“Search Party” Recap: The Story Begins to Unravel

So let’s start from the beginning. Paris Geller (played by Liza Weil) joined the GG crew in Season 1, right as Rory Gilmore (the show’s sort-of protagonist) walked into Chilton Academy, a private school where Paris was attending, for her first day. A far cry from Rory’s relatively timid and soft-spoken personality, Paris tore up the screen with her high-strung personality and immediate rivalry with Rory (Rory did not feel the same), who Paris viewed as the only candidate who could possibly challenge her spot at the top of the class standing. As the year progresses, the two become friends, which of course Paris still highly questioned.

The rest of their high school experience is plagued with repeated ups and downs, from Paris’s parents’ highly publicized divorce to their joint student government campaign and, most notably, Paris’s C-SPAN meltdown, courtesy of a Harvard rejection fueled by what she can only assume to be wide-spread knowledge that she lost her virginity. Despite losing the Valedictorian slot to Rory (which Paris comes to terms with after finding out Salutatorians tend to be more successful), Paris walks across the graduation stage and accepts her diploma from the school’s headmaster, to which she iconically quips, “no hard feelings.”

Fast forward to Paris’s first year at Yale, a school she knew Rory was attending but had no intention of ever seeing again. Not to the surprise of Paris’s life coach, the two frenemies were placed together as suitemates, a pairing that ultimately served as a catalyst for lifelong friendship. Throughout college, Paris pursues pre-med and pre-law degrees, joins the Yale Daily News alongside Rory, dates an elderly professor (he passes away, leaving Paris to grieve), moves on with the editor of the Yale Daily News, Doyle McMaster, and potentially saves Rory from abandoning Yale forever by admitting to Lorelai that Rory is the only person who ever listened to her, challenged her and motivated her.

Paris then proceeds to become the editor of the Yale Daily News, a position in which her power-hungry tendencies took full-force, resulting in a forcible resignation, kick Rory out of their shared apartment, let Rory move back into their shared apartment (now with Doyle), be accepted to a slew of prestigious medical and law schools. She ultimately chose to attend med school and break up with Doyle, to which he refused, and tells Rory that they’re on their own but she can still do great things (Of course this doesn’t last, the two are meant to be best friends.)

Somehow this doesn't even scratch the surface of the character of Paris. As you can tell, Paris is a fiercely loyal, protective woman who fights for herself to no end. She (literally) doesn’t care what other people think (so long as they’re not within her immediate circle) and never stops pursuing her dreams, no matter how many times she probably should have. She is the epitome of feminism in modern television — perhaps taken to an extreme — and serves as a necessary counterweight to Rory’s floundering sense of self.

So long as she keeps her need for perfectionism in check, Paris has one of those few personality types whose wild ambition and outspokenness is directly beneficial to her success, a success that she, and only she, can define. Sure, she has an exaggerated sense of self-importance, but when balanced by Rory’s soft-but-straightforward approach, Paris can quickly reset, reevaluate and move forward.

That's the thing with Paris — she’s always moving forward. She doesn't get into Harvard? Tough. She takes a few days to wallow before considering her other options: Yale, Columbia and Princeton. She doesn’t know whether to choose med school or law school, so she takes stock of her bearings, reflects on her past dreams, and makes a clear, concise decision that she moves forward with.

Her brutally honest nature (both internally and externally) is exactly why Paris works. She’s generous when needed, comfortable with giving tough (and oftentimes tougher) love, is able to express vulnerability with the people she loves, doesn’t allow outside influences to affect her path and never let’s someone (especially a man) tell her she’s less than (*cough, cough*—Rory). For an early 2000s show, she showed women that there is power in education. There’s power in stepping away from a caretaker role. There’s power in expressing your opinion, no matter your age.

There’s no doubt in my mind that she’s inspired countless women over the years — after all, she’s inspired me! Even though she’s had her controversial moments, she’s always been a cheering voice for women, even if it’s behind her resting grimace. For these reasons, and so many more, I am hereby deeming Paris Geller the best of Gilmore Girls — the heroine, perhaps, and a feminist icon to all.

Lane deserved better after a life of seeking independence

Throughout Lane's formative teenage years, she was forced to hide her true identity and interests in order to appease her mother. From hiding CDs in her floorboards and changing her clothes when she got to school, Lane was under a lot of pressure to keep her mom happy, while still trying to figure out who she was. Her mother even kicked her out after finding out about her "secret life," causing Lane to have to move into Rory's dorm. Rory, on the other hand, had a mother who supported her every dream and who she could be fully herself with.

I'm not sure why only one of these two besties got to live out their dreams, but if it did have to play out this way, it should have been Lane Kim. Given how difficult her upbringing was, couldn't the show have given her a win by having *her* be the one who gets to follow her dreams?

