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Rory has spent the summer in Washington with Paris
preparing to be Chilton’s vice president. Lorelai dreams she is pregnant with
Luke’s twins and they are together. Rory thinks it either means that Lorelai
loves Luke or she wants to be pregnant with Chris’s baby like Sherry. Paris
meets a Princeton student named Jamie, who is cute and wants to date her. When
Rory returns to Stars Hollow, she sees Jess making out with another girl, Shane.
Rory is jealous, but decides to ignore Jess and focus on Dean. Richard and
Emily are upset to hear Lorelai isn’t with Christopher. Lorelai walks out on
Friday night dinner and goes to Luke’s diner, where she and Luke make amends.
We liked this premiere, especially seeing Rory jealous of
Jess. We also liked Lorelai’s parents reaction at her not being with
Christopher. FINALLY Lorelai and Luke are friends again. We hate when they
fight so much. We like Paris’s new boyfriend a lot, and we were pretty bummed
about how they ended. It’s very Paris, but it’s not what we would like. We have
to give this show credit for giving us very realistic relationship endings.
Sometimes things just fizzle and one partner disappears. Sometimes there is
cheating, insecurity, and a dramatic cut off with lots of closure. Gilmore
Girls has all of that. We were so glad that the Luke/Lorelai feud ended. Seeing
them flirt and bicker is one of the many highlights of this show, and it sucks
when we are robbed of it. It was a good start.
Episode grade: A-
Episode 2- Haunted
Leg
Kirk asks Lorelai out, but she turns him down. Rory and
Jess fight after Jess accuses Rory of being unfairly jealous. He’s mad that she
didn’t contact him while she was in Washington. Christopher comes to Friday
night dinner to talk to Lorelai, but Rory, Emily, and Lorelai aren’t having it.
They send him away, angry.
Every child of divorce knows how annoying it is when
people on one side of the family accuse you of getting all your thoughts from
the parent on the other side of the family. When Christopher accused Lorelai of
planting anger in Rory in front of his daughter, we cringed. That’s a surefire
way to get your kid to know that you don’t respect them and their discernment.
It dissolves any trust that was left. Bad move, Chris. We loved the fight and
how all the ladies banded together to stand up to Chris though. Kirk brought
the hilarity, we loved seeing Jess return Rory’s jealousy, and this episode was
just well-written and well-executed.
Episode grade: A
Episode 3-
Application Anxiety
Rory realizes that her choice of Harvard essay is cliché
and her application may not be up to snuff. Lane looks for band members. Finally,
Lane finds her calling. The family Rory and Lorelai visited was incredibly
annoying. The rabbit girl who “got off the conveyor belt” was cool and pretty
though. There’s not much to say about this one. It was kind of boring. We
laughed at Taylor’s soda shop plot though.
Episode grade: C+
Episode 4- One’s
Got Class and the Other One Dyes
Lorelai and Luke speak at the local high school about
business, but the kids just question Lorelai about being 16 and pregnant. The
mothers decide Lorelai is inappropriate and get mad at her. Lane dyes her hair
purple, but then she immediately dyes it back before her mother can see. Rory
fights with Shane, Jess’s new girlfriend.
We liked the high school plot. All the girls just swooned when Butch Danes took the field. Lorelai
is relentless. Poor Lorelai. Mothers really are like that when they get in
self-righteous little groups, the harpies. We looooved Lane’s purple hair. Ern
really wants purple hair, but thinks it might conflict with her future job as a
lawyer. The biggest disappointment of the episode was that Lane dyed it back.
We love when Rory gets mean. She’s clever. Shane didn’t really deserve the
digs, but we chuckled anyway.
Episode grade: B-
Episode 5- Eight
O’Clock at the Oasis
A neighbor has Lorelai water his greenery while he is out
of town. Lorelai and Rory are allowed to go into his house, where they discover
many board games and the fact that the neighbor has a crazy ex. A sprinkler
breaks while Rory fills in for her mom, and Jess has to come fix it. Lorelai
goes to an auction and meets a guy (Jon Hamm from Mad Men), and Emily helps
Lorelai contact him. They go on a date, and Lorelai decides she hates him, but
Emily is concerned about what her social circle will think if Lorelai doesn’t
grant the man a second date.
This episode is known for the moment when Rory and Jess
about pounce on each other, soaking wet, in the middle of a neighbor’s lawn.
These were the best Jess episodes. He wanted her, she wanted him, but both of
them were too proud to just go for it. We didn’t like the resolution to the crazy
neighbor plot. There was a mean phone call from his ex? And that’s it? He had a
lot of board games? Was he necessary? Lorelai dumping Jon Hamm was unrealistic
because LOOK AT HIM. We wouldn’t care how boring he was.
