Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life - Fall
Fall Brings Things Full Circle for the Gilmore Girls
By Felix Quinonez Jr.
December 27, 2016
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Lorelai, searching for some direction in her life, decides to complete the “Wild” trail. And there’s a nice running gag about the “book vs. movie.” It was also especially nice to see Stacey Oristano, who played Truly on Bunheads.
Although it was fun to see Lorelai bond with her fellow “book” girls, the fact is they don’t really add much. Their only real purpose is to be an audience for Lorelai to spill her guts out to. Luckily, Graham, as usual, gives a great performance.
Not surprisingly, Lorelai doesn’t actually do any hiking. She forgot her permit, so she decides to get coffee instead. But because the place is closed, she walks around and stumbles onto a vista. And that’s where she has the epiphany she was looking for.
While enjoying a beautiful view, Lorelai calls her mother because she’s finally ready to share a memory of her father, Richard (Edward Kirk Herrmann). At the night of the funeral, Emily (Kelly Bishop) put Lorelai on the spot to say something nice about her father, but she drew a blank. Instead of saying something pleasant about her dead father, she shared a wildly inappropriate story. This caused a major rift between the mother and daughter and was one of the driving conflicts of this revival.
At the time, it seemed like an unnecessarily cold thing for her to do. But in hindsight, it becomes clear that the reason she couldn’t come up with a nice memory is because she hadn’t processed her father’s death yet. Her father was such an important part in all of their lives that it makes sense that his death would leave a large void. After a tumultuous year, Lorelai is better equipped to deal with her loss, and she shares a wonderfully moving memory about a birthday she spent with her dad. The moment clearly means a lot to both women. It was exactly what Emily needed to hear and what Lorelai needed to get out.
It was very moving to see the two women coming together after so many years of conflict. And seeing Emily hug the phone when they finished their conversation was a nice touch. Resolving her problem with her mother lifts a big weight off Lorelai’s shoulders and gives her a better understanding of what else she feels she is missing in her life. Now, she realizes that what she really needs isn’t space but to solidify her commitment to Luke (Scott Patterson).
It’s a very touching and perfect way to end Lorelai’s arc in the series. It’s also very nice to see her realize that she didn’t actually need to do the trail. It admittedly had a few pleasant moments, but Lorelai’s excursion definitely had the potential to get old fast.
Although it never really seemed likely that Luke and Lorelai would split up, it was nice to see them reconcile. Their scene in the kitchen was sweet and Luke, especially, shines. The anxiety in his voice is palpable. He got a rare emotional speech and knocked it out of the park. As he is trying to convince Lorelai to stay, Luke goes over some of their history together and it is a nice reminder of how much they’ve been through. But he didn’t need to worry, because marriage was the change that Lorelai was looking for.
When she first appears, it seems that Rory (Alexis Bledel) has fallen back into her funk. She’s at the Gazette but the spark that came from putting out her first issue is gone. However, it quickly becomes pretty clear that not much will happen there. But that’s where first sign of the Life and Death Brigade’s impending arrival appears. Throughout the day, a lot of random, weird things happen, and Rory begins to think she’s going crazy. But it’s all actually part of the Life and Death Brigade’s plan to make an entrance. It’s nice how they teased and built up their arrival, and their intro scene was beautifully shot and had a nice dreamy/surreal quality to it.
Unfortunately, they are still jackasses. The show really wants to sell how fun and charming they are, but they’re actually terrible and annoying. The fact that they’re in their 30s but still run around in their little brigade is a good indicator of why their names aren’t worth remembering. Their life of privilege allows them to continue behaving like obnoxious, entitled children. For some reason the writers seem to think that lines like, “I’m bored, I think I’ll buy the club” are cute. But they just serve as further proof of how insufferable these trust fund babies are. And their awfulness always rubs off on Rory.
As usual, Logan (Matt Czuchry) is the mastermind behind this excursion. He’s trying to smooth things over with Rory since they’ve recently hit a rough patch. But there’s something odd about how audiences are just supposed to overlook the fact that Logan is engaged. And the show even tries to make Odette, Logan’s fiancée, the bad guy. It seems like the writers could have come up with a better reason to make Logan and Rory’s romance fail. The fact that he is cheating on his fiancée makes it hard to really care about their relationship falling apart. And their decision to stop seeing each other is not as honorable as the show wants to think it is.
Eventually, Rory realizes they have to put an end to this and sends him home. However, it’s a little puzzling to see how surprised Logan is. Having gotten what he wanted all his life, he probably did think he could keep seeing Rory even after he got married. So in a way, Rory declares her independence from Logan, but it would have been better if she hadn’t already done it at the end of Season 7. And it was handled better back then.
On the plus side, freeing herself of Logan does seem to reignite Rory’s sense of purpose. With her spark relit, Rory heads off to Emily’s house to work on her book. Because Emily is in Nantucket, Rory has the place to herself.
