Gilmore Girls, A Year in the Life, ‘Spring’
Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Emily (Kelly Bishop) do group therapy sessions together while Rory (Alexis Bledel) toils away in London on a book deal that is becoming more difficult by the day.
We met Mr. Kim for the first time ever! That was historic.
Besides that, “Spring” had a lot to offer. Where “Winter” was the beginning of the revival and felt just a tad off, “Spring” hits its stride. The actors felt more settled in their characters. The repertoire felt more genuine. This could also be me settling into the world again. The fact of the matter is that these women have grown. It’s been 10 years and lots can and do happen in 10 years.
One of my bigger problems with “Winter” was a lack of Rory. She didn’t feel there. “Spring” was hers. I have huge moral issues with her relationship with Logan (Matt Czuchry) though. I was kind of excited to see a return to their relationship in “Winter” but to find out in “Spring” that they are cheating and Logan has a fiancée sucked. Oh crap, they were cheating the whole time anyway. I forgot about Paul (Jack Carpenter). Though I always loved Logan because he was so cute and confident, if I knew him in real life I would despise him. He’s an arrogant asshole. But Matt Czuchry’s character on The Good Wife was more redeemable and less douchey so their characters slightly blurred and I liked Logan more this time around.
The path Rory’s life took and her crisis that starts to bleed through the cracks feel very relatable. I feel this way now, coming out of college broke and with no idea what to do next. It’s a common and easily understood storyline. It’s also refreshing to see Rory stumbling. This isn’t the same as her Yale dropout. That was a defeat and a retreat. She got to live the rich kid life for a few months. This time around it’s different. She isn’t being handed anything. She’s floating in the ether and her perfect façade is falling away.
Rory swallows her pride and asks Logan to ask his father to put in a word for her at Conde Nast. She finally gets the meeting they had been putting off for months but doesn’t get any concrete jobs from them. When Naomi ends their book partnership, Rory calls Conde Nast up and says she will write an article for them for free. Lorelai joins her in New York City to help research and interview people who stand in lines all over the city. It was hilarious and classic Gilmore Girls. While Rory works, Lorelai flits around and smoozes. She ends up getting everything people were waiting in line for by making friends throughout the day.
The New York trip was very satisfying. Lorelai and Rory were together for the longest time since the revival started. They seemed to be back to classic them, which was great and understandably hard to do since Rory no longer lives at home.
Lorelai and Emily’s therapy sessions were not satisfying. They don’t ever resolve anything. It’s their same old relationship, with neither really listening and neither really saying what they mean or want. The mean letter Emily brings up in their second session? Never brought up again. That should have been tied up. Also the therapist is the worst. She is not good at her job and she’s a horrible, nothing character. Like for the love of God, Lorelai and Emily don’t have the greatest relationship in the world but the therapist is too overwhelmed. She should be able to handle it.
Luke (Scott Patterson) and Lorelai are deepening their natural pattern of awful communication. It feels too similar to what broke them up in season 6. It’s a ground nobody wanted trodden on in the first place, so why would we want to see it again. They have apparently learned nothing.
“Spring” ending with Rory moving home is awesome. I mean, it isn’t necessarily awesome for her self-esteem or where a 32-year-old would wanna be but I think it’ll make “Summer” a great episode and chock full of Rory/Lorelai moments.
