Bumblebee Tights

This article was really interesting, thanks for sharing. However, wow, I just want to yell at it because I disagree with so much of it..so much so that I feel compelled to respond to some of it here. Before I do though, let me preface my remarks with this disclaimer: One of the only things in this article I agree with (and one of the only truly negative reactions to the revival that I find myself agreeing with) is that if Rory's storyline in the presumptive season 8 had played out the way her storyline in the revival played out, and if she had ended up pregnant at 22 instead of 32 it would have been awful (though strangely I have seen some saying they would have preferred it that way?), and it would have had majorly negative implications regarding the overall message of the show and ASP's worldview in general. Also, as much as I'd like to believe that in S8 ASP would have arrived at those four words in a different way, (like with a flash forward or something? Please?), everything I know about ASP leads me to believe that we did indeed get the story she intended for 22 year old Rory in S8 here. Only, I disagree with the premise made in the article that Rory's storyline in the revival only works if you view it as belonging to a 22 year old. Maybe I'm just projecting because Rory is close in age to myself, but I honestly believe this whole thing works much better with a 32 year old Rory. And this is where we arrive at my disclaimer: ASP's intentions might have been for this to happen 10 years ago, but that's not the story we got. We got season 7 and we got this revival, and my reactions are based on the story as it was actually told, and yes, I include the events of season 7 here. In fact, (and I apologize if this comes off a little starry-eyed, but I am so over the moon about the revival that I am viewing things with a rose colored bent) I am appreciating the whole sequence of events that led to ASP's exit and return..for me, it's almost as though it was meant to happen the way that it did. Ok, so onto some commentary ( quotes from the article in bold italics and my responses below) "Sherman-Palladino’s big pregnancy reveal now takes place 10 years later, at the end of the revival, but it’s no less disturbing to realize that this was her vision ...Not only would it have derailed her professionally, it would also tie her to a boyfriend who had consistently attempted to manipulate her emotionally, socially, and financially." -I must have missed Logan consistently manipulating Rory. I really don't think we can put that on him. Rory made choices based on what she wanted...and I really didn't see Logan trying to change her..ever. In fact, part of his attraction to Rory was definitely her bookishness and perfectionism and naivety-all quintessential 'Rory' traits. Rory's attraction to and interactions with Logan certainly broadened her world view and influenced her, but Rory herself was the driving force behind all of this...it wasn't some nefarious plan of Logan's. "The only significant career milestone that Rory has achieved since we last saw her a decade ago is that she’s published a single feature in the New Yorker." -I guess it's open to interpretation and people can infer what they want, but I didn't see it this way. I am more of the opinion that the New Yorker piece was her most recent, and yes, maybe one of her most high profile...but she also refers to having written for The Atlantic when she's talking to Headmaster Charleston, and Lorelai makes a comment in Spring when she's encouraging her to go to Sandee Says that "You haven't had anything permanent for awhile". I think it's more that she has moved around a lot, maybe chasing her dreams and thinking the grass is greener, (like in S7 when she turns down the ProJo to go for the fellowship) or maybe she found that she just liked that vagabond life..like the girl who dreamed of Fez and being sure she "saw something" in S1 might be expected to. I think she's becoming dissatisfied and hitting a dry spell, but that doesn't mean she hasn't worked.. "The revival shows Rory revisiting moments with all of the men who represent milestones in her mother’s emotional development. Her first boyfriend, Dean (Jared Padalecki), represents safety and the comfort of home the way her grandfather did to Lorelai; he’s also a parallel to Max, Lorelai’s first boyfriend on the show, whom she essentially uses for his safety and familiarity but ultimately leaves heartbroken." -- Whatwhatwhat? This is just a really weird, sort of Oedipal reference. Ok, it's true that Dean does end up representing comfort and safety to Rory.. however, I'm not sure Richard EVER represented those things to Lorelai. Lorelai's relationship with Max was actually marked by instability and immaturity, and was only anchored in an intense mutual infatuation. Comfort and safety that is not. Although she did break his heart, sure, so...points there? "Rory isn’t alone, of course. Rory’s best friend Lane (Keiko Agena) trades in her rock dreams to become a harried mother of two, living in Stars Hollow and working for her own mother in the same small-town antique store she grew up in. For both of these millennial women, children equal destiny, and destiny means becoming, to an extent, their mothers." -This is a long held UO of mine, but: I don't think Lane is harried, I think she's happy. Can't Lane live in SH and have an eccentric life, still full of rock and roll and the things and people she loves, if that's what she wants? Hey, I loved Dave Rygalski too, but does Lane have permission to not "make it" as a rock star, and still find value and meaning in her life? Can she live in SH without becoming Mrs.Kim? Did I miss her working at Kim's antiques in the revival? (This last question is a serious one- did I?!.. because idk how I feel about THAT) Alright, I've gotta stop, because this is insanely long, but bullet points of other things I disagree with: -The idea that SH is "a weirdly Lynchian fairy revel from which there is no escape": this is actually a really interesting and creative idea,..but I am confident this is not what ASP is going for. -Christopher is not Logan, Jess is not Luke, Lorelai is not Rory...I think it's fair to say that they may play similar roles in each other's lives, but none of these people have a characterization that matches this on the nose comparison....for starters, no way would Logan Huntzburger be an absent father. ( I will admit that these comparisons are invited by the revival, but I think there's way more nuance than is being accounted for, ESPECIALLY with Lorelai and Rory.) -Stars Hollow doesn't feel like a real New England town: Well I live in the Northeast, and there are a few towns I know of that feel remarkably similar to SH. Also, aren't there blogs and things ranking the SHollowiest towns in CT? - That "Rory will have the illusion of happiness, surrounded by community and family"- why does it have to be an illusion? That ".Stars Hollow, in this view, becomes a pro-life argument for the need to continue the legacy of Stars Hollow at any cost — even if it means dismantling the dreams of one of Stars Hollow’s finest."-I just really don't think this has as much to do with SH as this author seems to think. Honestly, we don't even know if she's going to live there ...I mean, she mentions Queens and the "space" it would provide during Fall. Ok, ok, I'll stop now. Apologies for the length.

