Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life

Gilmore Girls told the story of mother and daughter (Lorelai and Rory Gilmore) who besides being witty, coffee addicted pop culture gurus, were also best friends. The heartwarming dramedy initially ran for 7 seasons, from 2000-2007. After the sixth season, the show moved from the WB to the CW, in the process show runner (and creator) Amy Sherman-Palladino was replaced by David S. Rosenthal. The final season is very divisive amongst fans of the show, with most being disapppointed with Lorelai (Lauren Graham) getting married to Chris (Rory's dad) and subsequently getting divorced. The series ended with Rory (Alexis Bledel) graduating from Yale, turning down a proposal from rich bad-boy Logan Huntzberger (Matt Czurchy) and accepting a position as a campaign reporter for Barack Obama. Lorelai and Luke also finally got back together, satisfying many fans. The ending, however, did not fully satisfy Sherman-Palladino, who teased that there were four words on which she wanted to end the beloved series, though she would not reveal what they were.
In late November of 2016, Netflix released a four-part continuation of the show, entitled Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.

Each episode took place in a different season, starting with winter, and clocked in at an impressive 90 minutes minimum, each. Fan favorites like Luke (Scott Patterson), Emily (Kelly Bishop), Michel (Yanic Truesdale), Sookie (Melissa McCarthy), and Lane (Keiko Agena) make appearances, as well as all three of Rory's past boyfriends: Dean (Jared Padalecki) Jess (Milo Ventimiglia), and Logan.
The revival was set in present day, and saw Lorelai and Luke living together, Rory stuggling to make her way in the world of journalism, and Emily grieving the loss of her husband, Richard (the late Edward Hermann.) Sherman-Palladino was on board once again and got the ending that she wanted.
After Luke and Lorelai's wedding, Lorelai and Rory were sitting in the Stars Hollow gazebo chatting, when the conversation turned to Lorelai teasing Rory about getting married. Rory received a text from her boyfriend Paul, endinf their relationship. Rory realized how badly she'd treated him, but Lorelai assured her that "it just didn't fit. It has to fit." Rory grew quiet, suddenly, prompting Lorelai to ask her about it.
​​
Rory: Mom?

Lorelai: Yeah?

Rory: I'm pregnant.

Before either character could say anything else, the screen faded to black and the credits rolled. What!? Rory? Pregnant? By whom?
Over the course of the revival it was revealed that Rory was dating an unremarkable guy named Paul (the running gag being that everyone constantly forgets him,) hooked up with a guy in a wookie costume in the Spring episode, and was also having a weird NSA relationship with Logan (who was dating a girl named Odette.) So, three possible fathers.....Mamma Mia! anyone?
The major cliff hanger ending has left a lot of fans desperate for more, but nothing concrete has been announced. Based on the high ratings that the series received, a second season would logically be in the works. Sherman-Palladino has said that more episodes are a possibility.
In article for The Hollywood Reporter, she discussed the ending of A Year in the Life, and said, "These two women are very tied. They're very tied and to me, that history repeating itself and daughter following in mother's footsteps, where you lead, I will follow — we took the [theme] song very seriously. When we picked those words and we went down that path, it just felt right then and it actually feels even more right now especially because Rory is older. She's the same age Lorelai was when the show started. It really does feel a little Lion King-y, the whole circle of life."
Personally, I loved the revival. I loved that Lorelai and Emily had contention once more, and that Lorelai and Luke were challenged by the status quo. I especially loved Rory's arc. For the majority of the original series she was portrayed as basically perfect: she was smart, well behaved, thoughtful, respectful, and loyal. Sure, there were a few hiccups: emotionally cheating on Dean with Jess, sleeping with Dean when he was married, stealing a boat and getting arrested, and briefly dropping out of Yale, but overall she was almost unrealistically perfect.
In the revival, Rory found out that the adult world sucks. Several job positions fall through for her, she gave up her apartment, and basically went between Lorelai, Lane, Emily, Paris, and Logan for lodging. She made poor decisions in her romantic life: leading Paul on (if she wasn't into him, why not just break it off?, as well as the sad FWB (friends with benefits) thing she had going on with Logan.
I feel like it was about time that Rory got a little dose of reality, and I think in the revival this makes her a more relatable character.
I would love more Gilmore Girls, but I also think that it shouldn't be forced. Amy Sherman-Palladino got the ending that she always envisioned and it worked. If this truly is the of the show, it was fantastic; if there will eventually be more (albeit well-written) that would be great, too.