Power Rankings: Gilmore Girls
Seasons 1-7 of a show that went off the air in 2007, ranked from worst to best.
My all-time favorite comfort show is Gilmore Girls (GG).
What is it about this show? It’s the snap crackling dialogue. It’s the pop culture references. It’s Lorelai’s independence. It’s Rory’s dedication to learning. It’s got wit and heart. It’s the TV equivalent of a perfectly broken-in sweatshirt or cozy blanket. It’s a warm hug.
For this reason, I return to GG anytime I need a distraction, a pick-me-up, the easy relief of the familiar. I’ve seen it dozens of times. By that, I mean I have seen each season DOZENS of times.
Does it hold up rewatch after rewatch? No. (There are some terrible body shaming and homophobic jokes that are very cringey, and of course, the oft controversial season 7.) But nevertheless, it remains a huge touchstone for me.
To demonstrate the psychological and emotional grip this show has on me, here is my definitive ranking of seasons from worst to best, that no one asked for.1 ;)
7. Season Seven
The only season that might be worse than the final season of GG is the A Year In The Life (AYITL) reboot, but I’m a purist, so I am leaving this list to the original series.
Season seven suffered from a real case of trying to replicate a specific style and never really nailing it. It wasn’t about Christopher throwing a curveball into our Luke and Lorelai HEA. It was the rhythm and tone that were lost under a new showrunner.
The most egregious storyline was with Lane, who got a “sex is terrible and leads to pregnancy” plot foisted upon her, only to not get any redemption in AYITL. Highly disappointing. Oh and Sookie getting pregnant because Jackson actually didn't have that vasectomy. Hated that.
As I’ve gotten older and watched this show, I’m a little ashamed about how they treat sex and pregnancy on GG in general. There’s that scene in season three where Lorelai overhears Paris telling Rory about having sex with Jamie and Rory shares that she hasn’t had sex before, and you hear Lorelai whisper-gloat “I got the good kid.” :-/ For as open as Rory and Lorelai were, sex was still treated as incredibly taboo.
But season seven isn’t all misses. The back-half of the season started to hit its stride a bit more. The Hay Bale Maze, for example, felt like the exactly right quirky town event (for contrast, the knit-a-thon absolutely did not). By the last three episodes, I was sad to know the series would be ending.
Favorite Episode: S7Ep15 I'm a Kayak, Hear Me Roar
Putting aside the fact that the name of this episode should clearly be I am Kayak, Hear Me Roar, this is one of the highlights of the season for me. Emily and Lorelai really shine as they get drunk and figure out how to find the hidden toolbar on Quicken and Emily compliments Lorelai’s independence (and then promptly forgets the tender moment). Classic.
6. Season Six
The season seven writing was on the wall with season six. The plot started to jump the shark here with the prolonged Lorelai/Rory rift and the introduction of April. With April, they basically introduced a mini Rory, just more insufferable. The best part of the rift was the brilliant ways they used Paris this season. Her floundering without Rory, her power-trip as editor, her relationship with Doyle. Bless you, Paris.
One of the worst episodes of the series falls in this season (would call this a “wreck”, iykyk). There is something so off and cringey about S6Ep15 A Vineyard Valentine, particularly with Luke. Luke, a diner owner who makes Lorelai “lamb and artichoke stew, penne with pesto and potatoes, roasted garlic with rosemary focaccia, tomatoes stuffed with bread crumbs and goat cheese, and ricotta cheesecake with amaretto cookies to go with your coffee…" in season five, now has never had lobster and is counting on Cliff Bars to sustain himself? Blergh. I know part of Luke’s charm is his grumpiness, but drop the ‘tude, sir.
I do have to shout out the camera work during the Friday night dinner scene in Friday Night's Alright for Fighting – so different for GG but it works so well here. Another one for the Kenny Ortega2 highlight reel.
Favorite Episode: S6Ep21 Driving Miss Gilmore
Again, Emily and Lorelai save the day. The more I rewatch this show, the more I realize I am mostly here for Emily. I mean, look at her.
5. Season Five
I swear the rest of this list isn’t actually going to be in numerical order. Despite Luke and Lorelai finally getting together in season five, it’s a bit of a dud for me. Rory’s behavior makes my eyes roll multiple times. In episode eight, we see her starting to settle into what it seems she has been fighting as she drunkenly stumbles out of Logan’s limo following the Dean breakup during her grandparents’ all-sons Yale party. It’s more than just Logan — it’s what Logan represents. Rory, you are a Gilmore, after all.
While Mitchum’s “ya don’t got it” is definitely not how feedback is given, Rory proves yet again she lacks basic coping skills and an ability to step back, take criticism, and find some resilience. Dear god, don’t make me replay the study tree scene.
She goes to Yale! She works at the Yale Daily News! Other internships exists! And honestly, Mitchum’s feedback kinda plays out when we see Rory completely adrift and unable to write a story about lines in AYITL. Rory certainly is a writer, but did she ever have what it takes to be a journalist?
Favorite Episode: S5Ep18 To Live and Let Diorama
This episode serves the perfect amount of unhinged town activity and Paris moments. Will forever be haunted by the Jebediah family and that “museum.” RIP Old Man Twickham.
4. Season One
Season one does an excellent job at setting the tone for the show and offers the classic Gilmore Girls coziness that sits at the heart of why so many people love it. For me, it’s just not a season I return to often. Specifically, I dislike Emily in most of this season and think they did that character an immeasurable service by tweaking her look and delivery toward the end of the season.
Honestly, light on the thoughts here! It falls directly in the middle of my GG experience ranking.
