I'm so happy they opened with Winter, because -- aside from echoing the Carole King song, her being a muse for the show and all -- it means the first thing we saw was Lorelai looking dreamy in a cute coat and hat, clutching a coffee, which is exactly the weather I wish I was experiencing at any given moment. Rory pops up, back from London after I can't recall how long, and the two slip into their old rapport. The delight on the actresses' faces here is, I think, real, even if Bledel looked at first like she was reading from cue cards. I'm sure they didn't shoot it sequentially, necessarily, but the effect is a bit that she took that long to warm up her patter chops.
It also feels SO RIGHT that Lorelai is wearing wide boot cut jeans. She never struck me as a skinnies person... which, no real spoiler here, ends up a wrong observation. But for now, this felt right, as do Rory's knee boots and tights. This is all so Gilmore. Parenthetically, someone in Stars Hollow by now should've started That's So Gilmore on cable access.
Kirk's storyline is that he's starting a ride-share called Ooober, which entails people calling his mother and asking for a ride, and him picking them up and dropping them off with only marginal consistency and accuracy. It's very Kirk. Sean Gunn can really work the gray hair and the scarf, though. I will always be startled that Kirk is kinda happening for me now.
Miss Patty, aka Liz Torres, is almost unrecognizable.
Shouldn't Lorelai be the one with a coffee cup sweater? Lane's life is almost exactly the same, which made me sad -- not that she seems to mind, except that Zach has been forced to go corporate and is doing well at it, which naturally disgusts them both. There is something very wonderful about this whole scene taking place in front of the Hot Pockets and Bagel Bites. In my head, Lorelai and Rory spent at least a year singing everything to each other to the tune of, "Hoooot Pockets!" Like, "Buuuuy toothpaste." "Order Thai food." "Luuuuke kissed me." Etc.
This dude is back. He has a sister, who shows up as a rival troubadour for like two seconds. The Stars Hollow troubadour always seemed like a gag no one fully committed to, and here it's no different. Occasionally you see him, mostly you don't -- so when he pops up again, it's like, "Huh. That guy. Didn't realize he was still a thing."
These two are living together. If you were expecting a lot of Luke and Lorelai passion, there is one scene where they KIND OF start making out in bed, but that's it. They don't even say "I love you," particularly. Actually maybe not at all. Which doesn't seem to be a story point; what comes with them doesn't seem to be about love, or any lack thereof, at all. But at least Lorelai still has good shirts and hair to compete with his dazzling array of plaid. (I love a cardigan but I'm not sure this one adds much to the festivities.)
Ugh. Paul. He is, I think, my least favorite thing about the series (except maybe the last four words). It's not even a spoiler to discuss him because it's clear exactly where it is -- or isn't -- going the second he's introduced.) I've heard it speculated that Paul was the Palladinos trolling people who were obsessing over what Rory's lovelife would be, but I don't think so. I think they often choose gags over substance, which can work with the peripheral characters but not with the mains. (Also, showrunners that troll their fanbases make for a toxic relationship all around, so I hope that's not the case.) RORY. Don't waste your cute dresses on this plot.
Yes please. Also admirable: Whoever programmed the fake DVR screen correctly listed all the TV Movie Mystery titles that Luke reads out to Lorelai. It's the little things.
Taylor is exactly the same. Here, he's campaining for a sewer system in Stars Hollow; Alan Sepinwall pointed out that in the pilot it's explicitly mentioned that they already DID this. I guess "sewer system" didn't make it into the show bible.
Rory keeps talking about going back to NYC for her Conde Nast meeting, which they asked for and they keep delaying (she is to CN what Paul is to her). I'm not sure Conde Nast as an entity -- as opposed to its specific magazines -- is in the habit of undefined talent meetings with writers that have three clips to their names. But it's clearly not a fib, so... basically, Rory is waiting for something to find her rather than looking for it herself. They're also giving her a LOT of scarves, which are all great, but may explain why she has so many boxes' worth of clothes to spread out among her friends. That's a lot of stuff for someone with no apartment.
He is ALSO a font of good winter wear. That's what 2016 has come to: We are actually looking to Kirk for menswear help. AND HE'S DELIVERING.
I always think of wrap dresses, tights, and boots when I picture Lorelai. So this outfit is exactly right.
Oh, Michel, welcome home. I NEEDED YOU. They very casually drop that he's a married gay man, and his partner wants a baby. Michel is as Frenchly indifferent to children as you might imagine, but he's going to tolerate it anyway, much as he must struggle to tolerate all the competing patterns in this room at The Dragonfly. I get that it's going for a very quaint look, and it IS cozy, but you know when Michel goes home it's to a totally modern wood-and-chrome, stylish-but-uncomfortable kind of pad.
"I FOUND ANOTHER SCARF! I THINK THEY'RE BREEDING!"
