10 best episodes of Gilmore Girls

While Gilmore Girls
is known as a mother-daughter drama and a show full of interesting romantic relationships, the best episodes of Gilmore Girls present even more than that. Gilmore Girls stars Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel as the titular characters, a very close mother and daughter who are often more like best friends than parents and children. They live in the small fictional town of Stars Hollow and the series shows them both maturing in different ways.

Although a large part of the appeal of Gilmore Girls is the relationship between Lorelai (Graham) and Rory (Bledel), the show also does a great job of dissecting other family dynamics thanks to the inclusion of Lorelai’s parents (Edward Herman and Kelly Bishop), what it means to be a friend, and how romantic relationships can help a person grow. The small town setting is one that TV fans have been wanting to visit for years. The pop culture references help make the audience feel like they’re in on the Gilmores joke. The best episodes of Gilmore Girls present combinations of all these facets of the program.

10

Pilot Episode

Season 1, Episode 1

With over 150 episodes in a show, it’s incredibly rare that the first episode aired is considered one of the best. That’s the case Gilmore Girls although, because the first episode is a great snapshot of what the show entails.

In the first five minutes of the episode, the main relationships are established as Lorelai and Rory play with various pop culture references and then go to Luke’s house to start the day with coffee. It’s very clear that these are two smart women, with a broad knowledge of pop culture, who have the perfect chemistry to play best friends or sisters, much less mother and daughter.

The pilot episode also introduces the conflict of Lorelai and her parents not getting along and Rory meeting Dean for the first time, opening the door to her first romantic relationship. All of these characters and their relationships with each other provide the basis for the show and the episode is 150 episodes as good as when it’s the first one the audience sees.

9

The Living Art Festival

Season 4, Episode 7

Although Lauren Graham received a Golden Globe nomination for the show in 2002, this episode is the only one to see the show receive an Emmy nomination during its entire run. Gilmore Girls was nominated for Best Makeup in a Series (Non-Prosthetic). For that reason alone, it is among the best episodes of Gilmore Girls.

It’s also a fun example of the many small-town events and festivals the show becomes known for over the course of its run. Part of the show’s appeal is seeing what quirky new things will happen in town each week. The Festival of Living Art, however, is not something Stars Hollow does regularly. Instead, it’s the city’s turn to host the festival where people dress up and bring classic pieces of art to life, making it unique for the show and the audience alike.

The art is breathtaking and the performances are great. The episode leaves the impression of something out of the ordinary for the show.

8

A story of poems and fire

Season 3, Episode 17

Although many of the best Gilmore Girls episodes highlight some of the more creative aspects of the show or relationships, This episode is one of the best showcases for all the actors who populate Stars Hollow. The best fictional small town on television has some of the quirkiest residents, and this episode tells a story for almost all of them.

This includes Babette trying to get technological help from Michel, the Edgar Allan Poe Society touring the town, and Kirk deciding to start printing t-shirts with quotes said by some of the residents. However, it also shows Lorelai in crisis mode when the Independence Inn burns down.

While the show allows Lorelai to regularly “freak out” when it comes to her parents or Rory, always making these situations moments from which she can learn and grow, she doesn’t have those kinds of moments often when it comes to work. While Lorelai can often be seen as one of the least mature characters in the series, she is also one of the best managers in the series. There’s no work crisis she can’t resolve – even the inn she manages is on fire.

It’s great to see her in her element rather than floundering and having her own coming-of-age arc like her daughter.

7

The Bracebridge Dinner

Season 2, Episode 10

There are few episodes Gilmore Girls that mix the “two worlds” of Lorelai and Rory. Stars Hollow and its quirky residents are one world, while Chilton, Yale, and Emily and Richard Gilmore’s wealth exist in the other. This episode shows these two worlds coming together for an event in the city. Specifically, an event that Lorelai organizes rather than one that she simply attends.

This means that almost all of the main and supporting cast (from season 2 onwards) are in the episode for a celebration of the Elizabethan era. this includes Jackson and Kirk dressed as period-appropriate as possible, sledding in the snow, and a fancy dinner.

Because of this combination, the audience gets a great look at some of the relationship dynamics on the showlike Richard and Emily not being on the same page when he doesn’t tell her he’s already retired and Rory and Jess getting closer despite everyone around them wanting them to stay away from each other.

6

Raincoats and recipes

Season 4, Episode 22

Gilmore Girls fans will agree that the worst part of this episode is the revelation that Rory decides to sleep with Dean for the first time while he is still married to his new wife. This decision by Rory, however, lays the groundwork for the mistakes she will make later in the series, and even in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Lifewhen it comes to your love life. Rory has a very naive view of love, and as much as she grows throughout the series, this is an area where she doesn’t mature.