Favorite Episode: S1Ep6 Rory's Birthday Parties
This episode really tees up the dynamics of the Emily/Lorelai relationship that I love. I love the juxtaposition of bday parties. I love Sookie. I love grumpy but sweet Luke. I actually like Dean!
3. Season Four
Rounding home with the top 3! Let me get this out of the way: I think Jason is probably the worst of the featured Lorelai boyfriends, aside from the snooze-fest that is Alex. But, sometimes his off putting vibe is actually a good match to Lorelai’s flippant behavior? That said, the Jason-heavy episodes like Tick, Tick, Boom and Afterboom are not my favorites. Some other gripes: Lane and Zack (I miss Dave Rygalski), the continued obsession with The Lord of the Rings, Rory and Dean (Let Lindsay be! But also, marriage at 18?) and omg, the dreaded study tree.
That also said: there are so many episodes and moments I thoroughly enjoy and return to in this season. The season premiere is a delight as is The Lorelais’ First Day at Yale. I like the very believable transition they make for Rory into college. She’s scared! She’s rattled! She’s not used to not succeeding!
Other season highlights include: The Festival of Living Art (Pictures? Isn’t that how Taylor refers to it?) with Kirk as Jesus, the Rory/Paris spring break experience (lolz), drunk Emily in The Reigning Lorelai (LOLZ), Richard and Emily tailgating, Luke comforting Lorelai and showing up for her when she needs it (sob!), a ren faire wedding, and finally a Luke/Lorelai kiss.
Favorite Episode: S4Ep15 Scene in a Mall
What an homage to mall culture! As someone who spent many a weekend wandering the mall, this episode is peak nostalgia. Emily’s scene in the department store and the subsequent food court lunch are incredible beats. I love when the three Gilmore girls are together.3
2. Season Three
Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer is a near-perfect premiere episode. I actually love how much time we get with Rory and Paris in D.C. And the Luke/Lorelai pump-fake at the start of that episode does exactly what we need it to do, and I remember it distinctly fooling me.
Most of my all-time favorite Gilmore Girls episodes fall in either season two or three. In three, our guy Kenny Ortega serves up two faves back to back.
Before that, a few other season highlights4: Eight O'Clock at the Oasis gives us another bad date: Jon Hamm! I wish we got more of that date, and I’ve always wondered what the line read was originally when Lorelai is on the phone with Hamm at Dwight’s house (your jet? From Maui?)5. Also, Hello Blue Crush re: Rory but also Jess. :)
I’m pro Jess on many accounts, and there are some great moments between him and Rory as that relationship develops. In Happy Birthday, Baby, Lane calls them a “really sweet old agoraphobic couple” and I agree — relationship vibes at their best!
Biggest slump of this season is a four episode sequence from 11-14 that really doesn’t do much for me and includes: fencing as a gym segment (wtf?) and the worst learning center course (ft a cootie catcher), Lorelai and Alex fishing (who cares), Sherry giving birth juxtaposed against some god-awful flashbacks (whyyy), and Jess getting ‘beaked’ by a swan (ok).
Favorite Episode(s): S3Ep7 They Shoot Gilmores, Don’t They? | S3Ep9 A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving
I could not talk about favorites and not mention the infamous dance marathon. I believe it was actually this episode that got me into Gilmore Girls. A girl who lived on my floor in my freshman year dorm was a big GG fan, and I’m pretty sure she played this episode to introduce me. This was around 2005, so I spent subsequent summers renting, and later buying, all the seasons on DVD. I ended up only watching season 7 live as it aired.
I digress. My actual all-time top episode is probably A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving. Forget Friends; this is the Thanksgiving TV episode I return to year in and year out. So much good town color in the episode, but also lots of time with our girls — and a Lane + Dave kiss!
I love drunk Sookie so much.
That scene when they return to her house that evening where she is happily enscotched in acceptance is my favorite to quote. I also love this line from the French guy at the Gilmores celebration re: Orlando: “It’s all Mickey Mouse this. And Mickey Mouse that. They want to die.” 💀
1. Season Two.
We made it! Top spot goes to season two. It’s got the coziness of season one with a bit more of its footing and voice solidified. Season two brings big relationship shifts as Lorelai calls off her engagement with Max and Jess enters the picture for Rory. Thank god for Jess because Dean was never going to sustain me as the boyfriend beyond the first season.
This season starts the spark of change for Rory with plenty of plot twists and drama. However, it still builds upon all the quirky charm introduced in season one. We get townie capsule episodes like The Bracebridge Dinner; this season gives us a lot of Richard, and I particularly love him in this episode. We get QT between Lorelai and Emily — particularly in episodes 7 and 16. Speaking of 16, I LOVE the Rory-Paris-Jess, or frankly just the Paris-Jess, combo. We needed more of those two colliding throughout the series.
The ratcheting up of the tension with Jess works extremely well this season and tees us up for an excellent season three. The differential between two and three is very small for me, but two gained a slight edge, because I like peak naive Rory.
Favorite Episode(s): S2Ep13 A-Tisket, A-Tasket
OK, the prehistoric tradition of men bidding on baskets that women make aside, this is a lovely encapsulation of GG in a single episode, filled with simmering romantic tension from Sookie and Jackson to Lorelai and Luke to Rory and Jess. I mean c’mon, look at these two!
[Both Laugh]
Le sigh. The end.
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And somehow this ended up being a 2,300 word essay. Again, I am so sorry and thank you for reading!
Kenny Ortega, of High School Musical fame, directed 12 episodes of Gilmore Girls!
Except at cyborg Mia’s wedding.
I wrote this whole thing and went back and re-read it and realized I didn’t even talk about the S3 finale and the Chilton graduation scene, which is truly a lovely cap to that chapter. Maybe S3 is my favorite? Too late, I wrote the whole thing. No take backs.