Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Folks, we are officially in the release month of the premiere of the highly anticipated reboot of Gilmore Girls, which will follow the Gilmore ladies throughout one year of their life, in the form of four ninety-minute episodes all set to drop on Netflix on November 25th. Never has there been a better Black Friday steal than all six hours of the aptly titled Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life for the price of your Netflix subscription. It’s just a fact.
The first trailer for the reboot was recently released, but don’t worry, if those two and a half minutes aren’t enough to hold you over until Thanksgiving, we’ve got you covered. Leading up to the premiere we’re taking you season by season through the thirty episodes that you must watch before your re-entry into Stars Hollow is allowed by Taylor Doose himself.
Whether you’ve never seen Gilmore Girls before (Why? How? Are you okay?), haven’t watched it since it aired all those years ago (Big mistake. Big. Huge!), or are simply a true Gilly who will read anything that’s written about your beloved second family (#SorryNotSorry), these Gilmore essential episodes are sure to be the perfect preparation.
We’ve already taken you through the first, second, third, and fourth season’s essential episodes, so now let’s dive into all of the the fortunes, ball gowns, relationships, and yacht thefts (?!) that make up season five.
"Written in the Stars" (Season Five, Episode Three)
It’s new beginnings for both Gilmore girls! Lorelai and Luke go on their first — perfect, magical, delightful, etc. — date, much to the dismay of the town. Rory meets her soon-to-be third major boyfriend, Master and Commander…uh I mean Logan Huntzberger.
After Luke returns from the renaissance fair circuit — where he was helping Liz and TJ following a car accident — he and Lorelai finally go out on their first official date. Luke takes Lorelai to his favorite restaurant, introduces her to important people in his life, and declares that he is “all in” for their relationship. Not only that, but he also reveals the story behind their first meeting and that he’s been holding on to a horoscope that Lorelai gave him then. He’s literally kept that tiny slip of paper in his wallet for eight years. Eight. Years. The town soon finds out about the new it couple — when Lorelai goes down to the diner wearing only Luke’s signature plaid shirt — and discusses the possible ramifications of their relationship. Just let them live their life, Taylor!
Meanwhile, Rory meets Logan — heir to the Huntzberger fortune and a giant douchebag 98% of the time — and hates him at first sight. Same, Rory. But, much like with Jess, the burgeoning relationship with Logan — remember Rory is still technically still with Dean at this point — pushes Rory out of her comfort zone and defines, in large part, her character for the remaining seasons. Logan forces Rory to confront her privilege, to do things she wouldn’t normally (like steal a yacht), and exposes her to the life that Lorelai ran away from all of those years ago.
"You Jump, I Jump, Jack" (Season Five, Episode Seven)
When Emily finds out about Luke and Lorelai’s relationship she has the pair over for a dinner full of subtle jabs and passive aggressive remarks. Logan takes Rory to a Life and Death Brigade event and encourages her to do something dangerous.
Oh, sweet naive Luke. Poor Luke thought Richard and Emily couldn’t really be that bad, but after a disastrous dinner with Emily, an uncomfortable (and expensive) golfing excursion with Richard, and multiple reminders that he’s not good enough for Lorelai, Luke finally realizes just how wrong he was. After discovering a secret society at Yale — and realizing that Logan is part of it — Rory is blindfolded and taken to a super secret location to get the inside scoop on its latest event. While there Logan continuously pushes Rory out of her comfort zone, which culminates in her putting on a ball gown and jumping off a shaky-looking structure. In omnia paratus, after all.
This episode marks a few milestones: it’s one of the first times that we see a push back about the Luke-Lorelai relationship that we all wished for, it’s one of the first times that we see Rory actively fighting and working for something she wants, and it’s the episode where it becomes abundantly clear that Logan and Rory are going to get together. It’s a special and vibrant episode with new locations, striking costumes, and an overwhelming feeling that it’s gearing up for something really big.
"Wedding Bell Blues" (Season Five, Episode Thirteen)
In the one hundredth episode of Gilmore Girls, Richard and Emily renew their vows after a lengthy separation. Luke and Lorelai are put to the test yet again, this time thanks to Christopher. Rory confronts Logan by essentially questioning, “So…why aren’t we dating?”
The last episode ended with Emily telling Christopher that if he wanted to be with Lorelai, the time to take action was now. This episode picks up with Chris heeding Emily’s advice and showing up to her vow renewal ceremony to win Lorelai back — and get wasted, apparently. After running his mouth off constantly, Chris upsets Luke enough to make him storm out of the reception and head back to Stars Hollow sans Lorelai. After discovering Emily’s involvement in Christopher’s behavior Lorelai confronts her mother and declares, “You and me, we’re done.” At the same time, a recently single Rory is irked when Logan shows up to the ceremony with a date. After some advice from her dear old dad, Rory decides to take matters into her own hands and drag Logan to a private room to seduce him with her lips/body/best man suit and champagne. The party is busted up mid-undressing when Lorelai and Luke and Christopher storm into the room.
Though we are treated to some truly sweet moments between Emily and Richard, this episode and its after effects were a long time coming and certainly set the tone of the show for the next season or so. Emily finally pushed Lorelai too far, Lorelai is disappointed in Rory for making out with someone at her grandparents’ party, Rory did something rash, and Luke and Lorelai’s love story is threatened thanks to Lorelai’s first love.
"A House is Not a Home" (Season Five, Episode Twenty-Two)
After doubting her journalistic abilities thanks to her boyfriend’s daddy, Rory decides that it’s a super good idea to steal a yacht with Logan. While Lorelai wants Rory to move forward and get past this minor nautical set back, Rory decides that she doesn’t want to go to school anymore and would prefer to give up all together. Lorelai does not support that position, which prompts Rory to move in with her grandparents’. The fifth season ends with an emotionally vulnerable Lorelai proposing to Luke.
This episode is when many people think Gilmore jumped the shark. It set into motion an estrangement between not only Lorelai and her parents’, but also Lorelai and Rory. It posited that Rory wasn’t as great as we all assumed for so long. It clearly showed how Logan influenced Rory. It’s certainly a lot to take in, a lot to get past, and a lot darker than anyone expected. The one positive turn of the episode — a near engagement between Luke and Lorelai — is basically treated as a moot point thanks to Lorelai’s lack of emotional stability.
Season six does not get any lighter and shows Rory’s legal trouble, a separation of mother and daughter, and a continuance of bad decision making courtesy of both Gilmore girls.
