This is my review/post about Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. It almost certainly includes spoilers, so if you haven’t watched yet, and you want to, please stop reading now.
It has been WELL established that I am a fan of not just Gilmore Girls but also Amy Sherman-Palladino, creator/writer/director extraordinaire. Gilmore Girls is my thing. It’s my show. Everyone has one. This is mine. I have said this to Husband a thousand times in the past week, but I don’t know if Amy Sherman-Palladino and I are just actually very similar, or if I have listened and reused her words so many times that I have developed her sensibilities myself. She is my spirit animal.
We didn’t go anywhere for Thanksgiving and were in bed by 8:00. My alarm was set for 1:45, giving us time to wake up, gather necessary supplies and be ready for 2:00 AM. We hit play as soon as it was possible and I was losing my mind with excitement.
And you know what? It did not disappoint. At all. Winter started and it just felt like home Ezekiel. We were back where we belonged. Sure season seven is the pariah, because it wasn’t Amy Sherman-Palladino. So to have her back was everything. It was wonderful. (And Daniel too. I am not discounting you Daniel!)
The references were there and better than ever, they seamlessly brought back things from their show, pop culture and life and it was great. We are in the midst of rewatching and I am just getting even more out of it than the first time. It’s wonderful, the attention to detail, the subtext and the foreshadowing.
There are a lot of critics who dislike Stars Hallow the Musical. But, my friends, you are missing out the brilliance of it. From a straight up musical theater point of view, Sutton Foster, formerly of Amy’s “Bunheads,” is a Tony award winning actor who was named Violet (one of her most recent roles) singing songs written by Jeanine Tesori (who wrote Violet among other things) is just all the levels of genius. Plus Christian Borle. Also a really big name in the musical theater world. So it was amazing.
But it also serves a major plot device. Stars Hallow is known for ridiculous festivals and events, so the musical played right into that sensibility. But more than that, there was an obvious parallel to be drawn to the Stars Hallow Museum Dioramas. Including, that back in season five, as they are leaving, Sookie exclaims “And only three bucks! That crappy Abba show costs a hundred dollars!” Only for Stars Hallow The Musical to have an Abba curtain call. What’s changed is Lorelai. She loved the diorama for it’s absurdness and she is unable to enjoy the musical. She just doesn't realize how damaged and depressed she is until the bonus song, where Sutton and her lyrics hit home. That convention wouldn’t have made sense without the musical there in the first place.
For Lorelai's story to come back around with “Reflecting Light” as the soundtrack, I cried and smiled. It was perfection. I am happy that she is happy. And they are happy. We all deserved that as fans and they deserved it as characters. Lorelai is going to build her own empire and I bet it's going to be successful.
Ultimately Emily showed the most growth. Moving on, mourning Richard, healing her relationship with Lorelai. In obvious growth, she kept the same maid the entire year and allowed her to bring in her family. It gave Emily some more people to care about. I love who she became and I am loving her new role in Nantucket. It feels right. She learned to be who she was and I am proud of her. All the love for Emily.
When we look at Rory, there are a lot of critics. I am not one. Who would expect this girl to know what she was doing in the world? She is the center of the universe and a perfect example of a Millennial! No wonder she failed. Obviously no one has quite figured out that Mitchum was right and journalism wasn't actually her thing. Writing, maybe. Journalism? Not so much. So The Stars Hallow Gazette makes sense for her. Truly.
For once, it was very clear which boyfriend team the Palladinos believed in. And for that I am thankful. Once and for all, Jess realizes he made a big mistake and it isn’t ever going to happen. Jess, could be argued, is Rory’s muse, but he is hardly the love of her life. They have never quite fit. And it has to fit.
*I know there's a school of thought that someday they will eventually get together the way Luke and Lorelai did but I am not buying it. First, Rory is not Lorelai. She has always wanted different things than her mother. Plus, she's had nine years to find her way back to Jess if that's really how that was going to go down. She hasn't shown any romantic interest in him since she was 18. She didn't start that kiss in season six, he did. She pulled away because she loved Logan. And let's be real, now they are step cousins and that's weird. But I guess the ending is open ended enough that if you want to believe Team Jess goes on, go for it.*
She just can’t quit Logan. And, it appears she won’t ever be able to. Cue the last four words. I knew way ahead of time because of all the foreshadowing. From the conversation she had with her father, I think she will make a different choice. For as much as she is like her mother, I fully believe she will let him in, not push him away and let him be in her life forever. Whether they are together or not, I don’t know. What I do know is he fits her better than anyone else. I think he was waiting around for Rory to ask him to leave Odette. Rory is just so afraid of commitment and love. She hasn't grown one bit since season one in that regard.
On some level, I love that this is 32 year old Rory in this situation instead of 21 year old Rory, had Amy been there to end it the way she wanted in 2007. It’s more interesting. (Since when we first meet Lorelai, she was 32.) Because of where she was going, this whole time, Rory couldn’t be too rooted in one thing, which does make her seem like one of the thirty-something gang. But I think Rory has finally figured it out. And I think it’s all going to be okay. In my head, Logan and Rory get together and become the new Emily and Richard. Coming even more full circle than a Rory/Lorelai circle. (And Odette will always be the Pennilyn Lot.)
Ultimately, I hope this is the true end. Sure I have questions. Sure I’ll always wonder. It's very Soprano-esque. But I think that is better than exploring the next stage of their lives, I don’t know that anyone really wants to see that. Plus, they’ve used up their allotment of Amy hats in Fall so, where can they go from here? I feel a little empty to live in a world where Gilmore Girls is truly over; there was always that small glimmer they may come back before. But to end it right? That’s worth it to me.
In order of preference: Fall, Summer, Spring, Winter. (Which, BTW is just the best Carole King Easter Egg ever.)
Also: If Netflix wants to go ahead and bring back Bunheads or Amy wants to create a new world for me, I will follow her to the edge of the desert. (Or where she leads, I will follow.) Obviously if they do make more Gilmore, I will of course watch that too. In Amy I trust.
