Gilmore Girls on Netflix: 25 Must-Watch Episodes (And 7 You Can Totally Skip) 

 fans, today is the day you’ve all been waiting for.

No, it’s not the premiere of the movie we’re still hoping for (where’s

the day that all seven seasons of the beloved drama become available on Netflix. And where Netflix leads, we will follow.

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Whether you’re a longtime fan of the series, or you’re just beginning your journey through Stars Hollow today, we’ve compiled a list of 25 episodes you

watch during your binge — and, because even the best shows have their dull moments, we’ve also included one episode from each season that you can skip. (Keeping in mind, as any true

fan knows, that Seasons 6 and 7 are almost entirely skippable in their own right.)

So click through our gallery below (minor spoilers, newbies), and before you head over to Netflix to start watching our recommended episodes, hit the comments with your must-watch or must-skip picks! (We know we missed a few.)

Fun series, but it got a little uncomfortable after a while. Rory became a spoiled, bratty bitca. Even Lorelai didn’t seem to want to have anything to do with her toward the end. An I guess it makes sense story-wise, and it is an interesting arc to see this kid whose mother shunned her wealthy upbringing turning out even more spoiled, but it was hard to watch.

While I disagree with you about Rory (mostly) I have to applaud you for use of the term bitca. Buffyverse forever. Kudos.

I pretty much loved every episode of this show… the few skip episodes were my least favorite and I really hated toe jess storyline…

This. I hated Jess. He was just a bad, bad person.

When Jess was younger he was a jerk, but he turned out to be an okay person and even yelled Rory out of her DAR phase.

Jess is a million times better than Logan.

I hated Jess! I was Team Dean all the way. The writers threw that character under a bus and made him so different than when he was first introduced (the new cool mysterious boy from Chicago who wore a leather jacket). He was a great boyfriend but a lousy husband

but above everything else: HE BUILT HER A FREAKING CAR!! (and was wrecked by Jess)

yes. Yes. and YES! Hated Jess. I have to FF through his scenes when I re-watch. I wouldn’t buy seasons 6 and 7 because they were so inorganic, unlike the first 5. Favorite episodes: Season 5 Parents vows, and when Rory graduates Chilton (except when she takes the call from Jess, of course!) but tear up everytime I watch her speech.

Agreed! I have never understood the Jess love. Although I did like his later appearances, I think he is best used sparingly and not as a romantic interest for Rory.

Also, the whole potential step-cousins thing grosses me out.

Sometimes I feel like I’m the only person who hated Jess (I also didn’t like Dean on rewatches), so I’m very happy to see these comments!

Lol, every time I saw Milo’s name in the opening credits at the beginning of episodes I always without fail groaned to myself–HATED that character.

That said, the show–despite a very wonky last season that just wasn’t in character with the preceding six seasons on hardly any level–easily ranks within my own personal Top 10 TV shows of all time. And throughout the series’ run, Lauren Graham, Kelly Bishop and Edward Hermann gave three of the most uniformly excellent performances never to be recognized by Emmy voters.

Thanks Rebecca now I have to re-watch it all! Great article! I miss these great Family dramas! Even though this was one of a kind, the genre is dying out.

Then watch Jane the Virgin premiering Monday, October 13 at 9pm et only on The CW!

I’ll intend to check it out. But I don’t like the setup, don’t like the title so let’s see if it surprisses me. The issue with these new show, they are pushing things just to “shock” people and it doesn’t feel authentic. GG felt so authentic and real, just great

Check out parenthood. More Loren Graham, and a good family drama.

Rory’s Dance and Pulp Friction are in my opinion, two of the best episodes to showcase Lauren Graham as she so brilliantly shows how on a show about mothers and daughters, she is the one that has to where both hats. Also, any episode with Gran is a must watch.

Season 5 episode 7 “You Jump, I Jump, Jack” is by far one of my favourite episodes. This is the episode you really see the potential of what Rory and Logan can become, plus you finally have more interactions with Logans friends. Big fan of when ever Colin and Finn appeared on the show, they are hilarious

THIS! Was the one episode I actively thought was missing from the Best Of list. Definitely one of my favorites.