Both of these outfits looked better than this screen grab suggests. I do love a polka dot blouse. In my mind, Lorelai was looking for a Breton stripe and, thwarted, she went with the same color scheme in a dot.
Edward Hermann's death is STILL sad to me. Richard Gilmore was not perfect, but the grandfatherly love and pride he had in Rory really tweaked something in me -- particularly now, as my kids don't have any living grandfathers and would SO love one, but will never know that relationship. In some ways that frame of reference made the loss of Richard even sadder to me. Anyway, we're a few months after Richard's death of a heart attack. Emily is grieving via a giant portrait she commissioned, which she tries to pretend was intentionally that big, but Lorelai will not stop harassing her until she finally admits it was a careless mistake. Team Emily, there; let it go, Lorelai. There are plenty of other hills to die on here, if you'll pardon the death metaphor.
When we flash back to Richard's funeral, we see this photo. It's a shame that it'd be emotionally inappropriate, and weird, and inapplicable, to have used one from Overboard. Also, looking at this makes me realize that Lauren Graham is very good casting for their child. You can kinda convince yourself there are pieces of each of these people in her.
Lauren Graham really, really excels at playing a woman who is trying and failing to keep a lid on her feelings. She can make her lips twitch and tremble, and her eyes completely change as her capital-F Feelings start to press down on her.
I totally forgot Jason "Chris Eigemann" Stiles existed. During this scene at the wake I was like, "Wait, did he and Lorelai hook up?" Google says yes. My memory says, "Sorry, I can't come to the door right now. I'm afraid that in my weakened condition, I could take a nasty spill down the stairs."
I couldn't find this exact sweatshirt; here's one that's homespun-but-close. I love that this show lets Lorelai look, while lounging around the house, exactly how most of us do: hair tumbling inexactly out of her haphazard bun.
Am I alone in wondering whether Scott Patterson wears a piece when Luke is required to remove his hat?
And ENTER PARIS, who is the fertility/surrogacy specialist here. Never mind how FREAKING AWKWARD this must be for Lorelai and Luke. Paris, however, keeps doubling down on how Lorelai is the only real mother she's ever had ("How much time did you SPEND with this girl?" Luke whispers, and Lorelai shrugs, nonplussed) and basically spits out her bullets of dialogue in absolute flawless Paris Geller form. Problematically, THOSE PANTS.
Paris, that leather jacket is great, but your trousers make you look like... I don't know. Some kind of fertility paratrooper. I question whether Paris would be this accomplished and still so unfabulous from the waist down. She's not a 19-year old at her first job interview. She's Paris Geller, Master of Uteri.
Alex Kingstom plays Naomi, a British kook Rory wrote about in Talk of the Town, who has now decided Rory should follow her around and co-write a book about her life. Obviously, this means a lot of drinking and not a whole lot of creative direction, but Alex is a hilarious delight. She fits into the Gilmore world a lot better than you'd imagine from watching her kvetch at Mark Greene on ER.
Logan, Logan, Logan. He's still a bit condescending -- he still calls her Ace -- and he's still of the mind that some cash and a favor can fix everything. I'm guessing these two are keeping a foot in each other's doors because Rory wants something familiar and reassuring and Logan reminds her of a time when she was successful, and Logan doesn't want to grow up and she's the Wendy to his Peter Pan. Except with more sex and fewer tights.
I love everything about Rory's outfit, and I deeply admire Paris's ability to rock a scarf. See? This Paris Geller doesn't wear my old Gap khakis from 1997. also enjoy Kirk's rotating cabal of vehicles. The thing about Stars Hollow is, do you REALLY need a ride anywhere if you're not carrying something heavy and/or blitzed out of your mind on the traditional holiday mulled grog?
Gwen Stefani would love Lorelai's sweater full of decals. They're like merit badges for people who spend a lot of money at Birchbox.
Hep Alien is BACK, complete with Sebastien Bach. Zach, of course, won't let anyone look at him until he's cast aside his corporate clothes. Poor sweet man-child. Honestly, I'm too old and cranky to tolerate Ungrateful Hipsters Resent Having to Make A Living.
Riddle me this: Lorelai has heard of EVERY pop-culture reference IN THE WORLD, but she needed Emily to explain to her who/what Marie Kondo is? That's a whammy for me. I get a massive kick out of Emily in Lorelai's old clothes, though. I never would've thought she could rock a pair of ill-fitting jeans like this, but here she is.
This slide is just to pay homage to Kelly Bishop's insane triceps. Pure chiseled steel.
Lorelai quickly talks her out of giving away all her worldly goods, and back into sensible cardigans and blouses (it's clear that an affinity for wraps goes all the way up the Gilmore family tree).
First of all, this Lorelai outfit is a cozy delight. Second, Paul Anka the dog dressed as Luke is perfect, and I say that as a person who REALLY does not believe animals should wear clothes. But I like any scene in which Luke and Lorelai enjoy each other, as opposed to tiptoe around each other. There was only one moment of even mild making out in this episode.