Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life Review — Fall

The best television finales are often the ones that are controversial, and that rings true more than ever for Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.

Those final four words are shocking, but they’re perfect. There’s really no other way Gilmore Girls could have a satisfying ending.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. “Fall” is about much more than those final four words. It’s about new chapters for all of the Gilmore girls, both in their personal lives and their professional ones.

Emily:

Emily’s journey might be the most satisfying of them all. She spends the entire length of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life trying to figure out who she is without Richard. She tries holding it all together and getting a new maid. She tries to throwing out nearly everything she owns. She tries therapy. She even tries finding a new companion.

Notice her reaction to Jack in Nantucket when he announces he has to leave. She basically rushes him out, thrilled at the idea of being alone in that beautiful house on the water.

She has this spark I don’t know that we’ve ever seen in her before.

And her outburst at the DAR is one of my favorite parts of the entire revival. You had to wonder if the fact that it was Netflix that would be airing the revival rather than the original network, how that might affect the language.

It doesn’t affect it much, but when it does, it packs a punch. Lorelai and Rory curse a little more than they might have in the past, but it’s nothing out of character. That makes it all the more significant when Emily Gilmore busts out with “bullshit” at the DAR.

It’s a cathartic moment for her and for the audience, and there’s maybe nothing more satisfying than seeing Emily shed her old life — from the DAR to the entire house — and find a new passion in teaching children at the Whaling Museum in Nantucket.

Taking off on her own like that even feels like a parallel — slightly — to the way Lorelai took off and started in new life in Stars Hollow.

Lorelai:

I never thought I’d see Lorelai Gilmore willingly go on a hiking trip. And though she doesn’t actually hike, watching her attempt it is as hilarious as you’d expect — from trying to stuff everything she needs into her pack, to forgetting to tie her shoes and losing her actual permit.

She also has interactions with two very special park rangers. The entire revival series has been such a celebration of the show and the fans that it’s carefully included some inside jokes and fun cameos throughout. “Fall” includes one that I didn’t expect, and one that I was really, really hoping for.

When Lauren Graham starred on Parenthood, her character dated her daughter’s teacher (sound familiar) who was played by Jason Ritter. Ritter shows up as the first park ranger, who encourages the hikers to wait a day thanks to the storm. Lorelai speaks to him directly, making sure he understands the difference between Wild the book and Wild the movie.

The second park ranger she encounters? This is the cameo I hoped for all along. It’s Graham’s former Parenthood co-star Peter Krause, who, more significantly, is Lauren Graham’s partner other in real life.

Her flirtation with him in that scene is made even funnier and more special when you know they have an off-screen relationship.

Lorelai gets her moment of clarity not from a hike, but from an attempt at getting a cup of coffee. When she isn’t able to get into the coffee shop, she wonders off to see a view of a vista. She takes in the view, it hits her.

The first and most important thing is the memory of her father. She calls Emily immediately to tell her a sweet story about Richard catching Lorelai skipping school, but showing compassion for his daughter rather than punishing her.

She then leaves the pack and heads back home to Luke.

Luke is beside himself while Lorelai is gone, even making the mistake of giving out his actual wi-fi password. And when Lorelai comes home, he gives an impassioned speech begging her not to leave him.

It’s one of the scenes that brought me to uncontrollable tears, and it’s probably one of Luke’s best moments… ever. He says he’s happy and he has everything he could possibly want. He didn’t even want to take half of the closet.

For the second time, it’s Lorelai who interrupts him to say she wants to get married.

She’s even already worked out the details, and it’s going to happen soon.

The revival series HAD to end in a wedding for Luke and Lorelai. Period. Even though it’s good news that the two of them had apparently been together since we last saw them at the end of Season 7, and the fact that they’ve been living together and enjoying a solid relationship, those two characters wanted to be married to one another, and Lorelai wanted a perfect wedding.

We don’t see the wedding that’s planned, and I’m sure that has something to do with the difficulty of getting all of the cast members together in one place. But I also think having Lorelai and Luke elope is more perfect. It’s more intimate, and the montage is magical.

From Kirk’s glittery decorations to the song — the same song Luke and Lorelai danced to at Liz and TJ’s wedding (Luke can Waltz!) which was an important moment in the beginning of their relationship, it really couldn’t be more perfect.

I’m also ignoring the fact that there are key people missing in the small wedding, like Jess, Sookie, April, and quite frankly, Emily. But that doesn’t matter, because it’s done with such care and in a way that perfectly reflects Luke and Lorelai.

There’s another new chapter for Lorelai, though. Thanks to Michel’s dreams of moving on to something bigger and one last request for Lorelai to expand the inn, Lorelai starts to think bigger. She can’t expand the Dragonfly where it is, but she happens upon (too conveniently, but this is Gilmore Girls, and that happens sometimes) an old folks home that is suddenly for sale.

Talk about bringing things full circle, because Lorelai needs help getting the money together to make the purchase.

