparked a frenzy of nostalgia for ‘Gilmore Girls’ fans. “A Year in the Life” has paid tribute to the past in a beautiful way while still acknowledging that time has passed, and things have changed. (Spoilers to follow.) Lorelai is still a walking treasure trove of pop culture references that span from David Cronenberg to Marvel movies. Luke still harasses his customers, but with a new set of rules that now includes “no man buns” and “no texting while ordering.”

The revival does a great job expanding characters’ lives rather than playing on nostalgia. Rory, who was an arguably flat character during a good portion of the original series, is going through quite a bit of character development in the revival. 

Her character accentuates real fears and troubles that a lot of millennials have to deal with today. Rory claimed to have “a lot of irons in the fire,” yet was turned down for three different job opportunities. She’s broke, has to move back home and is working at the Stars Hollow Gazette for free as a placeholder. The overwhelming question surrounding her is, what next? This is fantastic because Rory was such an idealized character, the picture of perfection, and we’re now being shown that no one is perfect, not even Rory.

While the revival did a great job catering to massive fan requests to bring back Rory’s old boyfriends, her story line with Logan fell extremely flat for me. At the end of season seven, she turned down Logan’s proposal, and we were left with a Rory free to follow her passions without worrying about her love life. In the revival, we follow Rory as she has a boyfriend that she keeps forgetting about while having an affair with Logan, who is engaged to another woman. I want a story line that stops trying to define Rory by the man she’s with. 

I want Rory to focus on herself, her baby and her book before she focuses on the various men who inevitably fall for her. This being said, I am, and will always be, Team Jess. They should just fall in love again after Rory gets herself in a better place.

Let’s talk about the other Gilmore gals. Lorelai finally got married to Luke, and Emily, Lorelai’s mother, finally kept a maid. The death of Lorelai’s father propelled this mini-series forward for Lorelai and Emily’s characters, which was evident in emotional scenes such as when Lorelai told Emily about the best birthday with her father. It was also great seeing Emily finally feel free from her high society life, even going so far as to call her previously beloved DAR group “bullshit” and walking out on them. 

I watched all 6 hours of the revival in one day. I laughed, cried and had a great time being immersed in the very distinctive world that the Gilmore girls inhabit. I think “A Year in the Life” was executed wonderfully, even though it does have a few issues. Die-hard fans like myself are going to love seeing Lorelai and Rory back together again, and I can’t wait to see if there will be another follow up.

Here are some questions that I still have:

• Who is Rory’s baby daddy? The wookie or Logan??

• If we’re left on that big of a cliffhanger, does that mean we could be getting another season? Because I need more. 

• Will Paul find someone who will remember him?

• Why was a horrible 15-minute-long play included? Why not just a 30-second montage? We could have had more precious moments with Lorelai and Rory!

• Why was Lane given such a bad story line? 

• Has Jess written any more books?

• What is Luke’s actual Wi-Fi password??