#gilmore girls revival

#1. Luke Danes.

Is it wrong to end a Gilmore Girls character count down with one of the shows only major male players? If it is, then I don’t want to be right because I HEART LUKE DANES and I don’t care who knows it.

But, isn’t he awful?

Not especially, to be honest. Sure, he has some iffy moments at times, but I think these tend to stem from dodgy writing rather than him actually having negative character traits (for instance, referring to Kirk’s ‘gay bag’ and the snobby way he mocks Jess for working at Asda – sorry, Walmart).

Apart from that, I don’t find Luke as irritating at all as I do with lots of the others. Though that’s maybe because I myself am just as much of a grumpy bastard as he is.

Why do you like him so much?

The aforementioned grumpiness is outstanding. He reacts to the twee, weird Stars Hollow events just as grouchily as I would, and when he goes off on a rant about anything it’s always hilarious (seriously, find me a show that writes better ranty monologues than GG, I bet you can’t).

But for all his gruffness, Luke Dane’s has an absolute heart of gold. He’s so kind and helpful and though I’d personally rather do the nasty with that nephew of him (yum) he is dream husband material and Lorelai is damn lucky to have him in his life (and that he took her back after that horrific Christopher phase…) Basically, my love for Luke Danes is infinite.

What’s their best moment?

*melting*

#2. Lorelai Gilmore.

Coffee swigging Mama Gilmore makes it to number two.

But, isn’t she awful?

She’s super self-centred at times, that’s for sure. She definitely has a touch of the-world-revolves-around-me syndrome, and I feel like a lot of the fun, quirky things she does that are meant to be adorable actually come off as pretty rude.

My own personal ‘yeah, Lorelai’s a bit of a fanny’ moment (because let’s be honest, we all have at least one) comes from the hypocrisy she shows after Rory’s car crash. So Jess accidentally crashes her car and she is FURIOUS that her precious baby ends up with a cast on her arm. This is coming from a woman who we witness DRINK DRIVE ON A WEEKLY BASIS. She’s always knocking back the wine/cocktails/martini’s during Friday night dinner then driving Rory home, but Jess SOBERLY crashes her car to dodge an animal in the road and he’s apparently the devil.

Also, if you care so much for your child then for God’s sake give her a vegetable every now and then. You’re leading her on a one way path to diabetes my friend.

So why do you like her so much?

She’s hilarious. If I knew her in real life I’d love to go out drinking with her because she would be so much fun. She’s also a really tough cookie and takes shit from no one, which I think is admirable. She’s also very kind, and her relationships with various characters add the best dynamics to the show. She also fucks her life consistently and I can relate to that and I like my characters flawed and interestibg. 

What’s her best moment?

I know she has some fantastic lines and Lauren Graham’s comic timing and delivery is second to none but honestly THIS moment is the one that had me snorting harder than that wee little piggy we see in the trailer. It is just a stunning and beautiful fall and it’s lovely that it happened in peak Lorelai times, when she and Luke are just starting to fall in love. Sighhhh *heart eyes emoji*

#3. Jess Mariano.

Yes, I know it’s terrible that we keep banging on about Rory’s love life and she’s so much more than that and we’re dreadful people blah blah BUT fifteen year old me invested SO MUCH time and passion in this ship that I’m going into the revival hard Team Jess, pompoms and everything.

But, isn’t he awful?

I mean he’s definitely no angel. He’s pretty unreliable and unpredictable and moody and sulky, and while many of us love a bad boy his give-no-fucks cool guy attitude bordered on the excessive sometimes.

So why do you like him so much?

So first off it’s important to mention that fifteen year old me had the most insanely huge crush on him, and first loves never really die. Also, Milo Ventimiglia is still seventeen thousands shades of attractive so obviously there’s that.

But he’s also a really interesting and complicated character. He’s charming and flirty and smart and witty and despite the aforementioned gives-no-fucks attitude he obviously loves Rory to pieces.

It’s also nice that we see some proper character development from him. Jess goes through a lot of family shit and problems and he manages to come out of it a successful and decent person. His (eventually) mended relationship with Rory is what gives her the push she needs to get back to Yale, and the scene where he thanks Luke for everything he’s done with a cuddle is lovely and it definitely made me cry a little bit.

What’s his best moment?

Though I’m never usually hot on ‘shipping’ (in fact the word should be thrown into fire for all of eternity along with ‘moist’ and ‘bestie’) it has to be any Rory and Jess moments. 

