My Trip to Stars Hollow (Spoiler Alert)

I grew up watching Gilmore Girls. Rory graduated from college the year I graduated from high school, which was pretty emotional for me at the time. She was getting ready to move into a new world just like I was. I loved the fast moving pace of the show, the quick dialogue and the whit of Lorelei. I loved the special bond of Rory and Lorelei, how they seemed to be best friends. I loved Emily and Richard. They obviously had their issues with Lorelei at times, but there was always something so special about them as grandparents, especially Richard.

There were things that, of course, I didn’t love about the original series. I feel like I need to share this with you as well so you know that I don’t hold the show on a crazy high pedestal. Although I didn’t mind the character Christopher, I didn’t love that they had them get married in the 7th season. I didn’t love that it took so many years for L&L to get together but then they threw it away over stupid stuff. I hated how Rory lost her virginity (and who she lost it to). I hated how the show sometimes made us love Logan and how sometimes they made us hate him. Sometimes the writing was poor, the show was a little crazy and loud. But overall, I love it. It’s up there with The Office for me. Whenever I need a show on in the background (and TJ’s not around-he can’t stand how much they talk in the show), I turn it on. I’ve literally watched it countless times and feel like I know the show inside and out.

So, all that being said. I clearly was ECSTATIC about the return of the series. I knew its couldn’t live up to the original series, but I couldn’t wait to get immersed back into that world again. I have SO many thoughts about it all, so for my fellow fans, please comment so we can discuss!

