One is the Loneliest Number: Unpopular GG Opinions

[Taryn74]

I was wondering if that's really a UO too!  Heh.  I *adore* the theme song and the entire credit sequence.

[AllyB]

18 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

I agree.  I feel like Rory's desire to be a foreign correspondent was because the writers thought it sounded impressive.  However, within the world of the show, I don't recall seeing much to indicate Rory was suited for that kind of job.  You have to be pretty aggressive, and be willing to put yourself at serious risk.  Also, it didn't seem like Rory's interest in foreign affairs was all that strong.  

I've found there has long been a trend in fiction, that if you want to show that a female character is smart, good and modern you make her a journalist or a wannabe journalist. From Lois Lane to Elizabeth Wakefield to April O'Neill, even Amy Amanda Allen (the female A-Team groupie/helper) journalist has been the go to career for women. Even Downton Abbey set Edith on that path when they wanted to push her character forward/realised fans liked her. I think Rory was written as being a wannabe journalist because it's the go to career for fictional smart young women, not because it suited her character. I also believe teen Rory, with her love of writing, would probably have been drawn to journalism because of that cultural influence. And because as a career goal, journalism sounds more 'mature and realistic' than novelist. The part of her that craved security probably hated living Lorelai's financially precarious lifestyle and being employed as a journalist would have appealed to her in a way that being a novelist wouldn't.

But by college Rory should have started to reassess and realise that journalism wasn't necessarily for her. I think that a career in academia would have been her ideal job. Especially if it allowed her time for travel, which she clearly did enjoy. And she could have written her novel in her spare time. Professor Gilmore, studying and teaching literature at a college level while penning some mildly successful, well regarded novels and working her way toward an Ivy League position, would have been a very, very happy version of Rory.

[kminfinity]

I'm not sure if this is an unpopular opinion or not.

I watched the original run, and generally loved the show, despite the many flaws and annoying plot elements and differences of opinions I found myself harboring about the writers' directions and choices.  That said, I was surprised by how seriously underwhelmed and disappointed I was with the show when I binge watched S1 and S2 this past week.

In general, when I binge a good show, I am so immersed I love it, whether it's the first time I've seen it, or a repeat viewing - for all the reasons so many people like binge watching.  But GG actually seems to suffer from the process.  The flaws are more noticeable, the characters less likable, the town less charming.  I guess it's analogous  to the case of too much candy at Halloween? 

Since I agree with those who feel that the show's quality incrementally decreased with each season, I am thinking I will not binge the whole series but pick out certain episodes to watch instead.

Too bad, I was looking for something to replace my DS9 binging. 

[readster]

1 hour ago, kminfinity said:

I'm not sure if this is an unpopular opinion or not.

I watched the original run, and generally loved the show, despite the many flaws and annoying plot elements and differences of opinions I found myself harboring about the writers' directions and choices.  That said, I was surprised by how seriously underwhelmed and disappointed I was with the show when I binge watched S1 and S2 this past week.

In general, when I binge a good show, I am so immersed I love it, whether it's the first time I've seen it, or a repeat viewing - for all the reasons so many people like binge watching.  But GG actually seems to suffer from the process.  The flaws are more noticeable, the characters less likable, the town less charming.  I guess it's analogous  to the case of too much candy at Halloween? 

Since I agree with those who feel that the show's quality incrementally decreased with each season, I am thinking I will not binge the whole series but pick out certain episodes to watch instead.

Too bad, I was looking for something to replace my DS9 binging. 

The problem with even seasons 1-2 is you see a lot of inconsistancies with episodes and even character interactions. Why I still say season 2 is truly the best season out of the show. You can see the entire crumbling with Christopher coming from a mile away and everything with Max is poorly handed. Plus, Jess comes off as such an ass that even before his major character assassination in season 3. Someone should had smacked him and gone: "Get over yourself!" 

[Crs97]

Character assassination can only happen if you liked the character to begin with.  I only liked Jess in the one episode in which he invited Luke to the publishing company party.  Every other time he could have stayed in that lake.

[cuddlingcrowley]

4 hours ago, kminfinity said:

In general, when I binge a good show, I am so immersed I love it, whether it's the first time I've seen it, or a repeat viewing - for all the reasons so many people like binge watching.  But GG actually seems to suffer from the process.  The flaws are more noticeable, the characters less likable, the town less charming.  I guess it's analogous  to the case of too much candy at Halloween? 

Ah, man, what a bummer!

[starri]

Unpopular Opinion:  I very rarely gave a fig about the romantic entanglements of Lorelei and Rory, except when it was with a character I hated, like Logan.

The thing I always watched for was the relationship between Emily and Lorelei, and to a lesser extent between Lane and her mother.  My three favorite scenes from the entire show revolve around them:  shell-shocked Emily having to tell Lorelei that she won't be hiring Sookie for Jason and Richard's launch party, Lane "coming out" to her mother (that one still breaks me heart), and Lorelei breaking down after Emily's wedding gift of a beautiful house and admitting she and Luke aren't going to work out.

