We live in a
Gilmore Girls world, one where we don't have to rely on cable-TV marathons, the stacks of DVD sets in our cupboards or a Netflix binge session to get our fill of Lorelei and Rory's quips and adventures. Thanks to Netflix, Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino, and Warner Bros. Television (plus the millions of eyeballs that have eagerly devoured season after season of the original show for the past decade), we have four new episodes of the beloved show to enjoy.
I've only made it through one complete viewing but know I have so many more in my future. There are jokes to memorize, Easter eggs to discover, tears to re-shed. One thing I won't be doing, though, is railing against the show and its creators for ruining whatever feelings I had toward the Gilmores, their loved ones and friends with these new episodes.
I promise not to spoil anything for anyone who hasn’t caught up yet, so will stick to what's already been shared in trailers and decried in a multitude of other essays—Rory's life isn't perfect when we catch back up with her. While there are some who are disappointed, let down or infuriated by this (and you can easily find their pieces all across the internet), I actually appreciated that Rory's life at 32 isn't beautifully sorted, that she's having a hard time coming to grips with who and what she's supposed to be.
When this revival was announced, I thought about where Rory would be nine years after we last saw her. She'd gotten a job covering the first Obama presidential campaign for a news website. Would that lead to a job in the press corps after his election? From there, would she get a job at the
New York Times? CNN? NPR?
I think there are some
Gilmore fans who were expecting to find Rory on the staff of a globally esteemed new organization. After all, she was the Chilton valedictorian, editor of the
Yale Daily News, idolized Christiane Amanpour, read 339 books over the course of the original show's run, and, most importantly, was
Rory Gilmore, so of course she would be on the fast track to somewhere grand.
Except, that’s now how it works anymore. It probably never worked that way. Being the top student at Stars Hollow High didn't guarantee Rory the top spot at Chilton. Being the student editor at Yale didn't guarantee her the fellowship she wanted. Websites fold, media organizations get bought out, writers get laid off. Good staff jobs are hard to find and even harder to keep. As someone who's worked in publishing for nearly two decades, I know.
While watching these new episodes, I thought about what it is that's made
Gilmore Girls stick with me so strongly for so long. The show is quirky and magical. The dialog is fantastic and made to be quoted. What stood out the most, though, was the show's honesty. It let its main characters be unlikable and make terrible decisions, and then deal with the consequences. It also dealt with the difference between who you were supposed to be and who you actually are.
Lorelei was supposed to be a debutante, an Ivy League grad, Mrs. Christopher Hayden. That she wasn't, that she took a left turn, that she made a completely unexpected life for herself made her story so much more interesting. Paris doesn't get into Harvard. Lane doesn't marry a Seventh Day Adventist doctor or become a rock star. Christopher and Logan don't grow up.
In the updated version of "Where You Lead" Carole King and daughter Louise Goffin recorded for the show's theme, the pair sing, "You never know how it's all gonna turn out, that's OK/Just as long as we're together, we can find a way." Buoyed by our past experiences, guided by our trusted advisors, and supported by our loved ones, we do find a way when life doesn't turn out the way we'd hoped or planned. Though they could have made her meet or exceed our highest expectations, I appreciate that the Palladinos have Rory walking the same rough road as the rest of us.