Yes! And the party episode that follows it as well – the final nail in the coffin that was Dean & Rory!

I am Team Logan – I always thought he was the best of both Dean & Jess.

YES! My favorite episode of the whole series. And SO glad to find another Team Logan supporter!

Yes! Best episode, ever! Got that one saved on the DVR. :-D

THANK YOU. That was also my fave episode – it pushed Rory out of her comfort zone, and I always thought Logan was a great romance for her because he didn’t just fall into her arms. That said, I think they totally character assassinated him at the end – I just can’t imagine that Logan would want to propose or wouldn’t understand Rory’s need to explore a bit first. It’s not like he was that much older than her.

Anyway. Rant over. You Jump, I Jump = BEST.

My all time favorite show… Glad to see it is finally on Netflix

I loved everything about the Gilmore Girls and I always watch all the episodes. If I skip any episode it would be the Vinyary Valentine episode, I hated that one for the same reasons this article mentioned. The JavaJunkies looked stupid next to the Sophies. Now that I am writing that… we used to be much more creative with our shipper names than now.

I suggest skipping pretty much everything after season 4.

Rory should have dated naked guy, not spoiled brat who she stayed with way too long. I understand breaking away from the mother you are way too close to, but the length of time was YEARS before normal Rory returned when it should have been like a half a season.

Every time you though Rory would grow up, she just became more spoiled, it was gross to watch.

And don’t get me started on Luke and his story lines in the later seasons. Just insane.

And Jess was fine, I understand where he was coming from. Rory being a spoiled bitch made no sense at all.

I thought it made sense, but it wasn’t fun to watch Rory turn into that person.

Lorelai did spoil her. She wanted to be a friend and not a mother, and that eventually caught up with her. They were always doing such wacky things together that Rory never got a sense of what was appropriate and what wasn’t. Lorelai eventually grew up, but by that time, Rory was crashing and burning.

It’s an okay story arc, and it makes sense. But the show was a light, fun, comedy series and you don’t usually end up hating the lead characters on that type of show.

My problem isn’t that it didn’t make sense, it just went on way too long.

Like when Rory slept with Dean, she should have realized she was wrong rather quickly. It wasn’t the fact she was being a spoiled rotten brat who kept screwing up, it’s that she didn’t grow naturally from that. It felt like it just dragged on and on and on Gilmore Girls it’s a dromedy and should have sticked with the fun light hearted things and not what we got with Logan (he should have been a seasonal character at best) and the whole Luke storyline. It makes sense to a point, but was dragged out way too long. The point is to keep the Gilmore girls together and watch how they interact. For a large junk of the later seasons it was just fighting. In the beginning seasons there was still heart and some love between the fighting.

It’s like the later seasons of West Wing, the show is still West Wing but all the characters feel out of place. However on Gilmore Girls it shouldn’t have happened because the creator was there in seasons 5 and 6 and those seasons were horrible. There is natural character growth and then there is just drama for drama.

Agreed. There was far too little interaction later on. I almost feel like Rory should have taken a break from school and reevaluated her priorities. What she did with (and to) Dean was horrible and should have been a wakeup call.

Yeah, her dream career was always the driving force of the character and she got it in the end. But maybe it would have been better for her to find peace in not getting that. Maybe write for the local paper in a place that she loves and surrounded by people she cares about. I think the drive to succeed wound up making her very self centered and getting her dream job almost seems like an unhappy ending because of that.

Rory only loved and cared about Rory. Most offensive character on any show. Ever.

Really nice analysis by the two of you. You detailed my exact problems with the show and its why I had so much trouble watching season 4 and beyond.