I hated, hated, HATED that they never let Emily and Lorelei's relationship evolve.  At a certain point, they should have both realized that no matter how much they didn't understand each other, they did really love each other.  But no, Lorelei remained a brat (and regressed) and Emily still had a stick up her butt.

I also hated that we were supposed to think Emily was some kind of monster because she committed the crime of wanting to be involved in her granddaughter's life.

The townies.  Oh, god, did I hate most of the townies.  I could handle Taylor, Babette, and Gypsy in small doses, and I adored Miss Patty.  But there isn't a hell hot enough for Kirk and goddamn TJ.  And I might have liked Luke more if he'd ever beaten the troubadour over the head with his guitar.  If they'd just kept the focus on the Gilmores and used the townies as seasoning, that would have been fine, but eventually the forced Stars Hollow quirk was about half the show.

[amensisterfriend]

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Unpopular Opinion:  I very rarely gave a fig about the romantic entanglements of Lorelei and Rory, except when it was with a character I hated, like Logan.

Right there with you! And it sucks as someone who's been a fan for so long and WANTS to love every facet of this show. Romance was actually a pretty big part of this series, but I just don't feel like this show does it well at all.

GG excels when it comes to writing some playful, flirtatious and sweet pre-relationship scenes and some amazingly poignant post-relationship scenes, but the actual romantic relationships themselves tend to be written, directed and often acted in such a way that really turns me off to them and makes me feel like the characters are much more likable when they're single. I almost never like the way the show writes male love interests, the way our Gilmores act in relation to those male love interests, or its views of what constitutes a happy and functional romantic relationship in general. 

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I hated, hated, HATED that they never let Emily and Lorelei's relationship evolve.  At a certain point, they should have both realized that no matter how much they didn't understand each other, they did really love each other.  But no, Lorelei remained a brat (and regressed) and Emily still had a stick up her butt.

This is one of my greatest TV-related disappointments! Initially, I loved their relationship---it was so complex, relatable, entertaining (both of these women can win gold medals in snark, after all), and surprisingly touching. And I even genuinely understood where BOTH Emily and Lorelai were coming from despite how irked I sometimes was by how they chose to express their pain and resentment. But, god, it was just so wearying---for every single gratifying step forward there were about five steps back, and soon I stopped letting myself care about any apparent progress because I knew it was unlikely to last for even one full episode. 

Edited November 25, 2016 by amensisterfriend

[starri]

Trying (and failing) to watch the show all these years along, I realized that instead of trying to wring drama out of how Emily and Lorelei were different, it would have been a lot more interesting to focus on the greater number of ways they were similar.

[Mrs. DuRona]

My big unpopular opinion (especially after watching the revival) is that I actually kind of love the Life & Death Brigade.  I like seeing Rory being able to just let her hair down and do stupid stuff.  I don't always love their antics or stunts, but as a concept and as a whole, I love it. 

[NumberCruncher]

14 minutes ago, Mrs. DuRona said:

My big unpopular opinion (especially after watching the revival) is that I actually kind of love the Life & Death Brigade.  I like seeing Rory being able to just let her hair down and do stupid stuff.  I don't always love their antics or stunts, but as a concept and as a whole, I love it. 

TBH, it brought some much-needed levity to Rory's awful storyline.  I wasn't a huge fan of it in the original series but it was appreciated here.

[amensisterfriend]

This seems like the right time to trot out the very unpopular opinion that I actually LIKE S7---more than S5 and S6 and definitely more than this new revival. It had its very definite missteps, don't get me wrong, but it also restored some likability to Rory, Luke, and Emily for me, became the only season during which I liked Logan and Zach, toned the townies down a tiny bit, and just in general brought back some of the warmth and charm that had been missing for me. And the S7 finale hit me just right emotionally despite objectively not loving all the specifics of it.   

[amensisterfriend]

More UOs stemming from the revival!

1. Not only were the much-hyped 'final four words' majorly disappointing to me in and of themselves, but if that's really what AS-P's dream ending was for the series when Rory was just 21/22, then I'm more glad than ever that she wasn't around for S7.

2. Shallow alert: LG's hair looked terrible the whole revival unless it was up in a bun/ponytail. I say this as someone who has perpetually terrible hair, so I really do sympathize, but it actually distracted me a little. It was so weirdly colored, overly processed and just this weird texture. 

3. AS-P's childish petulance re. refusing to acknowledge S7's existence actually had a clear negative impact on the revival for me, especially when it came to the characterization of Logan, a character I often struggled to like and was up and down on anyway and now pretty much outright can't stand.

4.  You guys know how stubbornly I've clung to my love for Rory over the years, but after this revival I'm honestly not sure that I'll ever love her again. Trust me, I get being personally and professionally lost, so I should have found her storyline relatable and sympathetic, but instead it just made me think less of the character in so many ways. The best I can say is that at least the show didn't keep handing her everything she ever could have wanted on a proverbial silver platter and seemed to tacitly acknowledge a lot of the fans' 'special snowflake' complaints about her character. Honestly, though, I feel like this current incarnation of Rory is the worst of Emily and Lorelai without either of those ladies' positive qualities.