Ok, I see where you're coming from, I think. For me, I'm not really coming from a place where the book would have to focus on hardship as it's defining element, nor would it need to paint Emily and Richard as villians- I really doubt Rory would do that. I'm seeing a book that maybe examines their privilege, why Lorelai turned away from it-was she really justified in doing so?-and what it was like to be raised by a teenager who would rather live in a potting shed than a mansion, and in what ways that shaped Rory, both positively and negatively. It would also be about having a best friend for a mom, and was that a good or a bad thing? I see Lorelai as being painted as larger than life, sort of in the vein of the (albeit fictional) Jenny Garp. There would also be the evolution of Rory getting to know her grandparents and realizing maybe they weren't as bad as her mother had made them out to be..what was that like, how did that make her feel about her mom? Then there's the issues of self identity that leads to: did Rory belong in her mother's world or her grandparent's? I don't know, I just feel like there's a lot of room for character study and psychological exploration, and I tend to enjoy that sort of thing. But yeah, such a book would probably be hard on Lorelai, and obviously she realized that...but that's part of what would make it interesting. About the privilege and entitlement ...that's a whole different conversation, but I will counter that, while you could say Lorelai got her annex in the revival because of privilege, most of what we see in the original run (working her way from maid to manager of the Independence Inn, saving up enough to buy a house, even The Dragonfly to an extent) is genuinely about hard work, and in fact we see a great resistance on her part to making use of her advantages, like in Secrets and Loans. Rory's privilege as I said, is a fairer point, but as you said, her grades can't be counted as such, and they are no small thing and did open doors for her before the privilege entered the picture. That being said, rolling my eyes right along with you at Wild and Eat, Pray, Love.

I mean..there are books like Wild and Eat Pray Love that have been hugely successful, even though I agree, those books have more of a 'hook' and aren't really straight memoirs. However, people like Mary Karr (who I totally recommend!), Vivianne Gornick, and David Sedaris, to name a few that I'm familiar with, have made decent names for themselves by publishing novels and short stories centered around their lives, their upbringings, and their families, despite meeting none of the criteria you mention. I think sometimes it's the voice behind the story that makes it interesting, as much as the story itself. I also happen to think the story of Lorelai's pregnancy and her subsequent unconventional relationship with Rory, especially when you add Richard and Emily to the mix, is a really rich source to draw from and is also pretty marketable ...I mean, we're all watching it, right? I also don't think that you can really categorize Lorelai's achievements as having much to do with privilege or entitlement, though it's a fair enough argument to make about Rory even though I don't necessarily agree completely. Also, I love love love Stephen King's On Writing. Just wanted to add that!

2,4,13,21 But I'm already voting against things that I really like!

1,2,25,28

Me too! 15, 18, 20, 25. This is really hard already, wow.

