Gilmore Girls Appreciation: Winter

In honor of each of the 4 episodes of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, I will be posting a short (or long) blog post on my thoughts. The first part will not contain spoilers... so read on. :)

Initial Thoughts:

It starts with a blank screen and the voices of all of our beloved characters saying quotes from the fist series. I couldn't help but smile when I finally heard their voices again. When we begin to see the snow covered Stars Hollow, you immediately see how much and how little it has changed in the decade since it left our screens. And Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel have not aged a day! (Tell me your secrets, my Queens!)

The second that Rory and Lorelai are together on my screen, my smile grows and I swear that it is permanent. The banter starts, their typical antics continue, and it feels like not a day has passed. Rory is just as witty and perfect; Lorelai is just as strong and hilarious; they still seem like two halves of the same whole. 

In this first episode, Rory still seems rather put together, unlike how the trailers made it initially seem. But the impending spiral is there, I can feel it coming. She doesn't have a permanent address, but she isn't homeless, per se. She is just travelling between jobs too much to really settle down. All of that makes sense as she is a writer after all, they have to travel where the story is. At this point, it seems as though her career can take one of two routes; it can launch her into an incredible new phase of her life, or it can shove her into the back corner of some really shitty paper in the middle of nowhere writing stories on lost cats. I really hope it's the first one. 

Luke and Lorelai's banter is just as great as ever and his relationship with Rory is still so sweet. He has always been the true father figure of her life and it still seems that way. I wonder if we will see more of his relationship with April in this series. Oh and he lets you use laptops, with free wifi, in his dinner!!!! What has the world come to?

Now, with Edward Herman dead, it was obvious that they were going to honor Richard in some way, and they did that, very well. I cried at the flashback of his funeral and at the large portrait on the way (even with all of its hilarity). I felt bad for Emily who is just so lost without the love of her life, but I also felt bad for Lorelai, whose mother doesn't understand that her loss of a father hurts too. Rory, once again, is the only level headed one in this situation.

When we see one of Rory's love interests, from the first series, appear, I had to pause the episode and bounce up and down with joy. Now for those of you who haven't watched the episode, you can take that as you may, but for those of you who have, I will discuss my excitement in the following section. But I will say that I would be okay with the two of them ending up together in the end. They seem to be in a place where it could work, but their current arrangement could also take a turn as well. 

EPISODE RATE: 5/5

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Spoiler Section:

I have three major points in this section that I want to address. Rory's love life, Luke and Lorelai, and finally Emily's current dispair. 

Rory's love life, is still as fascinating to me now as it was when I was an early teen watching the reruns of the show on ABC Family (now freeform), and as fascinating as when I rewatched the series over the past summer too! When we are introduced the her new (or not so new) boyfriend, I was not impressed, and neither was anyone else. He is easily forgotten, even my Rory. The only reason that I remember his name is because it's Paul, like Paulainka. But then when we see Rory's London affair, I freaked out!

As the London affair scene started,  it was probably the most anticipatory thing in the entire episode. She is talking to someone about how awesome, crazy, and weird her day was, but we can't see who. And then, all of a sudden, after minutes that felt like years, it is... Logan Huntzburger, in a suit! I died! He may not be my favorite of the original three love interests, but he is a second favorite and way above Dean! I really hate Dean! I would more than happy for Logan and Rory to be endgame. The only thing that is weird about this situation is that Rory is in her early thirties and is okay with Logan sleeping with other people, and herself sleeping with other people, when she is not in London. As she says, "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." This situation could work for a little while, but for them to be endgame, it is going to have to be addressed at some point, but by the way Logan acts with Rory, he is still in love with her, and I think that he may be willing to eventually settle down, but is Rory ready yet? 

Luke and Lorelai, are going strong. They are living together and he is still nagging her about her eating habits. But they both have something underneath that is bothering him, eventhough I think it is bothering Lorelai more than Luke who has kind of come to terms with it. Lorelai broatches the subject of them having a kid together. Apparently Luke had wanted that previously, and maybe he still does a little bit, but they are past their prime. Lorelai is definetly moe troubled by that. Maybe its her version of a midlife crisis, or maybe it's her insecurities of not wanting to lose Luke because she hasn't given him all he wants, but they go to a surrogacy office (owned by Paris Geller - who is apparently getting a divorce and has kids), because Luke is against adoption. Luke eventually decides that he doesn't want to pursue it, but in the end of the episode it seems that Lorelai still wants too. This could be an interesting storyline. I will be happy either way as long as Luke and Lorelai end up together.

