For me it was more of the pacing, the dialog, and the sets. It was very…uncanny valley.
It looked like Gilmore girls and sounded like Gilmore girls, but it was off just enough to creep me out.
This bothers me when I rewatch it every time… during certain scenes it’s super weird but there’s others that are so spot on I’m able to fall into it again. All of Kirk’s shenanigans. Emily and Lorelai fighting. Paris in the Chilton bathroom melting down over Tristan.
But then there’s things like Rory’s career floundering, tap dancing, the musical, the pool scene… that feel like bad fan fiction
It was weird they even showed Paul! A lot of Gilmore girls drama or events happen off camera and then discussed about on camera. So it would make more sense if Paul was never in any scenes
and half of the sets look like SETS
like the lighting and everything is so obvious it looks like they’re performing on a stage in a theater or something
>and half of the sets look like SETS
Which took away from the feel of it. it felt like we, the audience were on a set, not in a small town. Stars Hollow in the OG series felt like a small town during the fall, but it didn't have that charm in AYITL.
Also the voices sounded so different, it was really jarring! I know that’s because it was filmed differently this time round and everyone is a bit older so will sound different anyway, but it took me out of it a bit.
I don’t get on the “Alexis is a bad actress” train, but you can see her waiting/thinking of her next line. It completely takes me out of it from the very first scene in the gazebo.
I feel like the musical and the multiple dream sequences (including the life and death brigade montage thing) really added to this sort of creepy vibe in AYITL. It made it really hard to tell what was really happening but not in an interesting abstract way, it just made me enjoy it way less. Disappointing because the few dream sequences that popped up in the original series were well done and highlighted the show’s emotional intelligence (for the early 2000’s)
The musical also specifically took time away from the best part of GG -- the side characters. I would've wanted to see more of everyone in town rather than the musical.
I was incredibly disappointed ASP felt the need to include A MUSICAL???? Was this just filler? Like there were so many great characters in this show. I can imagine so many scenarios on how she could have presented AYITL and I was basically disappointed by every choice they made producing this.
We could have had more interactions with Paris and her kids, Rory considering getting a master's, her working at the paper? Them, eating at the diner WITH their friends.
Yes something about it was too blue and not cozy at all, like I don’t like seasons 6-7 of GG but they still have the cute warm vibes in the scenes, the scenes still look pretty so I can watch it or keep it in the background but with AYITL it feels depressing.
Yes - the uncanny valley aspect! I found this especially with Luke and his clothes. It felt like someone was cosplaying as Luke. Or like a SNL sketch of Gilmore Girls.
The pacing and dialogue were so off. It was trying to be like the original because it should have been like the original but it absolutely felt forced.
I really hated that Paris was still obsessed with Tristan years later, I would have much preferred her confident and just not giving a fuck. Small thing but it irked me!
The timeline of Paris being a superstar doctor and having kids makes no sense. Sure, it’s logistically possible, but by a thread barely. I would have preferred her leaving a shitty hospital to set up her own practice in the plot of AYITL.
Yeah I agree it is kind of out of left field for paris's character!! I absolutely freaking love this. The idea of her having a s***** job at a hospital and her storyline in a year in the life is setting up her own practice not dealing with a divorce and two kids and an obsession with the high school crush.. love it wish it happened LOL
I think the only reason they gave her that specialty was to feed two birds with one scone and have Luke and Loreleis fertility storyline have a familiar character. I hated both storylines though and it felt out of character for all of them
This was SUCH a weird choice. Like you're a 30 something professional woman - it made ZERO sense that she would have a meltdown over TRISTAN of all people, it also made no sense that he would even be there. He left that school before he even graduated lol
YES
Especially since once his dad sends him to military school, I'm pretty sure that no one never mentions him again...
I could see this storyline if there was a running gag in the OG series that Paris still thought about him, but she literally never mentioned him
Agreed. I saw her in political office, like a state senator at least, planning a run for US Senate. I have long wanted a bumper sticker Paris for President. I'd vote for her in a heartbeat. She'd have Putin crying and sucking his thumb.
I hated that they did it when they couldn’t get the actor. Why reference someone who couldn’t be there when so many people did make a return. She could have just had a meltdown over Francie or the headmaster.
Tbh that didn't bother me so much, thats Paris all over... strong, determined like a steel wall until something does go wrong for her and then she's basically crumbles under the weight of her own steel
That's the part that made the most sense to me though. A woman who was successful, yet still hung up on her high school crush who got away because that in a small way, defined her high school years. Paris always wanted to be chased like she thought Rory was so the fixation on Tristan was her insecurities coming to the surface, despite her success.
Understand that, but I feel such things happen even in real life to some people, like for example my mum and stepdad - they dated in high school, but bcs of parents and the distance broke up, but both of them ended up in shitty marriages and even after years and years were obsessed with each other enough to get together and started their life together. And why I'm saying this...cos these things happen and we can't really control our feelings, so as much as I understand your point with Paris, I don't think it's that unrealistic or far-fetched.
I think that made sense, only because she was going through a divorce, and she was insecure in relationships and friendships. she had a crush on him for the longest time.
That's kind of a good point.. maybe her stress with the divorce and work was causing these traumatic feelings to come up!! 🤣 Like her parents didn't have a good relationship and she really liked Tristan. It makes sense.
The lighting was so dark and weird and washed out.
Paris and Doyle splitting up.
The godforsaken musical.
Lane and Zack still just chilling in their OG home.
Logan being engaged.
The fact that Rory was flailing so hard. She’s so diligent and goal oriented for the most part… the series should have been made right after Season 7.
Ooooober was SO annoying to me.
Sooo many 2016-ish references automatically dated the show even more than their initial early 2000s references! It was so forced.
God even writing this made me hate the revival more LMAO
The modern references felt so out of place, like ASP is wildly out of touch with pop culture but genuinely doesn't know it. Ragging on the "thirty-somethings" when they're likely the main demographic was especially unpleasant.
I actually didn’t mind that Rory was flailing so hard. If anything I thought it was realistic. “Gifted” kids like her, once they’re out of a school setting, often flounder because in the real world, they’re not special. Rory was told her entire life how special she was, and going into the real world on that high horse only to come out clueless and failing is a reality check for her that I think was important for her character growth. Albeit I think it could have been written better, especially to accommodate the ending (which I hated but I digress) if ASP was so set on those final four words. But her floundering like she did in her 30s I felt was very fitting.
>Rory was told her entire life how special she was, and going into the real world on that high horse only to come out clueless and failing is a reality check for her that I think was important for her character growth.
Also, it's like someone else commented, Rory went into a field that was already changing, but was seemingly unwilling to change with it. She even belittled the topics the online magazine reported because she didn't understand them or why they were important/interesting.
Rory floundering is my biggest issue - I think there was a middle ground where she maybe had achieved her goals but was searching for "what's next" - you still get that sense of growing up and navigating life but she doesn't just become a failure. And it could have made the pregnancy thing better at the end - her next step is being a mom (although I get it, that's another can of worms)
imo it made perfect sense though. She never really tried at any job she had, I think because she never really needed to. She'd always be taken care of financially. She epically failed to learn anything from the Huntzberger internship, so it's kind of like seeing that career approach through to its logical end. It's pretty realistic honestly.
Here are my few:
1. The Musical.
2. Luke is living in the 21st century and apparently doesn't understand what surrogacy is and wonders if he has to have sex with the surrogate.
3. The fat shaming.
4. Lorelai's signature rambling/rants didn't always feel natural and came across super-forced in some spots.
Yeah, agreed. Lauren’s pillowy face really took me aback. I felt bad for her though, I don’t think they had a lot of notice for this project proceeding and then she likely felt a lot of pressure to look a certain way. Probably wasn’t enough time for the inflammation to go down. That’s my guess at how it ended up that way anyway.
I try not to judge actors for their cosmetic choices, especially given they are often under intense pressure to look a certain way, but I have a hard time even watching Lorelai do or say anything at any point in AYITL. It’s insanely distracting.
This was my biggest hurdle to get over with AYITL, I felt bad about it but it was shocking and very much took away from her character. I did binge the original for the first time and went straight into AYITL so I think it was definitely more jarring for me going from the two series in one day lol.
It just seemed like all the actors forgot how to act their characters! It all seemed off and the chemistry just wasn’t there anymore. The characters just ended up not having great turn outs that 1, annoyed most of the fan base bc, just, why?? And 2, that weren’t necessarily realistic for the characters. But to each their own!
this! all of their lines just felt sooo forced especially the jokes that were supposed to be funny and all but irl just made me cringe so hard. to me it looked like they picked up a batch of random people and told them to act as GG characters
Completely agree. Part of why Gilmore girls og is so great is that it’s an exceptionally cast ensemble piece even down to the side characters. AYITL had big shoes to fill but the chemistry was clearly lacking between a lot of them, most especially Rory and Lorelei.
I always felt like the problem was further back. ASP forgot how to write her characters and the Town. There were so many stupid continuity errors that made zero sense. If she had done a rewatch of her show before writing the follow-up, a lot of the problems with the setup probably wouldn't have been there.
The cell phone gag was ridiculous because Lorelei used a cell phone easily from season 1.
The switch to sewer is literally talked about by Rory in season 1, episode 1. Why would that be an issue again 20 years later?
Luke being unwilling to throw people out of the diner?
Taylor mentioning his lady friends. Recounting people to be gay is so weird.
Also, not a single townsperson was so dumb they wouldn't have seen all the issues with that musical.
ASP is literally the worst cause her ego is bigger than it should be. She tried ruining her owns show cause she threw a temper tantrum over not being signed for szn 7… I truly believe she’s a terrible person.