 5. KB is a gifted actress and Emily's scenes were among the sadly few highlights of the revival for me, but I have the UO of feeling like parts of that story felt really off. Then again, nearly the whole revival felt forced, off and/or depressing to me! 

6. I still wish Rory had ended up a teacher. I thought she really came alive during her Chilton presentation. Plus, I would love to hear her particular take on certain works of literature like, say, The Scarlet Letter. ;) (Sorry, guys---I make lame jokes to cope with my disappointment!)

7. You guys, DEAN was among the highlights of this revival for me. Dean! I've always been anti-Dean, but his scene was really satisfying for me, and I ended up liking him more than many of our other characters this time---if only by default :) Someone on Tumblr summed it up hilariously, how Rory was all "gosh, I was so safe with you, I wish we'd been older and more mature when we met" and he in the nicest way possible is sort of like "yeah, I really love my wife and kids and the life I've built away from you..." And the pitiful thing is, Rory kind of WAS at her most comparatively mature (and ethical, thoughtful, considerate, etc.) back when she first met Dean, at least IMO. I just love that the once creepily clingy Dean turned out to be the only ex to truly move on from Rory even after all these years.  

8.  I know we were supposed to be a little touched by Chris referring to Rory as "a force of nature," but I literally laughed out loud. Emily and Lorelai (and Paris, of course) can accurately be called forces of nature in both very complimentary and not-so-complimentary ways, but Rory?!  She's so tepid and passive and wimpy and suggestible, etc. I honestly struggle to think of a less accurate description of her than 'force of nature' :)

9. I now kind of think Jess is too good for Rory. I'm not joking. 

[Lady Calypso]

3 minutes ago, amensisterfriend said:

3. AS-P's childish petulance re. refusing to acknowledge S7's existence actually had a clear negative impact on the revival for me, especially when it came to the characterization of Logan, a character I often struggled to like and was up and down on anyway and now pretty much outright can't stand.

I agree. If anything, it made me actually LIKE S7 now. I think I can happily watch it. I loved Logan in his seasons. However, the revival has completely changed my opinion of him.

5 minutes ago, amensisterfriend said:

4.  You guys know how stubbornly I've clung to my love for Rory over the years, but after this revival I'm honestly not sure that I'll ever love her again. Trust me, I get being personally and professionally lost, so I should have found her storyline relatable and sympathetic, but instead it just made me think less of the character in so many ways. The best I can say is that at least the show didn't keep handing her everything she ever could have wanted on a proverbial silver platter and seemed to tacitly acknowledge a lot of the fans' 'special snowflake' complaints about her character. Honestly, though, I feel like this current incarnation of Rory is the worst of Emily and Lorelai without either of those ladies' positive qualities.

Yeah, I might actually be done with Rory as well. 

5 minutes ago, amensisterfriend said:

6. I still wish Rory had ended up a teacher. I thought she really came alive during her Chilton presentation. Plus, I would love to hear her particular take on certain works of literature like, say, The Scarlet Letter. ;) (Sorry, guys---I make lame jokes to cope with my disappointment!)

 

If this is a UO, sign me up at the table! She really would have fit as a teacher, which is surprising since I never considered this as a profession for her beforehand. Plus, her being a teacher would have allowed her to write on the side. A much better steady income than Rory just writing her book and possibly editing at the Gazette.

6 minutes ago, amensisterfriend said:

9. I now kind of think Jess is too good for Rory. I'm not joking. 

Yep. I left the series thinking that Jess and Rory would at least be on the same level. But after Rory's actions in the revival, Jess is a much better person. He evolved and changed from his wrongdoings while Rory's seriously regressed. Now I don't want Jess anywhere near Rory, which disappoints me that his last shot is him looking at Rory.

[HeySandyStrange]

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7. You guys, DEAN was among the highlights of this revival for me. Dean! I've always been anti-Dean, but his scene was really satisfying for me, and I ended up liking him more than many of our other characters this time---if only by default :) Someone on Tumblr summed it up hilariously, how Rory was all "gosh, I was so safe with you, I wish we'd been older and more mature when we met" and he in the nicest way possible is sort of like "yeah, I really love my wife and kids and the life I've built away from you..." And the pitiful thing is, Rory kind of WAS at her most comparatively mature (and ethical, thoughtful, considerate, etc.) back when she first met Dean, at least IMO. I just love that the once creepily clingy Dean turned out to be the only ex to truly move on from Rory even after all these years.  

I've always stubbornly clung to my affection of early season Dean and was disappointed by how terribly the character was served in his last few years on the show. I was so pleased that Dean actually got some redemption in the Revival and ended up the in such a seemingly content, happy place in his life. It is pretty funny to me that big loser Dean, who didn't go to a fancy college, have a trust fund, or read all the "right" books, seems to be a fully responsible adult who has his life together.  It is also to his credit that while Rory was reminiscing (romanticizing) their past relationship(s), he wasn't really taking the bait and was so. Over. IT. 

