Re-watching Gilmore Girls: seasons six and seven

This is the season where the show started to go downhill. It wasn't SPEEDING downhill like in the seventh and final season, but there were some things we didn't like. The main thing? April. Giving Luke an illegitimate love child when we were perfectly content thinking he'd spent most of his life pining for Lorelai or watching Star Trek was sleazy.



THEN Luke kept it a secret, leading to a postponement of the wedding we'd already been waiting too long to see. Then Luke and Lorelai broke up. But how could we even be too sad about that? The show had turned Luke's crotchety curmudgeon factor up to 100%, making him too over-the-top and almost no fun to watch.

We also didn't like that Rory suffered minimal consequences for stealing a yacht. Our university would have expelled us. If you're going to go there, go there. Have Rory tear her life down and then slowly build it back up. The mother-daughter rift was actually a good idea, especially because it led to the super sweet scene in which they ran to each other for a hug when they made up (after Rory caved and stopped acting like an idiot).

We didn't like Lorelai's new dog, Paul Anka. We loved Emily and Richard's reactions when they found out that Lorelai wasn't lying about the Huntzberger smackdown. This season also brought Jess back, but not in the way we wanted. It was cool to see him as a writer, interacting with Rory as friends, but we wanted her to leave Logan for him. At least Jess had the guts to ream her for living with her grandparents, devoting her life to the DAR, and ditching Yale.

Once Rory decided to get her life back together, she goes to the Stamford Gazette, which is not hiring, and follows her prospective boss around all day, demanding that he give her a job. It was so cringeworthy, unrealistic, and unprofessional that we just wanted to smack her. The guy was so nice and Rory just says, "I'm not leaving until you fire someone else and hire me." This went on for the whole episode.

After Rory gets her father to pay for Yale, Lorelai and Rory agree to go to a Friday night dinner which features the most hilarious fighting montage between the four of them. It was perfect. While it felt divorced from the main action, we liked that the show stayed with Lane and Hep Alien. Lane's mother helping them go on tour and write songs was adorable, and Lane's romance with Zach, while perplexing in every way, turned out to be nice.

We liked that Lane waited until marriage to have sex with Zach, because that's how she'd been raised, and the show didn't make her out to be a freak. That's a choice a lot of people make, and we hate when the media treats them like ugly, stupid weirdos for it. We loved when Rory told Logan's father off over the phone for not going to visit his son in the hospital.

Season six is plodding, story-wise, but the writing stayed great. Then comes season seven. After a salary dispute, the show's creators left and that was a real mothereffing shame. The writing quality went down, and the show became a parody of itself at times. However, we can't argue with the way the show chose to end the entire confection. That finale was flawless.

Backing up. Lorelai starts season six waking up next to Christopher after her big fight with Luke. This leads to her breaking up with Luke. This is yet another reason you should never give anyone in your life an ultimatum. It makes them feel trapped and disrespected, and it limits YOUR options.

Hilariously, Lane loses her virginity on her wedding night in the worst way possible. She thinks sex is overrated and, oh yeah, she gets pregnant on her first time. Poor Lane! See, if you wait, you are inexperienced and uneducated and will suffer consequences that you usually fear from fornication! Thanks for the lesson, TV!

Christopher tells Lorelai that he loves her, and they start dating. Ho hum. We always hated them together, but a part of us wanted to see Lorelai in that "perfect family" situation. They've also been dancing around each other for years. We think the writers and network liked the idea of Lorelai and Christopher, but the fans couldn't get over the idea of Lorelai and Luke. The fans were right this time.

Rory makes a group of new, annoying hipster/artist friends, and there is a little drama there (mostly involving Naked Marty dating one of Rory's friends while secretly liking Rory). The sole scene we liked with them, the one that felt the most real, was the scene where they were freaking out about what they were going to do with their lives after college. At least they were smart enough not to want to go to law school!