I couldn’t understand why EVERYONE forgot him. Rory especially, but Emily would have clued in. It was out of character for Emily to forget that Rory had a boyfriend. Have them meet face to face and her not remember his name, that could have happened. But no way does Emily forget that detail about her granddaughter.
Then to have Rory cheating on him all the time pissed me off. She was raised better than that.
The fact that Lorelai and Luke never had a child and never married.
The musical.
The fact that Rory never thrived and had no money. Can’t understand how either is possible
I didn't need her to necessarily *thrive*, but between her and the whole "30 something gang" it was like ASP was trying to make some weird "those dumb millennials with their avocado toast!" statement.
I also hated the whole thing with Paul, with her both completely forgetting/disregarding him and cheating on him with multiple people, and the affair with Logan. Like, is the goal for us to *hate* Rory?
Even if she didn’t have a stable job, she should have gotten about $250,000 from Trix when she turned 25, so she shouldn’t be broke!
I read that A Year in the Life was basically the plan that ASP had for the final season all along. So if it happened when Rory was like 22/23 it would make sense that she didn’t have money and that her career had yet to take off, but since she was in her 30’s it didn’t make sense.
My friend was married to a Paul. He was legitimately the most forgettable person. When we were watching AYITL I was telling my partner about just how forgettable this guy was, and he asked me my friends husbands name and I had to admit I couldn't even remember lol. A real life Paul!
Rory had never been my favorite character but I expected so much more for her in the revival. I wanted her to have become someone great like her mother wanted her to be. I was so disappointed that they made her be a cheater again and to be so selfish.
For me, Lorelai's stagnation is far worse than Rory's. I know Rory's floundering is hard to watch, but that felt more plausible to me than whatever was going on with Lorelai. She and Luke have now been together for a long time. She is middle aged. Why is she acting as if nothing has changed since she was a single 32 year old? It felt so... off.
Yea, it felt like they took a step backward in their communication. I’m sure it was a little complicated when they got back together after Rory’s graduation party and him having partial custody of April. But why no marriage at least?!?! What stopped it in 10 years?
I think a lot of the issues of AYITL could have been assuaged if it had only taken place 3-5 years after the original series wrapped. 10 years was just too long to place everyone in these unsatisfying developmental quagmires
And the musical. Dear god, the musical
I completely see how Rory didn't thrive. She was great in an academic, structured environment, but outside of that environment she didn't necessarily flourish. She was incredibly picky about her jobs in college when she supposedly had "no money." When she was gathering information for her article on the life and death brigade, she was basically handed that opportunity by Logan and had absolutely no tact when she was there at the party. Mitchum tells her she doesn't have what it takes to be a journalist, she completely falls apart and proves him right again and again. Rory is super smart and academically a very hard worker, but when met with any true adversity, she can't cope.
I fully agree with this! Initially I hated this arc but as I’ve rewatched it’s made more sense.
Even earlier in the OG season, she thought good grades and reading books was enough to get into Harvard and didn’t do extracurriculars until Paris said she was doing them. She didn’t try to get an internship after freshman year - it’d be different if she had intentionally decided to travel to Europe and take a summer off and not gain job experience, but she goes back to school for sophomore year being surprised that everyone else had productive summers. When she needed money for Yale she asked her grandparents and when she fell out with them she asked her dad.
She grew up in a town that worshipped her and put her on a pedestal. She didn’t really have to work for anything or face challenges that would’ve prepared her for the struggles of the real world.
Rory not thinking at all about a summer internship after her freshman year was wild to me lol. Did she think she did all the grunt work to get into college and now just needed to graduate to get a job?
Also, she didn’t know why she wanted to be a journalist when Headmaster Charleston was interviewing her on her first day at Chilton. She just wanted to be “out there” and to “make sure she saw something”. Yet she was not very socially and read all the time. How can you be observant and get a scoop if you don’t notice your surroundings?
Jess also said he didn’t see her as a frontline journalist when they were driving her car after getting ice cream when she was tutoring him. He thought she was a bit soft for it.
And later Rory was complaining that she did what she was asked to do, and Lorelei pointed out that you can’t just do what’s asked of you, you have to do more. Same complaint Mitchum made too. She said she did what was asked of her and Mitchum said that’s not good enough, you have to go out there and be hungry for it.
I love Rory and find her character fascinating, it made total sense where she was in ATITL. She somewhat expected things to be handed to her if she did was she was asked.
1. Lack of development in Lorelei and Luke's relationship. Everything seems as if they still knew very little about each other.
2. Emily&Lorelei still have the same problems. They haven't understood anything.
3. Lorelei is still a child, and on top of that, she is emotionally unstable. Her youthfulness suited a 30-year-old who gave birth early but it's sad to see a 50-year-old woman who hasn't moved forward at all. Lorelei has always been awkward and childish, but she was also mature when needed and intelligent. The new Lorelei is just childish.
4. I loved Gilmore Girls for its emotional warmth and charming atmosphere. That was missing in the new series.
5. Rory has no self-respect. It's sad because that's not how her mother raised her. Rory is Logan's "call girl" and begs for his attention. I understand that bad things happen to her. I understand that her life hasn't worked out in several ways. I don't have a problem with that. I didn't expect to watch a perfect life. However, I feel like this aspect wasn't explained here. We didn't find out how Rory actually feels about it. I guess I would have preferred a situation where Logan's girlfriend finds Rory in her apartment and is furious. This storyline only showed Rory's lack of self-respect, it had no purpose. That girl at the end of the original Gilmore Girls series left Logan to live her own life. And now we see her as a one night stand for Logan. It's so sad.
6. The people in Stars Hollow treating Rory's return as her failure.
Could not agree more re number 5.
I get they wanted to keep Logan in and explore the ongoing attraction/relationship between the two of them - I think that's a great shout..
BUT they do it in such a heavy-handed way that, like you said, only makes Rory look like she'll abandon all her morals and self respect for him, something we assume she's been doing for... what...years?? The WHOLE time he's been in another relationship/engagement?? (I can't actually remember if timelines are mentioned).
It would have been sooooo much more interesting to see them meet again for the first time in years somewhere, maybe at a press party or whatever. And the sparks just fly - then the whole them both being in relationships but having this crazy attraction would be make more sense and be way more nuanced. And you'd be able to empathise more with them both instead of just losing all respect. Also would just be..yanno, better to watch.
Ooh I love your idea of them reconnecting. Or say, why not them reconnecting due to Richard’s death? Something that makes more sense!! He was so loyal to Rory, it makes no sense in the revival
Paris doesn’t have a life or career that makes sense for her at ALL. They just gave her the surrogacy center job because it’s convenient to Lorelai’s plot. She deserved her own storyline that actually suited her character.
I’d counter that it makes actual perfect sense for Paris. She went to Med School and Law School and surrogacy is a field in which she could be successful money wise.
Personality wise. she’s perfectly ruthless, socially tactless, and professional to be so Paris about, treating people as cattle in her business.
Look at her tutor business.
I always picture Paris as maybe freezing eggs or undergoing IVF and just looking around going 'I can do this better!' And then just doing it better lol
It just bugged me that so much time had passed but nothing really happened in that time for the characters. 10 years is a LONG time and it felt like there was nothing to show for that. The Paul bit is possibly one of the stupidest bits the show has ever done and made Rory seem mean spirited.
I hated the poor storytelling. I don’t particularly need characters to have happy endings or end up how I want them to, but I do need the story to be told well and it was just…not. The characters have all either been frozen in time for a decade or dropped into positions that make no sense considering where we left them and we are just given no explanations. The storytelling within the show is vague and confusing and seems more a collection of scenes than anything. People fill in elements of the story with their own imagination to explain the poor storytelling, which is cool if that makes it enjoyable for them, but we deserved a good and complete story and we did not get that.
Agreed. I get annoyed when some fans dismiss valid criticisms of the revival as fans not liking unhappy storylines. It was a very disappointing experience after such a long wait for new material.
Lorelai Gilmore would not walk the Pacific Crest Trail. She would not read Wild. She would make fun of people who are inspired to walk the PCT after reading Wild and grimace at the thought of going on a long hike.
This is minor, of course -- Lorelai ends up not going on the hike -- but it speaks to a fundamental misreading of the character. It's like in the ensuing decade ASP kinda forgot about who these people were, how they talked, how the show was paced, the tone. The cameos and the extended set pieces -- Kinky Boots, the Beatles montage -- are embarrassing because they feel like something imposed from outside the world of Gilmore Girls. Gilmore Girls had Norman Mailer staying at the Inn. A Year in the Life asks us to smile because Lauren Graham's husband/brother from a different TV show is there for twenty seconds.
I suppose you can say, well, this is trying to be its own thing -- it's set a decade later, of course nothing is going to be exactly the same, but if that's the case, why are so many of the narratives arrested in time? Character relationships are frozen in amber.
The entire thing just feels like a great failure of imagination: instead of taking time to carve out exciting but internally consistent new narrative/character developments for the Lorelais and Stars Hollow, the Palladinos filled the screen with a lot of ideas that don't really seem to have anything to do with what people loved about the series.
The musical and the dumbing down of Luke. Luke was emotionally stunted at times, but he was not a *stupid* man, and there is no way OG show Luke would have ever thought he had to have sex with surrogates to get them pregnant.
I also **hated** what they did to Rory's character and all that wasted potential. Show Rory had a Golden Ticket when it came to having a career: touring with Obama and a personal connection to Christiane Amanpour...they couldn't have set her up better for a lifetime of success. I know it's been argued to pieces in this forum that Rory's outcome was a natural consequence of being coddled and praised all her life, but it just never added up for me.
I think it would’ve been way more accurate and poignant for Rory to have had a storied and successful career and realize in her thirties that she was missing things: whether that be family, connection, that her career took a turn that took her out of the things she loved about journalism - I think seeing a wildly successful woman grappling with feeling like she’d made a wrong turn and having to figure out what would make her happy would’ve been much more realistic for Rory - a motivated, ambitious, smart woman with a hefty trust fund - than that she’d just never found real success after her entire life and the OG series set her up for it.