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9. I now kind of think Jess is too good for Rory. I'm not joking. 

I've always very unpopularly been anti-Jess, at least teenage punk version of him. I used to not like him with Rory, thought their relationship was toxic and he brought out the worst in Rory. After this revival, I've flipped that. Jess is much too mature, stable, and responsible to be brought down by the living mess known as Rory Gilmore. Rory and Logan really proved that all the money in the world won't by you a clue or a stitch of character. As someone else said in one of threads, Jess needs to follow in Dean's footsteps and stay far away from Rory's orbit and look for a stable, nice woman if he wants to settle down.

Edited November 26, 2016 by HeySandyStrange

[amensisterfriend]

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As someone else said in one of threads, Jess needs to take follow in Dean's footsteps and stay far away from Rory's orbit and look for a stable, nice woman if he wants to settle down.

Amen...sister friend ;) The only fanfic this revival would inspire me to write is one in which Dean and Jess find themselves putting their former animosity aside to bond over how much a happier and healthier a Rory-free life can be! I love the idea of Dean, of all people, helping Jess to move on from Rory. For so long, they each wanted Rory to 'choose' them---it would be gratifying to see that both of them consciously chose to move on from someone who wasn't nearly as great as they once believed her to be anyway. 

Edited November 26, 2016 by amensisterfriend

[Taryn74]

2 hours ago, amensisterfriend said:

You guys, DEAN was among the highlights of this revival for me. Dean!

Ha! Same!

[hypnotoad]

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Well, journalism isn't just about politics and controversy.

No, it sure isn't. However, there is plenty of tough criticism etc to face even just in school! Getting a story read outloud in class and then potentially mocked by the instructor is nerve racking - especially at first. I didn't even think the stuff Mitchum said to Rory was that big a deal and suddenly she's dropping out.

I was the editor of an Army newspaper. It was a small post and a small newspaper. And honestly, we weren't practicing investigative journalism but still people found things to complain about. Anytime you put something out there, there is someone who will criticize.

I have my own UO: I hated Jess. He ruined so many episodes for me. I almost stopped watching the show just because of this horrible character. When I read so much love for Jess, I just don't get it!

I am going to watch the new episodes this weekend ... hopefully I won't have to suffer too much Jess.

[KatWay]

I hated old Jess, that sulky, entitled, arrogant little jerk. So he loved books, so what. I couldn't stand his douchey face. (and I'm only mildly exaggerating here)

New Jess is okay with me and could do much better than Rory. I feel like getting back together with her would be a regression for his character. Rory, too, to be honest. She really needs a new love interest. Luke wasn't Lorelai's high school boyfriend, so why should Jess be the Luke? He should take a look at how happy and well Dean is and follow his lead and get over Rory.

[starri]

An Unpopular Opinion that was cemented in my mind after watching all of this revival:  Amy Sherman-Palladino is a really, really bad writer.

[amensisterfriend]

An Unpopular Opinion that was cemented in my mind after watching all of this revival:  Amy Sherman-Palladino is a really, really bad writer.

Ha! I feel like she's got a talent for writing individual lines and scenes that are exceptionally witty and/or subtly poignant (though that wasn't on display all that much during this revival). When it comes to overall characterization, plotting, pacing, and developing individuals and relationships over time, though, I'm starting to agree with you. 

[amensisterfriend]

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He should take a look at how happy and well Dean is and follow his lead and get over Rory.

I know, right?! I kind of want Dean to start an informal support group for the Gilmore Girls' exes...and I'd rather watch a session of said support group than at least 50% of what we saw onscreen during that revival :)

Edited November 26, 2016 by amensisterfriend

[starri]

1 minute ago, amensisterfriend said:

Ha! I feel like she's got a talent for writing individual lines and scenes that are exceptionally witty and/or subtly poignant (though that wasn't on display all that much during this revival).

Like I've before, the Emily stuff genuinely moved me.  But I think a lot of that may have been because Kelly Bishop elevated a bunch of meh material.

But I don't know that I think those "witty" rants are really all that witty any more.  Lauren Graham, while appealing as an actress, is not a great one, but she is very good at getting those word-salad things out,  But rambling through a bunch of pop culture references that are dated in six months (or, in the case of the Brangelina joke in "Winter," before the thing even aired) isn't really the same thing as wit.

And, not for nothing, she seems to have the ability to write exactly one type of lead character.  Sutton Foster on Bunheads seemed to have been playing Lorelai.  Parker Posey on the long-forgotten Return of Jezebel James...playing Lorelai.

[ChlcGirl]

I'm not sure how unpopular this opinion is but here it goes.  After finishing this revival and seeing finally how ASP wanted this family's story to wrap up, I can say that Gilmore Girls may have been forever soured for me.  Like, never-be-able-to-truly-enjoy-it-again soured it.

Lorelai and Rory were always pretty awful characters to me, selfish and self-absorbed at best, mean spirited and cruel at wost.  But at least at the end of S7 it felt like there was some progression and hope for them to grow.

