Parting gift
Gilmore girls 6.22 "Partings"
When Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino wrote this year's season finale, did they know it would be their last episode? The cameos by a ton of their favorite bands seems like a farewell gesture--since we're taking off, we can do whatever we please!--and gave the proceedings a valedictory air, as if Yo La Tengo, the Pernice Brothers etc. were thanking the Palladinos for the exposure their music received on the show and helping to celebrate the end of an era.
But on the other hand, it kind of felt like any other episode of Gilmore girls, one that could have comme in the middle of the season. There was a lot less closure than in most of the other season finales, and very little (well, outside of the last two minutes) that addressed the season's major story arcs. Naturally, the sense that "nothing happened" has the hatas on Team TWoP taking their spite to a whole new level, but to hate on the episode is to ignore the endless great character moments--and great character moments are what has always made Gilmore girls special. Rory realizing that Mitchum Huntsburger is a decent guy? Lorelai admitting that she wants another kid? Fantastic stuff made all the more moving by its subtlety (yeah, Lorelai's on-the-couch scene was theatrical, but the most important part--the realization that she wants to be a mother again--was totally tossed off). If Gilmore girls is going to end abruptly--make no mistake, it's going to be an entirely different show without the Palladinos--it's infinitely preferable for us to see the characters take small steps forward and for us to get a final glimpse of them living and learning and just being themselves instead of seeing them get crunched to bits by plot machinery. Some people are calling the concluding a "fuck you" to the audience, but it makes emotional sense, dammit. The beautiful final shot (and the parallelism with the teaser) proves again that Amy Sherman-Palladino is one of the few top-tier TV writers who knows how to really use a camera and compose a fucking image--and if there's any justice, Gilmore girls will be remembered not as her greatest achievement but as the show where she found her voice.
When Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino wrote this year's season finale, did they know it would be their last episode? The cameos by a ton of their favorite bands seems like a farewell gesture--since we're taking off, we can do whatever we please!--and gave the proceedings a valedictory air, as if Yo La Tengo, the Pernice Brothers etc. were thanking the Palladinos for the exposure their music received on the show and helping to celebrate the end of an era.
But on the other hand, it kind of felt like any other episode of Gilmore girls, one that could have comme in the middle of the season. There was a lot less closure than in most of the other season finales, and very little (well, outside of the last two minutes) that addressed the season's major story arcs. Naturally, the sense that "nothing happened" has the hatas on Team TWoP taking their spite to a whole new level, but to hate on the episode is to ignore the endless great character moments--and great character moments are what has always made Gilmore girls special. Rory realizing that Mitchum Huntsburger is a decent guy? Lorelai admitting that she wants another kid? Fantastic stuff made all the more moving by its subtlety (yeah, Lorelai's on-the-couch scene was theatrical, but the most important part--the realization that she wants to be a mother again--was totally tossed off). If Gilmore girls is going to end abruptly--make no mistake, it's going to be an entirely different show without the Palladinos--it's infinitely preferable for us to see the characters take small steps forward and for us to get a final glimpse of them living and learning and just being themselves instead of seeing them get crunched to bits by plot machinery. Some people are calling the concluding a "fuck you" to the audience, but it makes emotional sense, dammit. The beautiful final shot (and the parallelism with the teaser) proves again that Amy Sherman-Palladino is one of the few top-tier TV writers who knows how to really use a camera and compose a fucking image--and if there's any justice, Gilmore girls will be remembered not as her greatest achievement but as the show where she found her voice.
posted by Andrew Johnston at 11:37 PM
1 Comments:
Here's a good chart showing all of the character connections.
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