The Best Gilmore Girls Episode, According To The Cast & Fans

Gilmore Girls, though it premiered 25 years ago in October 2000, is one of those rare television shows you go back to over and over without ever tiring of your time in Stars Hollow. It’s probably become so instinctual to throw on when you need a comfort watch that it doesn’t matter what season or episode you tune into — you love them all.

If you had to choose, though, picking the greatest Gilmore Girls episode of all time is a weighty task — especially with 153 episodes across seven seasons. The “best” doesn’t necessarily have to be your favorite, but it’s the one episode that encapsulates everything the beloved series is known for: a bit of Rory and Lorelai, fast dialogue with hilarious pop-culture references, and quirky Stars Hollow townspeople.

Show creator Amy Sherman-Palladino first says “oh, Jesus” to what seems like an impossible question before admitting she’s partial to “They Shoot Gilmores, Don’t They?” in Season 3, best known for the dance marathon. Speaking to Elite Daily at the Amy Sherman-Palladino Multiverse PaleyFest panel in Los Angeles, she singles out other fan favorites she loves, too, like Season 5’s “Wedding Bell Blues” and Season 2’s “The Road Trip to Harvard.”

Before adding in a laundry list of other episodes that come to mind, Sherman-Palladino admits what every fan is thinking: “We should watch the show again. It’s very entertaining.”

She isn’t the only one who has thoughts on this debate. Below, diehard fans, hosts of Gilmore Girls podcasts and Instagram accounts, along with Lauren Graham (Lorelai), Scott Patterson (Luke), and Kelly Bishop (Emily), share their thoughts on the best Gilmore Girls episodes.

1. “You Jump, I Jump, Jack”

Season 5, Episode 7

Season 5’s “You Jump, I Jump, Jack” is at the top of a lot of fans’ lists, according to Elite Daily’s IG survey. Rory is introduced to Yale’s fictional secret society, The Life and Death Brigade, of which Logan Huntzberger is a member. It’s a solid pick for Team Logan fans, and also features iconic imagery that many Gilmore Girls fans have gotten tattooed.

April, a point-of-sale (POS) implementation specialist from Minnesota who watches Gilmore Girls from beginning to end every fall, says this is hands-down her favorite episode because it shows Rory’s independence from Stars Hollow. “Rory decides to mentally leave her small town behind and jump, literally, into a new start,” she says. It’s full of forward motion for other characters as well, like Lane and Zack making things official and Luke meeting Emily as Lorelai’s boyfriend for the first time.

2. “They Shoot Gilmores, Don’t They?”

Season 3, Episode 7

Palladino’s first pick is Season 3’s “They Shoot Gilmores, Don’t They?” Co-host of the Gilmore to Say podcast, Tara Llewellyn, says this is peak Gilmore Girls because it’s set in the fall and includes a Stars Hollow event. There are moments with Luke, Taylor, Kirk, Sookie, Paris, Lane, and Dave Rygalski (aka Adam Brody). Plus, Llewellyn says, “We go to Luke’s; we go to Chilton; we even get a Friday Night Dinner!”

Most fans will remember this episode as the start of Jess and Rory’s ’ship after Dean breaks up with her, but there’s so much more that goes on. “It’s theatrical, it encapsulates everything we love about Stars Hollow, and it does it all while centering our favorite mother-daughter duo,” Llewellyn says. It doesn’t hurt that this episode was written by Sherman-Palladino and directed by Kenny Ortega. They truly were all in this together.

3. “The Bracebridge Dinner”

Season 2, Episode 10

Brittany Cloobeck, who runs the @GilmoreGirlsOnly Instagram account, loves “The Bracebridge Dinner.” According to her, this episode has the magic that Gilmore Girls is known for, while featuring all the main characters in one landmark setting, The Independence Inn.

In the episode, the Stars Hollow crew enjoys a festive dinner after nearby conventiongoers get snowed in and are unable to attend. “Highlights include horse-drawn sleigh rides and characters we normally wouldn’t see interacting, like Emily and Richard with the townspeople of Stars Hollow,” Cloobeck says. Snow-loving Lorelai Gilmore would definitely have this episode at the top of her list.

4. “Raincoats and Recipes”

Season 4, Episode 22

Some fans may remember this as the episode where Lorelai opens The Dragonfly Inn, but it also has Luke and Lorelai’s first kiss and the infamous moment where Rory sleeps with Dean. It may be a controversial pick because of the latter, but fans like Angelica, a writer from Guatemala who chose to study communications in college because of Rory, love seeing Lorelai succeed.

“We’ve seen her break down and cry through the journey, but her optimism and kind nature come through in a big way,” Angelica says. “I love watching ‘Raincoats and Recipes’ when I need to be reminded that my hard work and stress will pay off if I keep going and rely on the people I love.” Plus, there’s a hilarious storyline about Kirk with night terrors that brings in the absurdist comedy the series is known for.

