Review: Gilmore Girls Revival – A Year In The Life

Ok, ok, ok.

Let’s do this. (Mind you, I’m writing this only now because of reasons, so I might forget a few things. That’s why I’ll stick to the main topics.)

Pretty much everyone was waiting for this moment to arrive: the day we’d finally get the final episodes of Gilmore Girls and find some closure.

But, boy, were we set up for disappointment.

Seriously, I don’t even know where to start!

No, actually I do: Rory.

Girl, what have you done to yourself? Is this the same person we loved to have as a role model when we were teenagers?

I’ve had to disagree with her choices many times in the past (saying no to Logan’s proposal, temporarily leaving Yale, the entire S4 arc…) but this ia a whole new level of “taking bad decisions”.

I get it. Life is hard. REAL life is even harder: the economy sucks, people who don’t even deserve to serve ice cream – not that there’s anything wrong with it, just sayin’. Think of Paul Rudd in Ant-Man – are at the top of the most desirable professional fields, and plastic dolls get the best guys.

But really, Rory? Really?

Does that make it ok to act like a jerk, looking down to fine jobs and sleeping around a la Brooke Logan (yes, I’m talking about The Bold and the Beautiful, sue me)?

I know that’s not exactly where she pictured herself to be at in her 30s, but that’s how things are, and she should have taken note and fought back.

But no, let’s throw a pity party and be the other woman. Who cares, right?

For someone who had always pursued honesty and loyalty in her relationships (again, S4 not counting), she sure has gone way out of character.

And don’t let me start on the “Best pick” speech, cause it’s really pointless after the (in)famous last four words.

But let’s do it anyway

First of all, had she chosen Logan, there is no guarantee she wouldn’t have done it for the baby, at this point.

Even though I’m convinced that’s who she should have ended up with, because let’s face it, who was the guy she kept inadvertently calling in moments of distress? Who was the guy who lifted up her spirits when she most needed it? Who was the guy she chose when presented with other oppurtunities in the past? And I could go on for hours, but the point is: once something like a pregnancy happens, it’s easy to lose focus of the real reasons you should choose a guy over another, especially if one of them is the father (I’m just assuming that’s the case).

And yes, I love Jess, almost as much as Logan, and I wouldn’t have minded if she had picked him instead. Well, maybe a bit… But hey, at least IT WAS A CHOICE. At least she would have finally realized how lucky she had been to have these amazing boys in her life. Regardless of what you think of them or the team you’re on, you have to admit that this girl had it all at one point, and she let go of pretty much everything.

Yep, Rory’s an idiot.

#SorryNotSorry

BTW, I’ve seen more realistic portrayals of the journalism world in Smallville & Co., and they were flying out of the window one minute, and using X-Ray vision on the crime scenes the next one.

Now that we’ve said what’s on everyone’s mind, let’s change subject.

Lorelai.

Was it just me, or she was just a tiny bit (extremely) annoying in this one?

I get the father-daughter complicated relationship and the consequences that Richard’s death would ensue; I get the Wild thing; I get that sometimes you need a change in perspective in order to realize that you’re quite happy the way you are… But was it really necessary to make it seem like she was going through some humongous crisis? Cause she’s been through a lot of things in the past, and reacted way better.

I don’t know, I would have loved to see more of the quirky Lorelai we were used to in the first seasons, especially since Rory’s development went already down the not-happy-life-in-shambles way.

The Finale.

That wasn’t closure. I don’t care if producers go on and on about open endings because life is that way and blah, blah, blah. You’re doing a revival, and you’re doing it because the last season of your show didn’t get the job done. So, do it now.

We were left with almost the same amount of questions (if not more) than last time, so where’s the difference?

Yeah, I don’t care if it seems shallow, all I wanted from this 4 episodes was closure, and all I got is an uncontrollable need for fanfictions.

Now, on to the things I liked (which are not many, and there’s not too much to say about, so I’ll just make a list):

• The Life And Death Brigade. – Best part of the revival.
• Logan, Jess and Dean. Because, duh.
• Paris. – Her and Emily’s was the only character growth I’ve seen in these four episodes. Also, loved Berta and her family.
• Kirk’s movie. And Petal. And Oober.
• Some of the cameos (there were too many, but a few were very well thought. Others – the majority – not that much)
• The Homecoming idea at Chilton, though I hated Rory’s reaction to the principal’s job offer.
• The setting and the festivals. Loved ’em.
• The thirty-something gang. That was eerily funny.

As far as the other storylines go, I could have enjoyed the musical, but they made it unbearably long. Seriously, that time could have been used to further develop someone’s story (Jess’, or Christopher’s… They were given terrible screen time, especially the latter).

The one where Luke’s sister accidentally joined a cult was nicely done, but April didn’t have such luck. Hers, like others, was a bit rushed.

All in all, I think the only episode that was actually necessary to the story  was the last one, while the others were more an attempt to cure our nostalgia than anything. There was basically no actual development in the time span that went from S7 last episode and the first one of the revival (aside from what we’ve already talked about), so  it could have been structured differently – though I loved the idea of the seasons.

It didn’t satisfy me, but it also got me in the mood for a long due rewatch of the series.

So at least that was achieved.

I’m not happy to say these things; like every fan of the show, I wanted to love the the revival so badly, I’ve probably deluded myself with too high expectations.

But I still think they could have done waaaaay better than this.