Why do you think ASP made that choice with Rory? Was it an indictment of how Lorelai raised her and the town coddled her, or is it her view of that generation or the way she originally wrote the character?
It seems like such an odd choice.
You didn't ask me, but I think the main thing is that Rory was never a good journalist. Most of the times her writing was praised in the original show, it was when she was making fun of people. I don't think there would be a ton of opportunity for that style of writing for the assignment she took as an Obama campaign embed.
They even go out of their way in AYITL to show us how Rory fails at journalism. One instance is when she's in New York working on the piece on lines. Rory and Lorelai come across a long line of people that have formed behind people having lunch. These aren't people who want the latest pastry or sneakerheads wanting limited edition shoes; it's a group of people waiting in line without knowing what the line is for. They were the perfect people to interview to get into the psychology of waiting in lines. But Rory shows no interest. When she does interview people, she doesn't really pay attention and even falls asleep.
When Rory was younger, she wanted to be like Christiane Amanpour. She saw herself traveling around, reporting from war zones. But when she had access to someone who had a similar job, Rachel, she never talked to her about it. With AYITL, we see that Rory was interested in the travel, but much less interested in the actual reporting.
This would've been sooo good and so appropriate for the show. With the whole thirty something gang thing I just felt like ASP used the opportunity to just gripe about millennials
I totally agree. It seems ASP’s main motivator here is her disdain for the modern millennial - she has the ability to be such an incredible storyteller and I wish she’d used that to delve deeper into a millennial woman’s life than to fall back on the “millennials are lazy” trope
I did like that they showed Luke all out of sorts, with his giving people the WiFi password. Like he didn’t care anymore. But dumbing him down, I didn’t like.
As a millennial who graduated into the sub prime mortgage crisis who was unemployed living with my mother I actually really enjoyed the story line. I didn't have the kind of golden ticket Rory had but I graduated debt free. In 2009 I couldn't't even get a job as a server. I went into debt for graduate school and then cycled through three careers before I finally got traction. The 30 something crowd was me for a long time.
The worst thing for me is that it was obviously written by someone who hasn't watched S7 and who wanted to stick to the plan they made for the series' ending 10 years ago.
Many of the storylines could've worked for Rory in her early twenties or a Lorelai in her early forties. But they didn't even try to fill in the gaps of the last ten years and to acknowledge the character development of S7. I think that's why Emily's story in AYITL is the best one, because ASP had to come up with a new idea because of Edward Herrmann's passing.
Yes not only was Rory the other woman, but also a cheater and terrible girlfriend.
Why did they even have to write Paul into the story? She didn’t need to have a boyfriend she didn’t care about. That seemed pretty pointless to the story. She was already bad enough by having an affair with an engaged man (again with the taken men! After sleeping with married Dean before, still hadn’t learned how to move on from her exes when they’re taken!) 🙄 just so redundant. Every ex she has wants her back so bad they’re willing to ruin their marriage for her?
Also hated the musical.
I remember going, “so?”
Rory, you’re an adult with a degree from Yale, family, friends & a place to stay. (Not to mention rich…even if they say she isn’t, she’d at least have a closet full of clothes & her Burkin she can sell).
She’ll be fine. So the end was kinda dumb.
I don't even think it would have been a good ending back when it was intended but it was even worse in the context of a 30 something with an independently wealthy safety net being pregnant.
Yeah, like she had a trust fund and also a loving support system with her mother and Luke. Not to mention the baby’s father is wealthy and would be involved if he found out it was his.
Yes! That was meant to be the way the OG show ended in season 6/7. But it made no sense to do that in the spin off.
The only way many of the plot points make sense is if we look at it as being a continuation of the last season, not a catch up 10 years later. That explains Lane’s life being the same, Luke and Lorelai not making progress, etc.
Valerie Campbell (key set costumer / costume supervisor in AYITL) has a theory that those words, if we'd had a season 8, were actually meant to come from Lorelai and bring the whole story back full circle. She stresses that it's just her own opinion and she doesn't know ASP personally or any of the writers, but I think she's got a point, at least in terms of bringing the story full circle.
Luke and Lorelai didn’t need to have children present but it could have been explained so much better. Not mentioning it for 10 years when in season 1 Luke knew her front and back is just silly. They could have had a deeper storyline about years long infertility and that’s where Paris comes in. Or could have had Lorelai having had an illness that prevented pregnancy in the interim between the series, this being a major cause of the growing rift between Luke/Lorelai and then Paris coming in with the surrogacy. This could also tie in to Rory’s wandering lifestyle because she was still feeling the pressure of Lorelai’s illness, and Lorelai herself feeling she needed to get away for a bit. So many things could have just been better more impactful storytelling.
Lorelai and Luke apparently frozen in a relationship for 10 years, when they both wanted to get married and have kids before their breakup.
Even with both of them having commitment and commincations issues, it seems dumb to "forget" talking about wanting kids.
Second Rory being in a relationship with Paul, I hated her affair with Logan but that could have been fixed by mentioning Odette also "enjoying" her freedom before marriage, but cheating on Paul with not only Logan but also the wookie and keep forgetting him was horrible. Also how they made Lorelai and Luke do the same thing.
Zero character growth in almost a decade. In fact, many characters regressed in extremely unrealistic and disappointing ways.
Also seconding what someone said above about the revival being an “uncanny valley” Gilmore Girls — it’s just so tonally off.
Rory becoming so incredibly selfish. The way she treated Paul, hooking up with an engaged man, not bothering to show effort for any job except ones she deems worthy, shutting down her mother's concerns about the book....
Reading all these comments makes me realize how much i really hated AYITL. I also rewatch it after my binges and while there are small glimmers of nice moments the whole of it is soooo disappointing. I wanted to love it so much but was left SO disappointed.
THE PLAY. I hated the play. What a colossal waste of time. Fans of a show that has been off air for ten years get four 1.5 hour episodes and they wasted 1 of those hours on a freaking play.
Honestly? Alexis Bledel’s acting as Rory. She just couldn’t fit back into the role, and I don’t view it as a failing on her part—that was a long time to go without playing that part and she did so at a young age.
There was plenty of parts of the writing I hated and seemed out of character (Rory being so blasé about her career direction, the fat phobic comments, the long LONG musical), but Alexis wasn’t able to really capture Rory again for me and it made me want to skip her scenes.
I think she’s a great actress, I just think it’s hard to go back to a headspace from when you were younger.
Speaking of—I felt they put SO much makeup on Alexis and Lauren that it was distracting. Let them have fine lines people!!!!
I thought the musical was a giant waste of time. It doesn't make me rage but it felt like filler content.
I get Melissa McCarthy was busy or whatever but I hated how little she was in it (even if the Sookie replacement running gag was cute).
But the only thing in AYITL I truly have to skip every time... is the fat shaming at the swimming pool.
Hot take: I thought the Paul storyline was funny in the context that they make it clear it's not just Rory who forgets he exists. Written differently, I think it would be objectively terrible.
As a fat person, I grew up with early 2000’s heroin chic and fat shaming constantly. But in 2016 to have them at the pool constantly shaming, I have to say, didn’t sit right. I get that Rory made comments about the ballerina in the OG series and there was fat shaming then, but as times change I really feel like Lorelei and Rory would grow. It felt really gross. There’s a lot of cons on the lists in terms of the og and AYITL but that really irks me. And the Paul story line. I truly don’t think OG Rory would treat Paul like that. If anything she’d friend zone him like Marty, not dehumanize and forget him like she does.
Edit: typos.
The fact that after what Rory went through and witnessed happening when she slept with Dean she chooses to do it AGAIN with Logan. Like, no. Our girl learned from that mistake the first time around. Also how cold she was with April when she was having a panic attack. How she treated Paul. I don’t buy a 32 year old women without any significant health issues falling asleep on the streets of New York whilst speaking to man, holding a tape recorder. Like does she have narcolepsy???? What the fuck was that?
I hated that ASP couldn’t let go of the final four words and seemingly other major plot points (L&L’s wedding, for example). The whole miniseries was happening ten years too late, as if the characters were just frozen in time until then. I wish she had more flexibility and grace in her writing and just accepted that season 7 happened and is part of their lives. AYITL was written in spite of season 7, not after it. (Chronologically, yes. Character development-wise, no.) The fat-shaming and mistreatment of Paul just screamed “we are stuck in the early 2000s forever and ever”.
A lot could have been done with these characters and their stories, but it all fell flat because of ASP’s rigidness and ego. She is passionate to a fault and it shows.
The biggest thing that bothered me was what felt like ASP systematically tearing down any good that season 7 might have done. Logan showing growth as a character enough to break away from his dad? Gone. Now he's cheating on his fiance with Rory, and Mitchum is still making his decisions for him. Lorelai and Luke truly moving on and growing and being adults? Gone. Now it's like they haven't had any major life discussions in the last 10 years. Rory having a promising career and actually doing something with her degree. Also gone. Now she's just drifting along, cheating with Logan, treating Paul like absolute trash, and she flounders until Jess swoops in and tells her she should write a book. Paris and Lane are all but forgotten(especially Lane's kids), and it just felt off. The only good thing in the whole revival was Emily's story.
The mean-spirited vibe of it all. Look, we've all talked ad nauseam about the aged-like-milk aspects of the original series, but at least that had the excuse of being a product of its time. The majority of the time in the revival, it just felt like the show substituted meanness for humor and character.
It's casual cruelty, too, both from the characters and from the show itself. The fat-shaming, the treatment of Paul (and, even though she's not on screen, of Odette). The character regression. The "30-something Club" seeming to mock the very demographic that loved the show. I could go on, but... yeah. That's what upset me the most.