Episode grade: B+
Episode 6- Take
the Deviled Eggs
Rory and Lorelai go to Sherry’s baby shower. Sherry gives
them left-over deviled eggs, and they throw it at Jess’s new car, offended that
he should have a new car after he trashed Rory’s. Some people think the girls
were too catty in this episode, exaggerating the “crimes” of others. We like
their timid aggression. The eggs thing was funny! The baby shower was something
out of a horror movie, and we loved it. Very entertaining. Sherry is the worst.
Episode grade: B-
Episode 7- The
Shoot Gilmores, Don’t They?
Stars Hollow has its Dance Marathon, and Lorelai really
wants to beat four-time champion, Kirk. Jackson and Sookie fight because
Jackson wants four kids in four years. Lorelai and Luke think that’s an insane
plan, and Jackson doesn’t think it’s their business. Jamie visits Paris and
convinces her to get coffee with him. When Lorelai can’t find a male partner
for the contest, Rory fills in, and Dean and Jess come to watch. Jess brings Shane.
Rory acts jealous and Dean breaks up with Rory. Rory leaves the dance floor, so
Lorelai loses. Kirk runs around the room with the trophy held over his head.
This is one of the best Gilmore Girls episodes ever. No
one expected Dean to break up with Rory, leaving her not quite over him. It
happened in the seventh episode too, not a finale. Rory and Lorelai looked so
cute in their dresses. Dave started trying to charm Mrs. Kim. Adorable. Kirk’s
victory run had us squealing with laughter. Luke and Lorelai discussed having
babies! There wasn’t a bad moment or plotline in the whole episode.
Episode grade: A+
Episode 8- Let the
Games Begin
Richard invites Rory to Yale, which angers Lorelai at
first, but then she decides to come too. Richard tricks Rory into interviewing
with the dean of admissions, and Rory is angry that it was a surprise and she
went into it unprepared. Lorelai and Emily are also made, because of all the
lying. Rory and Jess start dating, but it’s awkward at first. They get one good
kiss in, and then Rory goes to Dean’s house and sits at his window to apologize
for how she treated him. She tells Dean that she hopes one day he won’t hate
her.
We like that this episode got the Yale stuff in as well
as some romantic stuff. We don’t like episodes that are all about Rory’s
school. It just gets dull. We know she’s perfect and going to an Ivy League
school. We also like that Richard and Rory fought in this episode. They hardly
ever do, and it’s realistic and interesting to see it. Lorelai always talks
about what a master manipulator Richard is. The show isn’t usually good at
showing that, but it is here. We loved Babette’s encouragement to Jess and
Rory. We loved Rory’s apology to Dean even more. It was sincere and perfectly
worded. Jess, stop smoking.
Episode grade: A-
Episode 9- A
Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving
Rory and Lorelai are invited to four different
Thanksgiving dinners. Lane kisses Dave, her new bandmate, and Kirk gets a cat,
with disastrous results. Rory announces that she applied to Yale, and her
mother is mad. We loved the subplot with Kirk’s cat. We love most (if not all)
Human Kirk plots. We liked having Dave on the show, but we like him better as
Seth Cohen and understand why he had to leave. Lane and Dave’s first kiss was
even better than Rory’s. The deep frying was great.
Episode grade: B
Episode 10-
That’ll Do, Pig
Lorelai coaches Emily on how to deal with Richard’s mean
mom. Jamie is Paris’s official boyfriend. Jess won’t go to the Winter Carnival
with Rory until Dean invites Rory to go along with him and Clara. We weren’t
into Richard’s mom. She was just a dick. But seeing Emily and her daughter on
the same side is always a welcome treat. When they are good together, we dig
that relationship. We liked Dean trying to befriend Rory into getting her back.
We hate Clara. She acts much younger than the actress they picked to play her.
She looks 11 and acts four.
Episode grade: B+
Episode 11- I
Solemnly Swear
Francie tricks Paris into thinking that Rory is plotting
against her regarding Student Council affairs. Lorelai and Sookie go to a
lecture about running an inn and learn nothing. Sookie sees an old friend named
Joe, who has a crush on her, and has to tell him that she’s married. Lorelai likes
Joe’s business partner, Alex. A former maid sues Emily, and Lorelai gives a
deposition on the matter. It is not flattering to Emily or helpful to her case,
but it is funny.
The deposition was the only thing we liked here. Emily
took it well. We don’t think it’s necessary to have Paris and Rory fighting at
this point in the series, and Francie isn’t funny. Any plot that focuses too
heavily on Sookie isn’t one of our favorites, because that character can get
cartoonish. The Alex romance didn’t exactly go anywhere, so this whole episode
is kind of a time waster.
