The Gilmore Girls revival with the heartache and all.

Meenakshi Sathish
Editor-in-Chief

             Season seven of Gilmore Girls was a dark period for all of us. The Palladino couple left the show because of creative conflicts leaving the show to be run by the network. People noticed the difference in quality, and the show ended with Rory’s journalism career being initiated with the opportunity cover Barack Obama’s presidential campaign after breaking up with Logan along with Lorelai and Luke finally reconciling. There was closure; that was a for sure, but it wasn’t enough. After years, Netflix answered the prayers of all Gilmore Girls fans: the show is coming back as four 90-minute movies. Everything in the world was right again. People prepared for the release with the classics: pizza, Pop Tarts, Chinese takeout, french fries, and ice cream. After eight hours of binging on the show, crying for another two hours, and then going to Tumblr for comfort, I am finally ready to talk about it. Beware though, there may be spoilers ahead, so continue at your own risk.
            The nostalgia is there. The opening scene of “Winter” (the first installment of the series) was a black screen with voice-overs of the iconic and beloved lines. The show had barely started, and I got chills! From there started the fast-paced show with pop-culture references. All of the treasured Stars Hollow citizens were featured in the show like Kirk, Doose, Babette, Gypsy, even if it was for a glimpse. Amy-Sherman and Daniel Palladino chose to focus on Lorelai, Luke, and Rory as far as plot went, which is a shame since I personally loved the parallel plots about Lane and Zack, and Paris and Doyle. This is a good segway to discuss the plot which I have a lot of opinions on. 

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          I appreciate the hard work that it took into making this revival as much as the next person. However, Amy-Sherman Palladino is one of those writers who believe that art mirrors life in all its imperfection and frustration, and boy, are we frustrated! Rory, Yale graduate Rory, is an unemployed freelance journalist who is the other woman to Logan, and this Logan has succumbed to the family business and plans on marrying a Parisian heiress because of family pressure. It is out of character for both of them as Rory has been the other before, and she felt horrible about it when it went downhill. Logan was growing more mature and independent during the last season of the original series, and it seems that he has just taken a million steps back within the last ten years. Whatever happened to the caring Rory who cared about other people’s feelings? Instead, she is having an affair with an engaged ex-boyfriend while she has a boyfriend of her own that she literally forgets about all the time. As far as inconsistent characters go, it seems as if Lorelai and Luke have not learned to communicate and still keep things from each other even though they’ve been together for ten years, and it was the reason they broke up the first and second time around. Nevertheless, Lorelai goes on a hike to clear her head (I am using the term “hike” very loosely here), and when she returns, they get married, and the world is making sense again! 
         While the revival did drive me nuts and was underwhelming at some points , it was not all that bad. Dean has finally moved on and has a wife with four kids in Scranton. While Jess did not get as much screen time as he should have, it was so nice to see him so mature and grounded. He has found his true calling with a career at an independent publishing company while he and Luke have this amazing relationship that makes us laugh, smile, and feel warm inside. He’s settled, yet he’s still Jess with that crooked smile and book in the back pocket of his jeans. Yet, he doesn’t end up with Rory, but it is clear that Jess is not over Rory as he longingly looks at her through the window in his last scene.Thank you, Amy-Sherman Palladino; you have brilliantly baked my soul and eaten it up for dessert. While fans are mad, they are now convinced even more that Rory and Jess belong with each other, and Logan is Rory’s Christopher. The reason behind that is because Rory is-wait for it-pregnant. The highlight of the show was Lorelai and Emily Gilmore’s scene where Lorelai shares her most treasured memory of her late father in tears. It made me cry like no other. The scene just reminded me why Gilmore Girls was such a hit in its day and why it is still popular with our generation. It is a about beautiful, yet flawed, people. The Gilmore Girls universe is people making mistakes till the end of time and always running into problems, but there with the bad times comes the good, and naturally, equilibrium will sort things. 
       If you are looking for closure, look somewhere else because season seven did it better. The revival is kind of like going back to your family during the holidays. There is a lot of heartache, and nothing will go the way you wanted,. At the end of the day though, these are the people who made you the person you are today. No matter how frustrating, you love them. All you have to do is call their name, and they’ll be there on the next train.