They were AWFUL in this series. For Lorelai to block her mother from attending not one but BOTH OF HER WEDDINGS was just fucking cruel.  Just .. damn.

[starri]

4 minutes ago, ChlcGirl said:

They were AWFUL in this series. For Lorelai to block her mother from attending not one but BOTH OF HER WEDDINGS was just fucking cruel.  Just .. damn.

In fairness, they were going to have the other, previously announced ceremony the next day.

[Viqutorious]

I still do not like the Luke and Lorelai relationship! I knew they would end up together, I just don't get the appeal.

They were better as friends.

[ChlcGirl]

3 minutes ago, starri said:

In fairness, they were going to have the other, previously announced ceremony the next day.

Oh I know.  But it won't be the one they were married at. Emily didn't get to share in that. Again.

[msani19]

26 minutes ago, starri said:

An Unpopular Opinion that was cemented in my mind after watching all of this revival:  Amy Sherman-Palladino is a really, really bad writer.

Amen! She's a one note writer. What's unbearable to me is how smug she is about how talented she thinks that she is. Sorry but you have written the same characters each time you've been given the chance. She struck a chord with Gilmore Girls. Looking back I see it as a lucky combination of timing & casting. 

She's not that witty either. I'd roll my eyes and walk away if we were talking and she started in with her break-neck pop culture references. Nope.

[CleoCaesar]

6 hours ago, amensisterfriend said:

3. AS-P's childish petulance re. refusing to acknowledge S7's existence actually had a clear negative impact on the revival for me, especially when it came to the characterization of Logan

Amen, sister friend (or, amensisterfriend)! It really was downright petulant of ASP and makes me wonder if the rumors she torpedoed the end of season 6 when she realized she wasn't getting the contract she wanted were actually true...

[msani19]

5 minutes ago, CleoCaesar said:

It really was downright petulant of ASP and makes me wonder if the rumors she torpedoed the end of season 6 when she realized she wasn't getting the contract she wanted were actually true...

 

I'm inclined to believe she did

[amensisterfriend]

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The Jess is Luke, Logan is Christopher, and Rory is Lorelai doesn't work for me either.

I honestly see both sides of this, why Christopher/Logan and Luke/Jess are similar in terms of both their strengths and flaws and the roles ASP may intend for them to play in the Gilmores' lives, but also why there are already established differences. So, no matter what anyone's opinion is on this parallels issue, just know I'm sitting here nodding along and agreeing with you :)

Here's the unpopular part, though----you know which aspect of this parallel doesn't work for me right now? Rory as Lorelai. Lorelai was a lot younger when she got pregnant, had no degree or work experience (though I'm unclear as to how much actual work experience Rory has either at the age of 32, haha), and Lorelai had a lot less reason to think that a 16 year old Christopher could be a father than Rory should assume that a 30-something, financially secure Logan would.

More importantly, I feel like Rory has developed all of Lorelai's weaknesses but almost none of her strengths. I get that many dislike Lorelai and I've sometimes been among them, but to me Lorelai always had far more spirit, resilience, determination, independence, grit etc. than Rory does now. (Rory has pretty much none of any of those things IMO, and this is coming from someone who often defender her even through the latter seasons of the series)

And I'd even go as far as to say that while Lorelai obviously had/has issues when it comes to romantic relationships and how she's dealt with the men in her life, I actually feel like Rory is now officially a lot worse to the men in her life than Lorelai is. Rory is a serial cheater who continually deceives others and sometimes herself about pretty much everything. She makes the same egregious mistakes repeatedly and then often throws herself a pity party in lieu of a much needed reality check. I think my eyes almost rolled right out of my head when she viewed herself as some sort of poor victim when confronted with the reality of Logan's fiance, who she knew about the whole time. And, honestly, as much as I feel like Rory's worst qualities were all too prominently on display in this revival, I have to admit that this has always been true of her to one degree or another. She kissed Jess while with Dean, slept with a very married Dean at the end of S4, kissed Jess again while with Logan after traveling to Philly with the explicit intent of getting back at Logan for the bridesmaid debacle, and now has cheated with an engaged Logan on this poor Paul guy who she dated for two freaking years without bothering to break up with despite obviously not liking him much. She's strung along and played with the feelings of pretty much every guy to ever be in her life, she seems to truly believe she's entitled to their undying devotion even after hurting them and leaving their lives, she's petty and nasty and/or totally dismissive regarding other women they choose to be with while princess Rory is ostensibly with some other guy (Shane, Lindsay, now Odette), she always plays up the victim role in every single one of her relationships even when she's the one far more at fault...and, sadly, I could go on! I'm not saying Lorelai hasn't made major mistakes in her love life, but this revival sealed it for me: when it comes to treating the men in her life and maybe even people in general, Rory is worse. A LOT worse. Back when I first started watching the show, I never could have imagined I'd feel that way.  