Granted, when the competition is whiney, clingy Dean and smarmy, smug-faced Logan it isn’t really hard to make a choice (seriously, all you team Logan folks, I want some of what you guys are smoking) but you absolutely won’t convince me these two don’t belong together. 

I fully hope to see a future where they’re somewhere, anywhere, listening to the Clash and setting the literary world on fire. If you’re looking for a ‘moment’ search Jess and Rory and you will be presented with many fine montages that prove they are PERFECT together. 

#4. Rory Gilmore.

See, told ya one of them wasn’t going to make my top three. In fourth place we have one of the titular girls, Gilmore youngster Rory.

But, isn’t she awful?

Quite, sometimes. And not just a bit awful. Like, properly awful. No matter how sweet and charming she can be, Rory actually comes off as super spoilt and totally unaware of her own privilege on multiple occasions. Though we all know *the* ‘wow, Rory sucks’ moment is when she sleeps with married ex-boyfriend Dean.  As if the sleeping together wasn’t enough, her actions after make her even more irritating: she refers to him as ‘her’ Dean, despite unceremoniously ditching him for Jess years prior, she sulks at Lorelai for rightly pointing out that she’s being a massive fanny, and she sleeps with him again shortly afterwards clearly showing no regret. A prime example of ‘what Rory wants, Rory gets’ and to many the point of no return in terms of them viewing her as a likable character.

So why do you like her so much?

Because despite her (multiple) flaws, I still find her funny and warm and I do still route for her (though early season Rory is infinitely better than later Rory – this character took quite the nose dive after season 4). I like that the character is written as bookish and a hardworking without being forced into a geek mould, and Bledel’s chemistry with Lauren Graham and the subsequent conversation’s they have with *those* scripts always sparkle.  

What’s her best moment?

I can’t find my favourite Rory moment online, but it actually happens in the very first episode. Rory is still at Stars Hollow High, and some presumably bitchy girls try to gossip about what’s she’s writing during a class. One girls rolls her eyes and scoffs ‘she’s doing the assignment.’ Rory hears them bitching, and she just does the most fantastic smile, and carries on writing.

It’s like a real ‘who gives a fuck, I’m going places’ look and she could not give a shit about their opinions on her studying hard. She’s going to do what she’s going to do and she’s going to love it.

I hope the revival gives us more Chilton era Rory rather than Yale.  

So I’ve got behind on this Gilmore Girls list already, but there’s a good (and strangely appropriate) reason for that. My Nana passed away a couple of days ago, so I haven’t been in much of a writing mood. Now I’m playing catch up, which works well because now I don’t have to choose which one of these two to rank higher than the other, because – whether you’re team Luke or Chris or Jess or Logan or Dean – we can all agree these two belong together.

#6 and #5. Richard and Emily Gilmore.

The hilarious, infuriating mega-bucks older Gilmore generation sit together in fifth and sixth place.

But, aren’t they awful?

Undeniably, they can be. Both often – sometimes together, sometimes separately, always frequently. They’re snobbish and they look down on some of the loveliest people (such as my beloved Luke, but more on him later). They can be incredibly manipulative and some of the conversations Lorelai has with them (Emily especially) make me wonder why she’d ever set foot in that house again. They are certainly hard work.

So why do you like them so much?

First and foremost, they are hilarious. Nobody can dish out a sassy put down like Emily, and nobody does outraged indignation over the teeniest thing like Richard. Their relationships with both the girls differ greatly, creating dynamics that I would argue are more interesting than any of the romantic stories we get in the show (and believe me there are some excellent ones of those – again, we’ll talk later). The friction Lorelai has with her parents make for some of the shows warmest moments when they have moments of real affection for their family members, even if they don’t always understand them.

But the best relationship they have is with each other. Kelly Bishop and Edward Herrmann had wonderful chemistry together, and with pretty much all of the cast returning for the revival, it’s a real tragedy that we lost him before this happened. The fact that we won’t get to see them bouncing ASP’s wonderful words off each other one more time is a real, real shame.  

What’s their best moment?

I’m going to have to go for two here. One, a moment with the pair of them and two a classic Emily put down that I have to include separately because it’s easily one of my favourite moments of the whole show.

OF COURSE we’ve got to mention Friday night dinner, and the Friday Night’s Alright for Fighting episode sums it up perfectly. All the tension and bitterness comes splurting out, as well as all of the humour. The writing and performances have never been better on the show. HERE IT IS if you want to relive it.

Then, we have Emily Gilmore’s utterly DELICIOUS takedown of Mrs Horrid Hunzberger at a party. It’s one of those moments where you want to actually, physically applaud after. ‘I just wish I’d remembered to call her a cocktail waiter.’ YASS Queen Emily, I bow to you and your ruthlessness. Watch it HERE.

