Entertainment

The 'Gilmore Girls' Revival Title Is Revealing

by Amy Roberts

Are you sitting comfortably? Good, because this news is huge. Netflix has revealed the Gilmore Girls revival title, and it could suggest some interesting points about the plot. Unveiling the news on their Twitter feed, Netflix presented the announcement by stating, "It's official. We know this because there's now a title," alongside an incredibly apt teaser GIF of a steaming hot cup of coffee followed by a set of giddy phrases which lead up to the final, exciting disclosure: "Live More. Laugh More. Eat More. Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life."

A Year In The Life. Fitting, right? Especially when considering the title alongside the fact that each of the four episodes of the Gilmore Girls revival are set in specific seasons (apparently starting with Winter before rolling through to Spring, Summer and ending on Fall), A Year In The Life brings those elements together perfectly. But I can't help but feel like the title is giving us a little bit more than simply neatly wrapping up the thematics of the seasonal episodes — it's suggesting that these seasons and the time span that we'll be experiencing the story in are deeply significant. After all, a lot can happen in a year.

So what else could the Gilmore Girls revival title imply for the overall story of the show, and what else can we take away from that supreme teaser Gif?

The Season's Could Very Much Be Representative Of Plot Points

Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman Palladino is a shrewd and talented writer who has always lovingly imbued the show with significant recurring themes and motifs that help us to understand characters, emotions, motives, and narratives. With the first episode of A Year In The Life apparently starting in Winter (the roughest of all the months), we could easily take that to imply that our characters could be starting their stories in a bit of rough patch.

This could suggest broken hearts (Luke and Lorelai, Rory and whoever, Emily and the dearly departed Richard), or of lives frozen at a certain point in time (as on-set pictures seemed to imply, Rory may be teaching at Chilton and feeling stalled in her career, Lorelai may feel stuck in a rut with her own prospects and Emily may feel lost herself with trying to live her life without her husband). As the story progresses into Spring, onto Summer and then to Fall, we can easily see that there may be a very deliberate trajectory where the characters manage to blossom out of these circumstances, fix their broken relationships, and enjoy some form of significant progression and change.

"Live More. Laugh More. Eat More" Is Clearly A Parody Of Aspirational Quotes, But Why?

Aside from playing on the substantial appetites of Rory and Lorelai, I've got a feeling that there's a little more going on here. Nothing personal to big believers of the phrase, but it's really easy to dislike those inauthentic aspirational quotes that people hang up in their kitchens like Live, Laugh, Love, and it's pretty easy to imagine that Lorelai would also dislike the insincerity of these sorts of commercial mantras, too. Going along with the idea that all three of the main Gilmore Girls may be going through a tough time at the very beginning of the revival, it seems very plausible that the phrase could play a significant role in the first episode.

Since phrases like these are often sold as decorative plaques and given to people as a house warming gift, it could even imply that one of the three Gilmore Girls is possibly moving into a new home. Did Luke and Lorelai finally buy and move into the dream Twickham house together? Will Emily sell the mansion she used to share with her husband and move closer to her daughter? Or maybe Rory has moved into an apartment she loathes and a Live, Laugh, Love plaque taunts her from the walls whilst she grumbles about how dissatisfied she is with how her life is going (we've all been there).

A Year In The Life Feels Deliberately Vague

OK, of course it'll obviously be a year in the life of the Gilmore Girls, but the phrase feels a little unfinished and vague. Though we, as viewers, will be sharing a year in the life of these ladies, it also seems to imply that there'll be other people enjoying the experience of a year in the life with them too. We know that Rory's exes Logan, Dean and Jess are returning for the revival (as well as the Life and Death Brigade), but it's difficult at this point to say with full authority for how long any of them will be sticking around. Could it be that one of Rory's old flames is going to be there for the full year? And what could that imply for their relationship?

A Year In The Life also seems to be putting more emphasis on Life than anything else, suggesting (once again) that at the core of the Gilmore Girls revival will be characters questioning where their lives are going or, to be more positive, celebrating life. Possibly even the creation of new life?

An Entire Year Could Also Imply A Cycle Of Life

Cycles are significant, especially when talking about a TV show revival which will be wanting to bring as many ideas back to the original series whilst moving forward with new story lines. The main significant life cycle which could fit perfectly into the time span of a year (and into the recurring themes of family at the heart of Gilmore Girls) would be a pregnancy. Could Rory be pregnant in the Gilmore Girls revival? It certainly seems a plausible idea, particularly if the character should enjoy reconnecting with a certain old flame in the first episode, leaving a neat nine months for the following episodes with which the pregnancy can develop into an eventual birth.

It would also work perfectly in tandem with the ideas that the episodes may follow seasonal themes, beginning the revival by mourning the devastating death of Richard Gilmore and ending the revival by celebrating the birth of Rory's baby. It's just a theory, but I'm going for it.

There Will Be Major Changes, But There'll Always Be Coffee

Come on, a cup of coffee is the perfect and ultimate image to have on the Gilmore Girls revival teaser poster. The implication of the prominent cup of coffee, for viewers just as much as for characters in the show, is that some things may change and might even be incredibly different to how they used to be, but that there will always be the same, reliable elements to be depended on as not changing. That cup of coffee represents more than just a stellar caffeine boost (and Lorelai's concerning dependency on the stuff), it's one of the simple precipices around which family, friendships, love and careers tend to revolve in the show. It's as dependable and constant as Rory and Lorelai's early morning coffee buzz. As such, Netflix appear to be reminding us that everything we love about Gilmore Girls will be waiting for us when the revival finally airs.

OK, I think I've just about stopped squealing in high excitement over all of this now (just about). With the release of this teaser poster and the title of the revival, we can only hope that it won't be long until Netflix deliver us with a trailer and an official streaming date. And when those days come then I'll definitely start resuming my squealing once again.

Images: Netflix; Giphy (4)