I like that JP played Dean as being a lot less wistful about their old romance than she was and eemed to view her a little more like a bullet that he ended up lucky to have dodged :)  

If I watch old episodes soon to remind myself of why I loved this show, I wonder if I'll now have a rosier view of Dean...? And whether I'll ever be able to muster up affection for Early Seasons Rory, who used to be my special favorite. 

Edited November 26, 2016 by amensisterfriend

[hypnotoad]

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rumors she torpedoed the end of season 6

As a viewer, I completely believe she did. The last half of season 6 is just terrible which led into the mostly horrible season 7. I do tend to think the majority of season 7 was bad though because the writers etc were trying desperately to put things right after the last half of season 6.

I guess my other UO is I always loved Dean best of Rory's boyfriends.

[junienmomo]

1 hour ago, CleoCaesar said:

Amen, sister friend (or, amensisterfriend)! It really was downright petulant of ASP and makes me wonder if the rumors she torpedoed the end of season 6 when she realized she wasn't getting the contract she wanted were actually true...

The Palladinos quite simply flounced. They wanted a two year contract for themselves, didn't get it, pressed the 'scorched earth' button on season six and left. They'd expected a "few more" seasons, so the last four words would have been when Rory was a good deal older. 

http://www.ew.com/article/2006/04/24/amy-sherman-palladino-leaving-gilmore 

[starri]

2 minutes ago, junienmomo said:

The Palladinos quite simply flounced. They wanted a two year contract for themselves, didn't get it, pressed the 'scorched earth' button on season six and left. They'd expected a "few more" seasons, so the last four words would have been when Rory was a good deal older. 

Well, if ASP wants to think of herself as the 21st century Dorothy Parker, she probably shouldn't act like a petulant child.

[junienmomo]

4 hours ago, ChlcGirl said:

I'm not sure how unpopular this opinion is but here it goes.  After finishing this revival and seeing finally how ASP wanted this family's story to wrap up, I can say that Gilmore Girls may have been forever soured for me.  Like, never-be-able-to-truly-enjoy-it-again soured it.

Lorelai and Rory were always pretty awful characters to me, selfish and self-absorbed at best, mean spirited and cruel at wost.  But at least at the end of S7 it felt like there was some progression and hope for them to grow.

They were AWFUL in this series. For Lorelai to block her mother from attending not one but BOTH OF HER WEDDINGS was just fucking cruel.  Just .. damn.

They didn't do that to block anyone; they explicitly said they wanted to enjoy their wedding and knew that the extravaganza coming the next day was for the guests and they were merely the performers. I am 100% behind that notion.

Jess should have been there. He was just across town, Rory could have texted him. Since he's famously less than monosyllabic to his mother, it would have been no problem for him to say, "I"m out" and be gone for a couple of hours.

Emily was in Nantucket. What would be the point of inviting her for something that was going to occur within an hour? Inviting her would have been giving her a neener-neener and would be cruel.

[starri]

Just now, junienmomo said:

Emily was in Nantucket. What would be the point of inviting her for something that was going to occur within an hour? Inviting her would have been giving her a neener-neener and would be cruel.

For that matter, I'm wondering how she was planning on getting from Nantucket (you know, an island off the coast of Massachusetts) to Stars Hollow in a single morning.  The ferry ride alone is two hours.

[CofCinci]

I loved the Revival the first time I saw it, back when it was called Across the Universe. 

[backhometome]

Doesn't seem UO for this thread but I was so happy with Deans scene in the revival. As one of the few Dean fans I feel so vindicated. I hated how they did him so wrong in the OG show. So nice to see he was happily settled outside of SH and finally over Rory. I feel like Dean always got such a bad wrap as a bad boyfriend. So it was nice to hear Rory say he was a good boyfriend and made her feel safe. 

Season 1 Dean will always be my fav. boyfriend period of hers. Then Jess came to town and Dean had to be ruined for him. Blah.

 

Another UO I didn't hate the LDB in the revival. I know some thought it was pointless but honestly it was one of the few times Rory actually looked happy. 

[junienmomo]

5 hours ago, starri said:

An Unpopular Opinion that was cemented in my mind after watching all of this revival:  Amy Sherman-Palladino is a really, really bad writer.

This time the evidence is pretty solid that Daniel Palladino is worse. There were some conflictingly good or bad episodes from him in the original series, like dead uncles vs. vineyard valentine. No conflicts here, he just sucked.

[ChlcGirl]

1 hour ago, junienmomo said:

They didn't do that to block anyone; they explicitly said they wanted to enjoy their wedding and knew that the extravaganza coming the next day was for the guests and they were merely the performers. I am 100% behind that notion.

Jess should have been there. He was just across town, Rory could have texted him. Since he's famously less than monosyllabic to his mother, it would have been no problem for him to say, "I"m out" and be gone for a couple of hours.

Emily was in Nantucket. What would be the point of inviting her for something that was going to occur within an hour? Inviting her would have been giving her a neener-neener and would be cruel.

I just can't get behind this.  If my kid did that just so they could enjoy the party the next day I would be massively hurt.  And if it was just about them feeling less stress during the wedding , why was Rory there that night?  after all they could have gone to Rev Skinner and done it on the sly.  Rory was there because that wedding was the real wedding.