It’s hard to believe, but the wait is finally, almost over, and the eagerly anticipated Gilmore Girls revival will be with us in just *insert scariest Ring voice here* SEVEN DAYS.

Yes, in but seven days we will know what our favourite chatterboxes have been up to over the past eight years, and I am greeting the 25th November with the eager excitement of a five year old waiting for Christmas day.

On that note, I’m creating an advent calendar of sorts of my seven favourite Gilmore Girls characters as we count down to the big day.

Few things before I start; 1. This is a list post guys. Our opinions will be different and THAT’S ABSOLUTELY FINE. Just don’t tell me my choices are ‘wrong’, it simply might be different to yours (see THIS POST for my previous rambling on this subject) 2. One of the Gilmore Girls won’t even make the top three on my personal list. 3. This list will remain a LOGAN FREE ZONE. To be perfectly honest, blondie probably wouldn’t even make my top twenty so don’t be holding your breath for that one.

So, everything clear? Brilliant. Let’s see who’s behind door number one….

#7. Paris Geller.

The neurotic, driven, plaid-clad frenemy of Rory Gilmore is my seventh favourite Gilmore Girls character.

But, isn’t she awful?

As I’ve realised can be said about almost every GG character, yes, Paris Geller can sometimes be awful. She’s often mean to be people who don’t deserve it (her early treatment of Rory and her constant belittling of poor, startled Brad are prime examples) and on multiple occasions you will probably want to adapt your best stern teacher voice and shout ‘where are your manners, young lady?!’ at her as she is needlessly rude to service staff, teachers and even her poor, sweet first boyfriend who she cruelly and casually dumps over the telephone. Yikes.

So why do you like her so much?

Because Paris is just so brilliantly, relentlessly driven. She comes from a cold and arguably unloving background that is the antithesis of the cosy, ‘you can do anything sweetie’ lifestyle Rory is accustomed to. I would argue that she works harder than Rory and that she appears to ‘want it more’, whether *it* is success at Chilton, or Harvard, or Yale or in the future. Both girls are undeniably privileged, but Paris certainly appears to me to be more of a go-getter and a grafter when it comes to going for the goal, whatever the goal may be.

This sort of enemy-to-friend character is are often presented in a ‘hard on the outside, softie on the inside’ sort of way but this isn’t ever the case with Paris. Sure, she does get nicer in some respects and she shows genuinely lovely moments of loyalty to Rory throughout the series (telling Logan exactly what she thinks of him after the bridesmaid debacle was a fantastic moment) but Paris Geller is never a softie. She’s kind at times and loyal but she is ALWAYS a fierce and ferocious woman, and I will love that about her until the end of time.  

What’s her best moment?

There are just too many to choose from! Paris Geller is a veritable goldmine of terrific moments. She is both the queen of the epic one liner (“No, Rory, this great man was not brought down by my vagina”) and the intense, breathless rant.

I think however I will choose the latter, and go for the moment Paris finds out she has not gotten into Harvard and has THIS hysterical melt down on live TV. It’s so great because it manages to be both funny and tragic at the same time, and we get to see the magnificent Liza Weil show us her proper acting chops like never before.

So that’s day one done, I must-ache you to return for tomorrows entry…

******STUFFED TO THE GILLS WITH SPOILERS, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!!!******

It’s been just shy of a month since the Gilmore Girls revival hit Netflix, and after my third (yep) viewing – this time with pen and paper in hand – I’ve finally decided to write up my feelings of the year we spent with the girls. From the good, to the bad, to the downright ugly.

First off, it’s important to point out that I am a Gilmore Girls super fan. To the point that the launch of the new episodes was not viewed as just a TV show, it was an EVENT. We got up at 7am, wore Luke’s T’shirts, bought copious amounts of junk food…it was huge for us:

Having said that, I am fully aware of the flaws of both the original series as well as the new episodes, so didn’t go in with any rose tinted glasses. So here we go:  

The aesthetic.

Gosh, wasn’t the whole thing just beautiful to look at? The attention to detail for every season was stunning, from the pretty pink blossom leaves to the twinkly Christmas lights and the fabulous red bow on the Gilmore fridge that was absolutely 100% Lorelai and 0% Luke.

I was also a big fan of the way the series was shot, particularly this scene that was just so Wes Anderson it hurt, and I loved it.