I loved this so much..that whole sequence with Rory walking through the Gilmore house was maybe the most beautiful moment I have ever seen on this show. Ok, here comes my rave.. Thank you, Fall. Thank you for giving me Lorelai Gilmore blowing a kiss to Jess Mariano. Thank you for making me thoroughly enjoy the Life and Death Brigade for the first time, with that visually beautiful sequence -set to a Beatles song from Across the Universe!- that lit Rory up, and with those genuine, loving goodbyes between Rory and the guys. Thank you for making the only scene in the revival that featured Christopher be about Rory and not Lorelai. Thank you for the scene where Lorelai walks into the kitchen to find all those wedding cakes and -Sookie. Thank you for the expressions on LG and Melissa McCarthy's faces when they said "still best friends". Thank you for giving all of Rory's guys a beautiful last scene: Thank you for giving Dean back his dignity, for the "safe" speech and the cornstarch. Thank you for the "there.. just like that" scene with Logan that hit me right in the gut. Thank you for that look on Jess's face through the window, and for cementing my love for him. Thank you for letting me hear Emily Gilmore say bullshit so many times. Thank you for Lane grabbing Rory's phone to "protect her..for some reason"! Thank you for everything Luke said to Lorelai. Thank you for "I will never leave. I will never think about leaving." Thank you SO MUCH for the story about Richard, the pretzel, and the best birthday Lorelai's ever had. Thank you for letting me watch Luke and Lorelai get married in an intimate, perfect for them ceremony, which Lorelai and Rory (in her pajamas) rode to in the back of Luke's truck, surrounded by the most beautiful decorations I could imagine, made by Kirk, with Reflecting Light playing in the background! Thank you for the sequence I quoted above. Thank you for letting me see Rory Gilmore walking through her grandparent's house, her nostalgia and affection for the place written all over her face. Thank you for those flashbacks. Thank you for letting me think about that baby who lived with Lorelai in that house thirty years ago, and who was ultimately the catalyst for the great divide between Lorelai and her parents that started when she took the baby out of there, growing up into the woman who would come full circle and return to that house, to write the story of her mother and her family while sitting at the desk of the grandfather who loved her more than anything. Thank you for letting me see her draw strength and inspiration from that desk, and the man that it represents. Thank you for the thought that all of the episodes that came before were leading up to this moment, and that Rory was always meant to write 'Gilmore Girls' with no 'The' because it's cleaner. Seriously, I'm like Lorelai texting Kirk "It's perfect"! I think that everyone's opinions are valid, and I get that there are things to criticize, but I am so, so glad that this revival happened.

Wow. I have so much to say, and I'm sure I will later on, but for now... Ok, I get being disappointed by the pregnancy, I really do, although I don't feel that way, though I guess mayyyybe I'm ambivalent about it? But mostly I just want to say: You're crazy, internet. This was perfect.

So, I've only watched Winter so far, as I'm trying my hardest to hold off on watching the other three until I can watch with a friend of mine. However, I've sort of accidentally spoiled myself on most of the major plotlines..I'm going to hold off on talking about those until I see them in context (and of course I won't talk about them within this thread), but I had some thoughts about this episode that I wanted to get out now. I'm sort of simultaneously surprised and not surprised about all of the negative reactions I'm seeing. Coming into this, I really didn't have (what I thought of as) any expectations whatsoever, so I felt pretty comfortable that I wouldn't be disappointed. I love this show so much that any kind of 'time spent' in Stars Hollow and with these characters is bound to be enjoyable for me. I wasn't hoping for anything other than getting another piece of these character's lives, and maybe some kind of less open ended finale. The show is comfort food to me. Only, this episode, while still having some of that comfort foody feeling I was expecting, mostly due to the nostalgia factor, was something else. It was ... unsettling? Or maybe the better word is challenging. I was challenged by it. It challenged my beliefs about some of these characters, made me think about what they're made of and who they are and why I love them. It also, definitely, definitely, made me feel their mortality, and by extension my own. I think, for me, this is a large part of why there's a kind of darker feel here. So, it wasn't what I wanted. But the thing is...I'm not really upset about it. I enjoyed it just as much as I was expecting to, just in a different kind of way. I also want to say that I'm kind of enjoying and excited about the Rory storyline. Although I'm her age, I was always a bit more invested in Lorelai, because while I loved Rory, Lorelai was just always the soul and sparkle of the show for me. I think though, that this is totally in line with her character development. I actually feel that because of the revival, Rory's sort of clicking into place as a consistent character for me. I don't mean that in a "she was always a spoiled, entitled brat" way, either. It's more that I always felt as Rory evolved through the seasons, though she did retain certain core personality traits, she sometimes swung from one direction to the other, to the point where she could feel like a very different girl from season to season. I could say a lot more about this, but in short, I can look at Rory in any season and picture her growing up into the woman we see in the revival, and that's really working for me. I know others don't agree, but I just think this is such a realistic portrayal of who someone with Rory's experiences would become. I really didn't like the Paul gag, but not so much due to how it reflected on Rory..I just couldn't take it that seriously, since we obviously weren't meant to. My problem with it, and to a lesser extent the Paris bit, was the same general problem I had with Bun Heads. Sometimes ASP will dial up the quirk and screwball humor to a level that makes it impossible to suspend disbelief and leaves me rolling my eyes instead of feeling charmed...that's definitely what I got from it. Smaller things I loved: -The Chuck Berry Record and Leaves of Grass next to Richard's casket. Killed. Me. -Rory following Emily around at the funeral as Emily insists 'I'm ok' and Rory responds with 'I know' was beautiful. -The Luke/Taylor subplot was great. Luke's fake wifi passwords and Taylor's sewage system were totally in character, as was their blustering at eachother in the diner, but Luke's change of heart after Taylor goes on a mini Luke like rant of his own about the wifi was super sweet and also just a little bit melancholy, (since we're seeing them come together in their older age due to their irritation with the younger generation), like all of my favorite GG moments. -Given what they had to work with, I think they're doing a decent job with the absence of Sookie. The explanation for her absence was a lot more plausible than I thought it would be. It's totally believable that Sookie and Jackson might get overly involved in a food growing project like that. And for me, what saves it is how clearly Lorelai feels her absence and loves her.

