Character development in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life

*SPOILER ALERT: don’t read if you haven’t seen all 4 episodes of the revival*

I think we can all agree that Gilmore Girls, rather than answering a multitude of questions that have been brewing for the last nine years, actually leaves us with even more unanswered questions than before we started watching the revival. But regardless of intricate plot details and discrepancies between this revival and the season that should not be named, the most irregular aspect of this revival for me was character development. Or in the case of some people, the lack thereof.

The one that struck me most was Rory. What has she actually done with her life since we left her nine years ago? Her future seemed promising. She was going to trail the Obama presidential campaign, which we all assumed would lead to the wonderful career as a journalist that she’d always dreamed of. And of course she would have that career, because she’s Rory Gilmore. Right?

But rather than finding Rory in the midst of probably the most exciting time in her life career-wise, we find her pretty much drifting aimlessly, with nothing more than the one New Yorker piece and a few odds and ends to show for her accomplishments over the last decade.

Book Adaptations: The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

I am usually a little wary about book adaptations for the simple fact that it’s very hard to get it right, and also because it’s extremely difficult to make it to everyone’s taste. Very often books get made into films, and in my opinion it’s almost impossible to do a book justice in just 90 minutes. And on top of that screenplay writers or directors often have the urge to change rather important parts of the book or leave them out entirely, which annoys me to no end. And this is exactly why I didn’t enjoy the previous Philippa Gregory adaptation, The Other Boleyn Girl. I dislike that film with a passion, which is why I was rather nervous about the adaptation of The White Queen. 

I needn’t have worried though, because I absolutely loved the first episode! The fact that they’ve turned it into a TV series rather than a film was a clever move, because it means that they can go into much more detail and stick closer to the book’s storyline. Hats off for the cinematography by the way, because the images are absolutely stunning. The actors have been very well cast in my opinion, especially for the roles of Elizabeth Woodville, Jacquetta Rivers and Lord Warwick.

The first episode was slow paced and allowed for the viewers to familiarise themselves with the storyline and the characters, and it made the first episode very pleasant and clear to watch. Of course I don’t know how much of the story is immediately clear to people who haven’t read the book and aren’t familiar with the history of the Wars of the Roses, but it seemed to me that it wasn’t too difficult to follow.

Of course I’m already looking forward to next week’s episode, and here’s to hoping that the series will be a success and that maybe, just maybe, the other books in the Cousins’ War series will be adapted for television as well 😀