Well. Its finally happened. After nine long years of waiting, it’s finally happened. The Gilmore Girls have returned. When I say I cried through most of the four ninety-minute episodes, that would be an understatement. This reunion has everything a good reboot needs, all of the major players returning, a wicked plot, and a loving audience devoted to keeping the characters alive. All of which is present here.
We pick up with a wide shot of the dreamy Stars Hollow, a little town we all secretly wished we grew up in, and focus in on Lorelai, played by the oh so charming Lauren Graham, and her daughter Rory, Alexis Bledel, who returns to visit after a string of bad luck with her journalism career. Over the four episodes, named after the four seasons of the year, we follow the three Gilmore women, including Emily, having been left bereft after the death of her husband Richard, played by the late Edward Herrman who sadly passed away in 2014. The special effectively tells the story of Emily, played by the always hilarious Kelly Bishop, trying to continue on without her husband; Rory trying to make her way in the world and find out what she wants; and Lorelai looking for some sense of home again now that she and long time flame Luke (Scott Patterson) are in a serious, long term relationship.
With the return of the shows creator Amy Sherman-Pallidino back at the helm, there was no way that this reboot could be anything but magical. I’m not sure if any other TV show could actually assemble all of their beloved characters back together, but Gilmore Girls did. With the return of all three of Rory’s guys, Dean( Jared Padalecki) Jess (Milo Ventimiglia) and Logan (Matt Czuchry), along with Stars Hollow staples, Taylor Doose, Babette, Gypsy and Kirk. Even Rory’s old friends Paris and Lane make several appearances. Guaranteed every face that you remember from Gilmore Girls is back and better than ever in this little glimpse into the lives of our favourite TV family. Even the hugely successful Melissa McCarthy and the even more sassy Michelle, played by Yanic Truesdale, make an appearance.
I went into this hoping for the hyper fast monologues and the quippy pop culture references and I was in no way disappointed. The lines were faster, the jokes were more relevant yet peppered with some old school one liners, and all around, it just feels like home. And the best part of all, we finally get to hear the long awaited last four words of the series, and let me tell you, this story isn’t finished yet!
All in all, it was an incredibly worthwhile way to spend six hours of my life. While the cast may look a bit different after almost a decade, the feeling and the rhythm of the show that we all watched and loved is exactly the same. If you are a Gilmore Girl, get your arse in gear and get to watching, if you haven’t watched before, watch these specials and you won’t be able to help yourself going back and watching the OG Gilmore Girls series which by some amazing twist of fate are all now on Netflix. How I envy those that get to watch all of these episodes for the first time. All I have to say is #GilmoreForever.
Ava Hollingsworth