Nine years have passed since the Gilmore Girls left our screens, but now they're back in Stars Hollow exclusively on Netflix and things have certainly changed quite a bit in the small town.
The first episode, titled 'Winter' kicks off with Lorelei clutching her old and trusty coffee cup in the gazebo, whilst Rory (Alexis Bedel) sits beside her with a smile upon her face. The mother and daughter duo look as if they have aged about a day and the close relationship still bubbles away.
Rory, fresh off a plane having just returned from London, attempts to deliver one of the duo's classic pop-culture-reference-packed sentences only to be left winded and gasping for breath. "Haven't done that in a while," says Lorelai (Lauren Graham) whilst Rory shoots back "Felt good" instantly.
All the central elements that made fans fall in love with the show in the first place are still very much intact. There's quick-fire dialogue, caffeine-fuelled rants, Luke grumbling away whilst wearing his flannel shirt and backwards baseball cap uniform and the usual bickering between him and his partner, Lorelai.
A whole host of familiar faces are back once again to celebrate the revival in style, including: the lovable Miss Patty, Taylor Doose, oddball Kirk, Lane Kim, Paris, Michel and - amazingly - every single one of Rory's exes. It's like a high school reunion, with added drama.
The Gilmore Girls revival is filled to the brim with nostalgia and in-jokes that the casual watcher might not 'get' upon initial views. Despite the idyllic facade there's plenty of old wounds that refuse to heal and Lorelai's relationship with her mother Emily Gilmore is very much at the heart of that.
The pain of their shared history is still visible and mutual feelings of rejection and resentment pester the two relentlessly throughout the series. No amount of counselling can help them better their woes but they get there eventually, albeit through an unconventional route - but that's what makes them Gilmore Girls.
The most heated topic of discussion in the series is Rory Gilmore. At the age of 32 (the same age as her mother was when the original series started) she faces the seemingly endless millennial struggle that a lot of people in their 20s/30s will be somewhat familiar with.
The youngest Gilmore is working as a journalist but on a freelance basis. The income is irregular and leaves her struggling to meet ends at times, with her often remarking (read: complaining about) how broke she is. She seems to have a chip on her shoulder and acts selfishly, as if the world owes her something and it doesn't serve her well throughout the series.
The biggest flaw with the revival is that Rory is just too hard to like or empathise with. Her own mother finds it difficult at one point, even if she does enable her entitled behaviour the majority of the time. Rory has a lot of life lessons to learn yet but she's getting there. If the series' final four (and long-awaited) words are anything to go by, she will have a lot of growing up to do in a short space of time but this is a review relatively free of spoilers.
Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life has glaringly been made with love at the heart of it and the cameos of former cast members make the revival so glorious and light-hearted, even if that was to be expected. Most revivals in the digital age are fuelled by former cast manipulating a series' legacy for money. It's a shame but it happens to many, however the Gilmore Girls revival isn't one of those.
Words Lauren Wade
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