Gilmore Girlsis back! On Friday, November 25, the Gilmore Girls revival was dropped on Netflix, and fans got to see Lorelai (Lauren Graham), Rory (Alexis Bledel), and the quirky residents of Stars Hallows back together after almost a full decade away!
The six-hour revival gave us those infamous Final Four Words and much more pure, unadulterated Gilmore Girls joy. So what happened on Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life? Well, there were some romances, some mourning, and a few surprises.
Within six hours, there are far too many moments and plots to mention in this list: Kirk's hard work finally paying off, Lorelai and Luke's meant-to-be love, Rory getting her first hit in a The New Yorker piece, Lorelai and Michel's friendship maybe ending with Sookie joining the franchise, Logan still taking care of Rory, and Stars Hallow becoming a musical (I could keep going). But here are a few of my favorite parts of the revival, with just a few spoilers.
1. The ever so complete cast
I really couldn't believe how many actors came back for the revival. Each time a character came on the screen, I screamed, "Look who it is!" And they not only brought back the smaller characters such as the town troubadour, but featured guest stars such as CAROLE KING, Rachael Ray, Sutton Foster, Christian Borle, and even Lauren Graham’s Parenthood daughter, Mae Whitman.
2. Rory and Lorelai's fast talking, never ending humor
What I missed most after the show went off the air was its dialogue. It winds and meanders from tangent to pop culture joke to the next pun, the speech flying outrageously fast.
Even after a break from this fast speech, Alexis Bledel and Lauren Graham seamlessly sprinted from line to line starting within the first scene, continuing to the final season's last scene. As a fan watching, it all felt so familiar.
3. Paris Geller. Need I say more?
Liza Weil's acting brought all of Paris' quirks and determination, smashing every scene she was in. Her story line gave the character justice: Paris' established career as an MD, lawyer, architecture expert, founder of a fertility and surrogacy clinic; but yet she still felt lonely, inadequate, and not finished yet. Weil's hilarious performance showed that there truly is only one Paris Geller.
4. Lorelai and Emily's reconciliation through sorrow
The revival definitely had all of the feels. I loved how much credit they gave to Richard, how they honored Edward Herrmann, through the funeral flashback, details regarding his will, and even the huge portrait.
The loss also placed Emily in therapy, soon joined by Lorelai, as they realized their problems go way back far before Richard's death. Although I don't want to ruin this plot line's resolution, Lorelai's revelation of her time with her father was not only heart warming but was the exact comfort that Emily needed.
5. Emily's newfound independence
Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino states, "It's safe to say that the death of Richard Gilmore, the death of Ed Hermann, looms large over everything. Dealing with the death of Richard is going to impact all of them, because when somebody close to you dies, your whole life comes into a weird focus for a minute."
This left fans largely questioning what will happen to Emily. After her husband of 50 years passes away, she sadly reflects, "Half of me is gone." But by the end of the revival, she becomes more than a wealthy housewife. She quits the DAR, lets her love interest loose, works as a Whaling Museum docent, and even comes up with a new visiting schedule for Lorelai and Luke as she moves to Nantucket.
While Rory was lost struggling to find inspiration, low and behold, Jess provides her with it. Although Lorelai wasn't fond at first of Rory telling her life story, it was such a touching idea that Rory gets to give credit to all of her mother's hard work in this tangible way and even gets to write about notable characters, such as her first love Dean.
After her writing of the first three chapters, the success of the novel is looming in the future; who knows, Gilmore Girls could even become a TV show.