I loved this show. Lorelai and Rory’s mother/daughter relationship is something you will never see on tv again. I always envied their relationship. I hated the way they ruined Luke and Lorelai’s relationship with the long lost storyline! That storyline should have never happened! Was ASP in a dark period in her life to create that storyline?!! Luckily Luke and Lorelai got back together in the series finale. Of course I hated how we had to wait till the end to see them kissing again,

I loved it during the first 4 seasons but after Rory slept with married Dean her character went down an awful path and was never really redeemed in my opinion… I’d also like to pretend the whole April storyline never happened! And I am still not over the awful season 6 ending that led to a dreadful season 7 finale. I felt like Amy Sherman was just pissed that they didn’t want to end with season 6 so she just screwed up everything in the last 5 minutes of season 6 and left them to do season 7 without her.

I said that as soon as that episode aired–Amy backed them into a corner and said “let’s see you get out of this mess without me”.

Don’t whitewash that incident. She wrote the show into a horrible corner, and then demanded unreasonable amounts of money to continue on as show runner. The net didn’t want to pay huge sums of money to a woman who had driven the show into the ground.

I will add, in amelioration of the showrunner, that the actors playing Luke and Lorelai did not like each other, and were perfectly fine with not having much interaction.

The show was a mess before the season 6 finale. But I agree I think the creator did it because of issues with the network. Was April a season 6 mess or season 7?

People blame the new guy for the mess in season 7 but they tried their best to save the show and ended it in a high note.

Glad you were NOT picking the episodes for me. Some of your “skips” were way off target.

Well yeah, it’s just their opinion. Everyone is different. That’s why they asked which ones we’d recommend or skip. So which “skips” did you like?

Well Fran to be honest I love the episode w/ the Karaoke..so..to each their own

I don’t remember what episode, but when Emily was pulled over for suspicion of drunk driving….her reaction to blowing in the breathalyzer was priceless. I was not a Christopher fan and hated the first part of the last season because of him!

Does Netflix cut out scenes from shows like tv does? I’ve watched GG reruns on tv for years and am always frustrated by how much is cut from the original episodes. I’m wondering if Netflix lets viewers see the entire show without cutting anything out.

I have never noticed a cut scene from any show I’ve watched on Netflix. I don’t think they would have reason to do it like TV does–ABC Family cuts for both time and content.

Thank you. I own the season one dvds, but it would be nice to finally see all the other episodes in their entirety again.

They don’t cut shows but some times they might not have music rights and change them.

Thanks – good to know they don’t cut out any material. I know about the music. Doesn’t that suck? They should make sure they get the rights before they even use a song. And if they don’t, then use a song they can have the rights to. I still can’t believe they changed the music in BH90210 (it changes the feel of an entire scene and changes history – that might sound overly dramatic but I really can’t stand when they substitute songs in important scenes, and any scenes really). I still can’t believe one of the best shows ever, WKRP in Cincinnati has never been out on dvd, but really, who’d want it without all its original music, which was awesome? I’m excited about The Wonder Years, and they say that about 300 songs are the songs used in the original episodes, but weren’t there way more than 300 songs total? I think all the music used in GG episodes is important and that would really suck if any of it had to be changed.

I bought most of Gilmore Girls used on DVD for REALLY cheap, and get the bad seasons this Christmas (My mom found them at Big Lots for $8 a season). I think most of the music is still the same, but don’t quote me on that. I have no clue if the Netflix music is changed or not. I doubt it.

How could you leave out a tisket a tasket! Top five for sure

Completely agree! That really showed the development of Rory and Jess. It also shows how she loses her bracelet! Really crucial episode!

I agree with some of the skips…but Not as Cute as Pushkin should be watched, if only for Rory’s “butt-faced miscreant” rant at Logan. I do agree the premise is weak, but there are several really funny scenes in it.

Also, I do disagree with skipping Lorelai, Lorelai. When it was airing, this episode showed me that they were going to at least try to fix some of the missteps of that season.

Road Trip to Harvard is my all time favorite Gilmore Girls episode. “The horse learns to bark, then… what it is that happens?” “He dies.”

Easy. I started with You Jump I Jump Jack. Rory and Logan will always be my couple.

