These 13 'Gilmore Girls' Episodes Are So Good You'll Want To Watch Them All Winter Long

It's Rory's 16th birthday and her grandma wants to throw her a "proper" party. Despite Lorelai's protests, it goes ahead — as does the same party that happens every year, at Rory's mom's house. After Stars Hollow's favorite teen loses her temper at her grandma, she tries to make up for it by inviting Emily to the informal birthday party on the following night. Which leads us to the grandparents visiting Rory and Lorelai's house for the very first time. Sure, it's a little awkward. But you can see the beginning of broken bridges being mended and it's all rather lovely.

The Season 1 finale is every bit as dramatic and sweet as you might have hoped for. Rory and Dean have called it quits after he surprises her with an "I love you" and she can't say it back. So when the schoolgirl finally blurts out "Because I love you, you idiot!" there won't be a dry eye in the house.

Oh, yeah, plus there's one of the most gorgeous proposals in all of television history. Think lots and lots and lots of yellow daisies.

When Lorelai gets a cancellation at the Inn, she makes lemonades out of her bad news lemons and invites all of her pals from Stars Hollow instead to take advantage of the free food and drink. Plus, Emily and Richard score an invite, too, which means it's another great episode focused on the gradual thawing of hostilities between the two generations of Gilmores.

Ready to rumble? Drama is at a high in this memorable Season 2 episode which contains all the things. Sookie and Jackson finally tie the knot, which is everything. Lorelai and Chris have insane amounts of chemistry, and it feels like they're going to get back together (prepare for whiplash, because there's a plot twist coming). Plus, the whole Rory-Dean-Jess tension reaches breaking point. But none of the above matters. Most importantly, this is the episode where Lorelai says the iconic Gilmore Girls catchphrase, "oy with the poodles already!"

Who doesn't enjoy holiday-themed Gilmore Girls? This Thanksgiving episode is particularly cozy, thanks to the presence of drunk Sookie (who's been getting tipsy to process the fact that her husband is deep-frying the turkey), a memorably awkward/adorable turkey dinner between just Luke and Jess, and the tofurkey that Lorelai eats at the Kims'.

The only thing you need to know about this episode is this that the man you formerly assumed had a lump of ice in place of a heart, Jess Mariano, finally says those three little words to Rory. Spoiler: then he runs off again, potentially just to convince us he's Stars Hollows' rebel without a cause. Oh, well. It was nice while it lasted.

Whether you 'ship or despise Liz and T.J., you've got to give them props for their completely OTT Renaissance wedding. And if you needed any other reasons to watch this episode, know this: Luke finally, finally, finally starts pursuing Lorelai. Oh, plus Rory tells Jess to buzz off and stop wasting her time after he implores her to move with him somewhere new, which equals another gorgeous moment we've been waiting for.

Admittedly, if you're all about the youngest Gilmore, this episode is a living hell. Basically, we get peak Bad Decision Rory, AKA the woman who decides to lose her virginity to her married ex. But if you worship at the altar of a woman who's in the prime of her life, one Lorelai Gilmore, then enjoy all your Christmases at once, because you get to see her finally pucker up with Luke.

Fuh-fuh-fuh-finally. It's first date o'clock. Luke and Lorelai go to a restaurant, and the man with the best coffee in town informs Stars Hollow's most infamous bachelorette that he's "in. Real in." Swoon.

This is probably the best Logan we ever get: he's inspiring and carefree, and he balances out Rory's tendency to be a cautious, overthinking perfectionist. Logan and Rory make so much sense in this episode, in which he persuades her to leap off the side of a specially-constructed structure during a Life and Death Brigade weekend.

The 100th episode of the Gilmore Girls is crazy cute: you've got Richard and Emily celebrating being loved-up again following a rocky patch by renewing their vows. You've got Rory being her grandpa's "best man" in a suit. You've got one overprotective biological dad and one overprotective father figure. Too much joy.

It's hard to root for Rory's decision to drop out of Yale following her boyfriend's dad (and newspaper industry bigwig) telling her she didn't have what it takes to become a journalist. After all, journalism's full of rejections — pitching editors, approaching people to do interviews — and, if the brunette fell at the first hurdle, then maybe Mitchum Huntzberger was on the money after all. Anyway, thank goodness for Jess in this episode, who is the only one who can make her see straight again.

The season finale provides some comfort for the most tepid chunk of Gilmore Girls to date. Mainly, it's smart and level-headed where Rory is concerned. Her happy ending isn't in the arms of some dude, but working on Obama's campaign trail. Besides which, we get to see that Emily and Richard really do care about their daughter (even beyond Lorelai simply being Rory's mom) when Emily pushes for them to continue seeing each other even after the youngest Gilmore heads off.

Let winter do its worst. With back to back helpings of Gilmore cheer, it'll be May before you look up from your laptop.