  1. I love how they handled Richard’s death. I knew this part would be so hard because unlike most shows when people pass away, the character who played Richard (edward Herrmann) actually died several years ago. I’ve always been a big fan of his since he was in the Longfellow Motab Christmas special. But I love that they were able to show parts of his funeral in a flashback and tribute him in some of the greatest ways, especially having Rory write her book in his office. I loved that they were able to bring some humor to the situation with the HUGE painting Emily had of him, and then loved when Lorelei saw the regular sized painting at the end.
  2. Flashbacks to the original series. When Rory walked through her grandparents’ home and you saw them having old conversations and saw her Grandpa sitting at his desk… I lost it. So tender. So sweet.
  3. The seasons. I thought this was pretty cool for the most part, especially since the original series always referenced the seasons and decorated for them quite heavily. I was a little confused at parts because it seemed like not much time really had passed in the story, yet we were in the next season.
  4. Too much filler. I was annoyed that we were halfway through and not much had happened. They really should have cut out so much crap (I literally fast forwarded through the whole stupid Stars Hollow play), and then spend more time on stuff that mattered. More wedding, more Jess, more Emily. I don’t know, some filler stuff, just shorter scenes of that, you know?
  5. All the old characters. I loved Paris. She was awesome. Seeing Lane was also fun and the rest of the gang. We didn’t need to see Mr. Kim though, that was a plot hole in the original series that didn’t need to be fixed. I loved seeing the old college gang of Logan’s. That scene dragged on a bit but I did enjoy it. Kirk was hilarious. OOOber was amazing. Ms. Patty, Babette, Taylor, I just loved them all so much. I do wish we could have seen Liz and TJ though. Oh, and I could have done without April. The answer is NEVER APRIL. She was terrible in the original series and just as bad in the new episodes.
  6. Team Dean/Jess/Logan. I’m glad they only had Rory run into Dean, that they didn’t have a relationship. Because let’s face it. He was always the literal worst. I wish Jess was in it way more, that they DID have a relationship, but ending it with us knowing he still loves her was not bad. I’ll just get my Jess fix over at This Is Us to make up for it. Now, as for Logan… I really did like him in the original series (except for when he was a D-bag occasionally). So I was okay with him being in this so much, but the way he was in it, not okay. Both Rory and him were in relationships. It was so wrong and slutty. I really hated it. And they weren’t even happy. It’s because wickedness was never happiness, guys. And yes, I did just quote the scriptures when talking about Gilmore Girls.
  7. Emily’s storyline. I loved it. I loved this part probably the most. To see her character grow so much after Richard’s death was amazing. I laughed so hard when she read that book about tidying up because my friend Danica just read that book and I got lots of stuff she was getting rid of. I thought it was interesting she gave counseling a try since she said once in the original series how their type of people don’t do that, but maybe she realized how much she really needed guidance and change in her life. I was nervous at times they were trying to make her have alzheimer’s so I’m really glad they didn’t take the story in that direction. Everything about how they wrapped up her story was just perfect. And ps-she looked AMAZING.
  8. Lorelei’s storyline. I thought her acting was pretty good. She looked great and was pretty much the exact same Lorelei I used to know and love. Oh man, when she said she didn’t want to keep walking with Rory because she had already gotten her steps in… such a funny line and relevant to our time. Totally been there before! I was disappointed at first that she and Luke hadn’t gotten married, but then realized that meant we could possibly see them get married in the show. I thought it was perfect that she decided to run off for a little bit when she was going through all that stuff with Luke and Rory because that totally was how she was in the original. Remember when she ran away when dealing with Max? I’m also glad she actually didn’t go hiking because that, however, wouldn’t have been like her. It was so much better for her to go look for coffee and have that moment when looking at the view. Then to call her mom right at that moment. Fantastic. I kind of was wishing her greatest memory with her dad had something to do with the dollhouse of hers, but that’s okay. This was good too. She was able to patch things up with her mom, Rory, marry Luke, expand the Dragonfly. Good job writers with this part.
  9. Rory’s storyline. I already mentioned this a bit back when talking about Logan. But yeah, I really hated her storyline. Fortunately, it was redeemed a bit in the 4th episode. She finally got a grip of her life a bit, but still not much. I hate how she pretends to be such a great girl but actually is really terrible, sleeping around, cheating on her boyfriend, treating her bf terribly. She’s just selfish and worldly. But I was happy that she saved the newspaper in Stars Hallow and wrote the book called Gilmore Girls. I started pretending that the original series was actually what Rory wrote, which was fun.
  10. Now let’s talk about those last couple words. Those dreaded words. First off, no, I don’t think there will be more episodes. I wish there would be more, but I think if they were going to do it, they would have already started working on it. Honestly, I was loving the 4th episode so much. It finally was redeeming these new episodes, because I wasn’t in love with 2 or 3, and so finally… it was all coming together like I hoped it would. Rory started getting her shiz together, she ended it with Logan, Lorelei figured out what she should do about the Dragonfly, getting to see Sookie, marrying Luke, Emily’s life concluding perfectly. But then, after we are all so happy for getting to see that dreamy wedding of L&L’s, Rory has to ruin it like usual with her sub-par acting and telling us she’s pregnant. Really, writers? REALLY? She didn’t learn from sleeping with Dean when he was married? You spent the whole original series all about how Lorelei, a single mom, wanted to give Rory this new, strong, perfect life just for her to THROW IT ALL AWAY BY SLEEPING AROUND (WHILE CHEATING) AND BECOMING A SINGLE MOM HERSELF? Look, I’m all about having babies. I love babies. But she’s not even in a stable relationship. I’m SO sick of hollywood trying to demolish family values, telling us traditional families don’t matter. They do. Ugh. That’s a little bit of a tangent, but I’m just annoyed how they had her come full circle, because that’s not Rory. And it’s also a little bit of a slap in the face from the writers. Like, look… no matter how hard you try… you can’t change your circumstance. You’re going to end up just like the rest of your family no matter what. Dumb. So dumb. They just wanted to have us end on a cliffhanger so people would talk about it. I rewatched the 4th episode, and when she was asking her dad all those questions about how her mom raised her on her own, if it was the right thing to do, etc, I originally thought she was asking because she was doing research for her book. But now I’ve realized she was asking because she was trying to figure out what she should do in her own life. Anyway, I’m annoyed. I think it’s Logan’s. I think Rory (if the show were to continue) would raise the child by herself (or get an abortion, because I could see the writers doing something terrible like that), just like her mom because that’s kind of how the writers (I’m pretty sure it’s just one writer actually, right?) like Rory being-just like her mom and very strong-willed even if it’s to curse herself.