Guys, interview Amy! This netflix thing is the perfect excuse to get the final words!

Yes – this! Weren’t there four final words? I hope it’s “April’s not my kid”. lol

Sherman-Palladino wrecked the show. Season 7 was bad but that’s only because of the mess SP made in seasons 5 and 6. She wrecked it, she made April, she destroyed Rory. Just watch the season 4 finale and then watch the season 5 premiere, it’s really weird how the show changed, the camera work and writing and characters all look and feel different.

That’s Sherman-Palladino fault and I don’t care at all what her final words are.

How many votes would you guys need to see to being the show back?!?!?!? The ending of Gilmore Girls was cut short. Your fans deserve to see Loraile and Luke marry and see where Rory’s life goes. I’ll volunteer to collect the votes. Lauren Graham’s character on Parenthood is going to be ending with the show being in it’s final season so come on guys!!!! Let’s do this!!!

You can’t skip 5.10 when she hosts that student! SHE SNIFFS THE BOOKS! And how can we forget, BUTT-FACED MISCREANT!

Seasons 2 and 3 are the best to me. I stopped watching regularly after season 4 because Rory became so unlikable.

I may be the only one, but season 1’s “love and war and Snow” always gets me. Great Rory/Emily scenes, Loralei and Max have great chemistry and some of Lorelie’s best advise to a humiliated Lane. I also loved Emily’s date, when Loalei meets Jason (May be the only one who liked him), and what about Jon Hamm?

Minus Mitchum A Vineyard Valentine is one of my favourite episodes. I don’t understand why it’s on the skip list.

I enjoyed this list a lot! I have to say, though, that I would definitely list “Not As Cute As Pushkin” in my favorites instead of as a skip. I also think “Pulp Friction” and “You Jump, I Jump Jack” were overlooked. And, as a typically unpopular opinion, I HATE “They Shoot Gilmores, Don’t They?”.

Needless to say (I mean, look at my episode choices), I’m a big Logan fan. I also think it was important for Rory to embrace both her mother’s independence and spunk and her grandparents’ values. I don’t think it would have been realistic for her to swing one way or the other entirely. She really showed her own personality in the latter seasons, and season five really got that ball rolling.

Yay for putting “Dear Emily and Richard” on your must watch list. Thought I was the only one who actually thought that was a good episode, even with the weird filter it was filmed through

Top 5: Wedding Bell Blues, A Tisket, A Tasket, I Can’t Get Started, Written in the Stars, and A Deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving.. Bonus: Rorys Birthday Parties

Lorelai’s first day at Yale spoke to me. Being the same age as Rory, I didn’t want to leave the nest & be a grown up. I always remember the quote about Amanpour reporting from a cave in Afghanistan with her mother

I enjoyed seasons 1-3. I didnt like Logan and Rory became unlikeable to me. Not in a typical growing up type of way, but just spoiled and bratty. Sorry!

Pretty good choices. Don’t understand all the hate for the series finale I thought it was wonderful! And season 7 really wasn’t that bad. I had a hard time watching season 6 because my favourite couple-Luke/Lorelai were having sooo many problems in the second half of the season. Lame.

Also glad lots of other people don’t like Jess. Never understood the “bad boy” appeal with him. He was just a jerk. Enjoyed his two episodes in season 6 though.

I think the episode where Jess comes to town (the first time) should be a mist watch. Luke shoves Jess in the lake (unless that’s the following episode where everyone (rightly) accuses Jess)

Personally, I hated Dean. He had some serious jealousy and anger issues from the beginning. And then he was a terrible husband (although, why didn’t Lindsey work anyway?).

Also, he broke up with Rory three times. Two of which were unfair (1st and last) and two of which should have been done by Rory sooner (2nd and last).

The thing was, he seemed to be ‘jealous’ for a reason. First thing she started to have ‘feelings or whatever’ for Tristan and then also with Jess while they were dating so yeah. Yeah, I agree he didn’t need to break up with her when she didn’t say she loved him back but I can understand his hurt. Why does it matter how many times he broke up with her when in fact she shouldn’t have led him on those times?

