Gilmore Girls was arguably one of the most influential shows for young women in the early 2000s. I can remember coming home from school in elementary and middle school, and Gilmore Girls would be playing every day. For this reason, part of me feels that Lorelai and Rory were a part of my growing up. Naturally, when I found out that Netflix would be creating a reunion special for Gilmore Girls, I was ecstatic. This reunion was called Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. This special is broken into four different episodes each depicting a season throughout a year in the life of Rory and Lorelai.
Although overall I enjoyed the show, and thought that a few things could have been changed:
- The fact that Suki wasn’t working with Lorelai anymore at The Dragonfly Inn was a disappointment
- Lorelai’s lack of resolution with her mother was disappointing
- I did not like that Rory and Logan were still seeing each other but that he was getting married to someone else despite his feelings for her
- The random singing scene within the Spring episode was off-putting and confusing because it did not feel like it was cohesive with the show or the Gilmore Girls brand in general.
- Seeing Rory struggle to make it in the professional world was a bit upsetting for girls like me who looked up to her a role model growing up. I don’t think that they were able to accurately depict what stage of her career Rory would most likely be at at the age of 30. For this reason, it feels as if they are selling her character short.
- The last episode ends with a giant cliff hanger that will most likely never be resolved which is disappointing to fans who were looking for more of a final resolution surrounding the show.
Despite these critiques, it was refreshing the see Alexis Bledel and Lauren Graham on screen together again. In most ways it seems as if their characters stayed true to many of the innate qualities that made them so lovable to begin with. I think this helped fans to feel satisfied from the reunion special despite a few minor things that they could have done better. I also thought it was nice how the show paid homage to the death of Edward Herrmann, the actor who played Lorelai’s dad and also passed away before being able to take part in the reunion special. I thought it was well played how they acknowledged his death on the show rather than just trying to write out his character completely. They were able to acknowledge what a big piece was missing from their complete cast. Overall, I was happy to have watched the reunion special for Gilmore Girls and am happy that they were able to get the cast together for a special. It was nice to see how each member has aged over time and it brought me back to my afternoons spent watching Rory and Lorelai growing up.
Image Source: http://tvline.com/2016/10/18/gilmore-girls-a-year-in-the-life-netflix-posters-key-art/
Leslie Davis' Digital Journalism Blog 