Christmas with the Gilmore Girls never runs completely smoothly, right? It’s not a Stars Hollow Christmas without a little (or a lot) drama and the ground purely white. Here’s what we’d rate each Christmas/winter episode.
Season 1, Episode 10: “Forgiveness and Stuff”
The first Christmas in Stars Hollow we get to see, the Gilmore Girls seem to be having problems between them. With Lorelai annoyed at both her mother and at Rory because her and Dean fell asleep one night, she gets uninvited to the early Christmas dinner.
Although this episode doesn’t hold the best of hopes for the Gilmore Girls, it does bring them together when Richard goes into hospital. Luke comes to Lorelai’s rescue, showing us the first inkling that something could happen between them. Family comes first.
We’d give this episode 4/5 stars, because it has plenty of drama but also a lot of hope.
Season 2, Episode 10: “The Bracebridge Dinner”
This episode is full of sleigh rides and snowmen – the norm in Stars Hollow.
It’s obvious in this episode that there is tension between Dean and Jess. However, it also seems that Rory and Jess have a connection, and despite Rory’s hesitation towards him, we can see she’s warming to him. The both of them have a lot in common.
Other than that and the argument between Emily and Richard, it’s a pretty standard Christmas in Stars Hollow. We’d give this one 3.5/5 stars, as it’s not got as much Christmas feel as we’d like, but the story gets juicy with the love triangle.
Season 3, Episode 10: “That’ll Do, Pig”
You know it’s Christmas in Stars Hollow when Lorelai smells snow and the girls have got their hats on. Rory deals with her ex-boyfriend Dean whilst also in the honey moon phase with Jess. They’re inseparable at this point and Rory tries to avoid Dean for this reason, with no success. Lorelai also struggles to find Richard a gift, so Rory agrees to choose one for her.
Emily is faced with Richard’s mother, Trix, who disapproves of everything that she does. Rather ironic considering Emily’s high standards, really. The most magical part of this episode is the carnival, and Jess attends only to annoy Dean.
We’d give this episode 3.5/5 stars because it’s an exciting time for Rory’s relationship with Jess.
Season 4, Episode 11: “In The Clamor and the Clanger”
Rory feels self conscious about herself when she believes a guy is spreading a rumour about her, though it ends up he’s talking about somebody else. Lorelai is annoyed that Luke moves house without consulting her – it seems their relationship isn’t as tight as she once thought.
This episode isn’t particularly festive other than the white ground, but Lane takes a visit to Rory at Yale because she’s scared to go home and face the wrath of her mother. However, when she returns home, she shows her mother all her secret hiding places and they come to an agreement.
We’d rank this one 3/5 stars because there’s not much Christmas in it, but the drama heats up when Lane shows her mother all of her real interests.
Season 5, Episode 11: “Women of Questionable Morals”
By this point, Lorelai and Luke are together and the episode begins with Luke angry because Lorelai woke him up to take him out to the snow. Emily and Richard are not having the best of times, but there’s one thing that brings them back together.
Rory and her dad are not getting along either. Christopher pleads with Rory and she eventually makes it up with him. The magic of Christmas, eh? We’d give this episode 4/5 stars because the Gilmore family come back together at the best time of year.
Season 6, Episode 12: “Just Like Gwen and Gavin”
This is the episode where Lorelai finds out about Luke’s daughter, April. A big secret to keep from your fiancé and this is what causes big problems between Lorelai and Luke. April is an interesting kid and knows a lot. Luke however, doesn’t know how to deal with telling Lorelai.
Lorelai is also not happy with Logan because of the influence he has had on Rory, but he comes to her for advice when he has made a big mistake. Logan tried everything else, including giving Rory a coffee guy all day. We’d rank this episode 3.5/5 stars.
Season 7, Episode 11: “Santa’s Secret Stuff”
Rory comes back to Stars Hollow after Christmas as she spent a holiday in London with Logan. Christopher and Lorelai are back together and Gigi is back in the series, though she’s not the sweetest of children. The Gilmore Girls want to celebrate Christmas together and decide to get their trees back out.
Luke asks Lorelai to write him a character reference, which seems fitting seeing as she knows him better than anyone else. Lane is also battling with her pregnancy and becoming more hormonal every day.
We’d give this episode 4/5 stars. It’s interesting to see how their lives have changed so much since the first Christmas we saw in Stars Hollow.
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life (Episode 1: Winter)
The first episode in the reunion series of Gilmore Girls, and it’s magical even without the Christmas. All the characters had the same chemistry and one of the best character returns was Paris. She had the same fire as she used to.
Although the episode didn’t have much of Christmas, it still had that wintery feel about it that we love. For this reason, we’d rate it 4/5, because it felt the same as always, but lacked a little Christmas.
So that’s all the Christmas episodes! They may not have as much Christmas in them as fans would expect, but they each have that special element that makes it unique. Oh, and drama. Plenty of it.