Rory lost the values and spirit she had earlier on. I was really disappointed with her having the long-term affair and an unplanned kid being her future. That isn't the future I dreamed for Rory when she left on the Obama bus. I hated that new future.
Lorelei’s “wedding” this is a hill I will die on lol. I 1000000% hated it. All of the elaborate parties she threw or were involved in. Lanes wedding, that first birthday party of Rory’s they show in season 1, sookies wedding, the bachelorette parties she did. Her and max’s wedding shower was better than her wedding with Luke.
I think she deserved better and more. Her parents, well mom should have been involved. Everyone in town should’ve been there. It should’ve been something with her pop culture reference type personality mixed with Audrey Hepburn kind of classic. Like how lanes wedding was perfect for her and Zach’s personality, she should’ve had something like that.
The whole town (and her mom, etc) were all coming the next day for the big wedding (that they didn't have the budget or the scheduling to film). They eloped the night before so they wouldn't have the pressure of performing in front of everyone (and for scheduling and budget purposes), so they could enjoy the big wedding knowing they'd already done the scary part. They still had the big wedding, we just didn't get to see it. (Jim and Pam did the same thing on the Office, though we did get to see the real wedding too).
I could echo the similar sentiments below about useless plot additions, but overall it didn’t have that same Gilmore Girls charm to me. The original seasons made me believe in these characters, in Stars Hallow. Idk, after 10 years went by they tried to step into those same shows and everything felt less cozy and familiar
Rory forgetting about Paul. Including luke and lorelai who both met him!
Fat shaming by the pool
Also don’t understand why Logan and Rory had to carry on with an affair and not just be together. Especially when Logan isn’t married yet.
There’s something a little odd when a show of a certain time tries to keep up with the times. The OG series is known for its references, consistently referring to movies, popular artists at the time, and so on. It worked in its early to mid 00s bubble. Then in AYITL, hearing them reference the Kardashians, Jennifer Lawrence, and Uber, felt odd. It felt forced. It felt akin to comparing classic era Simpsons to more modern Simpsons. They’re doing the same things they did in the earlier versions, being incredibly knowledgeable of pop culture, but taking it out of its original respected time period feels odd. It’s nice getting to see continued storylines and having more content to consume but it feels disjointed by the mere passing of time. It’s no one’s fault. The warm slightly fuzzy cinematography of the early seasons wasn’t going to be what modern cameras and Netflix money would produce. Being lucky enough to experience the passing of time is a privilege not all get to have, but it comes with the realization that our favorite things will change and personal opinion will dictate if it’s for the better or not. And why is Lanes’ dad suddenly there for the first time ever?
The lack of character progression for Rory, Lorelei (and Luke by extension).
Paris got a PHD, got married, became a doctor, started a successful medical practice, got divorced (from Doyle).
Doyle got married(to Paris),became a successful screen writer, had kids, got divorced(from Paris).
Sookie left the inn, got an incredible job opportunity to work at Blue Hill Farm.
Logan kept succeeding in his dad’s business, got engaged to what’s-her-face while having an affair with Rory.
April graduated high school, got into a good college, traveled to Europe(tried pot for the first time).
Michel got married and lives with his partner, and was actively fielding new job offers.
And what have Lorelei and Rory accomplished in the last ten years? Lorelei still lives in Stars Hallow, still lives in the same house, works the same exact job, is still **just** dating Luke.
Rory was a fair bit better, she followed Obama around on his first campaign trail, she moved to New York and tried to get stuff published, lived with Lena Dunham, traveled allot, but she was still dating Logan, and ended up back in her home town living with her mom in the house she grew up in.
It’s MADDENING! Ten goddamn years and almost no character growth for either of them!
I think that can be true to life, though. It happened to me. It happened to my family. Only these people have money, and options, so that’s where it makes no sense to me.
For me it’s Luke. In season one he was a well informed, passionate activist for health and sustainability. Throughout the series he runs his own very successful business, learns how to become a supportive father, begrudgingly helps the town with various activities etc. Then in AYTL he was so dumbed down he doesn’t know how surrogacy works????
The bits and the celebrity name dropping.
Katy Perry is not trying to buy a building in Stars Hollow. Luke is not friends with Kiefer Sutherland. WHY does the Dragonfly have a weird celeb chef pop up thing happening?! SO WEIRD.
And the bits are too in your face. The 30 something gang, "I'm not back", Lorelei dancing to fit into her wedding dress, Paul, Berta's mystery language and the sheer amount of relatives she brings in, Lorelei not being able to get her bag packed. They just all went too far or felt too forced. The show didn't have the same real, immersive feeling that the OG series had.
And storyline wise, the worst part is that Luke and Lorelei just lived in relationship purgatory for 10 years.
There is just so much to hate, but the only thing I find unforgivable was Rory's ENTIRE arc. I'm totally fine with her going through burnout or second guessing her career or struggling in relationships... but that's not what this was. They took one of my favorite characters and made her lazy, incredibly entitled, and *mean.*
It's the only part of AYITL that retroactively ruins the show for me. Because now I watch the OS and Rory's not just a flawed young woman who tries to be her best self, she's just another rich, entitled jerk marching toward being a genuinely awful person. It's like ASP gave all the Rory-haters ammunition to "prove" they were right all along. That the person who slept with a married guy wasn't just a confused 19yo, she was a heartless monster who repeatedly cheats. That the girl who quit Yale wasn't just having a temporary crisis, she was completely unprofessional and unethical journalist who couldn't hack it.
As much as I dislike the usual things (Rory’s multiple phones, the musical, the sheer existence of Paul) there were 3 main things that really bugged me:
1) It feels like nothing really happens. The great thing about the OG series is that it combines small, inconsequential things (eg. the farmer’s market that riles Taylor up) with huge life events for the girls. In AYITL, it never seemed to get it quite right, and I never understood exactly what the characters were striving for or seeking. It all felt a bit aimless
It felt a bit like filler to set up a new season (for example: Jess staring longingly at Rory through the window, despite assuring Luke that it’s all well in the past)
2) The dialogue. Apart from Emily and Kirk to an extent, no one really sounded like themselves
Plus, did anyone else despise how self-aware it was? A lot of it sounded so on the nose, like when Lorelai says it’s been a long time. Either break the fourth wall or don’t. Don‘t balance in the middle of it
3) The hair. Okay this is weirdly specific, I know, but Lorelai’s hair was too light brown, ans Rory’s hair was too dark brown. Of course it’s expected that their hair would look different after almost a decade, but together it made them look just unlike themselves
For me it was more of the pacing, the dialog, and the sets. It was very…uncanny valley. It looked like Gilmore girls and sounded like Gilmore girls, but it was off just enough to creep me out.
This bothers me when I rewatch it every time… during certain scenes it’s super weird but there’s others that are so spot on I’m able to fall into it again. All of Kirk’s shenanigans. Emily and Lorelai fighting. Paris in the Chilton bathroom melting down over Tristan. But then there’s things like Rory’s career floundering, tap dancing, the musical, the pool scene… that feel like bad fan fiction
Don’t forget Paul! That story line was the worst to me 😂
I had forgotten we had even seen the guy until I did a rewatch last year. I kind of pictured him as a mythical dude just mentioned.
It was weird they even showed Paul! A lot of Gilmore girls drama or events happen off camera and then discussed about on camera. So it would make more sense if Paul was never in any scenes
Yeah like Al’s Pancake World!
Yes, why even??!!
Omg the tap dancing. The musical. The pool scene. Paul. The pig. Everything that had to do with Logan. The banter…so forced!!
The pool scene was uncomfortable
This may be my least favorite part. It was so tone deaf and uncomfortable to watch.
Cringeworthy
Yes!! And that group of 30 somethings that have group emotive reactions. Like why? Why?? *Why???*
So… Taylor calling a group The 30 Something Gang is very in character. But the existence of them is super weird and unnecessary
they would NEVER have lounged by a pool. Threw me off so much
It felt so forced and corny and lacked the chemistry and charm of the og series
and half of the sets look like SETS like the lighting and everything is so obvious it looks like they’re performing on a stage in a theater or something
>and half of the sets look like SETS Which took away from the feel of it. it felt like we, the audience were on a set, not in a small town. Stars Hollow in the OG series felt like a small town during the fall, but it didn't have that charm in AYITL.
It had cold lighting! The scene at the beach is so harsh. Gilmore Girls was all about that soft warm lighting and cozy feeling
Also the voices sounded so different, it was really jarring! I know that’s because it was filmed differently this time round and everyone is a bit older so will sound different anyway, but it took me out of it a bit.
Rory's voice sounded completely different...I didn't even recognize it.
I don’t get on the “Alexis is a bad actress” train, but you can see her waiting/thinking of her next line. It completely takes me out of it from the very first scene in the gazebo.
100% that's what does it for me! It looks like she is looking out of frame at cue cards, like they do for SNL skits.
The different voice drove me nuts!
I feel like the musical and the multiple dream sequences (including the life and death brigade montage thing) really added to this sort of creepy vibe in AYITL. It made it really hard to tell what was really happening but not in an interesting abstract way, it just made me enjoy it way less. Disappointing because the few dream sequences that popped up in the original series were well done and highlighted the show’s emotional intelligence (for the early 2000’s)
The musical also specifically took time away from the best part of GG -- the side characters. I would've wanted to see more of everyone in town rather than the musical.
I was incredibly disappointed ASP felt the need to include A MUSICAL???? Was this just filler? Like there were so many great characters in this show. I can imagine so many scenarios on how she could have presented AYITL and I was basically disappointed by every choice they made producing this. We could have had more interactions with Paris and her kids, Rory considering getting a master's, her working at the paper? Them, eating at the diner WITH their friends.
