Ah yes, Gilmore Girls. Perhaps one of the CW/WB’s greatest accomplishments. This show has something for everyone, whether you’re an Emily or a Lorelai. Well, ladies and gents, it could be returning yet again! Back in 2016, Netflix released a four-episode miniseries featuring everyone’s favorite mother-daughter pair, and according to producer Amy Sherman-Palladino, season two is very possible.
While we wait, we might as well re-watch some of the classics. Or the entire show, if you have that kind of time. But on the off chance you don’t, here are 10 episodes of Gilmore Girls to re-watch before A Year In The Life, season 2.
Season 3, Episode 9 “A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving”
In this classic, Rory and Lorelai are faced with the dilemma of having not one, not two, but four Thanksgiving dinners to attend in one day. For normal people that would be a challenge, but they are certainly not normal. Determined to hit the Kim’s, Sookie’s, Luke’s and Emily and Richard’s, they ration themselves as to not explode.
This episode was great for several reasons. It was one of the first for Rory and Jess’s official relationship, making it an automatic favorite. We were hesitant about joining team Jess, but after A Year In The Life and the end of the original series put us completely on board. Oh, and don’t forget about Lane and Dave!
Season 2, Episode 21 “Lorelai’s Graduation Day”
This episode featured one of Rory’s biggest mistakes. Originally, the day was to be all about her mother and her graduation from college. At this time in the series, Jess had just crashed Rory’s car and moved to New York. Rory, of course, decided to skip school to see Jess and traveled from Chilton to New York. They spent the day wandering the streets and stopped by a record store where Rory got her mother a graduation gift.
Slight problem: the bus that she was supposed to take back to Hartford for the ceremony was late. Extremely late. Rory missed the entire thing. Her mom, of course, was furious. But, so was Rory and she even grounded herself.
Season 5, Episode 7 “You Jump, I Jump, Jack”
At this point in the show, Rory was back with Dean after breaking up he and Lindsey’s brief train wreck of a marriage, and Luke and Lorelai were finally together. It was great until it wasn’t.
In this episode, Rory goes on an adventure with Yale’s Life and Death Brigade in an attempt to write a killer article for the Yale Daily News but later finds out that everything she learns during her adventure cannot be used in her article. Perhaps one of the most memorable moments of the show took place when Logan took Rory’s hand, and they both jumped off of an unstable pipe structure with umbrellas in their hands.
Season 2, Episode 6 “Presenting Lorelai Gilmore”
Ah yes, the DAR’s annual debutante ball. This particular event isn’t really something that screams Rory Gilmore, and yet she took part. This wasn’t her idea, of course: it was Emily’s. Rory, being the perfect granddaughter, said yes. She even wore her mother’s unused dress.
Rory wasn’t the only one roped into this. Christopher and Dean had to be there too, one more excited than the other. This was not Christopher Hayden’s first rodeo but it certainly was Dean’s. He had to wear tails and white gloves. It was kind of depressing.
Season 4, Episode 2 “The Lorelai’s First Day At Yale”
In this lovely episode, Rory (obviously) starts her freshman year at Yale! Lorelai, being the excellent mother that she is, gets Rory everything she could possibly need, including a new mattress.
However, what no one realized was that the thing Rory needed most was her mom. She ends up calling her mother back to Yale and they order take out from every restaurant within a 50-mile radius with her roommates, Tona and, you guessed it, Paris Geller. This episode is perfect, especially if you yourself are about to head off to college.
Season 1, Episode 6 “Rory’s Birthday Parties”
Rory’s 16th birthday was rolling around and Emily Gilmore decided that it was the perfect time to insert her agenda where it was not wanted. At their weekly Friday night dinner, Lorelai tried to convince Emily to let them reschedule so that Rory could have a Stars Hollow style birthday, but Emily was not having it. She decided to throw Rory her own party and took it upon herself to invite Rory’s entire graduating class.
This episode is memorable for several reasons, but primarily because it was the first time Rory really fought with her grandmother. Not only did Rory not want the party but she very much did not want to see people from Chilton. It worked out though, because the following day Lorelai threw a proper Stars Hollow birthday party.
Season 1, Episode 9 “Rory’s Dance”
In this episode, Chilton was throwing their formal, and originally, Rory had no intention of attending. She had no dress and there was no guarantee that Dean would accompany her. After talking to her mother, it was decided that Lorelai would make Rory’s dress and that Rory would ask Dean.
After brief hesitation, Dean agreed. Though neither of them were particularly excited to go to this dance, they still managed to have a good time. After the dance, the two walked around Stars Hollow, coffee in hand. They came to the conclusion that they were officially boyfriend and girlfriend. They eventually wander into Ms. Patty’s dance studio, where they fall asleep on the yoga mats. That didn’t exactly end well.
Season 1, Episode 7 “Kiss and Tell”
Ah yes, Rory’s first kiss. Rory gets off the bus and strolls into Dosey’s market where her boyfriend works. She tries to spy without being caught, but Dean finds it quite odd when she is perusing the cornstarch. He invites her to grab a free soda, and just when she thinks he’s going to give her the drink, he kisses her.
Usually, she would tell her mom, but Lorelai seemed to be having quite the day and decided it wasn’t a good idea. Once Lorelai finds out (from Mrs. Kim), she invites Dean over for a night of eating junk food and watching Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory. Rory, of course, freaks out. After all, the boy who she like was invited to her house by her mother.
Season 7, Episode 22 “Bon Voyage”
After Rory’s graduates from Yale and breaks up with her then-boyfriend, Logan, she moves back home and begins her search for a newspaper to write for. Rory ends up getting a job far from home and must leave almost immediately. Her friends and family decided to throw her a going-away party, but when the rain spoils it, Luke sews together tents and raincoats from citizens of the town to keep the party going.
The episode has several iconic moments, such as Luke and Lorelai’s kiss (yay!) and the final shot of the original series: a slow zoom out the window of Luke’s diner, the exact same ending as the pilot.
Season 1, Episode 1 “Pilot”
The pilot, the “make or break” of a series. In this case, it made the series. We meet Rory and Lorelai in Luke’s Diner eating breakfast before Rory has to leave for school at Stars Hollow High. She goes to her mom’s inn after school where she finds out that she has been accepted to Chilton Preparatory.
She spends her last day at Stars Hollow packing up her things and preparing to start at a new school when she meets Dean, the new kid. The two talk for hours and Rory has herself convinced that she would give up Chilton for this boy until her mother talks some sense into her.