I agree with most episodes on this list (I agree with your very favorite episode, They Shoot Gilmores, Don’t They – I used to be able to recite every line!), but you’re missing one of my favorites from season 2 – There’s The Rub. Its the episode where Emily and Lorelai bond (perhaps for the first time as adults) at a spa weekend, Emily wears Lorelai’s “Vicious Trollop” lipstick and Jess, Rory and Paris banter about books and food – what’s not to love about this episode?!

One of my must watch episodes is “Love and War and Snow.” I watch it every year on the first snow of the season :) Also “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” in season 2 when there’s yet another silly Stars Hollow event and Jess buys Rory’s basket (gasp!). I just love this show so much (minus most of season 7) and I can’t wait to watch it on Netflix since a lot of my discs skip…

I think I am one of the few who HATED Dean. I thought he was a whiny jerk, who was way too emotional and moody, constantly misunderstanding, taking things wrong, and had major trust issues. (IE. when he drives to Chilton, he sees Tristan with Rory’s books and automatically assumes that they are an item. I mean, seriously?! Give the girl the benefit of the doubt, instead of jumping to conclusions!)

I also really didn’t like Logan. I feel like he is all wrong for Rory, and that he held her back, when he should have been the mature one and encouraged her to meet her goals. He was totally fine with her leaving Yale, destorying her dreams, fooling around in her grandmother’s poolhouse. “Bad boy” Jess was the one who actually grew and matured, and even called her out on not following her dreams and giving up. That is what a good boyfriend should do!

You should never skip a single episode of The Gilmore Girls, ever! They are all ripe with witty banter and references!

Where is Season 5 episode 7. If you jump, I jump! Best ever!!

Skip everything after Luke’s long lost daughter shows up in season 6. That stupid storyline combined with Lorelai jumping moron of the day Christopher in the season 6 finale ruined the entire show for me. Oh and lets not forget or better yet I wish I could forget season 7 – ALL of season 7.

Beautiful JavaJunkie moments all over the first season even though you have to endure Lorelai and Max:

Kiss & Tell (Lorelai and Luke at Dosey’s)

Forgiveness & Stuff (Luke is just the best in that one and who can not fall for him for the Santa burger?)

That Damn Donna Reed (There’s a chick lose in my house)

The Bracebridge Dinner from season 2 (Horse carriage ride with L&L)

A-Tisket, A-Tasket – 52,50 for two stale pop tarts and a slim jim

Dead Uncles and Vegetables – very good episode concerning Luke.

Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days – cause twins, duh !!!

I could go on with Luke teaching Lorelai how to fish, the dance marathon, her first sleep over at his place when the inn burns down….

Season 4 – just take an episode, any episode. Favorite season since Chris is not in one single episode ! Luke and Lorelai’s friendship and the build up to Raincoats and Recipes. Beautiful.

Season 5 – JavaJunkie heaven minus a few bad tastes left behind by a certain someone.

Season 6: Twenty-One Is The Loneliest Number! I love how it references so much of Season 1, the episode makes me cry every time. Also Season 6- The Prodigal Daughter Returns, another tear jerker!!!

You forgot “Friday Nights are for Fighting”. That was the best ever episode.

Favorite show of all time. Can’t wait for my daughter to be old enough for us to watch together! Liked Max and Lorelei, loved L&L, wasn’t crazy about the actor who played Chris. Liked the Jess storyline – we all have a bad boy that we loved hopelessly as a teen. Was a bit disappointed that Roy and Logan didn’t end up together but that ending fit Rorys character as developed by Lorelei to follow her dreams and not get sidetracked by love.

Don’t understand all the hate for Jess – he was gorgeous, funny, smart, and made the show worth watching. Season 2 was without a doubt the best season, with season 1 and 3 as a close follow up. As other people stated, after season 4 the camera work as well as the characters changed- and not for the better. I would add “Friday Nights All Right for Fighting” to the skip list because the cinematography is awful and completely different and out of place with the rest of the series. Crazy Dutch angles and whip pans like you’re watching an experimental student film.