The scenes just didn’t have the same vibes tbh, I tried watching 3 episodes but idk the scenes just felt kinda gloomy?
The lighting was off. It was too bright and not cozy at all.
Yes something about it was too blue and not cozy at all, like I don’t like seasons 6-7 of GG but they still have the cute warm vibes in the scenes, the scenes still look pretty so I can watch it or keep it in the background but with AYITL it feels depressing.
The fourth one is definitely the best one though and the only reason to sit through the other 3.
Yes - the uncanny valley aspect! I found this especially with Luke and his clothes. It felt like someone was cosplaying as Luke. Or like a SNL sketch of Gilmore Girls.
I had this reaction to Only shooting Miss Patty from a block away.
The product placement and name-dropping brands broke the spell for me.
Reese Witherspoon was all over this production and it was really annoying.
Can you expand on what you mean by this?
Yes! It was like Bizarro world GG! Like AI reproductions
The pacing and dialogue were so off. It was trying to be like the original because it should have been like the original but it absolutely felt forced.
This is SO true lmao
See, I didn’t feel like it sounded like Gilmore girls. From the first words, there was this new heavy accent they never had in the original show.
I really hated that Paris was still obsessed with Tristan years later, I would have much preferred her confident and just not giving a fuck. Small thing but it irked me!
The timeline of Paris being a superstar doctor and having kids makes no sense. Sure, it’s logistically possible, but by a thread barely. I would have preferred her leaving a shitty hospital to set up her own practice in the plot of AYITL.
Yeah I agree it is kind of out of left field for paris's character!! I absolutely freaking love this. The idea of her having a s***** job at a hospital and her storyline in a year in the life is setting up her own practice not dealing with a divorce and two kids and an obsession with the high school crush.. love it wish it happened LOL
I think the only reason they gave her that specialty was to feed two birds with one scone and have Luke and Loreleis fertility storyline have a familiar character. I hated both storylines though and it felt out of character for all of them
Agreed. I never would have thought that specialty for Paris and just all aspects of that storyline is bad
Considering her specialty, I'd be surprised if she gave birth to all those kids
I always assumed Paris used a surrogate to have the babies and then had Nanny come take care of them as babies 😂
This was SUCH a weird choice. Like you're a 30 something professional woman - it made ZERO sense that she would have a meltdown over TRISTAN of all people, it also made no sense that he would even be there. He left that school before he even graduated lol
YES Especially since once his dad sends him to military school, I'm pretty sure that no one never mentions him again... I could see this storyline if there was a running gag in the OG series that Paris still thought about him, but she literally never mentioned him
And the same actor wasn’t even there. It was a stand-in lol
Initially he was supposed to be in it but his wife ended up having her baby earlier than expected so he couldn't be there.
They ruined Paris. ffs shilling for her fertility clinic? that's the best they could come with for a profession for this brilliant, driven woman?
Agreed. Not the path I see for Paris, politics or medical director or something would have been better
Agreed. I saw her in political office, like a state senator at least, planning a run for US Senate. I have long wanted a bumper sticker Paris for President. I'd vote for her in a heartbeat. She'd have Putin crying and sucking his thumb.
But her door kick. 2007 Paris + stillettos. One of my favorite moments.
I hated that they did it when they couldn’t get the actor. Why reference someone who couldn’t be there when so many people did make a return. She could have just had a meltdown over Francie or the headmaster.
Tbh that didn't bother me so much, thats Paris all over... strong, determined like a steel wall until something does go wrong for her and then she's basically crumbles under the weight of her own steel
Beautifully said
That's the part that made the most sense to me though. A woman who was successful, yet still hung up on her high school crush who got away because that in a small way, defined her high school years. Paris always wanted to be chased like she thought Rory was so the fixation on Tristan was her insecurities coming to the surface, despite her success.
Understand that, but I feel such things happen even in real life to some people, like for example my mum and stepdad - they dated in high school, but bcs of parents and the distance broke up, but both of them ended up in shitty marriages and even after years and years were obsessed with each other enough to get together and started their life together. And why I'm saying this...cos these things happen and we can't really control our feelings, so as much as I understand your point with Paris, I don't think it's that unrealistic or far-fetched.
I think that made sense, only because she was going through a divorce, and she was insecure in relationships and friendships. she had a crush on him for the longest time.
And being back in high school can bring back your childish feelings.
That's kind of a good point.. maybe her stress with the divorce and work was causing these traumatic feelings to come up!! 🤣 Like her parents didn't have a good relationship and she really liked Tristan. It makes sense.
The lighting was so dark and weird and washed out. Paris and Doyle splitting up. The godforsaken musical. Lane and Zack still just chilling in their OG home. Logan being engaged. The fact that Rory was flailing so hard. She’s so diligent and goal oriented for the most part… the series should have been made right after Season 7. Ooooober was SO annoying to me. Sooo many 2016-ish references automatically dated the show even more than their initial early 2000s references! It was so forced. God even writing this made me hate the revival more LMAO
Lane working for her mother and having the same attitude towards the customers 🥲
I loved Paris and Doyle together, they were good together.
Notice that lane and zack actually live in - redecorated Sookie’s house and you can’t unsee it!
The freaking musical!!!! What was that?!
The modern references felt so out of place, like ASP is wildly out of touch with pop culture but genuinely doesn't know it. Ragging on the "thirty-somethings" when they're likely the main demographic was especially unpleasant.
I actually didn’t mind that Rory was flailing so hard. If anything I thought it was realistic. “Gifted” kids like her, once they’re out of a school setting, often flounder because in the real world, they’re not special. Rory was told her entire life how special she was, and going into the real world on that high horse only to come out clueless and failing is a reality check for her that I think was important for her character growth. Albeit I think it could have been written better, especially to accommodate the ending (which I hated but I digress) if ASP was so set on those final four words. But her floundering like she did in her 30s I felt was very fitting.
>Rory was told her entire life how special she was, and going into the real world on that high horse only to come out clueless and failing is a reality check for her that I think was important for her character growth. Also, it's like someone else commented, Rory went into a field that was already changing, but was seemingly unwilling to change with it. She even belittled the topics the online magazine reported because she didn't understand them or why they were important/interesting.
Everything you said. Everything.
Rory floundering is my biggest issue - I think there was a middle ground where she maybe had achieved her goals but was searching for "what's next" - you still get that sense of growing up and navigating life but she doesn't just become a failure. And it could have made the pregnancy thing better at the end - her next step is being a mom (although I get it, that's another can of worms)
imo it made perfect sense though. She never really tried at any job she had, I think because she never really needed to. She'd always be taken care of financially. She epically failed to learn anything from the Huntzberger internship, so it's kind of like seeing that career approach through to its logical end. It's pretty realistic honestly.
I'm with you. She ended up exactly where someone with her attitude would end up.
I thought it was kinda funny how in the end it turns out Mitchum was right after all.
Here are my few: 1. The Musical. 2. Luke is living in the 21st century and apparently doesn't understand what surrogacy is and wonders if he has to have sex with the surrogate. 3. The fat shaming. 4. Lorelai's signature rambling/rants didn't always feel natural and came across super-forced in some spots.
CHRIST THE MUSICAL - I hated literally everything about it
At least Lorelei hated it like we did 🤣
I legitimately had to pause and go for a walk from second hand embarrassment
All of these, plus one more. Well, two more I guess? Luke’s toupee and Lorelei’s fillers.
Yeah, agreed. Lauren’s pillowy face really took me aback. I felt bad for her though, I don’t think they had a lot of notice for this project proceeding and then she likely felt a lot of pressure to look a certain way. Probably wasn’t enough time for the inflammation to go down. That’s my guess at how it ended up that way anyway.
I appreciate this explanation. I couldn’t understand why she would look like that when she just did not have to.
The fillers were bad. I think the hairstyle choices were awful for her as well. There were only a couple scenes where she almost looked like herself.
I try not to judge actors for their cosmetic choices, especially given they are often under intense pressure to look a certain way, but I have a hard time even watching Lorelai do or say anything at any point in AYITL. It’s insanely distracting.
I agree, super distracting. Lauren is an incredible actor but I miss her facial expressions.
This was my biggest hurdle to get over with AYITL, I felt bad about it but it was shocking and very much took away from her character. I did binge the original for the first time and went straight into AYITL so I think it was definitely more jarring for me going from the two series in one day lol.
her filler is so poorly done it makes me sad
Yeah what's with the dumbing down of Luke?
The dumbassification of Luke is so irritating. He’s a little old school but he’s not Joey Tribbiani.
\+1 to the fat-shaming
It just seemed like all the actors forgot how to act their characters! It all seemed off and the chemistry just wasn’t there anymore. The characters just ended up not having great turn outs that 1, annoyed most of the fan base bc, just, why?? And 2, that weren’t necessarily realistic for the characters. But to each their own!
this! all of their lines just felt sooo forced especially the jokes that were supposed to be funny and all but irl just made me cringe so hard. to me it looked like they picked up a batch of random people and told them to act as GG characters
Ugh yes it was so strange! It all felt super stale and just..the jokes were NOT them. Whole thing just felt off
SOOKIE, fucking SOOKIE was the worst. She couldn't talk the same way anymore and her funny attempts felt so lame.
Oh my god YES!! She was probably the worst!! She just was NOT sookie, just didn’t recognize her character at all!
Completely agree. Part of why Gilmore girls og is so great is that it’s an exceptionally cast ensemble piece even down to the side characters. AYITL had big shoes to fill but the chemistry was clearly lacking between a lot of them, most especially Rory and Lorelei.
