By Lian Bunny
Photo Editor
Writer Amy Sherman-Palladino stayed true to her Stars Hollow roots when creating Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, which joined Netflix last Friday.
As a huge fan since middle school, my biggest fear was that the new series would stray too much from the original. But within five minutes, well-timed banter on the horrors of flying in airplanes and the ridiculous stereotypes of young people silenced those concerns.
I loved Lorelai Gilmore’s storyline. As her mother Emily Gilmore so nicely pointed out in the past seasons, Lorelai tends to be too selfish, especially in her romantic relationships.
However, the new series shows her personal growth. She tries counseling, she goes on a trip to California for self-discovery and is finally honest about her feelings towards Luke Danes, her fan-favorite love interest.
Her storyline comes full circle at the end of season five, when she proposed to Luke for the first time. In the Netflix series, again she turns to Luke and says she wants to get married.
Their town square wedding was perfect, complete with the song “Reflecting Light” by Sam Philips. The couple danced to the same song on their first unofficial date back at the end of season four. The whole affair was “elegant and understated,” just like Lorelai.
Her daughter, Rory Gilmore, had a disappointing role in the series. As a private school-attending journalism major, I used to want to be Rory. Yale-graduate and editor of the Yale Daily News, Rory has always been competent, confident and poised.
Until now…
She’s unemployed, giving up journalism, has no home, has multiple boyfriends but no real contenders and has her stuff scattered in boxes in multiple friends’ and family’s homes.
I’m all for being Jack Kerouac and going through some character-building struggles, but the show concluded with nothing in Rory’s life resolved. It ended with Rory being single, unemployed, broke, living at home, in the process of writing a book – and pregnant.
With Rory telling Lorelai she’s pregnant at the end of the series, some speculate Logan might be the father. Oy with the poodles already!
It didn’t make sense at all that Rory would be cheating with Logan Huntzberger. He proposed in season seven and she rejected the “butt-faced miscreant.” He gave her an ultimatum and she let him walk away.
My personal favorite Gilmore Girls man, Dean Forester, barely appeared in the series at all. I expected to see more of him, as well as Jess Mariano and Sookie St. James.
I would have loved to see more of them and a whole lot less of the weird, disturbing Stars Hollow play that took up almost all of the third episode. Honestly, it seemed as though the writer had agreed to four long episodes but then realized she didn’t have enough content to fill the airtime. The creepy singing continued for an uncomfortably long time.
Still, the show was chalked full of the witty zingers, the fast talking and the coffee drinking we all know and love. With the finale ending with such a cliffhanger, Rory announcing she’s pregnant, some hopeful fans think the series doesn’t mark the end of Gilmore Girls.
I guess we’ll find out. For now, super cool party people bid you super cool adieu.
bunnyla13@bonaventure.edu
