25 years after it first aired,Gilmore Girlsis still an excellent watch. For first-time viewers, it’s a lot of fun to enterthe cozy town of Stars Hollow, with the mother-daughter best-friend duo of Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel) at its center. For those rewatching, it’s a joy to re-enter this world time and time again, especially after knowing what happens, and what to expect from each storyline.
WhileGilmore Girlsis an overall amazingtelevision show, not every season is at the same level in quality. At its best,Gilmore Girlsbalances its dramedy elements very well, with a mix of character-driven plotlines and some very funny and sharp dialogue. At its weaker moments,Gilmore Girlssometimes veers too much into the melodramatic, with some questionable plot twists. This is every season ofGilmore Girls(just the original series) ranked.
Gilmore Girls
Season 7 ofGilmore Girlsis generally agreed upon by fans of the show to be the series' weakest installment. Without series creatorAmy Sherman-Palladino, the season feels very different from the previous ones. For a significant part of the season, Lorelai and Luke (Scott Patterson) aren’t speaking to each other. Additionally, Rory doesn’t have as much going on outsideof her relationship with Logan(Matt Czuchry) as she did in the previous seasons.
AlthoughSeason 7 feels very off in tonefrom the rest of the series,the finale does wrap up the shownicely, in a better way than the revival does. It brings Lorelai and Luke back together for good, and shows Rory graduating from Yale and making big moves in her journalism career. While the revival ends with a twist that feels thrown in for shock value, Season 7 ends with Lorelai and Rory sitting at Luke’s together, just like in the pilot episode of the show.
Season 6 is a complicated one in regard to its quality. The first half does something really bold, by having Lorelai and Rory not speaking to each other after Rory went behind Lorelai’s back to drop out of Yale. Although their fight is hard to watch,it explores some really compelling relationship dynamics.Rory finds herself in a similar position with Emily (Kelly Bishop) and Richard (Edward Herrmann) to how Lorelai once was, and Lorelai moves forward in her relationship with Luke, without Rory there.
Their reconciliation is a perfect moment, but the joy is short-lived, as it’s revealed in the very next episode that Luke has a daughter named April (Vanessa Marano), whom he never knew about. This twist is a little too out there forGilmore Girls, and it severely messes up Lorelai and Luke’s relationship, while turning Lorelai into a toned-down shell of herself for a while. The only highlight of this storyline is the hilarious Gilmore family fight and confession session that occurs at their Friday night dinner in"Friday Night’s Alright for Fighting,“which is one of the most honest and wonderfully bizarre scenes of the entire show.
The first five seasons ofGilmore Girlsare nearly perfect, and there is not a weak one in the bunch. Season 1 is only ranked last in relation to the rest of these, because the show later brings in more storylines and dynamics that make it even better. That being said, it is an excellent first season. It introduces the town of Stars Hollow and the relationship between the members of the Gilmore family very well, andit is also just really cozy.
Season 1 ofGilmore Girlsshows Rory starting school and Chilton and dating for the first time, while Lorelai adjusts to having Emily and Richard back in her life as a much stronger presence than they have been in decades. This is sucha fun and sweet season,with much lower stakes than many of the ones that follow. It centers on relationship dynamics and significant character growth for both Lorelai and Rory, and it ultimately sets the stage for all that is to come.
Season 4 ofGilmore Girlshas arguably the most dramatic storyline of the series, which shows Richard betraying Jason (Chris Eigeman) with a shocking business deal. In this season, Rory, who has always been ambitious and generally self-assured, flails a bit and takes some serious steps backward after struggling to adjust to being at Yale. This is also the season where Lorelai and Sookie (Melissa McCarthy) work to get the Dragonfly Inn ready to open, and whereLorelai and Luke finally get together.
There isa major shift that seems to occur forGilmore Girlsin Season 4,and not just because Rory is now in college. It still significantly features Stars Hollow and has a lot of the comforting elements of the previous seasons, but it feels a bit more grown-up and serious, with installments like “The Incredible Sinking Lorelais” and “Tick, Tick, Tick, Boom!” The season also ends with Lorelai and Rory fighting about Rory’s affair with Dean, although it ultimately gets solved within a few episodes of the following season.
Season 5 starts and ends with Lorelai and Rory at odds with one another, although each time is for significantly different reasons. Additionally, while Season 4 shows Rory adjusting to Yale,Season 5 turns Yale into more of its own setting within the series.This is due to a heavier focus on Rory’s apartment with Paris (Liza Weil), her work with the Yale Daily News, andher relationship with Logan. One of the highlights is the trip that Rory takes with the Life and Death Brigade for the paper, where she ends up doing an extreme version of a trust fall with Logan.
This season shows Lorelai and Luke as a couple, finally. Their breakup in the middle is absolutely gutting, but it makes for some phenomenal episodes, and ultimately strengthens their relationship. This is also the season where Rory finally lets go of Dean (Jared Padalecki), and where Emily and Richard get back together after a separation. Season 5 combines some more dramatic character-centered storylines with the fun and magic of the earlier seasons, for a strong installment.
Season 3 ofGilmore Girlsis really something special, with massive townwide eventslike the dance marathon, a messy romantic drama for Rory, and a really compelling emotional storyline for Lorelai. After getting her heart broken once again by Christopher (David Sutcliffe), Lorelai has to watch as he prepares to have a baby with Sherry (Mädchen Amick), and as he steps up for her and Gigi in a way that he never really did for Lorelai and Rory. The season also sees Lane (Keiko Agena) joining Hep Alien, and starting a romance with Dave (Adam Brody).
Rory’s love triangle escalates this season, with a messy and iconic confrontation at the dance marathon, as Dean dumps herdue to her obvious feelings for Jess(Milo Ventimiglia). Rory’s relationship with Jess is short-lived, but they have some excellent moments together, and Rory’s heartbreak over his leaving leads to some major growth for her. This season also shows Lorelai letting go of the dream of Harvard for Rory, even if it means letting Rory follow in Richard’s footsteps, because she knows it will make her happy.
Season 2 ofGilmore Girlsis the show at its very best.It is cozy, charming, and deeply funny. After a lovely first season, the second installment ofGilmore Girlsshifts some of the core dynamics in some fascinating ways. Early on, Lorelai leaves Max (Scott Cohen) right before their wedding, and Luke takes Jess in to live with him. The ramifications of the breakup with Max affect both Lorelai and Rory, while Jess' arrival shakes things up for Luke, the town, and Rory’s relationship with Dean. It also adds some tension between Lorelai and Rory, who typically get along very well, when Lorelai disapproves of Rory’s growing closeness to Jess.
The second season ofGilmore Girlsshowcases some fun and entertaining events that involve the whole town of Stars Hollow, including the Bracebridge dinner and the basket auction. It also shows Richard leaving his job, Sookie and Jackson (Jackson Douglas) getting engaged and then married, andRory and Paris developing a real friendship. It is a truly incredible season that makes for the perfect rewatch for those missing Stars Hollow.