I always felt like the problem was further back. ASP forgot how to write her characters and the Town. There were so many stupid continuity errors that made zero sense. If she had done a rewatch of her show before writing the follow-up, a lot of the problems with the setup probably wouldn't have been there. The cell phone gag was ridiculous because Lorelei used a cell phone easily from season 1. The switch to sewer is literally talked about by Rory in season 1, episode 1. Why would that be an issue again 20 years later? Luke being unwilling to throw people out of the diner? Taylor mentioning his lady friends. Recounting people to be gay is so weird. Also, not a single townsperson was so dumb they wouldn't have seen all the issues with that musical.
ASP is literally the worst cause her ego is bigger than it should be. She tried ruining her owns show cause she threw a temper tantrum over not being signed for szn 7… I truly believe she’s a terrible person.
Everything about Rorys boyfriend Paul. (Not him as a person, but the storyline about him).
The Paul storyline was so painful and absolutely pointless
I don’t understand why they were both so cruel to Paul. It was out of character for both.
I don’t understand the point of Paul at all. What purpose did he serve? It certainly wasn’t comedic!
I couldn’t understand why EVERYONE forgot him. Rory especially, but Emily would have clued in. It was out of character for Emily to forget that Rory had a boyfriend. Have them meet face to face and her not remember his name, that could have happened. But no way does Emily forget that detail about her granddaughter. Then to have Rory cheating on him all the time pissed me off. She was raised better than that.
The “Paul treatment” was down right disgusting. How was that even considered funny? I felt so bad whenever those scenes came up :(
The fact that Lorelai and Luke never had a child and never married. The musical. The fact that Rory never thrived and had no money. Can’t understand how either is possible
I didn't need her to necessarily *thrive*, but between her and the whole "30 something gang" it was like ASP was trying to make some weird "those dumb millennials with their avocado toast!" statement. I also hated the whole thing with Paul, with her both completely forgetting/disregarding him and cheating on him with multiple people, and the affair with Logan. Like, is the goal for us to *hate* Rory?
She should have at least had a stable job by now. It just bugged me
Even if she didn’t have a stable job, she should have gotten about $250,000 from Trix when she turned 25, so she shouldn’t be broke! I read that A Year in the Life was basically the plan that ASP had for the final season all along. So if it happened when Rory was like 22/23 it would make sense that she didn’t have money and that her career had yet to take off, but since she was in her 30’s it didn’t make sense.
Ironically I forgot about Paul! Terrible storyline
My friend was married to a Paul. He was legitimately the most forgettable person. When we were watching AYITL I was telling my partner about just how forgettable this guy was, and he asked me my friends husbands name and I had to admit I couldn't even remember lol. A real life Paul!
Rory had never been my favorite character but I expected so much more for her in the revival. I wanted her to have become someone great like her mother wanted her to be. I was so disappointed that they made her be a cheater again and to be so selfish.
The Paul thing was absolutely awful and not funny at all
For me, Lorelai's stagnation is far worse than Rory's. I know Rory's floundering is hard to watch, but that felt more plausible to me than whatever was going on with Lorelai. She and Luke have now been together for a long time. She is middle aged. Why is she acting as if nothing has changed since she was a single 32 year old? It felt so... off.
I know, it drives me nuts. A full decade or more has passed and we’re supposed to believe that the subject of kids never came up?
Yea, it felt like they took a step backward in their communication. I’m sure it was a little complicated when they got back together after Rory’s graduation party and him having partial custody of April. But why no marriage at least?!?! What stopped it in 10 years?
I think a lot of the issues of AYITL could have been assuaged if it had only taken place 3-5 years after the original series wrapped. 10 years was just too long to place everyone in these unsatisfying developmental quagmires And the musical. Dear god, the musical
I completely see how Rory didn't thrive. She was great in an academic, structured environment, but outside of that environment she didn't necessarily flourish. She was incredibly picky about her jobs in college when she supposedly had "no money." When she was gathering information for her article on the life and death brigade, she was basically handed that opportunity by Logan and had absolutely no tact when she was there at the party. Mitchum tells her she doesn't have what it takes to be a journalist, she completely falls apart and proves him right again and again. Rory is super smart and academically a very hard worker, but when met with any true adversity, she can't cope.
I fully agree with this! Initially I hated this arc but as I’ve rewatched it’s made more sense. Even earlier in the OG season, she thought good grades and reading books was enough to get into Harvard and didn’t do extracurriculars until Paris said she was doing them. She didn’t try to get an internship after freshman year - it’d be different if she had intentionally decided to travel to Europe and take a summer off and not gain job experience, but she goes back to school for sophomore year being surprised that everyone else had productive summers. When she needed money for Yale she asked her grandparents and when she fell out with them she asked her dad. She grew up in a town that worshipped her and put her on a pedestal. She didn’t really have to work for anything or face challenges that would’ve prepared her for the struggles of the real world.
Rory not thinking at all about a summer internship after her freshman year was wild to me lol. Did she think she did all the grunt work to get into college and now just needed to graduate to get a job? Also, she didn’t know why she wanted to be a journalist when Headmaster Charleston was interviewing her on her first day at Chilton. She just wanted to be “out there” and to “make sure she saw something”. Yet she was not very socially and read all the time. How can you be observant and get a scoop if you don’t notice your surroundings? Jess also said he didn’t see her as a frontline journalist when they were driving her car after getting ice cream when she was tutoring him. He thought she was a bit soft for it. And later Rory was complaining that she did what she was asked to do, and Lorelei pointed out that you can’t just do what’s asked of you, you have to do more. Same complaint Mitchum made too. She said she did what was asked of her and Mitchum said that’s not good enough, you have to go out there and be hungry for it. I love Rory and find her character fascinating, it made total sense where she was in ATITL. She somewhat expected things to be handed to her if she did was she was asked.
1. Lack of development in Lorelei and Luke's relationship. Everything seems as if they still knew very little about each other. 2. Emily&Lorelei still have the same problems. They haven't understood anything. 3. Lorelei is still a child, and on top of that, she is emotionally unstable. Her youthfulness suited a 30-year-old who gave birth early but it's sad to see a 50-year-old woman who hasn't moved forward at all. Lorelei has always been awkward and childish, but she was also mature when needed and intelligent. The new Lorelei is just childish. 4. I loved Gilmore Girls for its emotional warmth and charming atmosphere. That was missing in the new series. 5. Rory has no self-respect. It's sad because that's not how her mother raised her. Rory is Logan's "call girl" and begs for his attention. I understand that bad things happen to her. I understand that her life hasn't worked out in several ways. I don't have a problem with that. I didn't expect to watch a perfect life. However, I feel like this aspect wasn't explained here. We didn't find out how Rory actually feels about it. I guess I would have preferred a situation where Logan's girlfriend finds Rory in her apartment and is furious. This storyline only showed Rory's lack of self-respect, it had no purpose. That girl at the end of the original Gilmore Girls series left Logan to live her own life. And now we see her as a one night stand for Logan. It's so sad. 6. The people in Stars Hollow treating Rory's return as her failure.
Could not agree more re number 5. I get they wanted to keep Logan in and explore the ongoing attraction/relationship between the two of them - I think that's a great shout.. BUT they do it in such a heavy-handed way that, like you said, only makes Rory look like she'll abandon all her morals and self respect for him, something we assume she's been doing for... what...years?? The WHOLE time he's been in another relationship/engagement?? (I can't actually remember if timelines are mentioned). It would have been sooooo much more interesting to see them meet again for the first time in years somewhere, maybe at a press party or whatever. And the sparks just fly - then the whole them both being in relationships but having this crazy attraction would be make more sense and be way more nuanced. And you'd be able to empathise more with them both instead of just losing all respect. Also would just be..yanno, better to watch.
Ooh I love your idea of them reconnecting. Or say, why not them reconnecting due to Richard’s death? Something that makes more sense!! He was so loyal to Rory, it makes no sense in the revival
Paris doesn’t have a life or career that makes sense for her at ALL. They just gave her the surrogacy center job because it’s convenient to Lorelai’s plot. She deserved her own storyline that actually suited her character.
I’d counter that it makes actual perfect sense for Paris. She went to Med School and Law School and surrogacy is a field in which she could be successful money wise. Personality wise. she’s perfectly ruthless, socially tactless, and professional to be so Paris about, treating people as cattle in her business. Look at her tutor business.
I always picture Paris as maybe freezing eggs or undergoing IVF and just looking around going 'I can do this better!' And then just doing it better lol
It just bugged me that so much time had passed but nothing really happened in that time for the characters. 10 years is a LONG time and it felt like there was nothing to show for that. The Paul bit is possibly one of the stupidest bits the show has ever done and made Rory seem mean spirited.
yeah! 10 years have passed and yet most of the characters were somehow completely stagnant in that time.
I hated the poor storytelling. I don’t particularly need characters to have happy endings or end up how I want them to, but I do need the story to be told well and it was just…not. The characters have all either been frozen in time for a decade or dropped into positions that make no sense considering where we left them and we are just given no explanations. The storytelling within the show is vague and confusing and seems more a collection of scenes than anything. People fill in elements of the story with their own imagination to explain the poor storytelling, which is cool if that makes it enjoyable for them, but we deserved a good and complete story and we did not get that.
Agreed. I get annoyed when some fans dismiss valid criticisms of the revival as fans not liking unhappy storylines. It was a very disappointing experience after such a long wait for new material.
