TV Review: Gilmore Girls

To me and so many others, Gilmore Girls is more than a heartfelt story line, and it’s more than a relationship between a mother and daughter; it’s a way of life.

There are many ways in which Gilmore Girls has played out in my life. It has been a bonding point for me and my mom, who I have a great relationship with. I have a super supportive best friend, and Rory even shares my passion for journalism.

Everything I had heard about the revival sounded like it would be the perfect wrap-up to season seven, which ended with several unanswered questions. My hopes were up at the promise of exciting fast-paced banter, with current cultural references I would actually understand.

Because of these things, my expectations were extremely high for Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, and I was sorely let down.

Of course, the mere fact that I was watching Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel on the screen again as mother and daughter was exciting. However, I found the show lacking some of the major factors that made Gilmore Girls so unique.

From the start of the first episode, “Winter”, the famous fast-paced dialogue was lost while the actors tried to get themselves back into the old habit.

However, that was not the only thing to get used to with the new season.

In a mere ten years, Rory has somehow seemed to go from an aspiring journalist to someone who cares only about the trends of modern society. To make her character appear even more shallow, she is still “seeing” her college love interest, Logan, who is also technically unavailable as he is engaged.

Another difference in A Year in the Life was the numerous drawn-out scenes, making it obvious that the show could have been cut to three hours, and titled “Six Months in the Life.” The most obvious scene was a 15-minute entailment the history of Stars Hollow wrapped up into a musical, which disgusted Lorelai and bored viewers.

All of these things aside, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life did do some things right.

The death of Edward Herrmann, who played the role of Rory’s grandfather, had just the right influence in the show— affecting the lives of everyone close to him, but not dwelling on it for the entire season.

Almost all of the major characters come back to the show, even if just for one scene, and all serve the purpose of wrapping up the loose ends that season seven left behind.

In the end, Gilmore Girls will always be a feel-good family drama dealing with all age groups. If, at the end of the seven original seasons, you are feeling like you need a little more time in Stars Hollow, A Year in the Life is exactly this. The storylines come full circle, giving closure for some characters and opening new possibilities for others.