Episode grade: C
Episode 12-
Lorelai Out of Water
Alex invites Lorelai to go fishing, so Lorelai takes
lessons from Luke. Luke is attracted to Taylor Doose’s lawyer, Nicole. Paris
and Rory continue to fight until the headmaster shuts them down. Lane is
allowed to go to prom, but her mother wants to pick her date. Ugh, Nicole. We
guess if they are going to drag Luke/Lorelai out, Luke needs to have a romance
sometimes too, but we hate when he dates other girls. We already had to live
through Rachel! Lorelai was funny learning to fish, but doesn’t she have the
internet to teach her? The best thing about this episode was Lane’s plot.
Episode grade: B-
Episode 13- Dear
Emily and Richard
Rory is invited to Sherry’s C-section, but Sherry goes
into labor early. Rory is the only one who can make it because Chris is out of
town and all Sherry’s friends are busy. Lorelai remembers her own labor. We
don’t think the girl playing Lorelai could imitate Lauren Graham. Sorry. She
looked like Lorelai, but she wasn’t Lorelai. The flashbacks were interesting at
first, but they didn’t work overall. Sherry was annoying, and her friends are
unbelievable. It was annoying to see Chris showing up for his other daughter
when he is so often absent in Rory’s life. This one isn’t a favorite.
Episode grade: C
Episode 14- Swan
Song
Rory accuses Jess of fighting with Dean after Jess comes
to Friday night dinner with a black eye. They fight, and Emily scolds Lorelai
for letting Rory date Jess. Rory spends the night at her grandparents’ house.
Rory tells Lorelai that she might have sex with Jess. Jess tells Luke that he
got attacked by a swan down at the lake, and that’s how he got the black eye.
Lane and Dave’s bandmates realize the two are hiding something, but they
erroneously come to believe it’s Christianity. Jess was funny in this one. A
hoodlum’s pride is large, isn’t it? This was one of the few times we see Jess
and Luke getting along, being honest with each other, and relating to each
other. We like that. Emily handled everything really well. She was cool this
week. Nothing was boring.
Episode grade: A
Episode 15-
Face-Off
Jess is paling in comparison to Dean as far as
plan-making, consideration, and calling. Lorelai makes Rory promise not to stay
home and wait by the phone for Jess to call, so Rory goes to a hockey game. She
sees Dean there with his new girlfriend, Lindsay. Rory leaves Jess an angry
message, but then she finds out that Jess had intended to surprise her with
plans, so she makes him promise to delete the message without listening to it.
Emily finds Trix kissing a man in a purpose jogging suit, and Trix is embarrassed.
Lane and Dave find a fake, Korean boyfriend for Lane.
This episode served to contrast Dean and Jess as
boyfriends. We instantly hated Lindsay, even though she never does anything to
deserve it in the history of the series. We think Rory should still have let
Jess listen to that message. Just because Jess had plans for Rory doesn’t mean
she couldn’t use the heads up of WHEN so that she can plan her life. Rory is a
busy girl. The Trix stuff dragged the episode down, but it was a winner
overall. The hockey stuff was a laugh riot.
Episode grade: A
Episode 16- The
Big One
Paris tells Rory that she had sex with Jamie, and Rory
tells Paris that she’s still a virgin. Rory and Paris have to give speeches for
the school’s bicentennial, which will appear on C-SPAN. Paris snaps on live TV
and announces that she has been rejected from Harvard. She blames the
distraction of a boyfriend and tells the world that Rory will probably get in,
because she’s a virgin. Lorelai and Max meet again. Sookie is pregnant. Rory
gets accepted to Harvard, Princeton, and Yale. Wow. The biggest virgin in the
world. We liked the end of this episode with all the envelopes. It felt like
watching Rory obsess over Harvard all these years paid off for the viewers too.
This is one of Paris’s funniest episodes. The actress owned her meltdown scene.
We liked Lorelai’s relieved, proud face when Rory told Paris that she hadn’t
slept with Dean or Jess.
Episode grade: A
Episode 17- A Tale
of Poes and Fire
The Independence Inn catches on fire, so some guests stay
at Lorelai’s house while she bunks with Luke and Jess. Lane realizes her fake
boyfriend actually likes her and won’t break up with her. Rory realizes that
Yale is the best school out of the ones that accepted her. Lorelai gives Rory her
blessing to go there. The Lane stuff was the funniest. We like that there was a
“plot twist” in the ever-present Rory’s Education storyline where she decides
on Yale instead of Harvard. The fire was also a nice surprise, as was Lorelai
crashing Luke’s. We can’t believe she told him about her pregnancy dream!
