When it comes to Gilmore Girls, there is a lot of debate about which seasons are the best, which are the worst, and which simply should never be watched again. You might have an inkling which way this list is going to go, but everyone in Stars Hollow has an opinion about everything, so don’t expect it to be any different when talking about Stars Hollow.
Whether you like Chilton-Rory better than Yale-Rory or prefer seasons with Lorelai dating Max, or Jason, or Luke, the seasons do tend to have a divide that almost everyone agrees on. And then there’s Rory’s love life. Oh boy. Anyway, check out our list and see what you think, but you know, in the end, Taylor will probably just decide for everyone anyway.
7. Season 6
Let’s start with our least favorite season and get it out of the way right now. Season 6 is the year of the fight. This is the season that feels most out of character for Rory, and therefore sets most of Lorelai’s storylines into a funk as well. The show was definitely not at its best splitting them up for such a long story arc. Gilmore Girls is at its best when Rory and Lorelai are side by side, snapping witticisms and dropping obscure (and not-so-obscure) pop culture references, and this season takes a long nine episodes to get these two crazy kids back in the same room.
Arguably, this whole thing started thanks to the events of Season 5, and you’ll see where that season ranks soon, but ultimately, this whole mess of a season is rough. It’s almost hard to pick a least favorite episode, since there are a handful to pick from, but if pushed, “The UnGraduate” (Episode 3) sticks out. It’s the moment that Rory and Lorelai feel farthest apart, making it that much harder to watch. While episodes like “I Get a Sidekick Out of You” (Episode 19) try to redeem the season with fun town events like Lane’s wedding, there’s not a lot to be salvaged by that late in the season. Not even Paul Anka (the dog) is enough to make us rank this one higher, which is definitely saying something.
6. Season 7
While not the worst, Season 7 is another rough go for the Gilmore girls. As the final season, there was a lot of pressure to close things out in a satisfying way for fans, but there was just too much to try and rectify before season’s end. Not to mention that this is the season where Richard collapses with a heart attack, Luke and Chris get into an awkward rumble in the Christmas-decorated town square, Chris ends a town fundraiser with his super-sized bank account, and we spend most of an episode trying to decipher a rocket-clue with Rory.
The season does have its highlights, including pregnant Lane; Luke and Lorelai shopping for a car together (and getting back to some semblance of normalcy); Richard recovering from surgery and being in on all the hospital gossip; and finally, the giant, unwieldy, and totally impractical tent the town assembled to give Rory a going-away party in the rain. Those high points just aren’t enough to propel this season higher in the rankings, unfortunately.
5. Season 5
A season which ends with Rory and Lorelai separating for a lengthy amount of time cannot rank too highly, no matter what else happens in the meantime. Unlike Seasons 6 & 7, Season 5 has a lot more hope going for it early on, though. Lorelai and Sookie finally open the Dragonfly Inn, Luke subs in for Sookie on a big day (to hilarious result), Emily hosts a Russian ballerina, and Luke discovers the best uses for speed dial.
We also, unfortunately, have to suffer through the saga of Dean and Lindsay, the Twykham house/Stars Hollow History Museum fiasco (even if it does deliver us a terrific, rare scene of Lane, Rory, and Paris together, drunk on Patty’s punch and all ranting about their relationship issues), and the Huntzberger family theatrics. In fact, the Huntzberger drama is probably the straw that broke the camel’s back for this season, especially since it ends so horribly. The ups and downs of this season almost cancel each other out to make it a wash, but not quite, landing it our 5th ranked season of the bunch.
4. Season 1
The bottom three out of the way, it’s mostly sunshine and rainbows from this point out. The first season of this show sets us up for such a delightful run that you’d think it would rank higher, but the highlights of the next three seasons just slightly edge out the series starter. Thankfully, Season 1, in addition to giving us Friday night dinners, gives us Rory getting hit by a deer, teenage love, an entire episode dedicated to Donna Reed which exhibits Rory’s unique ability to love researching literally anything, and a thousand yellow daisies.