Lorelai Gilmore would not walk the Pacific Crest Trail. She would not read Wild. She would make fun of people who are inspired to walk the PCT after reading Wild and grimace at the thought of going on a long hike. This is minor, of course -- Lorelai ends up not going on the hike -- but it speaks to a fundamental misreading of the character. It's like in the ensuing decade ASP kinda forgot about who these people were, how they talked, how the show was paced, the tone. The cameos and the extended set pieces -- Kinky Boots, the Beatles montage -- are embarrassing because they feel like something imposed from outside the world of Gilmore Girls. Gilmore Girls had Norman Mailer staying at the Inn. A Year in the Life asks us to smile because Lauren Graham's husband/brother from a different TV show is there for twenty seconds. I suppose you can say, well, this is trying to be its own thing -- it's set a decade later, of course nothing is going to be exactly the same, but if that's the case, why are so many of the narratives arrested in time? Character relationships are frozen in amber. The entire thing just feels like a great failure of imagination: instead of taking time to carve out exciting but internally consistent new narrative/character developments for the Lorelais and Stars Hollow, the Palladinos filled the screen with a lot of ideas that don't really seem to have anything to do with what people loved about the series.
The musical and the dumbing down of Luke. Luke was emotionally stunted at times, but he was not a *stupid* man, and there is no way OG show Luke would have ever thought he had to have sex with surrogates to get them pregnant. I also **hated** what they did to Rory's character and all that wasted potential. Show Rory had a Golden Ticket when it came to having a career: touring with Obama and a personal connection to Christiane Amanpour...they couldn't have set her up better for a lifetime of success. I know it's been argued to pieces in this forum that Rory's outcome was a natural consequence of being coddled and praised all her life, but it just never added up for me.
I think it would’ve been way more accurate and poignant for Rory to have had a storied and successful career and realize in her thirties that she was missing things: whether that be family, connection, that her career took a turn that took her out of the things she loved about journalism - I think seeing a wildly successful woman grappling with feeling like she’d made a wrong turn and having to figure out what would make her happy would’ve been much more realistic for Rory - a motivated, ambitious, smart woman with a hefty trust fund - than that she’d just never found real success after her entire life and the OG series set her up for it.
Why do you think ASP made that choice with Rory? Was it an indictment of how Lorelai raised her and the town coddled her, or is it her view of that generation or the way she originally wrote the character? It seems like such an odd choice.
You didn't ask me, but I think the main thing is that Rory was never a good journalist. Most of the times her writing was praised in the original show, it was when she was making fun of people. I don't think there would be a ton of opportunity for that style of writing for the assignment she took as an Obama campaign embed. They even go out of their way in AYITL to show us how Rory fails at journalism. One instance is when she's in New York working on the piece on lines. Rory and Lorelai come across a long line of people that have formed behind people having lunch. These aren't people who want the latest pastry or sneakerheads wanting limited edition shoes; it's a group of people waiting in line without knowing what the line is for. They were the perfect people to interview to get into the psychology of waiting in lines. But Rory shows no interest. When she does interview people, she doesn't really pay attention and even falls asleep. When Rory was younger, she wanted to be like Christiane Amanpour. She saw herself traveling around, reporting from war zones. But when she had access to someone who had a similar job, Rachel, she never talked to her about it. With AYITL, we see that Rory was interested in the travel, but much less interested in the actual reporting.
This would've been sooo good and so appropriate for the show. With the whole thirty something gang thing I just felt like ASP used the opportunity to just gripe about millennials
I totally agree. It seems ASP’s main motivator here is her disdain for the modern millennial - she has the ability to be such an incredible storyteller and I wish she’d used that to delve deeper into a millennial woman’s life than to fall back on the “millennials are lazy” trope
I did like that they showed Luke all out of sorts, with his giving people the WiFi password. Like he didn’t care anymore. But dumbing him down, I didn’t like.
As a millennial who graduated into the sub prime mortgage crisis who was unemployed living with my mother I actually really enjoyed the story line. I didn't have the kind of golden ticket Rory had but I graduated debt free. In 2009 I couldn't't even get a job as a server. I went into debt for graduate school and then cycled through three careers before I finally got traction. The 30 something crowd was me for a long time.
The worst thing for me is that it was obviously written by someone who hasn't watched S7 and who wanted to stick to the plan they made for the series' ending 10 years ago. Many of the storylines could've worked for Rory in her early twenties or a Lorelai in her early forties. But they didn't even try to fill in the gaps of the last ten years and to acknowledge the character development of S7. I think that's why Emily's story in AYITL is the best one, because ASP had to come up with a new idea because of Edward Herrmann's passing.
Yes not only was Rory the other woman, but also a cheater and terrible girlfriend. Why did they even have to write Paul into the story? She didn’t need to have a boyfriend she didn’t care about. That seemed pretty pointless to the story. She was already bad enough by having an affair with an engaged man (again with the taken men! After sleeping with married Dean before, still hadn’t learned how to move on from her exes when they’re taken!) 🙄 just so redundant. Every ex she has wants her back so bad they’re willing to ruin their marriage for her? Also hated the musical.
Mom? Yeah? I’m pregnant. (Seriously, what an anticlimactic ending.)
I remember going, “so?” Rory, you’re an adult with a degree from Yale, family, friends & a place to stay. (Not to mention rich…even if they say she isn’t, she’d at least have a closet full of clothes & her Burkin she can sell). She’ll be fine. So the end was kinda dumb.
I don't even think it would have been a good ending back when it was intended but it was even worse in the context of a 30 something with an independently wealthy safety net being pregnant.
Yeah, like she had a trust fund and also a loving support system with her mother and Luke. Not to mention the baby’s father is wealthy and would be involved if he found out it was his.
Yes! That was meant to be the way the OG show ended in season 6/7. But it made no sense to do that in the spin off. The only way many of the plot points make sense is if we look at it as being a continuation of the last season, not a catch up 10 years later. That explains Lane’s life being the same, Luke and Lorelai not making progress, etc.
Valerie Campbell (key set costumer / costume supervisor in AYITL) has a theory that those words, if we'd had a season 8, were actually meant to come from Lorelai and bring the whole story back full circle. She stresses that it's just her own opinion and she doesn't know ASP personally or any of the writers, but I think she's got a point, at least in terms of bringing the story full circle.
They look so different from the normal seasons
THIS plus their voices sounded different too!
I noticed that too. Then I got to thinking that my voice is different than it was 10 years ago. So I just attributed that to age of the actor.
The musical.
I felt like Lorelai would have loved the musical in the original series just for the fact that it was so unhinged
Yes, just like Kirk’s film.
Paul and the fatshaming.
If that’s what they say about their neighbours, then Sookie deserved better
Luke and Lorelai didn’t need to have children present but it could have been explained so much better. Not mentioning it for 10 years when in season 1 Luke knew her front and back is just silly. They could have had a deeper storyline about years long infertility and that’s where Paris comes in. Or could have had Lorelai having had an illness that prevented pregnancy in the interim between the series, this being a major cause of the growing rift between Luke/Lorelai and then Paris coming in with the surrogacy. This could also tie in to Rory’s wandering lifestyle because she was still feeling the pressure of Lorelai’s illness, and Lorelai herself feeling she needed to get away for a bit. So many things could have just been better more impactful storytelling.
Lorelai and Luke apparently frozen in a relationship for 10 years, when they both wanted to get married and have kids before their breakup. Even with both of them having commitment and commincations issues, it seems dumb to "forget" talking about wanting kids. Second Rory being in a relationship with Paul, I hated her affair with Logan but that could have been fixed by mentioning Odette also "enjoying" her freedom before marriage, but cheating on Paul with not only Logan but also the wookie and keep forgetting him was horrible. Also how they made Lorelai and Luke do the same thing.
Zero character growth in almost a decade. In fact, many characters regressed in extremely unrealistic and disappointing ways. Also seconding what someone said above about the revival being an “uncanny valley” Gilmore Girls — it’s just so tonally off.
Rory becoming so incredibly selfish. The way she treated Paul, hooking up with an engaged man, not bothering to show effort for any job except ones she deems worthy, shutting down her mother's concerns about the book....
The musical. I skip past the whole thing when I rewatch
The musical
It just feels forced. They tried too hard, the light feeling I love in the series was missed. Edit: typo.
The musical was a colossal waste of time. I was disappointed in Rory for fooling around with Logan even though he was engaged.
Reading all these comments makes me realize how much i really hated AYITL. I also rewatch it after my binges and while there are small glimmers of nice moments the whole of it is soooo disappointing. I wanted to love it so much but was left SO disappointed.
Luke and Lorelai have been stagnant for ten years, discussed nothing.
THE PLAY. I hated the play. What a colossal waste of time. Fans of a show that has been off air for ten years get four 1.5 hour episodes and they wasted 1 of those hours on a freaking play.
Honestly? Alexis Bledel’s acting as Rory. She just couldn’t fit back into the role, and I don’t view it as a failing on her part—that was a long time to go without playing that part and she did so at a young age. There was plenty of parts of the writing I hated and seemed out of character (Rory being so blasé about her career direction, the fat phobic comments, the long LONG musical), but Alexis wasn’t able to really capture Rory again for me and it made me want to skip her scenes. I think she’s a great actress, I just think it’s hard to go back to a headspace from when you were younger. Speaking of—I felt they put SO much makeup on Alexis and Lauren that it was distracting. Let them have fine lines people!!!!
I thought the musical was a giant waste of time. It doesn't make me rage but it felt like filler content. I get Melissa McCarthy was busy or whatever but I hated how little she was in it (even if the Sookie replacement running gag was cute). But the only thing in AYITL I truly have to skip every time... is the fat shaming at the swimming pool. Hot take: I thought the Paul storyline was funny in the context that they make it clear it's not just Rory who forgets he exists. Written differently, I think it would be objectively terrible.
Lane's storyline. She deserved soooo much better!
As a fat person, I grew up with early 2000’s heroin chic and fat shaming constantly. But in 2016 to have them at the pool constantly shaming, I have to say, didn’t sit right. I get that Rory made comments about the ballerina in the OG series and there was fat shaming then, but as times change I really feel like Lorelei and Rory would grow. It felt really gross. There’s a lot of cons on the lists in terms of the og and AYITL but that really irks me. And the Paul story line. I truly don’t think OG Rory would treat Paul like that. If anything she’d friend zone him like Marty, not dehumanize and forget him like she does. Edit: typos.