Lorelai and Chris go to France and return married, which upsets Rory a little for like two seconds. We would be angrier, longer. Meanwhile, the show continues to have a side show called The Adventures of Single Dad Luke, and no one gives a shit. We like him, but watching him have a relationship with the girl who killed the show's best relationship was agony. Logan starts to have business problems, and we only give half a shit. Rory's storylines screech to a halt while she deals with him and their very typical relationship.

Christopher has trouble fitting into Stars Hollow, repeatedly gets jealous of Luke and Lorelai's friendship, and fights with Luke. After Richard has yet more heart problems that don't kill him, Logan flies in from London to support Rory, and Luke also comes to the hospital. Insecure, assclown Chris is nowhere to be found. Lorelai seriously questions her relationship and whether she loves Chris.

Chris accuses Lorelai of still harboring feelings for Luke and the two break up. In episode 14 of the season. Shortest marriage ever. Nice job, guys. Thankfully, Emily takes it well. One good thing about this season is that Lorelai and the older Gilmores fight less and have learned to take each other for who they are.

After all of this drama, nothing freaking happens for the second half of the season. Logan acts like an insecure jerk, Lorelai and Luke dance around each other, Lane has twins, and Rory goes to school. Lorelai gets reeeeally annoying and manic this season, because the writers don't know how to write her. It's rare that you want Lorelai to shut up, but in season seven, you will a couple of times.

We like that Rory got an interview with the New York Times and then didn't get the job. Everything goes a little too perfectly and boringly for her, so having her do something a little less conventional, like cover Obama's election on the campaign trail, was a better way to go out. We liked the scene where Lorelai karaokes to Luke.

We love love LOVED that Rory turned Logan's proposal down, even though we felt a little bad for him. He was not the right guy for her, and we liked that she wanted to have her own life, career, and freedom.

In the series finale, Luke gets everyone in the town to throw Rory a huge goodbye bash. Emily and Richard are invited. Lorelai finally gets the credit she deserves for raising such an amazing person and making a real life in Stars Hollow, with plenty of great friends. Luke and Lorelai kiss. It's perfect and if you don't cry, you're a monster. We can't even begin to tell you how hard we sobbed. Great ending, great show.

Season 6
New and Improved Lorelai: B, Fight Face: B-, The Ungraduate: B+, Always a Godmother, Never a God: C+, We've Got Magic To Do: A-, Welcome to the Dollhouse: C+, Twenty-One is the Loneliest Number: B+, Let Me Hear Your Balalaikas Ringing Out: B+, The Prodigal Daughter Returns: A-, He's Slippin' Em Bread, Dig?: B+, The Perfect Dress: C+, Just Like Gwen and Gavin: C, Friday Night's, Alright for Fighting: A-, You've Been Gilmored: B, A Vineyard Valentine: D+, Bridesmaids Revisited: C+, I'm Okay, You're Okay: C-, The Real Paul Anka: B, I Get a Sidekick Out of You: B+, Super Cool Party People: B, Driving Miss Gilmore: B, Partings: B-
Season grade: B-

Season 7
The Long Morrow: B+, That's What You Get, Folks, For Makin' Whoopee: B-, Lorelai's First Cotillion: C, 'S Wonderful, 'S Marvelous:: C+, The Great Stink: C+, Go, Bulldogs!: D+, French Twist: C, Introducing Lorelai Planetarium: B, Knit, People, Knit: B-, Merry Fisticuffs: C, Santa's Secret Stuff: B-, To Whom it May Concern: B, I'd Rather Be In Philadelphia: C+, Farewell, My Pet: A-, I'm a Kayak, Hear Me Roar: B+, Will You By My Lorelai Gilmore?: B+, Gilmore Girls Only: B-, Hay Bale Maze: B-, It's Just Like Riding a Bike: B-, Lorelai? Lorelai?: A-, Unto the Breach: A, Bon Voyage: A+
Season Grade: C+

Despite the lackluster two final seasons, this show was still yards better than most things on TV and the series is whole-heartedly recommended by both of us if it looks like the kind of thing you would enjoy.