The season isn’t without its hard points, especially when Rory and Dean accidentally fall asleep in Patty’s dance studio after the dance (prompting a pair of fights between the mothers and daughters), Emily having a fit over learning where Rory grew up when Lorelai left their world, and, well, Christopher returning to Rory’s life after a long absence. But all of those hardships bring positive results, a quality which is missing from some of the rough spots in the later seasons. The discussion about Rory’s future plans and the openness between her and her mother is definitely positive, Emily learning to accept that what she deems valuable and what Lorelai deems valuable are two entirely different ideas, and Rory getting to have some version of her father in her life are all good things that couldn’t be if it weren’t for the hard times. Hence, why this season falls in the middle of our list at number four.
3. Season 2
It’s all upside from here, people. Season 2 gave us Rory settling in at Chilton, and therefore her rivalry with Paris progressed steadily on. Lorelai decides not to marry Max, which, while bittersweet, does set her on a path to some happy times. Jess moves to town and shakes up Rory’s perfect, small-town romance. Oh, and Emily and Lorelai make some serious progress toward co-existing in harmony.
This is also a season of change for our Gilmore girls, as Lorelai graduates business school, marking a life event she didn’t get to experience as a teen thanks to her pregnancy. We see Sookie and Jackson’s almost-storybook romance play out, including a fantastic double date with Lorelai that ends better than you’d think. Rory also makes some hasty decisions which help her to grow, which is always a good look for a second season.
2. Season 3
Season 3 shines bright in Rory’s senior year at Chilton. It’s such a tumultuous year in any person’s life, as drastic changes linger on the not-so-distant horizon, and it’s no different on Gilmore Girls. Even as she’s batting around Ivy League school applications instead of community college, financing her schooling through her super rich grandparents instead of through a bank, Rory’s experience isn’t that much different than the average high school senior.
But, since her and Lorelai’s relationship is anything but typical, the looming future encourages them to savor the special moments while they have them. All this while Rory is debating the romantic merits of two boys, Lorelai is fishing for the man of her dreams, Christopher’s girlfriend, Sherry, is about to give Rory a half-sister, and Francie is making play after play for more power in school politics.
With the chaos of senior year, packed full of nostalgia for childhood and anticipation of adulthood, this season was destined to be one of Gilmore Girls finest. It could have taken the cake if not for some big events in our last remaining season.
1. Season 4
The season starts out with a bang, as we hear all about the backpacking trip through Europe that Lorelai and Rory have been talking about for three seasons now. And then, quicker than lightning, the show pivots to moving Rory out of her home and into her dorm. We see our Gilmore girls cling to their bond, even as distance, circumstance, and busy schedules keep them apart.
This season has some of the show’s best stand alone episodes, including Episode 7, “The Festival of Living Art,” Episode 9, “Ted Koppel’s Big Night Out,” Episode 16, “The Reigning Lorelai,” and Episode 17, “Girls in Bikinis, Boys Doin' the Twist.” Episode 7 shows us Rory wielding a little power over Stars Hollow’s power brokers, Hep Alien finding their missing piece, and Sookie going into labor with little baby Davey. Then there’s Episode 9, which sends Lorelai and Rory to the big Harvard/Yale game and, well, chaos ensues. Oh, and you can’t forget Episode 16, in which we see Emily completely lose it when Richard’s mother passes away (but not in the way you’d think), or Episode 17, when Rory and Paris do Spring Break. There is just such incredible storytelling at work in Season 4, it’s a veritable cornucopia of riches.
Perhaps one of the reasons this season is so strong, outside of the bevy of incredible stand alone episodes, is the excellence of both the premiere and the finale. The season starts out with a bang, as we discussed before, and ends with the Dragonfly hosting its first guests, which boasts Babette flashing Luke, Kirk streaking out of the Inn with night terrors, and the iconic Luke and Lorelai kiss. Everything comes together in these 22 episodes for the Gilmore girls, and that makes it the finest of all seven seasons.