Hi friends! My writing has taken a more serious turn here lately and Iโm craving something a little bit more light-hearted this week!
PS: While itโs always scary to be so openly honest, I find that anytime I am braver with my writing - the better it is. Thank you to those who read and shared and resonated with my posts on friendship loss and establishing boundaries. Writing each of these felt cathartic.
Because itโs ~that time of year~, I thought it would be fun to share a list of my favorite Gilmore Girls episodes. I know Iโm not alone when I say I rewatch Gilmore Girls every single year and of course, fall is dubbed Gilmore-Girls-season.
๐ โ๏ธ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ฅ ๐๐งฃ
This is without-a-doubt my favorite TV show, and even more so now that Iโm a mother. I love the generational storylines, the witty banter, the cozy & seasonal sets, the quirky characters. Here is a list of my favorite episodes!
If youโre a fellow Gilmore Gal, Iโd love to hear your favorites in the comments below!
10 The Lorelaiโs First Day at Yale ๐ซ (Season 4, Episode 2)
Rory officially starts college! Which means itโs the start a new era for the series. Lorelai & Rory no longer living together in Stars Hollow. Lorelai helps Rory move into her dorm, and ends up staying the night as she helps her adjust - making sure she scopes out the best coffee and take-out food, of course. This episode is sweet, simple, & heartwarming and has the best โback to schoolโ vibes.
Favorite Moment: When Rory realizes sheโs too attached to her mom
Rory: โDo something to make me hate you!โ
Lorelai: โUm, go Hitler?โ
9 Roryโs Birthday Parties ๐ (Season 1, Episode 6)
One of the shows first cozy-fall episodes! Rory is turning 16. Her grandparents throw her a fancy-shmancy birthday party at their mansion, contrasted with the party Lorelai throws her - full of Stars Hollow charm + characters. Itโs a cozy episode, but also the start of a reoccurring theme on the show: the two very different worlds Rory lives in.
Favorite Moment: Emilyโs heartbreaking realization
Emily: โSheโs right. I donโt know my daughter at all.โ
8 Ted Koppelโs Big Night Out ๐ (Season 4, Episode 9)
The Harvard & Yale football game! All the Gilmore clan is together to celebrate. An episode full of funny moments and a smidge of drama when Emily finds out Richardโs been having an annual lunch with his ex for 30+ years. PS: This is even one of my husbandโs favorite episodes!
Favorite Moment: Richard reliving his glory days
Richard: โI was naked an entire month my sophomore year.โ
Lorelai: โWelcome to tonightโs episode of โThings I Never Needed to Know About My Fatherโ.โ
Richard: โI and a group of like-minded young men decided to protest the new dress code by wearing silk ties and nothing else. We were written up by the dean of admissions and threated with expulsion. We were also suddenly very popular with the ladies.โ
7 Raincoats & Recipes โ๏ธ (Season 4, Episode 22)
The drama is JUICY with this one. If you know, you know. Plus, Lorelai finally opens her own inn and she + Luke finally get together! A great season finale.
Favorite Moment: Luke goes in for the kiss
Luke: โWill you just stand still?โ
6 Thereโs The Rub ๐ (Season 2, Episode 16)
Emily tricks Lorelai into attending a spa weekend getaway with her - these two together always make me laugh. Plus, they even have sweet bonding moments. Roryโs looking forward to a weekend home alone, which gets crashed by Paris and then Jess. And then an angry Dean. I love the episodes where the Jess-Dean-Rory love triangle tension is building. Team Jess 4eva!
Favorite Moment: Parisโ excitement over food from Lukeโs diner
Paris: Is that mac and cheese? I love mac and cheeseโฆIโm not allowed to have mac and cheese.
5 A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving ๐(Season 3, Episode 9)
The Gilmore Girls, the infamous eaters they are - attend four Thanksgiving dinners. Each one has itโs great moments - Sookie getting drunk to deal with Jackson deep-frying her turkey, Mrs. Kimโs tofurkey, etc. The final dinner is at Emily & Richards and reveals that Rory has applied to Yale (a contentious subject between Lorelai and her parents). This is the show at itโs peak coziness.
Favorite Moment: Drunk Sookie
Sookie: โWell, youโve come at a good time, ladies. Iโve already been through the five stages of grieving. Denial, angerโฆI donโt remember these two, but they were served on the rocks with SALT!โ
4 Wedding Bell Blues ๐ (Season 5, Episode 13)
The 100th episode! No wonder itโs so good. Emily & Richard renew their vows, Rory makes a move for Logan, and big-time drama ensues when Emily tries to intervene in Lorelai and Lukeโs relationship.
Favorite Moment: Rory getting caught with Logan
Lorelai: โGrandma wants a picture.โ
Rory: โOf this?!โbut alsoโฆ Christopherโs cute name-drop of the show.
Christopher: โWho could not like being kissed by a Gilmore Girl?โ
3 Those Are Strings, Pinocchio ๐ (Season 3, Episode 22)
The show can arguably be split into two eras, and this episode is essentially the finale of the first one. Roryโs high school years. Rory graduates high school and Lorelai buys her inn! Itโs so damn heartwarming and I tear up at Roryโs valedictorian speech every time.
Favorite Moment: Roryโs entire graduation speech, but particularly this part
Rory: โBut my ultimate inspiration comes from my best friend, the dazzling woman from whom I received my name and my life's blood, Lorelai Gilmore. My mother never gave me any idea that I couldn't do whatever I wanted to do or be whomever I wanted to be. She filled our house with love and fun and books and music unflagging in her efforts to give me role models from Jane Austen to Eudora Welty to Patti Smith. As she guided me through these incredible eighteen years, I don't know if she ever realized that the person I most wanted to be was her. Thank you Mom, you are my guidepost for everything.โ
2 They Shoot Gilmores, Donโt They? ๐๐ผ(Season 3, Episode 7)
The dance marathon episode! And also the episode where Rory & Jess finally get together after a season and a half of build up. Itโs full of all the Stars Hollow townies - meaning lots of funny, ongoing bits. And the fashion is great!
Favorite Moment: Rory & Dean finally break up
Dean: โEveryone can see, Rory! Everyone! And Iโm tired. But Iโm over it, so go ahead. Be together. Thereโs nothing standing in your way now because Iโm out.โ
1 The Bracebridge Dinner โ๏ธ (Season 2, Episode 10)
After a convention booked at the inn gets canceled because of snow, Lorelai and Sookie host all the Gilmore Girls characters at the inn. The blending of Stars Hollow folks, Paris, and Roryโs grandparents makes for so many funny moments - and the episode is full of charm, complete with horse drawn sleighs and fresh snow covering the town. The episode feels like the first sip of the best cup of coffee youโve ever had.
Favorite Moment: Everyone together at dinner (so much great banter, but this one always makes me laugh)
Richard: So there we are, it's a beautiful moonlit Prague night, and we're strolling across the Charles Bridge when we come across this group of kids blasting this song by thatโฆoh, that awful woman. Who is she? The tall bony one, married to the deceased mustachioed congressman.
Rory: Cher?
Emily: That's the one!
Lorelai: The year of 'Do you believe in life after love?'
Rory: A difficult time for all of us.
Michel: I like that song!
Thanks for reading, friends! Hope you are doing something that feels cozy during this time of year!
This list is perfection!!!! I think the only one I would add is You Jump, I Jump, Jack - Season 5, Episode 7. I love seeing Rory enter her rebellious phase with Logan and Iโm a sucker for him even though Iโm team Jess!
SUCH a good episode list!! And it's so funny, I was very much Team Jess in high school and I do still love him, but as an adult, I'm Team Logan for sure.