Episode grade: A-
Episode 18- Happy
Birthday, Baby.
Rory tells her grandparents about Yale, and they are
excited. Rory plans a big birthday bash for Lorelai, which includes a giant
pizza. Richard invested money for Lorelai when she was born and gives her
$75,000 from the payout for her birthday. Lorelai uses the money to pay her
mother back for Chilton. Emily is angered and hurt. Luke is having trouble
keeping Jess in school and embarrasses himself in front of Nicole’s parents by
ranting about his troubles. The beginning scene was the best. Emily and
Richard’s reactions to the Yale news were perfect. The loan repayment plot
turned the episode into a bummer, but the giant pizza brought our spirits up just
before the credits rolled. We don’t love seeing Emily and Lorelai fight for an
hour. Team Lorelai on this one. She was just repaying the loan. Sorry your
strings are gone, Emily.
Episode grade: B-
Episode 19- Keg!
Max!
Jess won’t be graduating. Rory, Jess, Dean, and Lindsay
go to a party where Lane’s band plays. Lane gets drunk, calls her mother, and
tells her everything. Rory and Jess go in an upstairs room, where Rory
questions him about why he’s acting so weird. Jess tries to have sex with Rory,
but when she is surprised, he pushes her away. Rory leaves the room crying, so
Dean fights Jess and causes damage to the house where they are guests. Lorelai
invites Luke and Nicole to have a romantic night at the inn, but she doesn’t
like seeing them together. In this episode, we find out that Lorelai did NOT
break up with Max properly. What. A. Witch. The party was eventful, but we were
disappointed in Jess. What he did was wrong, even if he was stressed about
school and not getting to go to the prom. It was about time Dean and Jess
really, physically, went at it. Poor Jess. He’s so frustrating. It’s realistic
that Rory and Luke couldn’t fix him, but that doesn’t mean we have to like it.
Episode grade: B+
Episode 20- Say
Goodnight, Grace
Jess’s father comes to Stars Hollow to meet Jess. Luke
yells at him, and the leaves. Dean asks Lindsay to marry him, and Rory is
jealous. Fran Weston dies, so Lorelai and Sookie move in to try to buy her
property. Mrs. Kim lets Dave take Lane to the prom. Rory tells Lorelai what
happened at the party. Jess refuses to retake his senior year, so Luke kicks
Jess out. Jess goes to California to find his father. He sees Rory on the bus
and does not tell her where he is going.
We loved Lorelai’s reaction to the kegger in the opening
scene. We hate the way the Jess/Rory relationship ended. We know they were
trying to make a Jess spin off, but since that didn’t work out, it ended up
simply spoiling this show a little. It’s a good thing Jess guest starred a few
times after this, but it doesn’t totally make up for the crappiness of this
episode’s events. Luke was 100% right to kick Jess out though. That’s all you
can do with a kid that age who won’t go to school and won’t accept your help or
authority.
Episode grade: B-
Episode 21- Here
Comes the Son
Rory is stressed about graduation, and Lorelai doesn’t
want to worsen things by telling her daughter that Jess has abandoned her for
good. Meanwhile, Jess gets his dad to let him stay with him in Venice Beach.
For a penultimate episode, this backdoor pilot for Jess’s show was too much
Jess and not enough Gilmore Girls. It’s not like the Jess scenes were bad. They
were just another show. We guess it’s nice to see where Jess ended up so we
wouldn’t worry about him. At least the Rory footage was significant. You can
skip this one though.
Episode grade: C
Episode 22- Those
Are Strings, Pinocchio
Rory graduates from Chilton. Lorelai plans to pay for
Yale, rather than buy the Dragonfly, but Rory makes a new deal with Richard and
Emily. Her grandparents will pay for Yale if Friday night dinners are back on.
Lorelai is mad at Rory for going behind her back and taking money with strings
on it. Lorelai and Sookie buy the Dragonfly Inn. Rory calls Jess and breaks up with
him. Lorelai convinces Luke to go on a cruise with Nicole. Rory and Lorelai
prepare for their backpacking trip to Europe. We are so jealous of Rory and
Lorelai getting to backpack to Europe. Rory’s graduation speech was sweet, but
we hope she didn’t make the entire speech all about herself and her family.
That’s not fair to the other graduates listening. We haaate when valedictorians
do that. Paris didn’t seem that jealous of Rory’s status. They are really
friends. We liked Rory’s call to Jess. Now THAT was the closure we needed two
episodes ago.
Episode grade: B
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