(Gilmore Girls fan site)I read a bit on the TV Guide site today. The commentator refered to April, Luke’s daughter, as “contrived.” The thing is… What does that mean? The whole story is contrived, by definition. It’s a creation of Amy Sherman-Palladino, designed to be fun and dramatic. Contrived, from Lorelai getting pregnant at 16, to Rory needing money for Chilton, to Dean cheating on his wife. Lorelai and her emotional baggage, Luke and his, and the challenges they face when they get together. All contrived.
What makes April more “contrived” than any other plot device? Is it that April was a surprise? But so what? Yeah, April was a surprise. So what? Surprises happen every day. And in drama, every three minutes. That’s not enough to make it contrived.
The reason I ask is, I have a theory. And I’d like some feedback to test this theory. My theory is that the fans who have been watching from the beginning, they like things they way they were. Now that everything’s changing, they’re reacting like Lorelai would. “Oh, crap! Everything’s changing! Must… stop… change!”
But newer fans, who don’t know Tristin from Isolde, they accept the drama as it unfolds. April doesn’t seem “contrived” to them. But they’re also less vocal, because they don’t feel as if they’ve been betrayed, because they’re less invested in the characters of seasons past. So it’s only one side of the story we get.
What do you think?
-TimK
I think that April was supposed to be shocking. That makes it easier to believe that Luke would jump completely out of character like he did, after he found out he had a daughter. This is the guy who always hated kids. Of course, he was thinking of kids even before April, when he was engaged to Lorelai.
The thing with Lorelai, Chris, and Gigi all going to Paris… Yeah, that was weird. Still is. That’s one of those things fans are always blaming on the new (or old) writers, because it’s early in season 7. (After season 6, the old show runners left, and new people came in, and everything changed.)
-TimK
I feel bad for Lorelei, her 2 big chance is her romantic life, finally being with Rory’s dad, and finally being with Luke, were halted in there tracks because of kids!!! 1st Chris stayed with his girlfriend after she got pregnant instead of being with Lorelei. Oh, but thank goodness that happened, otherwise, she might never have ended up with Luke!!! Uh-oh, wait, Luke has a daughter!!! Now Luke has to be weird about sharing his life with Lorelei (thanks to some help from April’s overbearing mom, who makes the comment to Lorelei that untill she herself is about to get married, April won’t meet anyone she dates, well, hello, Luke is her father, and he was about to get married!!!) So, Luke and Lorelei are done also more or less because of a child. (even though she gets back with Christopher again, that doesn’t stand a chance, becuase she had already discovered that Luke was her Lobster(friends reference)
Come to think of it, Lorelei’s relationship with her parents was messed up more or less by her having Rory….I see a patern!!!
thanks to some help from April’s overbearing mom
It’s ironic. Anna has so much in common with Lorelai. They both kept their daughters isolated from their love lives. They both are stubborn and headstrong. And they both need control. The difference is that Lorelai made sure Christopher always had an open door to Rory, even though he rarely used it. But Anna chose to keep that door shut. And so that makes Anna the evil, overbearing mother. Whereas Lorelai is only misunderstood and overprotective. In a way, I can sympathize with both, and disagree with both.
-TimK
I guess I might feel differently about Anna if she didn’t act like Luke is a friend of April’s who would like to hang out. That is his daughter, and she acts as though she isn’t. The scene i refered to when Lorelei and Anna met, showed it all. Anna said that April doesn’t “even” meet the men she dates, like the woman that Luke is engaged to isn’t as high ranking as someone she dates. i know that this is because Anna raised April on her own, but who’s fault is that??? I don’t think that Lorelei and Anna are alike at all. Lorlei kept her love life away from Rory, but nlot once things got serious. And remember how open Lorelei was to Rory meet Sherry and spend time with her. Sure she was surprised at first, he just brought her with no notice to Rory’s school, but Lorelei invited her over to the house, and Sherry and Christopher were only dating!!! All of this, and Lorelei was hoping something would still happen with Christopher, makes you wonder if Anna had thoughts of her own.
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site 
Is April a contrived plot device?
I’m somewhere in between. I’m a newish viewer, and was a bit shaken by April, but not too. I liked the episode where Lorelai meets April’s mom.
re resisting change, I found a site that has a whole season’s worth of episodes you can actually watch. I merrily clicked and found myself watching Lorelai walking out the door to go to Paris with Chris and Gigi! Whoa! Now we’re talking too much change. That’s weaving all over the highway!