Emily's current situation seems to be a normal way that a widow may deal with the loss of her husband after 50 years of marriage. At first, she still seems like Emily, just sad. The house is the same, she still has that same contempt for Lorelai, and she still wants the best for Rory, but in the end, the only thing that has stayed the same is her relationship with Rory. Emily is being nice to servants, letting them and their families live with her, including kids. She is wearing Lorelai's old jeans and getting rid of everything. Then she and Lorelai have a nice conversation and she starts going to therapy! 

This is going to be one interesting ride.   

Gilmore Girls Appreciation: Rory's Love Life

So, I write this as I listen to my Gilmore Girls playlist on Spotify and as I wait for the new episodes to stream on Netflix.

Rory's love life was one of the billions of things about the show that I loved. I felt that each love interest was there during a pivotal realization of Rory's life and helped her facilitate great character developments.

*Spoilers from here on out for seasons 1-7*
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Dean & Rory:

Dean, the first boyfriend, the perfect first. Dean was exactly what every girl dreams her first boyfriend will be. He was sweet and caring and he would have done anything for Rory. He spent endless hours watching old movies and tv shows with Rory and Lorelai. For God's sake, he BUILT Rory a car, her first car! 

Every time I rewatch those early seasons, I can't help but be smitten with Dean too, but as time moved along, as Rory grew, Dean stayed the same, and he was no longer what she needed. Rory was more secure with who she was and as an already independent person, Dean began to hold her back. Everything was the same with them. 

When Dean showed back up in Rory's life in season 5, he was married and that hurt Rory a little. That was obvious to any viewer. Dean was her first love and his new wife was kind of a bitch to Rory when they went to school together. But eventually their old flame for eachother is too hard for either of them to surpress and... bad DEAN!!!! I think what makes me hate Dean in the end is that he cheated on his wife. He broke another girl's heart in the worst way possible, by letting her believe that she was his everything while he slept with someone else, the one he really had feelings for. Now although it made great television, it really made me hate Dean. 

But, in the end, we all know that Dean will always be there for Rory. 

Boyfriend Rate:1/3

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Jess & Rory:

Jess was the mysterious bad boy from a big city that everyone in town was skepticle of, except Rory. Rory was curious about him. She wanted to uncover his mysteries. She knew that he was good guy and even that he was an inellectual, like her. I really loved how their relationship blossomed. They started out as tutor and student, and then friends, and eventually they were the picture perfect couple that I hope to be one day. 

Jess was beyond protective, beyond sweet, and thoughtful, but he had a lot of issues of his own. Those issues were eventually their downfall because Jess needed to figure himself out, but Jess remained in love with Rory, always. When he showed back up, he was still too spontaneous for Rory who was in too much of a different place for him then. When he showed back up again, he had dedicated his first novel to Rory and was the only one who could reach her. She was in a terrible place at this point. Her entire world was crumbling in on her. She wasn't in school anymore, she was on probation, she wasn't talking to Lorelai, and she was living in her grandparents' poolhouse. I give Jess the credit for getting her back on track. 

Jess, will forever be the best one for Rory. He knows her better than she knows herself; probably. almost as well as Lorelai knows her. (If it's not already obvious, Jess is my favorite.)

Boyfriend Rate: 3/3

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Logan & Rory:

Logan was the stereotypical rich boy when his character was introduced. He was living it up in college, partying and sleeping around; but, when Rory came along, he began to change. He remained as spontaneous and cocky as ever, but he was willing to work for Rory. He was willing to pull out all of the stops to get her attention. Eventually, their relationship was probably one of the healthiest. 

Logan encouraged Rory to pursue her dreams and to take risks, something that she wasn't able to do before. He showed her what adventure was and made her a better writer because of it. He wanted to hear about her work, her passion, and he wanted to help in anyway that he could. In all honesty, if Jess wasn't an option for Rory, I would have wanted her to accept Logan's proposal, and if she were to end up with Logan in the end anyway, I wouldn't complain. 

Boyfriend Rate: 2/3