While this decision hurts Rory’s character in the eyes of many audience members, it’s a huge moment for the story and provides a lot of drama for the future of the series. Also providing a new story arc for the show is Luke and Lorelai finally kissing for the first time after four seasons of build-up. Their union neutralizes the bittersweet flavor of Rory and Dean’s reunion, and this is a great way to intrigue the audience and see how the dynamics of the show change.

5

blue wedding bell

Season 5, Episode 13

Richard and Emily Gilmore present a more or less united front at the start of the series. It’s not until the second season that cracks in their relationship begin to form as they realize they may not be communicating enough. For a while, the two go their separate ways.

“Wedding Bell Blues,” however, marks Richard and Emily fully committed to each other again as they renew their vows. Their relationship is the backbone of the episode as Lorelai and Rory are available to support them. Although their relationship is stronger than ever, their daughter and granddaughter are going through tougher times.

Lorelai finds her relationship with Luke strained because Rory’s father, Christopher, is determined for them to be together. Rory, intrigued by Logan, decides to start a casual relationship with him, and they get caught up in vowel renewal together. It’s an episode that demonstrates how good the show is at stabilizing a dynamic only to create as much excitement as possible everywhere else while keeping the audience engaged.

4

I can’t start

Season 2, Episode 22

The Season 2 finale is important for the show’s relationships, but it also allows many of Stars Hollow’s residents to come forward. That’s because the big event of the episode is Lorelai’s best friend, Sookie, marrying Jackson. Their wedding is what all the characters are preparing for, and it’s where some big events in the series occur.

Lorelai begins to spiral into marriage because she sleeps with Rory’s father again, thinking the two could give their relationship another try, only to discover that her latest girlfriend is pregnant. Rory begins to spiral because she can’t ignore how she feels about Jess, and despite still dating Dean, she kisses Jess at Sookie’s wedding and then runs away.

Lorelai trying hard to have a happy ending and Rory being unable to make a choice about her love life and keeping it are important plot points for the rest of the series. They are two of the characteristics around which characters are built.

3

Friday night it’s okay to fight

Season 6, Episode 13

One of the ongoing events throughout the show is the Friday night dinner at Richard and Emily Gilmore’s mansion. When they agree to give Lorelai and Rory money to pay for Rory’s private school tuition, they stipulate that they want to get to know their granddaughter better and be a part of Lorelai’s life. They do this for Friday night dinners. Almost every episode of the series features one.

In this particular episode, Rory stayed with her grandparents while not attending classes at Yale. When she returns to school, she becomes estranged from her grandparents and their relationship becomes strained, comparable even to the one Lorelai has with them. Much of the episode feels like a pretty typical Season 6 episode, but the reason this episode is so beloved and one of the best episodes of the series is the final sequence of the hour.

The final sequence is when Lorelai decides to bring her parents and daughter together to air their grievances. Quick cuts allow the director to speed up the family fight and reconciliation. These quick cuts and the quick family discussion give the episode one of the best endings in the entire series.

2

These are ropes, Pinocchio

Season 3, Episode 22

“Those Are Strings, Pinocchio” is a turning point for the series. It’s the third season finale and the culmination of everything the two main characters have worked towards up to that point. Previous doors are closed and new ones, to make your dreams come true, are opened.

This episode features Rory graduating from Chilton and giving a very cheesy but emotionally sincere speech that involves thanking the residents of Stars Hollow, her mother, and her grandparents for making her the kind of person who goes after her dreams and for helping -there. get to this point. Although Rory still has a lot of growing to do in the series, it is from this point that her stories begin to accelerate her towards the adult world.

Lorelai also officially becomes the owner of the Dragonfly Inn. She is no longer a manager working for someone else, but a woman who owns her own business and can bring what she has learned to make the inn her own. Lorelai and Rory are gaining a form of independence, but they are also preparing to enter into new conflicts.

1

They shoot Gilmores, don’t they?

Season 3, Episode 7

Season 3 is the peak Gilmore Girls. It’s the season where everything is about to change for Lorelai and Rory. That’s part of the reason why so many of the show’s best episodes are in the third season. Lorelai and Rory are making rapid progress toward becoming the adults they want to be, and they are both going through a lot of relationship turmoil in their lives. In this episode, however, that twist happens in a dance marathon.

Stars Hollow is hosting a 24-hour dance marathon where competitors even dress up in 1940s-inspired outfits. The event is more like a sock hop than a modern dance. Rory and Kirk are the ones most actively competing to be the last one standing. Rory, however, is in for the surprise of her life when Dean confronts her in the middle of the dance floor about how she feels about Jess.

While Rory is still in denial about her feelings for Jess, Jess has been irritating her since last season, and everyone in town can see that, which Dean is quick to point out. Dean not only tries to get an answer from her about her feelings, but he also breaks up with her. Rory is crying after the fight and breakup, in the middle of the dance floor, being comforted by Lorelai as Kirk is named the winner of the dance marathon.

It is the quintessence Gilmore Girls episode with relationship drama, mother-daughter bonding and plenty of Stars Hollow quirks.