I thought the Rory/Logan storyline was disgusting and would pretty much add any episode he is in to my skip list. Can’t believe “The Real Paul Anka” is not on here as a must-watch. Even if you’re not into Jess, I mean come on – the real Paul Anka is in this episode!

I also am pretty shocked that no one has mentioned that some of the best, most hilarious, and at times most tear jerking, most well acted scenes come from Jess and Luke’s scenes together. Does no one remember that as early as season two, Jess was one of the only ones (aside for Emily) who could tell Luke was in love with Lorelai – and called him out on it. Plus the episode where they go apartment hunting – and well, any Luke/Jess alone inside the apartment scene. Some of the best damn writing on tv ever and no one has topped it since. Heck – just watch all of season 2. It’s pure magic. The uncle/nephew relationship between Jess and Luke was without a doubt the worst thing missing from the show post season 3 when they made the huge mistake of writing Jess off.

I also love the Luke and Jess scenes. When he’s helping Luke get ready for Liz’s wedding bc he knows how much the date with Lorelei means to him was touching. That’s why that episode is one of my all time favs.

I have to say that my favorite episode is #3, Season 1, “Kill me now” the episode with the wedding of the twins. The end of the episode makes me a little teary at the end. Loved it then, love it now

This list is amazing, I like to skip just about every “April” episode. You Jump, I jump, Jack would be a must watch for me. its so fun and it shows some serious Rory character changes.I also love The Reigning Lorelai. Drunk Emily is wonderful. Love this list. Love Gilmore Girls, Somebody make that movie already!

I hated Christopher w/ such a passion that when they got married I quit watching until they broke up. He was such an !#%*)#@% to Lorelai. She just let him walk all over her. It drove me insane when he would show up. Seriously, when he ripped her up at Luke’s when he brought his fiancé to meet Rory I was DONE with him.

How could you not include season 5’s “You Jump I Jump Jack”??! I own all 7 seasons on DVD (ah the pre-netflix years) and it’s my favorite episode to watch over and over. Followed closely by ” A Deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving” – Drunk Sookie screaming ‘A NAPKIN!’ makes me laugh hysterically to this day.

The only episode that I disagree with is “Lorelai, Lorelai?” I love that episode! The rest of this was pretty spot on.

You should include “ONLY available on US Netflix, Not Canadian” in your title…..just got very excited because I absolutely love this show, rushed to Netflix only to see nothing there.

Canadians want Gilmore Girls on there Netflix too!! :(

I subscribed to watch Gilmore Girls, only to discover that is not available here.

I agree with some of the choices, and with many of the comments… But one that seems to be missing in both is “Girls In Bikinis, Boys Doin’ The Twist”. Despite not being a top 5 episode, it’d be among my choices. Rory+Paris vs Spring Break = win. And the songs from both the Shins (So Says I) and New Pornographers (The Laws Have Changed) kick ass.

Wonderful to meet kindred spirits of the Gilmore Girls fandom! I have always wanted to live in Stars Hollow … Personally, I would say “Watch” for “Not as Cute as Pushkin” – simply for the dressing down Rory gives Logan. I’ve been waiting for a chance to say “butt face, miscreant” in real life. I loved the little girl stomp in that phrase combined with the Yaley vocab. Also, I loved Lorelai singing to Luke – made me wish they used Lauren’s singing in more episodes. And who couldn’t love Miss Patti and her life revue of “the business we call show.” Perhaps one of my favorite moments is discovering Lorelai’s love of snow on a winter night when she comes across Max and Luke is set adrift as he watches. In fact, Lorelai’s love of snow made me try and rethink my own Midwestern dread of it – thus the magic of Lauren’s acting. Thanks for letting me share. :)

My favorites: You Jump I Jump Jack and the episode with the Brace Bridge dinner at the inn (don’t know the name of the episode).

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