I never really think of Gilmore Girls as a ‘dated’ TV show until I go back to the earlier seasons and see some of the wardrobe choices. Chord trousers, people?! REALLY. Here, though, they outfits are a lot more current and up to date. I would like all of the outfits in Rory’s wardrobe, please and thank you Santa Claus.

Some of the ‘other’ characters.

After seven years of being a fabulous but criminally underused member of the core cast, Michel finally got some much deserved backstory. I love his descriptions of his husband ‘ordering’ a baby for them to adopt, and the bits with him searching for a new job gave Yanic some time to get involved in some of the emotional plot lines. The part in the secret bar (genius) was lovely, and really validated a friendship that’s always been funny, but often left you wondering why on earth they’re friends anyway.

Now for Lane. Had I been a particular fan of hers in the first place, I think I’d have been really disappointed by her presence in the revival. For a girl who started out seemingly on a path to do her own thing after rebelling against everything she was ‘meant’ to be, it’s a shame that she seems sort of stuck.

She should be off conquering the world with her music, seeing different countries, falling in love, trying new things. Instead, she remains in her home town, still being pushed into church things by her Mother, raising two kids and still married to the same guy who never really deserved her anyway. 

Of course there’s nothing wrong with making roots and doing the whole family thing, it just didn’t seem very her. When the biggest shocker for her character is that you finally see her Father (the elusive Mr Kim) on screen, you feel like she may have deserved better. But at least Hep Alien are still doing their thing.

Someone who gets a much better deal out of the revival is Paris, who was one of the biggest assets to the original series thanks to Liza Weil’s brilliant portrayal. Here, she pretty much steals every episode that she’s in. THANK GOD. 

Of course Paris fantastically successful in her career, but her personal life is still chaotic, which leads to some classic ranting and oversharing. I think I laughed most when she was on screen, whether she’s booting the doors down at Chilton or discussing the horrifying situation of ‘the stairs’.

Emily.

For me, Emily’s story had the most emotional heft out of everyone’s; It’s a word now contaminated with sickly connotations thanks to reality TV, but she really does go on a journey throughout these four episodes. We have the grief and the anger and the depression you’d expect of a woman who’s lost her husband, partner and soulmate, but then her story takes off into so many different unexpected and wonderful directions and I honestly loved every single one.

There are so many glorious Emily moments to treasure in the revival, and for so many different reasons: delivering the first proper swear in Gilmore history (thank, Netflix!) by calling out everyone’s ‘bullshit’ in the DAR made me laugh and also want to applaud, and the phone call with Lorelai aout her happiest Richard memory made me want to cry it was so touching.

Her ending, though, was everything I never realised I wanted for her and then some. Moving homes with her long term (!) maid and her family, slipping her trainers (!) on for a day at work traumatising kids at the whaling museum and tucking the maids kids in at night was so different for her and really showed her growth and development now that’s she’s lost her other half. Kelly Bishop deserves all of the awards for this, she was wonderful.

Rory.

Let’s not beat around the bush: this was a *very* problematic series for Rory, essentially shining a huge magnifying glass on everything that made her somewhat unlikable in the first batch (more on that later) but there was on arch of her story that I really liked: her writing a book about The Gilmore Girls.

She might be struggling in the world of journalism (yet can somehow afford to dot back and forth from Stars Hollow to London every week, but we’ll leave that one) but her idea to write down the story of Lorelai and herself seems very right. And writing it from her Grandfather’s desk is a really lovely touch. And obviously her chemistry with Lauren Graham is still what glues the whole thing together, and their dialogue together is still A+.

But, then, there’s the dark cloud over the whole revival, which is: 

The affair.

In the original series, a major tipping point people for people who stopped being Rory fans was when she had sex with married Dean. It was such a horrible thing to do that it was hard for the character to come back from it, however it was saved slightly by her at least feeling something along the lines of guilt after a right old bollocking from Lorelai. In the revival, we’re greeted with a similar plot line, as Rory (with a boyfriend) is still hooking with Logan (who openly has a fiancé). Yikes.

I’ve seen a lot of people saying they dislike Rory for being ‘slutty’ in the revival, which I disagree with; she could fuck a million wookies if she was single and they were single and I wouldn’t care a jot. But this is cheating, and that’s different, because they’ve both got people they can knowingly hurt.

Sure, Paul is presented as a bit of joke, but he seems like a nice guy and Rory guiltlessly fooling around his back just seems mean. And Logan paying for hotel rooms for mistress Rory in London behind some poor girl’s back is just icky. What a catch, huh?