5. “Friday Night’s Alright for Fighting”

Season 6, Episode 13

Lauren Brickman, host of comedy fangirl show We Stan Together at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City, doesn’t think this Season 6 episode is the funniest one or her favorite — but she does believe it’s the best. “The episode highlights the sharp side of the series and has so many lurching, honest moments,” she says. It has Lorelai confessing to Sookie that her wedding to Luke has been postponed, while Luke is getting to know his daughter, April, whom he just found out about. As a Team Logan girl, Brickman also loves that there’s “peak Logan charm.”

The scene that sticks with her the most is the Friday night dinner sequence. “The zingers zing, and Emily paints moonscapes so she doesn’t have to be in the same room as Rory,” Brickman says. “It’s an episode that lets the top off of tensions that have been building all season, and while it’s not always comfortable, there’s relief. It’s always good to see Lorelai and Rory on the same side again.”

While Lauren Graham doesn’t have one episode in mind as the best of the best, she says, “Any scenes in my parents’ house, with Kelly [Bishop] and Ed [Herrmann], were very long to shoot, but very satisfying.” Safe to say this episode fits the bill.

6. “A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving”

Season 3, Episode 9

Fans of Stars Hollow love “A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving” from Season 3, because as Lorelai and Rory go between their four different dinners, you see so many of the characters you know and love. Jackson is deep-frying a turkey while Sookie gets drunk, and Kirk adopts a cat also named Kirk.

Sarah, a social media manager from Los Angeles who has seen the show all the way through at least five times, appreciates this episode for giving a peek into Luke and Lorelai’s relationship, as well as delivering one of her favorite quotes from the show: “Am I laughing or crying?” For all the “justice for Lane” fans out there, it also has her first kiss with Dave.

7. “Pilot”

Season 1, Episode 1

The one that started it all just so happens to be Scott Patterson’s pick for the best Gilmore Girls episode. “I always go back to the pilot because it gives you those goosebumps,” he says. “You didn’t know it was going to turn into such a cultural phenomenon.” Pilots aren’t always great because they have to introduce you to characters and set up exposition. However, Patterson says this is “better than your average pilot.”

That first introduction to Lorelai and Rory, when they hilariously explain to a guy flirting with both of them at Luke’s Diner that they’re mother and daughter, provides plenty of cozy vibes. “That’s what I think fans get out of watching Gilmore Girls,” Patterson says. “They know they’re in good hands, they feel safe, and they know they’re going to see something really entertaining and excellent.”

8. “The Lorelais’ First Day at Yale”

Season 4, Episode 2

Haley McIntosh, co-host of the Gilmore to Say podcast, points to “The Lorelais’ First Day at Yale” as her favorite episode. Rory moves into her Yale dorm room and asks Lorelai to stay for a sleepover her first night away from home. “This is everything the Gilmores have been working toward for the last three seasons,” McIntosh says.

It felt great watching our favorite mother-daughter duo enjoy the moment with zero boy or family drama. “This is a true representation of what is so comforting about this show,” McIntosh says. And Natalie, a lawyer from Toronto who related to Rory when she first watched Gilmore Girls, agrees. This nostalgic episode reminds her of her first day in college and contains several hilarious moments, like the truck bit, “copper boom,” and mattress mayhem.

9. “A-Tisket, A-Tasket”

Season 2, Episode 13

Season 2’s “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” is more commonly known as “the picnic episode,” where Stars Hollow townspeople auction off their baskets for a date. It not only has a memorable Stars Hollow event, but is chock-full of Team Jess moments. At the auction, Jess outbids Rory’s boyfriend, Dean, to win a lunch with her, and even refers to him as the “guy who didn’t bring enough money.” The two then have a picturesque date by the lake and get to chat about their favorite thing, books.

Kelly, an executive assistant from Georgia and OG fan who watched the show when it first aired, says, “I am Team Jess. His shenanigans to win Rory over will always be the best part of any Gilmore Girls episode, and it reaches its peak with this one.” The B-story of Sookie and Jackson fighting because Kirk got her pretzel bread basket is also a highlight. “It’s got romantic sabotage, classic Stars Hollow, and just enough Dean sulking to keep things spicy,” Kelly says.

10. “Bon Voyage”

Season 7, Episode 22

Many fans believe the series finale is the best example of what Gilmore Girls is all about. Rory’s send-off shows how much the town cares for her, which is what Patterson says fans want to see. “The town comes together to do this nice thing for Rory,” he says. “Every 18-year-old girl who has witnessed that episode pines to be in that town.”

Kelly Bishop, who played Emily Gilmore, says she often forgets certain moments, but loves it when fans remind her of episodes like “Bon Voyage.”

Ultimately, though, she says, “It’s really hard for me to find my favorite episode. I would have to watch the show again.” Well, if Emily suggests a re-watch, there’s simply no other choice.