[paulvdb]

And I guess Luke likes Rory more than his own daughter April and his nephew Jess because neither of them was there. But they did find time to invite Lane and Michel for some reason.

[ghoulina]

9 hours ago, amensisterfriend said:

9. I now kind of think Jess is too good for Rory. I'm not joking. 

He is. But I thought that back when he had opened his store/publishing firm and had his own book and here's this wishy washy girl kissing him to get back at her douche of a boyfriend. Again, Jess is another character who was able to learn and change. Rory? Not so much. 

I feel like this revival kind of ruined the show for me. This has been my favorite show for about 10 years now. I watch it every weekend religiously. I've seen every episode like 1238908450 times. I didn't really strongly dislike any of the main characters except Christopher. I took much of it with a grain of salt, few complaints. Honestly. Now I am finding myself really disliking a lot of the main characters and it makes me sad. I wish they'd never done it. Or that I'd never watched. 

2 hours ago, amensisterfriend said:

Here's the unpopular part, though----you know which aspect of this parallel doesn't work for me right now? Rory as Lorelai. Lorelai was a lot younger when she got pregnant, had no degree or work experience (though I'm unclear as to how much actual work experience Rory has either at the age of 32, haha), and Lorelai had a lot less reason to think that a 16 year old Christopher could be a father than Rory should assume that a 30-something, financially secure Logan would.

More importantly, I feel like Rory has developed all of Lorelai's weaknesses but almost none of her strengths. I get that many dislike Lorelai and I've sometimes been among them, but to me Lorelai always had far more spirit, resilience, determination, independence, grit etc. than Rory does now. (Rory has pretty much none of any of those things IMO, and this is coming from someone who often defender her even through the latter seasons of the series)

Abso-freaking-lutely! That's what's so depressing about the entire thing. So maybe Rory isn't setting the world on fire with her writing, but my God, did she learn no lessons from her mother? She ends up in a very similar pickle to her mother's, but is so much older??? I can definitely see Logan as Christopher. Rich, entitled, immature. Although, Logan is more successful at his age than Chris was in HIS early 30s. He had just started getting some permanence around that time. Jess as Luke? Eh, maybe in the sense of being really good for Rory - being supportive, but also able to call her out and push her in the right direction. But if anything, this revival has proven that Rory is no Lorelei. At the end of season 7, maybe she could have been on her way there. But not now. 

[whateverhappened]

It's only my first post but I already know this is the place I'll probably call home since I have a lot of unpopular opinions!

Please don't hate me, but I really liked Rory's story in the revival. I didn't necessarily like Rory, but I related to what she was experiencing and agree with people who say that it makes sense given her character flaws and the life she led up until this point of the series. I don't hate her for it and I don't even hate Rory/Logan as a pairing. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about them, but I think I may believe they really do care about each other now than I ever did during the series. I know that's ridiculous to say about two people sneaking around cheating, which for the record I do not condone in any way.

I just like that their situation was messy and complex in a way I related to. They had real feelings for each other beyond just attraction, but we're not quite sure of the strength and intensity, and maybe they aren't either. During the series I never found their dynamic interesting, and now I do. I don't hate either of them even though I definitely see why most people here do. Again, I am NOT supporting that they were cheating.  I don't even think they necessarily do or should have any sort of future, even of he breaks up with the curiously named Odette. But as someone who was involved on and off with my college boyfriend long after college ended (for the record, not while we were seeing other people), their scenes clicked with me a lot more than their scenes during the original series did. Holding on to the remnants of a past love that's not quite in the past is so complicated. There's nostalgia, fear of moving on, affection based on how you felt about each other then as much as it is for the people you both are now. I could see how Rory and Logan's encounters would be comforting and reaffirming to them while also making them both feel as they seem to us, a little pitiful by now. It would be messy even if other people weren't involved, and it's awful that they are, but this time it's a mess Rory's helped create that I happened to relate to more than I expected. Same goes for the humbling she needed and mostly got with regards to her career. Her arrogant, oblivious denial were annoying, but I get it. Rory and many other people who were always told how smart they were and how they could and should do wonderful things with their lives sometimes take a while to find out that academic prowess doesn't necessarily translate to the outside world and that hard work and attitude matter significantly more than innate intelligence ever could. Once again, I didn't like Rory through most of this---just need to make that abundantly clear, lol---but I found her story more relatable and compelling than almost anything they gave her during the original series. I warned you this was unpopular!

I'm in the category of people who shipped Luke and Lorelai until they became a couple and threw myself overboard somewhere in the fifth and sixth seasons, but I liked them in this revival to the point where I have one foot tentatively placed back on that ship. It's irritating that they still don't communicate very well, it's true that their chemistry wasn't exactly sizzling yet again, and Amy Sherman-Palladino still overdoes his crankiness and her acting like she's constantly performing a one-woman standup comedy routine on a stage that no one else can see. I did see connection and real affection, though, and I don't think of them as grudgingly settling for each other as much as realizing that life in general and relationships in particular are never ideal, but there's happiness to be gleaned from them anyway. I wouldn't have especially wanted to see them become parents and so count me among the few who are glad that didn't happen. As others have snarked about, there's a depressingly high chance they'll end up the de facto guardians of Rory's kid anyway, lol.

