This November, fans will be re-introduced to Rory when the Gilmore Girls revival finally hits Netflix. She's no longer the Yale graduate we said goodbye to in 2007 who was heading out on her own to cover then Senator Barack Obama's presidential run. She's now an adult navigating the real world. What's interesting about catching back up with Rory now, is the fact that she's the same age as Lorelai when the show first started. Rory is 32 years old. It's hard to believe that our little Chilton girl is all grown up. But, as most grown-ups know, it's not easy being an adult.
It's something creator Amy Sherman-Palladino reiterated at a recent press stop for the Netflix revival. Sherman-Palladino shared a few new details about where Rory is when Gilmore Girls: A Day In The Life begins. She isn't still in Stars Hollow with her mom, but is living and working in London. (A sign that Logan is endgame, being that he once lived there, too?) But, despite the fact that Rory is abroad and doing well, Sherman-Palladino makes it clear things aren't perfect. Rory did everything she was supposed to: she was the vice president of her student council and valedictorian. She went to an ivy and was the editor of the college paper, but, as she enters her third decade, she feels like something's missing.
Rory's clearly going through a life crisis and she's certainly not the only 32-year-old feeling this way. As Sherman-Palladino explained during the latest Gilmore Girls press tour,
Because the world is changing now, I think that's something that a lot of 30-something, very well educated kids are going through, because they're turning around going, 'Wait a minute, I did it! Why am I not getting where I need to go?'
The showrunner didn't lay out all the reasons Rory is feeling underwhelmed about her life, but did say that her choice to go into the newspaper business right when it was on its way out certainly contributes to her ennui. (Yes, it seems Rory is still in the journalism business.) It's also possible that Rory, who said in her high school graduation speech that all she wanted to be was her mom, could be comparing herself to Lorelai, who, at 32, was a single mom who managed an inn, owned a home, and had built a pretty happy life without much help from anyone else. Lorelai made that choice to do things her own way, and, for her, it paid off. But she also did her best to make sure Rory had everything she didn't.
Rory was the high achiever, who got everything she wanted, but that was in academia, which she clearly had a knack for. What you quickly learn when you leave college is that real life doesn't work out that way. Hard work still pays off, but your grades don't matter; no one's checking your transcripts. Being the best in school doesn't make you the best at your job. For someone who's put so much focus on being the A student, this can be rather jarring when you enter the work force.
On the other hand, the 32-year-old Lorelai fans meet in the show's first season is someone who knew how to navigate the real world. She was clearly smart, but wasn't interested in the world her parents had laid out for her. She wasn't interested in degrees, but was interested in finding her own path. That determination is something she was rewarded for at every turn. It's how she went from a 16-year-old without a high school diploma and with a baby to the owner of her own inn. It's how she managed to make ends meet when others would have faltered.
Rory was someone who was very goals oriented, so to turn 30 and to see that she may not have all the things her mom had at her age may be disappointing. This doesn't mean she hasn't achieved many things in her three decades on this earth. Hello, she was valedictorian and a graduate of an ivy league college. But, when one plays the comparison game, it's easy to feel like you're losing. Like your best years are behind you. Like you already peaked, and it's all downhill from her.
Turning 30 is the time when people start taking stock of their life. Rory seems to be doing the same. But, like her mom Lorelai, it's hard to believe she won't find her way in this crossroads. It's just may not be something she could find in one of her old pro and con lists. Rory just has to keep living. She has to keep moving forward to find herself.
Image: Saeed Adyani/Netflix; Giphy (2)