That brings me to another of my favorite moments throughout the entire revival. Lorelai goes to see her mother and ask for help, which mirrors the first time she ever made such a request — in the pilot episode. Only this time, it’s Emily who says, “So, you need money,” and “I’ll get the checkbook,” as opposed to Richard.

It’s another nice tribute to his character, who has a strong presence in the entire revival regardless of the fact that he isn’t actually there. These are the details that make the revival so incredibly perfect.

Rory:

The problem with the revival series is that nearly everything that happens might have made more sense if it had happened sooner. I acknowledge this. Rory’s struggle in her career and her love life is more common in a person’s twenties than their thirties, and had her age not been stated in the revival, it would be easy to forget the timeline and assume she’s twenty-five.

That said, it wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying to see Rory in a stable career during the revival. Her story has always been about finding herself and about learning that life doesn’t always go your way.

In fact, a lot of what happens — the job she assumes she’ll get and the various setbacks, are basically the same as what we see in Season 7. In a lot of ways, you could actually forget Season 7 existed altogether, and just go ahead and replace it with the revival series.

But what’s so bad about that? I like seeing Rory go through this struggle, and the idea of her writing that book is another perfect way to wrap up the series.

Especially in the way that writing the book honors her relationship with her grandfather.

She rejects Logan’s offer to use his family’s house in Maine to write the book, and instead goes straight to the source.

We get flashbacks to Friday Night Dinners and the time Rory stayed the night with her grandparents and made a frozen pizza.

Then she enters his study, and for just a moment, we see him sitting there working at his desk.

I’m getting chills just writing about it.

It’s beautiful and fitting. She then sits at his desk and begins to write the story.

Rory’s relationship with Logan is another way that this whole thing could just replace Season 7. Forget about how he proposed and moved to California. Then forget about how they broke up. Just assume he stayed in London, and they continued a relationship but kept it a secret and kept it without the strings.

Even though Logan is planning to marry another woman, it’s clear he’s still in love with Rory. You can’t deny the connection those two had all along. As Lorelai says, Logan is the guy Rory just can’t quit.

Sound familiar?

The obvious parallel is that Logan is Rory’s Christopher. His lifestyle, his personality, their relationship — the similarities are undeniable.

Logan shows up to see Rory one last time, and he does it in a way that only Logan could.

It’s a whole Life and Death Brigade adventure, complete with creepy computer messages and a sign on a pig encouraging Rory to get ready. Then the guys show up in their masks after Esther surprises Rory by saying “In Omnia Paratus.”

The montage is elaborate and celebratory as it gives us a whole new view of Stars Hollow. In fact, I think that’s one of the most important parts of it — yes, it’s nice to see Colin, Finn, and Robert once again and to be reminded of that part of Rory’s life, but a look at the town in a new way — from the camera angles to the new way Rory gets to experience it — that’s unforgettable.

They travel on and have a “wild ride,” and Rory and Logan spend one last night together. For Rory, the whole thing was one perfect night, before she cuts Logan loose, gets her own car instead of taking his, and telling him she doesn’t need him to rescue her anymore.

And all of that brings me to those final four words.

Rory: Mom?
Lorelai: Yeah?
Rory: I’m pregnant.

It’s as shocking as it is perfectly full-circle, and I think that’s a good thing. I don’t believe any other ending could be as satisfying as this, and honestly, it’s not that we’re being left with a cliffhanger. The timing doesn’t work for the baby to be anyone else’s besides Logan’s, and we know that Luke and Lorelai will do everything they can to help Rory as she raises a new baby.

Rory will finish her book, and she’ll still be successful — just as her mother was. She’ll realize her dreams — just as her mother does.

Logan will remain in Rory’s life, and he’ll probably help financially. But Rory’s conversation with her father about Lorelai’s decision to raise her on her own tells me she’s going to do this on her own as much as she can.

And as for Jess — he’s Rory’s Luke.

He’s the one who inspires her to write her book, and he’ll likely be one of the first to read it. Their connection is also undeniable, and while I would have loved to see the two of them end up together by the end of this whole thing, I think that would have been too contrived. Instead, the last time we see Jess is as he watches Rory through that window.

Other Thoughts:

• Jess and Luke’s relationship has continued to grow over the years, and I love the way Jess has his uncle’s back. Among my favorite moments is when Jess rips out the modem at the diner to get rid of everyone camping out there with their laptops.
• Sookie’s appearance in the revival is smaller than I would have hoped, but all things considered, it’s still very satisfying. Who better to present Lorelai with a whole kitchen full of beautiful wedding cake options!
• Dean and Rory’s moment together is incredibly sweet. Dean is a family man, just as we’d expect, and Rory says she’s grateful that he taught her what safe feels like. Plus, they’re standing by the cornstarch when they have that conversation.

What did you think of the final installment of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life? How do you feel about those final four words?

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Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life is currently available for streaming on Netflix.

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