Kelly Bishop is a treasure and I loved Emily's ultimate destination so much that I don't mind that the show was a little clumsy in getting us there. 

I always liked Dean until as late as the fifth season, so I was really gratified by how happy he is away from Stars Hollow and Rory Gilmore. 

Lorelai's phone call to Emily will go down as one of my favorite scenes of the series. 

Not to put on my tinfoil hat, but Jess got so much less screentime than I expected that I wondered if Milo and Alexis had indicated they were uncomfortable doing a lot of scenes together based on their real life past relationship. 

So I'm on the miniscule island of people who loved the revival in general. I didn't love all of it, but I never love everything about any Gilmore Girls episode. The Palladinos always seem to go a step or 10 too far, especially when it comes to the townies and their meetings and quirkfests, so I'll be skipping a lot of those scenes when I watch this again. Once I got used to the different appearances, voices and slightly darker tone, I found myself really sucked in.

These characters do sometimes suck, nearly ALL of them, and I feel like this was the first installment of Gilmore Girls to face that candidly while still giving me hope that ultimately their better sides will prevail. So for that I will always be grateful for this revival. I will never find anything redeeming about that musical sequence, though. That was astonishingly awful.   

[starri]

1 minute ago, whateverhappened said:

Lorelai's phone call to Emily will go down as one of my favorite scenes of the series. 

For all the crap that I've given this revival, I actually agree with that.

[Taryn74]

12 minutes ago, whateverhappened said:

Please don't hate me, but I really liked Rory's story in the revival. I didn't necessarily like Rory, but I related to what she was experiencing and agree with people who say that it makes sense given her character flaws and the life she led up until this point of the series.

I've been doing some thinking about this, and I think what bothers me more is everyone's reaction to "this" Rory.  ('Everyone' meaning everyone on the show, not the viewers.)  I think I'm going to have to watch through the revival again to really get my thoughts on this in order, though, because now that we (the viewers) know what's going on, I need to pay more attention to how much the characters know about what is going on, and when.

[RoyRogersMcFreely]

I don't think Alexis is a strong enough actress to give life to the kind of mess Amy wants Rory to be. There is no nuance, no inner life,  no storm or conflict in her eyes when she makes poor choices. Everything is very surface, surface, surface. Nothing to empathize with. I was raised on soaps, so believe me I've rooted for messy characters that have done so much worse, but I did so because they were compelling. Alexis isn't capable of that and the character is getting farther out of her reach.

[Taryn74]

I don't know if this would really be classified a UO, it's more just a screwball theory of mine, but I have long since felt that the "final four words" thing was just ASP blowing smoke up our collective asses, and the revival really solidified it.  There's no way I'm believing that was the endgame she's had in mind since Season 1, Episode 1.  I think her going on for years and years about these mysterious final four words, and all the hype she was able to build up around that, was just her way of making sure SHE would be the one finishing out the story, no matter what kind of mess she made out of it in the middle, because she knew the true fans would never let something like that rest.

[MaiSoCalled]

A few unpopular revival thoughts, related to casting and characters we saw.

I wanted more April. I like the dynamic she adds to the family scenes, and I think the character was really good for Luke. I like how the revival showed HOW different April and Rory are, when in the original series they were both general smart kids. 

I would have liked a Liz and TJ scene. Just one, I don't actually like the characters, but I felt their absence. 

It was nice to see the Life & Death Brigade. The scene was visually stunning. 

I wanted a mention of Lucy and Olivia. (Those were their names, right?) Even a throwaway like "I stay with Lucy and Olivia in Boston." I know they were season 7 and kind of annoying, but I liked that Rory had friends in the arts. I wanted those friendships to last:

I liked that the Tristan character was a strange actor. I imagine that he wasn't Tristan at all, but rather a lookalike that sent Paris into an emotional spiral. I'm close in age to Rory, and I've seen people I'm convinced I knew in high school, only to look closer and realize they're strangers. Paris breaking down over a lookalike worked for me. 

Edited November 27, 2016 by MaiSoCalled
I wanted to add my unpopular Lucy & Olivia opinion.

[ghoulina]

1 hour ago, MaiSoCalled said:

I would have liked a Liz and TJ scene. Just one, I don't actually like the characters, but I felt their absence. 

My UO is that I am one of the few who LIKE Liz and TJ, and I definitely missed seeing them.

[paulvdb]

1 hour ago, MaiSoCalled said:

I wanted more April. I like the dynamic she adds to the family scenes, and I think the character was really good for Luke. I like how the revival showed HOW different April and Rory are, when in the original series they were both general smart kids.

I agree about wanting more April.  I hated the way she was introduced and that Luke lied to Lorelai about her, but I always liked the character of April.