What follows is a very melancholy and moving scene. Because her grandmother’s place has so many memories for her, being there alone triggers a lot of nostalgia for Rory. When she walks into the dining room, she recalls a time when her whole family was having one of their Friday night dinners. The show cleverly incorporates old footage into the scene so the audience also feels the nostalgia. It’s a nice move that has the desired effect. There are also some other sweet callbacks to the past in the scene. When walking into Richard’s office, Rory has a quick vision of her grandfather sitting at his desk. Seeing Rory writing her book at his desk adds to the running theme of things coming full circle. And to see the painting of Rory, from a Season 2 episode, still hanging up, is a wonderful touch.
Of course, it was only a matter of time before the Gilmore Girls made up, but it was nice to see them do it in the kitchen over a lot of food. The conversation is sweet, but it has a tentative feel to it. It was like they were still finding their way back from their fight. Rory reveals that she has finished the first three chapters of her book and shows it Lorelai. She wants her mother to read it. If it still bothers her, Rory won’t write the book.
It was also nice to see that Emily finally got out of the funk she’s been in.
It’s even nicer to see that it was a result of talking with Lorelai. After a rough year, she’s come to realize that her life no longer fits her. The house that has been such a big part of her life isn’t a home anymore since Richard passed away. And in order for her to move on, she has to leave the past behind.
Because of this, she decides to sell her house and move to Nantucket. Needless to say, Lorelai is taken by surprise and her shock extends to the audience. It’s hard to overstate how important the house has been to the show. So many memorable moments happened there. And its presence often loomed over characters simply because they were dreading having to go there.
It’s also very nice that the show offers a glimpse of what life in Nantucket will look like for Emily. She’s come a long way from being the person who would fire the help for the smallest mistakes. Now she’s taking care of her sick maid and making her soup, or at least heating it up.
And as she is heading off to her first day of work at the Nantucket Whaling Museum, there is a closeup of her white shoes that lasts a bit longer than it should have. At first glance, this doesn’t seem like much. But it’s actually a subtle callback to an episode in season one when Emily visited Stars Hollow and got a tour from Rory. Emily had to get rid of her fancy shoes and put on a pair of white sneakers to walk in. That, like now, was a moment of Emily stepping out of her comfort zone. And although it was pleasant to see Emily working, it does bring up a couple of questions? When did Emily become a whale expert? And how exactly did she get the job? What are the qualifications for this job? All of these are questions that are unfortunately left unanswered.
But one of the best things of A Year in the Life is seeing Emily and Lorelai bridge the divide that has been such a big part of their relationship. After all of these years, it seems like the drama between them is going away or at least isn’t going to be the defining characteristic of their relationship. It was nice that Lorelai felt comfortable enough to ask Emily for help with the expanding of the Dragonfly Inn.
It was yet another callback to the beginning of the series when Lorelai needed help to pay for Rory’s prep school tuition. Emily agrees, with the condition that Lorelai and Luke visit her in Nantucket for three weeks a year. This mirrors their original Friday night dinner arrangement and again brings things full circle. But in a nice testament to how far they’ve come, this time Lorelai doesn’t see it as torture. Instead she calls it the circle of life, with a smile.
Another great delight of the revival has been the chance to see how characters have grown and changed. Or in the case of Michel (Yanic Truesdale) and Taylor, (Michael Winters) haven’t changed. Although Jess (Milo Ventimiglia) hasn’t been a huge part of the new series, it has been nice to see him in Stars Hollow.
It’s especially enjoyable to see how far he’s come from the early “bad boy” days. When he was last seen in Season 6, it was clear that he was already maturing. And it’s nice to see that the show kept his growth moving forward. He’s grown into a genuinely caring person, not unlike Luke, who was a father figure for Jess during a tough time in his life.
Because of this, it was really sweet to see the warmth and affection between them. And the show again brought things full circle when Jess was the one trying to take care of Luke who was very upset over Lorelai. Their relationship has grown, and it’s clear they care about each other, and sometimes even express it.
When it was announced that all of Rory’s major exes would return, it led to a lot of fan speculation. Would there be drama to see who would win Rory’s heart? Would there be another all out brawl? But in the end, it turned out that there wasn’t even a competition. Logan’s relationship, at least in its current form, with Rory is ending (more on that later).
And although it’s hinted that Jess might have some lingering feelings for Rory, for the most part, he has moved on with his life. That means there is only one former flame to speak of. And Dean (Jared Padalecki) is the last of the exes to be trotted out in a brief but moving cameo.
History has given Dean a bad name, but that’s always been a bit unfair. When he first appeared in Rory’s life, he was caring, supportive and nice to the important people in Rory’s life. He even knew Nick Cave! But when writers decided they wanted to make room for Jess, they slowly turned Dean into the bad guy who acted in uncharacteristically terrible ways. And it’s hard to overlook how dumb he eventually became.