Those are my crazy thoughts. I haven’t even read through this guys, I’ve got to get wrap this up and head out for a bit but I’m too eager, I just want to share and discuss, so please ignore all my grammar mistakes! Comment comment comment, please! But not on Facebook, I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone!

6 replies
  1. Meghan Caldwell
    Meghan Caldwell says:

    Oh my, you’ve captured my feelings almost 100%!!! I could have written this post. I also thought the time passing/seasons were a bit confusing. Loved the Richard tribute. Really liked Emily, and even Lorelai’s plot was fine. She seemed a little aimless and it bothered me that she and Luke weren’t married 10 years later, but that was a small nuisance. Loved Paris – she looked great, and was pretty funny. I actually really liked the pig and Kirk, haha. And Lane was great. Agree that seeing Lane’s dad was weird. Oh, and April – It was fine for me that she was in it (she’s Luke’s daughter after all), but it bugged me that she wasn’t at their wedding! She’s his daughter. I get that it was a Luke/Lorelai/Rory moment, but I thought she should’ve been in the background or something. I also felt that Sookie was awkward. Her voice was really weird, and I wish that she had permanently returned. Since they’re not doing more anyways, why not make her permanent? It seemed obvious that she just had a few hours to film.

    WAY WAY too much filler! I really did not like the play either (skipped a bit!), and there was just too much pointless filler. I love original GG for it’s witty and fast-paced dialogue, and I didn’t feel like the revival had it. It was MUCH slower and much less witty. That made me sad. It took forever for anything to happen! For episode 1, I forgave the slow-pace because I know they had to set up a lot. Episode 2 and 3 were just lame. Episode 4 was redeeming itself, and then the last 4 words killed it. So awful. I hate that she was slutty and sleeping with Logan (seriously – she didn’t learn her lesson?!) and I HATE that she is just repeating her mom’s life, after all Lorelai did for her. So so so lame. Honestly, it ruined it for me. I think I’ll stick with the original 7 seasons.

    Reply
  2. Melanie McGrath
    Melanie McGrath says:

    I totally agree! Here’s my thing though, I have always been a bit annoyed by Rory. She was always a little whiny, entitled, and made terrible choices when it came to men! Lorelei was a bad example I suppose. So as annoyed as I was I felt like, that’s just how Rory is, always making bad choices when it comes to men. Bah.

    Reply
  3. Nichole Steadman
    Nichole Steadman says:

    Yes to everything and this article made sense: http://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/news/a23876/gilmore-girls-failed-rory-gilmore/

    Also, I never thought anything like this is the original series, but Rory’s acting was painful to watch at times. ESPECIALLY in the last scene. Dean has always been my favorite, so I cried during that scene. Rory and Jess should be together, but that would be weird because of Luke and Lorelei. It’s dumb Sookie wasn’t at the wedding and there was only like three minutes of Christopher. Liz and TJ had to be there. Rory and Logan hopefully get together in the future. I don’t think there will be more, but I would like there to be so we can get more of everyone and finally bring Rory back to her sweet, 15 year old self.

    Reply
  4. Fabogo
    Fabogo says:

    I absolutely agree with this. Here’s my thing however, I have dependably been somewhat irritated by Rory. She was dependably somewhat whiny, entitled, and settled on shocking decisions when it came to men! Lorelei was an awful illustration I assume. So as irritated as I was I felt like, that is exactly how Rory is, continually settling on awful decisions with regards to men. http://www.fabogo.com/stories/top-10-women-s-hairstyles-to-flaunt-in-2017

    Reply

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  1. […] My friend threw such a cute Gilmore Girls viewing party! Even the invites were adorable. It was fun to watch the first episode together, even though I probably commented way too much… sorry, guys! Sometimes I just can’t control my commentary! Thanks for hosting, Kelsie! And just in case you missed my thoughts on the new episodes, you can find them here! […]

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