It’s made even more annoying when Lorelai finds out and it’s sort of just like ‘ha ha sort your life out a bit, but you’re still my perfect little princess.” Where’s that fire and those principles that came out when she hooked up with Dean?? Can Rory literally do anything she wants now with no negative comebacks?

Honestly, this whole story line should just have been scrapped the moment the idea came up, because it encapsulates all of the selfish, privileged, entitled traits in Rory’s character that make her someone who’s often difficult to care for.  At least it has finally made my mind up once and for all that I am no longer routing for Rory. She is, in fact, dreadful.

The Boys.

All three of Rory’s exes made an appearance, and all made their impact in different way. Logan, for example, is still an awfully smug, smarmy arsehole. He was always a selfish smart arse, but here he’s given new levels of dislikability by screwing around behind his girlfriend’s back care free.

We also get a visit from the ever-irritating, over privileged Life and Death Brigade. Oh, how we laugh as they break in and trash the market and buy tango clubs and hotels willy nilly. God, I always have and always will despise these dip shits. Can Logan just quickly do what we all know he’s going to do anyway and finally just disappear full up his own arsehole, never to be seen again.

I was never really a Dean fan either, but I found his one scene rather sweet. Hideous fling with Rory aside, he always seemed like he’d end up in a happily-married-with-kids setup, so there one scene together was nice. Short but sweet.

Jess is still by number one Gilmore guy without question. I mean first things first we’ve got his general physical perfection because

Let us all raise a glass to those bulging biceps, well done friend.

It’s also nice to see him doing well: he’s got his books and he’s close with Luke and he’s crinkled out his attitude and he’s got his shit together, so it’s nice to see he’s maintained the development his character showed during the course of the original seasons.

I also went into the revival heavy TEAM JESS for ending up with Rory, but I’ve changed my mind now. She doesn’t deserve Jess. So head my way if you like, Mariano, you will certainly be appreciated…

Lorelai & Luke.

Thank goodness these two are still going strong. Sure, there’s a small blip in the summer but it never felt like we were heading into breakup terms, which is excellent because my heart could not handle it.

Of course there’s still a chunk of Lorelai drama, with an overreaction that leads to her ‘doing a Wild’ and attempting to trek around America. This is a bit silly and unnecessary, but it’s worth it for the phone call she makes to Emily about her Father that brings a tear to her eye.

The overall loveliest moment, though is their wedding. Or rather, the bit just before, as they wander through the sparkles and the square looks so pretty and magical. It gave me that nice, warm fuzzy feeling which was just what I wanted from the revival. And the look on little Kirk’s face when she sends him the ‘it’s perfect!’ text is just too darn adorable to handle.It’s nice that despite any drama and difficulties along the way, these two wind up exactly where they belong.

The Omissions:

It was fantastic to see pretty much everyone from the revival return to the show, but there were still a few noticeable omissions. Obviously, there was Richard, whose absence was dealt with in a sensitive and beautiful way. Then, there was the insufferable Liz and TJ, who we were mercifully spared from actually seeing and had to deal with only as silent participants at the end of a phone line.

However, there were still a few other characters that I’d have liked to have seen. Like, why weren’t Madeline, Louise and Max shown at the Chilton reunion? Officially, they’d have loved the actors to have been there but they ‘ran out of pages’. But less important love interest Jason was there, as was less important frenemy Francie. I’m sure the majority of the fans would’ve preferred to see the other guys squeezed in the script, especially when they spent about three years on that godawful Stars Hollow Musical.

The last 4 words.

I feel like a real bucket list point was ticket off when I found out what ASP’s final four words were. Were they worth the eight year wait? Maybe not, I don’t think anything ever could be, but they certainly open the door for more episodes, and that can only be a good thing. Come on, Netflix, flash that cash and get us Gilmore revival.2 PLEASE.

I think personally I’d have preferred if the last four words were something really weird and quirky (after all, that is the nature of the show) that no one could ever have predicted, because I’d heard the actual ones mentioned at a few times. One of the ideas that floated through my head after the Keifer Sutherland chat would be this:

Rory: That’s Keifer Sutherland.

Lorelai: Yep.

I’d have liked something like that a bit better, but my brain is a very strange place. It’s still exciting that we might someday soon get to see a brand new shiny Gilmore Girl. Or even, guy.

In Summary.

I might sound like I’m being quibbly and moany, but I actually really liked the revival. It was funny and sad and smart and frustrating, and basically everything I loved about the original rolled up into one lovely binge-watchable package. I hope this is not our last trip to Stars Hollow, but if it is, I’m glad it was the trip Amy Sherman Palladino wanted us to take.