Gilmore Girls Revival Provokes Many Unanswered Questions

By: Maggie French – Junior, Communication

The much anticipated revival, “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life,” was released on Netflix Nov. 25. People have been anxiously waiting to find out if Lorelai and Luke will ever get married, if Rory chose Jess or Logan, and what those Last Four Words are that Director Amy Sherman-Palladino has kept a secret for so long.

The revival was split into four parts, each named after the seasons of the year. The episodes began with Winter and ended in Fall. Each episode is 90 minutes in length instead of the 45 minutes that each episode was when the show was originally filmed and aired.

After binge watching the revival, I am left with many questions and opinions. First, why was the Stars Hollow Musical necessary? Did they run out of ideas for the show? I felt like they could have done without all the lengthy musical numbers and used that time  for more cameos.

The revival did a good job at bringing back many important characters, but many of them only had less than five minutes of screen time. It would have been nice to see more of Sookie, Dean, Christopher and even Paris. I enjoyed that the revival made reference to season one with Paris’ crush on Tristan and to season two with Francie.

Rory also made a joke about corn starch to Dean because in season one she accidentally stole a box when Dean kissed her. Though I loved all of their cameos, even April’s, I feel that Sookie deserved more than just one scene. She wasn’t even at Lorelai’s wedding, yet somehow Michel and Lane were.

Another question that I had was whether or not Rory was actually broke? She was constantly flying to London, yet somehow didn’t have money for underwear. She also told Jess that she didn’t have a car, yet she was driving her Prius the whole time.

This was something that confused me. Rory could have accepted a job at Chilton and started making an income, but instead she chose to be the editor of the Stars Hollow Gazette for free. The teaching job may not have sounded ideal, but Rory always loved school and the job paid.

The third question I had was: why was Logan engaged when he obviously was in love with Rory? It was painful to watch Rory fall apart over him. She was in love with him and you could tell by how she reacted to finding out that Odette had moved in and when she asked Logan if he was actually going to marry her. Why the charade? Both parties were cheating on their significant others for each other, so why not be together?

I know that Mitchum Huntzberger never liked or approved of Rory, but that shouldn’t have mattered. They had to hide the fact that they were even in contact. Rory was upset when Mitchum saw them at lunch. I appreciated that Logan and the rest of the Life and Death Brigade came to Stars Hollow to lift Rory’s spirits, but that happiness was short lived because eventually they would have to go back to the real world and move on.

Now that I have talked about Rory, I think it is time to talk about Lorelai. I thought her story throughout the revival was well written and thought out. Obviously the musical was not necessary so she didn’t need to be involved with that, but I was happily satisfied with how her relationship with Luke turned out.

Everyone who watches the revival will be happy because Luke and Lorelai finally got married. After years of anticipation and wonder, it finally happened. The speech Luke gave to Lorelai in their kitchen melted the hearts of all. We knew all along that they were meant to be, and even Lorelai explained to Rory, sometimes love takes time.

Another love that grew stronger over time was that between Lorelai and her mother, Emily. . The two have been known to squabble throughout the entire series and even into the revival. Emily changes after the passing of Richard. She calms down and finally finds her happy place in Nantucket.

One of the best interactions ever between Emily and Lorelai that took place during the revival was Lorelai’s phone call from California. I teared up listening to her tell Emily the story of her 13th birthday. In that moment we see the wall between Lorelai and Emily fall and the healing of a lifelong feud.

Finally, the last question that I had after watching was, ‘What is next?’ The Last Four Words left us all in shock, but now we want to know what will happen. Is Logan the father? Will Rory raise the child on her own? Sherman-Palladino originally planned to end the entire series with The Last Four Words, but wasn’t aware at the time that episode 22 of season seven would be the last.

Sherman-Palladino got the cliffhanger ending that she had always planned for the show, but now fans just want more. Unfortunately, there are no more episode of Gilmore Girls in the works.

Overall, I was content with the revival. I wish cameo characters had more air time, and that some plot holes would have been filled, but I think “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life”satisfied many fans.

“Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life” is available for viewing on Netflix.