Luke's rant to Anna when he decides to seek custody of April: " You know, you're always telling me I can't do this with your daughter and I can't do that with your daughter.. She's my kid, alright? She's our kid. She's not just yours...That's not how this works, okay? ...And I will fight you. I will fight you for that, Anna, if I have to''...Knit, People, Knit (no matter what a drag the April storyline was, I have to love this moment) Luke rants at Lorelai when he fills in at the Dragonfly during Sookie's bedrest and she camps upstairs to critique his food:" You want to know what I’m going to do? Nothing! Because I am in a relationship with you...but, oh, boy. I’m going to be thinking about what I would have done if we weren’t in a relationship, even though that would mean I wouldn’t be in this position in the first place"..But I'm a Gilmore

-Luke rants about marriage: "People grow and evolve at different rates..the minute you say I do, you're sticking yourself in a tiny box for the rest of your life..but hey, at least you had a party first, right"?-Red Light on the Wedding Night -Luke rants at Christopher about Rory: " , where the hell were you when she got the chicken pox and would only eat mashed potatoes for a week, or where were you when she graduated high school,...Who the hell moved her mattress into her dorm, and out of her dorm and back into her dorm again?"- Wedding Bell Blues -Luke rants to Nicole's parents after he finds out Jess is lying to him about going to school:" The first time they tell you they’re going to school and then you follow them, and they get in their car and drive to Wal-Mart...that is cute, that's just darling"-Happy Birthday, Baby -

I think before and during this round we had talked about doing a straight favorite character elimination, or a favorite Luke rants round...I was also thinking in light of this round that favorite Luke and Jess moments might be fun, or favorite Paris moments? I'm not sure if any of that has been done before..I'm up for anything really! Ohhhhh, or what about favorite diner scenes? I think that could be really fun!

I love these both...but I'm going to vote 45 to win, because 9 was my favorite, and I think 45 is similar to 9 (on a smaller, funnier scale) in that you can see that Luke was just the person that Jess needed, to get his attention, set boundaries for him, and not let him get away with things.

45

40 under protest.

Wow, good point, I hadn't even realized that were getting down to Jess centered moments! I have to go with 4, though.

6

Mine too, for sure! My absolute favorite is still there though... 12, I guess.

Yeah, I don't know if I'd define Lorelai's relationship with Richard vs. her relationship with Emily as "better", so much as "less conflict driven". I actually usually found Richard to be pretty cold and stand-offish when it came to Lorelai, especially when you compare it to how clearly enamored he was with Rory. Emily, on the other hand, no matter what the current status of her relationship with Lorelai was, was always completely passionate about her daughter and her involvement in her daughter's life, often to her detriment. So even though this made for a more contentious relationship than the one Richard had with Lorelai, I always felt Emily cared about her a lot more. In fact, there's really only one episode (though there are a few little moments throughout the series) where I feel like Richard really focuses on Lorelai, and that's Help Wanted, which I love for that very reason.

6

Yep, this is the hard stuff now..... 6, 34

Oh man, all these votes for 10! 10 is maybe top 3 for me..I love everything about it. It's so raw, I think all 4 actors involved did a phenomenal job, and it's one of those great GG fights that just feels so true to life...it's also one of the only times in the show that we get to see Rory react to Christopher the way I think he deserved to be reacted to. Ok, sorry, over attachment to a GG moment reaction over now? 3, 15, 41

16,25, 41.