But because of the show’s insistence on always making Rory/Lorelai the good guys it was barely ever acknowledged how terrible Rory was to Dean in Season 2. In the end, they both did some bad things to each other, but it was always sad to see that Dean went out on such a bad note. Because of this, it’s especially nice that the show allows him to redeem himself a bit.
Dean is in town to visit his parents and he runs into Rory at Doose’s Market, where Dean used to work. Although it’s a short scene, the show does offer some information on Dean’s current life. He has three kids, with another on the way. As he explains, “It’s really boring in Scranton.”
Their interaction felt real, like two people with a long history together who will always share a connection. It’s nice to see that they’ve moved past the negative feelings and are genuinely happy to see each other. Rory says a line about first love that was bittersweet and moving. And when she tells him about her book, Dean’s reaction is very touching. The lump forming in his throat was practically audible. It was nice that they brought back the Dean from the early seasons, the “real” Dean. And the line about the cornstarch was a sweet callback.
Another character who inspired a lot of speculation was Sookie (Melissa McCarthy). For a while, it seemed like McCarthy wouldn’t return for the revival. Because of this, it was nice to see her even if it was such a short cameo. She and Graham still have great chemistry and their scene was sweet.
Although it always seemed like inevitability, it’s nice that Lorelai came around to Rory writing a book about them, but her Social Network inspired tip is a little cheesy. However, with that out of the way, the girls can get down to what’s important, wedding planning.
But before the wedding, Rory pays a visit to her father, Christopher (David Sutcliffe), who was otherwise absent in the revival. It’s a powerful and heartbreaking scene. From the beginning it’s clear that she’s uncomfortable being there. It always seemed that Rory was a little too understanding of the fact that her father wasn’t there for her. But here, it appears that she’s finally unloading years of resentment on Christopher.
Ostensibly Rory’s doing research for her book, but it also appears she has feelings that she’s long held at bay. This is one of Bledel’s best scenes and she’s raw and emotional in a way we rarely get to see Rory. Christopher responds in a predictable manner, giving an excuse about how things happened the way they were supposed to. But as Rory gets ready to leave, the camera pans out to make clear just how much distance there is between them. And in the end, all Christopher can do is sigh and bow his head as Rory walks out and he’s left alone.
So now all that’s left is the wedding. And in true Lorelai fashion, she bucks tradition and decides she wants to get married the night before instead. They still hold the planned wedding the next day but agree that if they get the actual marriage out of the way, they can enjoy the ceremony stress-free. It’s a very nice montage scene that has a sweet, dreamlike feel to it.
And the next morning…the infamous four words are finally heard.
“Mom,” Rory says.
“Yeah?” Lorelai answers.
“I’m pregnant.”
And just like that, the ending and a lot of A Year in the Life is turned upside down. The first thing that comes to mind is how this will impact her relationship with Logan. The show had Rory finally come to her senses long enough to end her “arrangement” with Logan, who is about to get married. And assuming the baby is his, what does that mean for them?
But on second viewing, it also impacts the earlier scene with her father. In the first go-round, it seemed like Rory was not only doing research but also using the book as a reason to finally get things off her chest. But now it becomes clear that she was actually asking to find out what she should do next. Would Logan want to be part of the baby’s life? Should she let him? Or should she raise the baby on her own?
And although it’s been repeatedly made clear that this was the ending Amy Sherman-Palladino had planned all along, it’s hard to believe that this was the impact she was aiming for. The fact is that sometimes A Year in the Life seems to want audiences to ignore Season 7 or the nine years that have passed since the end of the show’s original run. Most likely the show was originally planned to end when Rory was in her early 20s, and that would have changed the context of the final reveal. If we had gotten those four words then, it would have felt like a real ending. It would have brought things full circle, with Rory essentially repeating her mother’s life.
But now all it does is raise a lot of questions. Rory is in a completely different place then her mother was when she got pregnant, so it’s not necessarily a parallel situation. What will Rory do with the baby and what will happen to her book and career? Those are just a couple of the many questions it raises.
The ending also seems to retroactively rework Rory’s narrative on the show. When Season 7 ended, Rory claimed her independence from Logan and was seen off by the entire town as she triumphantly left Stars Hollow to follow her dreams. Gilmore Girls became, at least in part, about her ambition and the ending was the culmination of all of her hard work. But now Rory is being kneecapped and her story becomes about being relegated to repeat her mother’s mistakes.
Revivals always have very high expectations. People obviously want to see it play out a certain way and it doesn’t always match up with what the creators choose. Fortunately, A Year in the Life had great story arcs that were true to the spirit of the show. They were also entertaining and emotional. And the series didn’t overstay its welcome. Yet, it did leave some questions unanswered, like what happened with Paris and Doyle? What would a Steely Dan Flash mob look like?
But even though A Year in the Life wasn’t perfect, it was definitely a great and worthy addition to the Gilmore Girls canon. And in the end, A Year in the Life was a welcome trip to Stars Hollow. It was like reuniting with old friends, catching up and being reminded why you cared so much about them in the first place.