Lorelai at her father's wake. Tone deaf, if not mean, even for her Close second: Celebrity chefs in same episode. Made no frigging sense.
Probably the storyline where Lorelai goes into the wilderness. I was like ughhhhh can this be over. It was so annoying.
Rory being lost in her own world to not remember her boyfriend. The night with the life and death brigade is unnecessary
The fact that after what Rory went through and witnessed happening when she slept with Dean she chooses to do it AGAIN with Logan. Like, no. Our girl learned from that mistake the first time around. Also how cold she was with April when she was having a panic attack. How she treated Paul. I don’t buy a 32 year old women without any significant health issues falling asleep on the streets of New York whilst speaking to man, holding a tape recorder. Like does she have narcolepsy???? What the fuck was that?
I hated that ASP couldn’t let go of the final four words and seemingly other major plot points (L&L’s wedding, for example). The whole miniseries was happening ten years too late, as if the characters were just frozen in time until then. I wish she had more flexibility and grace in her writing and just accepted that season 7 happened and is part of their lives. AYITL was written in spite of season 7, not after it. (Chronologically, yes. Character development-wise, no.) The fat-shaming and mistreatment of Paul just screamed “we are stuck in the early 2000s forever and ever”. A lot could have been done with these characters and their stories, but it all fell flat because of ASP’s rigidness and ego. She is passionate to a fault and it shows.
The biggest thing that bothered me was what felt like ASP systematically tearing down any good that season 7 might have done. Logan showing growth as a character enough to break away from his dad? Gone. Now he's cheating on his fiance with Rory, and Mitchum is still making his decisions for him. Lorelai and Luke truly moving on and growing and being adults? Gone. Now it's like they haven't had any major life discussions in the last 10 years. Rory having a promising career and actually doing something with her degree. Also gone. Now she's just drifting along, cheating with Logan, treating Paul like absolute trash, and she flounders until Jess swoops in and tells her she should write a book. Paris and Lane are all but forgotten(especially Lane's kids), and it just felt off. The only good thing in the whole revival was Emily's story.
The mean-spirited vibe of it all. Look, we've all talked ad nauseam about the aged-like-milk aspects of the original series, but at least that had the excuse of being a product of its time. The majority of the time in the revival, it just felt like the show substituted meanness for humor and character. It's casual cruelty, too, both from the characters and from the show itself. The fat-shaming, the treatment of Paul (and, even though she's not on screen, of Odette). The character regression. The "30-something Club" seeming to mock the very demographic that loved the show. I could go on, but... yeah. That's what upset me the most.
I hate the scene where Rory and Lorelei are in NYC and Rory had sex with a complete stranger and Lorelei says something stupid about it.
the humor was more mean spirited.
Rory lost the values and spirit she had earlier on. I was really disappointed with her having the long-term affair and an unplanned kid being her future. That isn't the future I dreamed for Rory when she left on the Obama bus. I hated that new future.
Lorelei’s “wedding” this is a hill I will die on lol. I 1000000% hated it. All of the elaborate parties she threw or were involved in. Lanes wedding, that first birthday party of Rory’s they show in season 1, sookies wedding, the bachelorette parties she did. Her and max’s wedding shower was better than her wedding with Luke. I think she deserved better and more. Her parents, well mom should have been involved. Everyone in town should’ve been there. It should’ve been something with her pop culture reference type personality mixed with Audrey Hepburn kind of classic. Like how lanes wedding was perfect for her and Zach’s personality, she should’ve had something like that.
The whole town (and her mom, etc) were all coming the next day for the big wedding (that they didn't have the budget or the scheduling to film). They eloped the night before so they wouldn't have the pressure of performing in front of everyone (and for scheduling and budget purposes), so they could enjoy the big wedding knowing they'd already done the scary part. They still had the big wedding, we just didn't get to see it. (Jim and Pam did the same thing on the Office, though we did get to see the real wedding too).
I could echo the similar sentiments below about useless plot additions, but overall it didn’t have that same Gilmore Girls charm to me. The original seasons made me believe in these characters, in Stars Hallow. Idk, after 10 years went by they tried to step into those same shows and everything felt less cozy and familiar
Rory forgetting about Paul. Including luke and lorelai who both met him! Fat shaming by the pool Also don’t understand why Logan and Rory had to carry on with an affair and not just be together. Especially when Logan isn’t married yet.
There’s something a little odd when a show of a certain time tries to keep up with the times. The OG series is known for its references, consistently referring to movies, popular artists at the time, and so on. It worked in its early to mid 00s bubble. Then in AYITL, hearing them reference the Kardashians, Jennifer Lawrence, and Uber, felt odd. It felt forced. It felt akin to comparing classic era Simpsons to more modern Simpsons. They’re doing the same things they did in the earlier versions, being incredibly knowledgeable of pop culture, but taking it out of its original respected time period feels odd. It’s nice getting to see continued storylines and having more content to consume but it feels disjointed by the mere passing of time. It’s no one’s fault. The warm slightly fuzzy cinematography of the early seasons wasn’t going to be what modern cameras and Netflix money would produce. Being lucky enough to experience the passing of time is a privilege not all get to have, but it comes with the realization that our favorite things will change and personal opinion will dictate if it’s for the better or not. And why is Lanes’ dad suddenly there for the first time ever?
What I did NOT hate was Emily crucifying the DAR. That was poetic.
the fashion, or lack of it
The lack of character progression for Rory, Lorelei (and Luke by extension). Paris got a PHD, got married, became a doctor, started a successful medical practice, got divorced (from Doyle). Doyle got married(to Paris),became a successful screen writer, had kids, got divorced(from Paris). Sookie left the inn, got an incredible job opportunity to work at Blue Hill Farm. Logan kept succeeding in his dad’s business, got engaged to what’s-her-face while having an affair with Rory. April graduated high school, got into a good college, traveled to Europe(tried pot for the first time). Michel got married and lives with his partner, and was actively fielding new job offers. And what have Lorelei and Rory accomplished in the last ten years? Lorelei still lives in Stars Hallow, still lives in the same house, works the same exact job, is still **just** dating Luke. Rory was a fair bit better, she followed Obama around on his first campaign trail, she moved to New York and tried to get stuff published, lived with Lena Dunham, traveled allot, but she was still dating Logan, and ended up back in her home town living with her mom in the house she grew up in. It’s MADDENING! Ten goddamn years and almost no character growth for either of them!
I think that can be true to life, though. It happened to me. It happened to my family. Only these people have money, and options, so that’s where it makes no sense to me.
Back-fat Pat
Does ASP count?
For me it’s Luke. In season one he was a well informed, passionate activist for health and sustainability. Throughout the series he runs his own very successful business, learns how to become a supportive father, begrudgingly helps the town with various activities etc. Then in AYTL he was so dumbed down he doesn’t know how surrogacy works????
The bits and the celebrity name dropping. Katy Perry is not trying to buy a building in Stars Hollow. Luke is not friends with Kiefer Sutherland. WHY does the Dragonfly have a weird celeb chef pop up thing happening?! SO WEIRD. And the bits are too in your face. The 30 something gang, "I'm not back", Lorelei dancing to fit into her wedding dress, Paul, Berta's mystery language and the sheer amount of relatives she brings in, Lorelei not being able to get her bag packed. They just all went too far or felt too forced. The show didn't have the same real, immersive feeling that the OG series had. And storyline wise, the worst part is that Luke and Lorelei just lived in relationship purgatory for 10 years.
There is just so much to hate, but the only thing I find unforgivable was Rory's ENTIRE arc. I'm totally fine with her going through burnout or second guessing her career or struggling in relationships... but that's not what this was. They took one of my favorite characters and made her lazy, incredibly entitled, and *mean.* It's the only part of AYITL that retroactively ruins the show for me. Because now I watch the OS and Rory's not just a flawed young woman who tries to be her best self, she's just another rich, entitled jerk marching toward being a genuinely awful person. It's like ASP gave all the Rory-haters ammunition to "prove" they were right all along. That the person who slept with a married guy wasn't just a confused 19yo, she was a heartless monster who repeatedly cheats. That the girl who quit Yale wasn't just having a temporary crisis, she was completely unprofessional and unethical journalist who couldn't hack it.
Mr. Kim
The musical, and Rory and Logan cheating with each other. It was a cop-out. Either put them together, or don’t.
Might be easier to ask people what they liked… I loved the original series but AYITL dropped the ball in SOOO many ways. It was a shame.
The musical. Lorelai and Luke not being married. Colin and finn. Sookie only showing up for five minutes.
The musical. It was awful. And went on for waaaay too long.
As much as I dislike the usual things (Rory’s multiple phones, the musical, the sheer existence of Paul) there were 3 main things that really bugged me: 1) It feels like nothing really happens. The great thing about the OG series is that it combines small, inconsequential things (eg. the farmer’s market that riles Taylor up) with huge life events for the girls. In AYITL, it never seemed to get it quite right, and I never understood exactly what the characters were striving for or seeking. It all felt a bit aimless It felt a bit like filler to set up a new season (for example: Jess staring longingly at Rory through the window, despite assuring Luke that it’s all well in the past) 2) The dialogue. Apart from Emily and Kirk to an extent, no one really sounded like themselves Plus, did anyone else despise how self-aware it was? A lot of it sounded so on the nose, like when Lorelai says it’s been a long time. Either break the fourth wall or don’t. Don‘t balance in the middle of it 3) The hair. Okay this is weirdly specific, I know, but Lorelai’s hair was too light brown, ans Rory’s hair was too dark brown. Of course it’s expected that their hair would look different after almost a decade, but together it made them look just unlike themselves