AlthoughGilmore Girlsis often regarded as a classic comfort watch, revisiting even the show’s happiest moments proves that the series always balanced comedy and drama. Thecast ofGilmore Girlsfaced a lot of drama over the years, but the stakes of their adventures were never life and death. There is a reason that Milo Ventimiglia was shot down when he suggested thatJess’sGilmore Girlsexitshould come at the end of a mugger’s knife or by being hit with a bus.Gilmore Girlssimply wasn’t that sort of show, largely eschewing anything remotely traumatizing or upsetting.
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This is part of whyGilmore Girlsgained a reputation as a classic comfort watch in the years since the series ended. Viewers even argued that its 2016 Netflix revival,A Year in the Life, had a new nastiness that wasn’t present in the original series. However, this was never quite true. The series always had a dark side, something that evenGilmore Girls’ Christmas episodeshighlight. For every funny Stars Hollow town meeting or comically awkward Gilmore family dinner, there was a memorably intense fight between the family’s three generations or a genuinely sad break-up for Lorelai or Rory.
Even Gilmore Girls' Happiest Episodes Feature Some Seriously Hard-Hitting Moments
Gilmore Girls Always Mixed Comedy and Conflict
Even the happiest episodes ofGilmore Girlstend to feature sad or dark moments amid all the joy, despite the show’s reputation as a comfort watch.Gilmore Girlswas a lot more dramatic than the show often gets credit for, and leaned hard into the drama aspect of its dramedy description. One of thefunniest episodes ofGilmore Girls, season 3, episode 7, “They Shoot Gilmores, Don’t They?” culminated with Rory and Dean’s poignant breakup. Similarly, season 2, episode 19, “Teach Me Tonight,” includes the memorably zany “a film by kirk,” but the same outing features Rory and Jess’s car accident.
Often, the most unambiguously happy or funny episodes of Gilmore Girls are interrupted by a sudden tonal shift as something dramatic happens.
Gilmore Girlsgenerally mixed tragedy and comedy so seamlessly that viewers barely noticed, and it is only upon re-watching the series that the pattern becomes clear. Often, the most unambiguously happy or funny episodes ofGilmore Girlsare interrupted by a sudden tonal shift as something dramatic happens, or they are followed by a major emotionally loaded twist. For example,Jason’sGilmore Girlsrolestarts funny and wacky as “Digger” quickly proves himself to be Lorelai’s goofiest love interest yet. However, his arrival presages Rory sleeping with a married Dean and Emily leaving Richard after decades of marriage.
Gilmore Girls' Emotional Punches Reveal A Harsh Reality About It Being A Comfort Show
Gilmore Girls Isn’t As Consistently Comforting As Viewers May Recall
WhileGilmore Girlsmight be a lot of fun, the show is nowhere near as reliably light on conflict as viewers might guess from its sunny reputation. Stars Hollow is essentially the setting of a Hallmark movie, but characters like Lorelai, Rory, Luke, Jess, Emily, and Richard all go through some serious hardships asGilmore Girlsprogresses. This makes the series less of a comfort show, especially when Lorelai and Rory are fighting orGilmore Girlssplits up Emily and Richard. Fortunately,Gilmore Girlsis still worth re-watching, even if the series isn’t as consistently comforting as viewers remember.
Gilmore GirlsandA Year in the Lifeare available to stream on Netflix.