Lane's love life is lackluster

Once again, the show propped up Rory and gave her not one, not two, but three love interests. Whether or not you love all three of them, we can all admit that each boyfriend was compatible with Rory in their own way, and helped her learn and grow. Lane, however, did not get this. Her first boyfriend, Dave, is great. He's kind and sweet and understanding of her family situation, but the show breaks them up because they can't handle being long-distance. (Technically, we know actor Adam Brody had to leave for The O.C. but where is the justice??!)

After Dave, it all goes downhill from there for poor Lane. She ends up with Zack, who isn't bad but isn't great. And, as soon as Lane is finally getting to pursue her passion by going on tour with her band, she finds out she and Zack are pregnant. Considering how long Lane dreamed of getting to be her authentic herself and openly express her interests, it feels cruel that this twist of fate took it away from her at this exact moment.

Lane made the best of her situation

Despite Rory having almost every opportunity available to her, we find out in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life that she is making bad decisions (like, er, sleeping with an engaged man) and is struggling to find her way. Lane, on the other hand, has made the best out of the cards she's been dealt. She's still married to Zack, is taking care of her twins, and has even kept music in her life by joining a band. I can't help but think if Lane can forge ahead despite all of her unfortunate circumstances, how fantastic could her life have been if the writers had served her just a little bit more good fortune?

Lane could have served as the role model so many girls needed

Lane's experience mirrors many Asian-American girls' lives. She had a strict upbringing and struggled to strike a balance between fitting in with her American peers and forming her own identity, while still trying to manage her mother's expectations of who she should be. As an Asian-American, Lane's experiences mirrored many of my own, and, at a time when there was such little Asian representation, this was extremely impactful.

With the lack of representation at the time, it was even more important that Lane was dealt an ending that she and her viewers could be proud of. Instead of turning her into somewhat of a cautionary tale, her story could have been utilized to empower an audience of individuals who saw themselves in her. For that reason, Lane's treatment on Gilmore Girls will never quite sit right with me.

1. ​I don't really see myself in Joanne.

As someone who took solace in books and TV shows from an early age (a silver lining to the isolation of homeschooling), I've always felt drawn to characters that simultaneously make me feel seen and inspire me to be a better version of myself. But Kristin Bell's Joanne in Nobody Wants This left me feeling alienated rather than included.

I'm naturally quieter and more timid in large social situations so Joanne's brash, sharper edges caught me a little off guard — and honestly reminded me of past party environments I really didn't enjoy. "In my opinion Joanne is a generic, predictable character of a baddie who hides her insecurities behind the attitude," @niemownikomu says on Reddit.

But even though Joanne and I are so different, I was very touched by the contrast between her larger-than-life personality and her fear that romantic partners would be turned off by her independence. I definitely get that.

2. ​Teasing a romance between Morgan & Sasha is totally inappropriate.

One detail that honestly pissed me off about Nobody Wants This was the will-they-won't-they between Morgan and Noah's married (!!!) brother Sasha. Romanticizing cheating on your spouse is never hot or spicy to me, and I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief when creator Erin Foster announced season 2 was ditching that would-be relationship.

3. ​It's way too early for Noah to be in a new relationship.

@the_yv_edit on TikTok made an entire video about Noah's red flags, revolving around the idea that a back & forth and up & down romance might be entertaining, but it'll drain you in the long run. And one opinion that kept coming up in the comments was that Noah shouldn't even be thinking about starting something with Joanne. "Him jumping into the relationship was the first and biggest red flag," one user says.

​4. Noah either doesn't do that much in 'Nobody Wants This'...

One more thing that @the_yv_editpointed out was that Noah doesn't actually do anything that extraordinary for her. He walks her to her car after the dinner party in the pilot, and they have great communication (thank goodness, I'm all for romanticizing great communication), but that should be the bare minimum people!! Plus did we just gloss over the fact he literally hid her when she came to camp?!

5. Or he goes WAY overboard.

And when Noah does ditch her at camp, and Joanne leaves for her work dinner, he winds up at the restaurant (sweet)"but then HE SHOULD HAVE LEFT. Not pulled out candles, commandeered a table, and done the Shabbat ritual in front of her CLIENTS," lizzardmuzic says on Reddit. "I was cringing the whole time and thought it would be an issue, but I guess it was supposed to be a huge romantic gesture? I'm pissed. Everyone in this sub thinks Noah is too perfect, but I don't like him much. If anything, I think they wrote Joanne too perfect."

6. The 'Nobody Wants This' ending left me more stressed than hopeful.

This is probably my Type-A oldest daughter realism kicking in, but I can't stop thinking about the end of Nobody Wants This. Considering romantic chemistry only lasts a few years, giving up your life-long dreams to see if a relationship works out really stressed me out. "It was very enjoyable. I just think in reality when the heat cools down as it inevitably does in these kind of relationships somewhere in his life he would truly regret his choice!" Reddit user Artistic_Incident569 says.

But that's what Nobody Wants This is all about right? Taking huge risks and turning your life upside down for love. And I'll admit that that in and of itself is pretty romantic.