Winter
As the credits rolled and echoes of quotes past played, my heart pumped with excitement. It was finally happening. Gilmore Girls, again on my TV. Stars Hollow, the music, Lorelai, then Rory. The opening scene was a brilliant nod to the time that has passed. Lorelai and Rory's moment together, reminding themselves what it's like to be them again. "How long has it been?" Lorelai asks. "Feels like years," Rory responds. Years it has been.
It felt good seeing our girls together again, but it wasn't the same. Something felt off. From Rory's bit of running around with her phones to Lane's unnatural entrance in Doose's Market to Sookie's absence to the presence of Rory's forgettable boyfriend Paul. From a Logan still in London (wasn't he supposed to have quit his father's company and ventured out west to San Fran?) to a foreign family living in Emily's house to a Paris working at a fertility clinic to a teleporting Rory (how does she get from Connecticut to London so quickly?). It just didn't fit.
The 90 minutes of air time felt far too long. The references and jokes didn't feel as clever as they used to be. The story line ambled this way and that, unsure of where it's leading. Emily is still going on about how Lorelai isn't married. Lorelai is still trying so hard to get her mother's validation. Lorelai and Luke haven't even discussed having kids. Rory is aimless, jobless, and seems like a new graduate, not a thirty something year old who has had 10 years to figure out her life. Even the homage to Richard felt wrong, told in an awkwardly placed flashback that ended with two generations of Gilmores not speaking for 4 months. I felt like I had been dropped into an alternate reality where time had stood still in this quirky world, and season 7 had never happened. But unfortunately for Sherman-Palladino, time had not stood still for the rest of us, and season 7 did happen. Whatever was going on in A Year in the Life, this was not how it was supposed to go.
That's not to say there weren't pieces I enjoyed. Emily's attempt at Marie Kondo-ing her house felt right given the circumstances of her life. Luke being super-proud of Rory's article is classic. Kirk starting Ooo-ber, the ballerinas having been all grown up, Paul Anka in cute outfits, Lorelai's Jeep making a cameo, Michel being...well, Michel. These are all moments that make me feel like we really are back. I can't watch a scene panning around Stars Hollow with the town troubadour's music in my ears and not feel a twinge of nostalgia. There's a lot in Winter that didn't feel right, but this was the first episode. I'm sure it took some time for the gang to get back into it, to feel the connections they once had. So I'll let this slide and hope the future episodes get better. After all, I'm just thankful that we have our Gilmore Girls at all. As Rory said, holding a coffee and the Stars Hollow Gazette, "So good to be home".
It felt good seeing our girls together again, but it wasn't the same. Something felt off. From Rory's bit of running around with her phones to Lane's unnatural entrance in Doose's Market to Sookie's absence to the presence of Rory's forgettable boyfriend Paul. From a Logan still in London (wasn't he supposed to have quit his father's company and ventured out west to San Fran?) to a foreign family living in Emily's house to a Paris working at a fertility clinic to a teleporting Rory (how does she get from Connecticut to London so quickly?). It just didn't fit.
The 90 minutes of air time felt far too long. The references and jokes didn't feel as clever as they used to be. The story line ambled this way and that, unsure of where it's leading. Emily is still going on about how Lorelai isn't married. Lorelai is still trying so hard to get her mother's validation. Lorelai and Luke haven't even discussed having kids. Rory is aimless, jobless, and seems like a new graduate, not a thirty something year old who has had 10 years to figure out her life. Even the homage to Richard felt wrong, told in an awkwardly placed flashback that ended with two generations of Gilmores not speaking for 4 months. I felt like I had been dropped into an alternate reality where time had stood still in this quirky world, and season 7 had never happened. But unfortunately for Sherman-Palladino, time had not stood still for the rest of us, and season 7 did happen. Whatever was going on in A Year in the Life, this was not how it was supposed to go.
That's not to say there weren't pieces I enjoyed. Emily's attempt at Marie Kondo-ing her house felt right given the circumstances of her life. Luke being super-proud of Rory's article is classic. Kirk starting Ooo-ber, the ballerinas having been all grown up, Paul Anka in cute outfits, Lorelai's Jeep making a cameo, Michel being...well, Michel. These are all moments that make me feel like we really are back. I can't watch a scene panning around Stars Hollow with the town troubadour's music in my ears and not feel a twinge of nostalgia. There's a lot in Winter that didn't feel right, but this was the first episode. I'm sure it took some time for the gang to get back into it, to feel the connections they once had. So I'll let this slide and hope the future episodes get better. After all, I'm just thankful that we have our Gilmore Girls at all. As Rory said, holding a coffee and the Stars Hollow Gazette, "So good to be home".
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